The swine flu virus is rapidly making its way around the world, but it has been relatively mild so far, causing only 139 confirmed deaths. Could it mutate into something more lethal?
Scientists looking at its genetic structure say there is no obvious pressure for it to do so — no reason for this virus to “want,” in the Darwinian sense, to kill more of its hosts.
It is already doing a near-perfect job of keeping itself alive by invading human noses and inducing humans to cough it from one to another, said Dr. W. Ian Lipkin, director of the Center for Infection and Immunology at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health.
“A really aggressive flu that quickly kills its host” — like SARS and H5N1 avian flu — “gives itself a problem,” Dr. Lipkin said.
But flu viruses are highly mutable, and anything could happen in the next two years, the time a new strain normally takes to circle the globe. After all, Spanish influenza began as a mild strain, then turned horrifically virulent, killing 20 million to 100 million people in 1918-19.
But Dr. Peter Palese, head of microbiology at Mount Sinai Medical School and part of the team that rebuilt that virus in 2005 from fragments found in old lung tissue, said that strain was a “once-a-millennium or once-every-10-millennia event — things like it don’t happen very often.”
Nor is it clear, he added, that viruses really “want” a particular outcome.
“For me, that’s too much anthropomorphic thinking,” Dr. Palese said. “Look, I believe in Darwin. Yes, the fittest virus survives. But it’s not clear what the ultimate selection parameter is.”
A mutation that confers lethality, he explained, may confer another advantage scientists have not pinned down.
The new virus has been described as “a real mutt” by Walter R. Dowdle, the former chief of virology for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, because of its unique mix of Eurasian and American swine, human and bird genes.
Flu chromosomes are quite simple — eight short strands of RNA that issue the genetic code for a grand total of 11 proteins. They break apart in a jumble inside cells they infect, and then they reassemble, picking up random bits of other flus, which makes the results unpredictable.
The current swine flu strain lacks several genes believed to increase lethality, including those that code for two proteins known as PB1-F2 and NS-1, and one that codes for a tongue-twister called the polybasic hemagglutinin cleavage site.
PB1-F2 appears to weaken the protective membrane of the energy-producing mitochondria in an infected cell, ultimately killing the cell. Specifically, it attacks dendritic cells, the sentinels of the immune system. Its lethality could be accidental — a protein good at killing sentries might just go on killing other cells once inside the fort.
All pandemic flus, including those of the Spanish, Hong Kong and Asian flus, make PB1-F2. So does the H5N1 bird flu. The current swine strain does not.
The NS-1 protein also maims the immune response by blocking interferon, an antiviral protein made by cells.
Very lethal bird flus also have the unusual cleavage site, which allows the hemagglutinin spike on the virus’s shell to split and inject its genetic instructions into different kinds of cells, like those in the lungs and the gut.
Such an addition to the novel H1N1 would be very dangerous. But because it has been found only in avian flus, it is unlikely to become a component of a human flu, Dr. Palese said. Even the 1918 virus, which was avian in origin, lacked it.
A much more likely change, scientists have said, is that the H1N1 swine flu will become resistant to the antiviral drug Tamiflu. A gene for Tamiflu resistance is now almost universal in seasonal H1N1 flus.
If that happens, the world’s Tamiflu stockpiles will be all but worthless, and doctors may have to switch to Relenza, which is a powder used with an inhaler, which makes it more expensive and harder to take.
Depending on the mutation, older antiviral drugs like rimantidine may be useful, but so much resistance to them developed in seasonal flu that they were largely abandoned a few years ago.
Dr. Palese was asked about another notion concerning likely mutations. There has been outrage at Egypt’s decision to kill all the pigs belonging to its Coptic Christian minority. It has been depicted as misguided and motivated by religious bigotry, because the “swine flu” is really now a human flu.
But Egypt is also in an especially dangerous situation. The new swine flu reached it just last week. The H5N1 avian flu has circulated in its backyard chickens since 2006, defying all eradication efforts. In the last year, dozens of H5N1 cases have been confirmed in toddlers, almost all of whom have survived — which led some experts to speculate that those are cases of a less lethal version of H5N1 that is better adapted to humans.
In that case, might it be wise to get rid of the country’s relatively small pig population, since pigs are “mixing vessels” that can catch both human and bird flus?
“I agree with the premise, if you really could eliminate an animal reservoir,” Dr. Palese said. “But the virus is out of pigs now — and it’s more important that those poor people have something to eat.”
Monday, June 8, 2009
Huge Campaign Rallies Snarl Tehran
A pair of sprawling demonstrations brought the capital virtually to a standstill on Monday, with followers of president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his main electoral challenger struggling to demonstrate their street following ahead of Friday’s presidential elections.
The demonstrations were the largest street gatherings here in more than a decade, veteran political observers said.
Iranian elections always bring a loosening of the rules on public speech and behavior, but many say this year’s election is different, in part because of the social crackdown of the past four years under Mr. Ahmadinejad.
“What’s happening now is more than what should happen before an election,” said Mashalah Shamsolvaezin, a political commentator and former director of several reformist newspapers. “This is an expression of protest and dissatisfaction by people. They are venting their frustration and feeling very powerful.”
Mr. Ahmadinejad’s campaign organized a huge rally in a prayer hall in central Tehran Monday afternoon, where tens of thousands of chanting supporters gathered in an apparent effort to match the raucous street rallies that are being held nightly by followers of Mir Hussein Moussavi, his leading challenger for the presidency.
But the president’s rally was overmatched in turn by a larger, simultaneous demonstration by Mr. Moussavi’s followers, with a human sea of people that blocked traffic for miles along one of Tehran’s main boulevards.
The rallies underscored the unusual passions being aroused by the campaign, in which the leading candidates have been exchanging accusations that are extraordinarily fierce for Iranian politics. There have been scattered street clashes in recent days, but the police have generally not intervened, in part — analysts say — because they do not want to unleash protests by the unruly and mostly young crowds.
The street rallies appear to have surprised and unsettled the authorities, and Iran’s supreme leader, in a message broadcast on state television, warned against any further escalation.
“I don’t want to comment about people coming onto the streets, but they should not turn into confrontation or clashes between supporters of the candidates,” said the leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Monday’s rally by Mr. Moussavi’s supporters was motivated partly by anger at Mr. Ahmadinejad, whose campaign rescheduled its own rally in a way that displaced an event by Mr. Moussavi. He had planned to give a speech in the same prayer hall where Mr. Ahmadinejad appeared Monday. Instead, his followers gathered in a long chain running from the south of the capital to the north, most of them wearing sashes of green, his campaign’s signature color.
The campaign has included fierce rhetorical exchanges among the candidates, especially during the presidential debates of the past week, in which Mr. Ahmadinejad has impugned leading figures of the 1979 revolution of corruption.
On Monday, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a former two-time president and one of Mr. Ahmadinejad’s chief targets, defended himself for the first time.
“Unfortunately, the course of the election has become tainted with all sorts of lies and slanderous statements,” Mr. Rafsanjani said. “Smear tactics against individuals may be eventually pardoned and excused, but when they step out of line and target the basic principles of the Islamic revolution they become unforgivable.”
Although the harsh criticisms have shocked many Iranians, they seem to have played well with Mr. Ahmadinejad’s followers, who view them as a natural part of his populist campaign against the rich and the corrupt.
“The best thing Mr. Ahmadinejad did was to take away the sanctity of some of the regime’s leaders,” said Meysam Safavi, who had come from the holy city of Qom in southern Tehran to join a huge crowd of Ahmadinejad supporters Monday afternoon.
Another supporter, Javed Kia, 38, said “those people who he criticized were not honest, they were not good for the Iranian people. But Ahmadinejad is honest. He is not afraid of other countries, and he gave us self-confidence.”
As it happened, the crowds at Mr. Ahmadinejad’s rally were so thick that he was not able to get through to the podium in time to speak, and many of his supporters left early. At the same time, not far away, thousands of Mr. Moussavi’s supporters crowded the streets, creating traffic jams so heavy that the blocked roads were full of people walking home through the stopped cars.
For weeks, Mr. Ahmadinejad’s opponents have been saying they are concerned that the government will rig the vote in his favor. On Monday, a group of Interior Ministry employees released a letter saying a senior cleric close to Mr. Ahmadinejad had authorized fixing the vote in his favor, several reformist Web sites reported
The demonstrations were the largest street gatherings here in more than a decade, veteran political observers said.
Iranian elections always bring a loosening of the rules on public speech and behavior, but many say this year’s election is different, in part because of the social crackdown of the past four years under Mr. Ahmadinejad.
“What’s happening now is more than what should happen before an election,” said Mashalah Shamsolvaezin, a political commentator and former director of several reformist newspapers. “This is an expression of protest and dissatisfaction by people. They are venting their frustration and feeling very powerful.”
Mr. Ahmadinejad’s campaign organized a huge rally in a prayer hall in central Tehran Monday afternoon, where tens of thousands of chanting supporters gathered in an apparent effort to match the raucous street rallies that are being held nightly by followers of Mir Hussein Moussavi, his leading challenger for the presidency.
But the president’s rally was overmatched in turn by a larger, simultaneous demonstration by Mr. Moussavi’s followers, with a human sea of people that blocked traffic for miles along one of Tehran’s main boulevards.
The rallies underscored the unusual passions being aroused by the campaign, in which the leading candidates have been exchanging accusations that are extraordinarily fierce for Iranian politics. There have been scattered street clashes in recent days, but the police have generally not intervened, in part — analysts say — because they do not want to unleash protests by the unruly and mostly young crowds.
The street rallies appear to have surprised and unsettled the authorities, and Iran’s supreme leader, in a message broadcast on state television, warned against any further escalation.
“I don’t want to comment about people coming onto the streets, but they should not turn into confrontation or clashes between supporters of the candidates,” said the leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Monday’s rally by Mr. Moussavi’s supporters was motivated partly by anger at Mr. Ahmadinejad, whose campaign rescheduled its own rally in a way that displaced an event by Mr. Moussavi. He had planned to give a speech in the same prayer hall where Mr. Ahmadinejad appeared Monday. Instead, his followers gathered in a long chain running from the south of the capital to the north, most of them wearing sashes of green, his campaign’s signature color.
The campaign has included fierce rhetorical exchanges among the candidates, especially during the presidential debates of the past week, in which Mr. Ahmadinejad has impugned leading figures of the 1979 revolution of corruption.
On Monday, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a former two-time president and one of Mr. Ahmadinejad’s chief targets, defended himself for the first time.
“Unfortunately, the course of the election has become tainted with all sorts of lies and slanderous statements,” Mr. Rafsanjani said. “Smear tactics against individuals may be eventually pardoned and excused, but when they step out of line and target the basic principles of the Islamic revolution they become unforgivable.”
Although the harsh criticisms have shocked many Iranians, they seem to have played well with Mr. Ahmadinejad’s followers, who view them as a natural part of his populist campaign against the rich and the corrupt.
“The best thing Mr. Ahmadinejad did was to take away the sanctity of some of the regime’s leaders,” said Meysam Safavi, who had come from the holy city of Qom in southern Tehran to join a huge crowd of Ahmadinejad supporters Monday afternoon.
Another supporter, Javed Kia, 38, said “those people who he criticized were not honest, they were not good for the Iranian people. But Ahmadinejad is honest. He is not afraid of other countries, and he gave us self-confidence.”
As it happened, the crowds at Mr. Ahmadinejad’s rally were so thick that he was not able to get through to the podium in time to speak, and many of his supporters left early. At the same time, not far away, thousands of Mr. Moussavi’s supporters crowded the streets, creating traffic jams so heavy that the blocked roads were full of people walking home through the stopped cars.
For weeks, Mr. Ahmadinejad’s opponents have been saying they are concerned that the government will rig the vote in his favor. On Monday, a group of Interior Ministry employees released a letter saying a senior cleric close to Mr. Ahmadinejad had authorized fixing the vote in his favor, several reformist Web sites reported
Indian farmers to insure themselves against climate change crop failure
For more than half a million farmers in rural India the age old fear of crops failing due to bad weather could soon be banished, thanks to an innovative insurance scheme that UN negotiators gathering in Bonn this week are considering as a central component of climate change adaptation measures in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
Following a successful trial last month, MicroEnsure, a company specialising in providing insurance to poor communities, plans to launch a scheme next year for up to 600,000 farmers in India's Kolhapur province allowing them to insure against their rice crops failing due to drought or heavy rains during the plants' flowering period.
Chief executive Richard Leftley said micro-insurance policies — so
-called because of their relatively low premiums — will be offered to farmers with loans from the local Kolhapur District Cooperative Bank.
The firm will then pay out to farmers when weather stations show crops are likely to have been damaged by rain or drought, making it possible for smallholders to support their families and continue loan repayments even when crops fail.
The scheme, which is receiving funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, will be promoted using comic books designed to explain visually how insurance works to farmers who have previously had no access to insurance cover. It will also be supported by finance from the Indian government that will effectively halve the price of premiums to around 2.5% of the value of the loan.
Leftley is anticipating huge demand from farmers in the region. "We ran a pilot scheme last month for 5,000 farmers and it sold out in two days," he said, adding that after similarly successful trials in Malawi, Ethiopia and the Philippines the company was now looking to prove micro-insurance schemes could work on a large scale.
As well as insuring against crop failure, the scheme also helps farmers access larger loans to pay for seeds and equipment, Leftley said, citing previous trials that saw banks lend 15% to 40% more to farmers who have insurance.
MicroEnsure's plans come as delegates at this week's UN climate change talks in Bonn debate whether rich countries should provide financial support to the fledgling sector. The official negotiating text [pdf], which forms the basis of an international climate change deal that is expected to be finalised in Copenhagen later this year, includes proposals to support micro-insurance projects.
Dr Koko Warner, an insurance expert at the UN University, said a broad consensus of support was building around the idea ahead of the Bonn meeting with US negotiators showing support for the first time. "There has been a real shift in the US position," she said. "It has got behind micro-insurance as it perceives it as a good way of reducing and spreading climate risk."
Micro-insurance also presents a cost-effective means of promoting climate change adaptation measures, according to Thomas Loster, chairman of the Munich Re Foundation, a not-for-profit arm of the insurance giant. He predicted that as weather-based insurance schemes mature and larger insurance firms enter the market they will provide poor communities with education to help better protect themselves against the impact of droughts and weather-related disasters, such as hurricanes and flooding.
"The basic principle of insurance is that you offer lower premiums when risks are lower," he explained, predicting that micro-insurance providers would want to limit the number of claims they face by helping communities become more resilient to climate change.
Alan Doran, a microfinance expert and consultant to Oxfam, said he expected micro-insurance schemes to become an increasingly important component of development projects.
"These types of schemes allow people in poor communities to cushion themselves against shocks in a way that we take for granted," he said. "If the weather stations are put in place and the risks are spread effectively then it has the potential to deliver real benefits."
Following a successful trial last month, MicroEnsure, a company specialising in providing insurance to poor communities, plans to launch a scheme next year for up to 600,000 farmers in India's Kolhapur province allowing them to insure against their rice crops failing due to drought or heavy rains during the plants' flowering period.
Chief executive Richard Leftley said micro-insurance policies — so
-called because of their relatively low premiums — will be offered to farmers with loans from the local Kolhapur District Cooperative Bank.
The firm will then pay out to farmers when weather stations show crops are likely to have been damaged by rain or drought, making it possible for smallholders to support their families and continue loan repayments even when crops fail.
The scheme, which is receiving funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, will be promoted using comic books designed to explain visually how insurance works to farmers who have previously had no access to insurance cover. It will also be supported by finance from the Indian government that will effectively halve the price of premiums to around 2.5% of the value of the loan.
Leftley is anticipating huge demand from farmers in the region. "We ran a pilot scheme last month for 5,000 farmers and it sold out in two days," he said, adding that after similarly successful trials in Malawi, Ethiopia and the Philippines the company was now looking to prove micro-insurance schemes could work on a large scale.
As well as insuring against crop failure, the scheme also helps farmers access larger loans to pay for seeds and equipment, Leftley said, citing previous trials that saw banks lend 15% to 40% more to farmers who have insurance.
MicroEnsure's plans come as delegates at this week's UN climate change talks in Bonn debate whether rich countries should provide financial support to the fledgling sector. The official negotiating text [pdf], which forms the basis of an international climate change deal that is expected to be finalised in Copenhagen later this year, includes proposals to support micro-insurance projects.
Dr Koko Warner, an insurance expert at the UN University, said a broad consensus of support was building around the idea ahead of the Bonn meeting with US negotiators showing support for the first time. "There has been a real shift in the US position," she said. "It has got behind micro-insurance as it perceives it as a good way of reducing and spreading climate risk."
Micro-insurance also presents a cost-effective means of promoting climate change adaptation measures, according to Thomas Loster, chairman of the Munich Re Foundation, a not-for-profit arm of the insurance giant. He predicted that as weather-based insurance schemes mature and larger insurance firms enter the market they will provide poor communities with education to help better protect themselves against the impact of droughts and weather-related disasters, such as hurricanes and flooding.
"The basic principle of insurance is that you offer lower premiums when risks are lower," he explained, predicting that micro-insurance providers would want to limit the number of claims they face by helping communities become more resilient to climate change.
Alan Doran, a microfinance expert and consultant to Oxfam, said he expected micro-insurance schemes to become an increasingly important component of development projects.
"These types of schemes allow people in poor communities to cushion themselves against shocks in a way that we take for granted," he said. "If the weather stations are put in place and the risks are spread effectively then it has the potential to deliver real benefits."
China orders PC makers to install blocking software
Computer makers in China have been instructed to pre-install blocking software on every PC hard drive from next month, under a government push to control access to the internet.
The new software, which has been developed by companies working with the Chinese military, is specifically aimed at restricting online pornography, but it could also be used to strengthen barriers to politically sensitive websites.
China's authorities currently block overseas-based sites they disapprove of, such as those relating to Tibetan independence, or the Falun Gong spiritual movement, with a mesh of filters and keyword restrictions, widely known as the Great Firewall.
Control over domestic servers is applied through instructions to content providers and search engines, which must self-censor to stay in business.
The new software – called Green Dam Youth Escort – potentially adds a powerful new tool at the level of the individual computer. It updates a list of forbidden sites from an online database, much as network security programs automatically download the latest defences against new worms, trojans and viruses.
The software, designed to work with the Microsoft Windows operating system, also collects private user data.
Optional programs that allow parents to restrict internet access by their children have existed for some time, but this is the first time the government has instructed that every computer be installed with a single centralised system.
China's ministry of industry and information technology issued a notice to personal computer-makers on 19 May that every machine sold from 1 July must be preloaded with the software. Last year 40m PCs were sold in China, the world's second biggest market after the US.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the notice says the move aims to "construct a green, healthy and harmonious internet environment, and prevent harmful information on the internet from influencing and poisoning young people".
PC makers and the providers of Green Dam are required to report periodically to the ministry about sales figures and the number of copies installed. For at least the first year the software will be free.
A separate instruction on the ministry's website obliged schools to install Green Dam on every computer in their institutions by the end of last month.
The software was developed by Jinhui Computer System Engineering in Henan under a 21m yuan (£2.2m) deal with the government.
Bryan Zhang, the founder of Jinhui, told reporters his company was compiling a database of forbidden sites, all related to pornography. He claimed users would have the option of uninstalling the software, or choosing to unblock sites, though they will not be permitted to see the list.
According to the company website, Jinhui has long-term working relationships with the ministry of public security and the People's Liberation Army's Information Engineering University.
The other collaborator on the project, Beijing Dazheng Human Language Technology Academy, works with the Armoured Engineering Institute of the People's Liberation Army.
China periodically launches campaigns against online porn. In the latest drive more than 1,900 websites have been shut down and search engines, such as Google and Baidu, have been castigated for failing to self-regulate. Rights groups say the same techniques, along with cruder methods, are used to stifle websites that embarrass, irritate or threaten the government.
Last week the authorities blocked Twitter and Hotmail in the run-up to the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown.
The new software, which has been developed by companies working with the Chinese military, is specifically aimed at restricting online pornography, but it could also be used to strengthen barriers to politically sensitive websites.
China's authorities currently block overseas-based sites they disapprove of, such as those relating to Tibetan independence, or the Falun Gong spiritual movement, with a mesh of filters and keyword restrictions, widely known as the Great Firewall.
Control over domestic servers is applied through instructions to content providers and search engines, which must self-censor to stay in business.
The new software – called Green Dam Youth Escort – potentially adds a powerful new tool at the level of the individual computer. It updates a list of forbidden sites from an online database, much as network security programs automatically download the latest defences against new worms, trojans and viruses.
The software, designed to work with the Microsoft Windows operating system, also collects private user data.
Optional programs that allow parents to restrict internet access by their children have existed for some time, but this is the first time the government has instructed that every computer be installed with a single centralised system.
China's ministry of industry and information technology issued a notice to personal computer-makers on 19 May that every machine sold from 1 July must be preloaded with the software. Last year 40m PCs were sold in China, the world's second biggest market after the US.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the notice says the move aims to "construct a green, healthy and harmonious internet environment, and prevent harmful information on the internet from influencing and poisoning young people".
PC makers and the providers of Green Dam are required to report periodically to the ministry about sales figures and the number of copies installed. For at least the first year the software will be free.
A separate instruction on the ministry's website obliged schools to install Green Dam on every computer in their institutions by the end of last month.
The software was developed by Jinhui Computer System Engineering in Henan under a 21m yuan (£2.2m) deal with the government.
Bryan Zhang, the founder of Jinhui, told reporters his company was compiling a database of forbidden sites, all related to pornography. He claimed users would have the option of uninstalling the software, or choosing to unblock sites, though they will not be permitted to see the list.
According to the company website, Jinhui has long-term working relationships with the ministry of public security and the People's Liberation Army's Information Engineering University.
The other collaborator on the project, Beijing Dazheng Human Language Technology Academy, works with the Armoured Engineering Institute of the People's Liberation Army.
China periodically launches campaigns against online porn. In the latest drive more than 1,900 websites have been shut down and search engines, such as Google and Baidu, have been castigated for failing to self-regulate. Rights groups say the same techniques, along with cruder methods, are used to stifle websites that embarrass, irritate or threaten the government.
Last week the authorities blocked Twitter and Hotmail in the run-up to the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown.
Four Real IRA leaders found liable for Omagh bombing
Four leaders of the Real IRA have been found liable for the 1998 Omagh bombing in a landmark civil case brought by the families of those killed.
The judge awarded more than £1.6m in damages to 12 relatives who pursued the case after criminal prosecutions failed.
The men found liable – Michael McKevitt, regarded as the founder of the Real IRA, Liam Campbell, Seamus Daly and Colm Murphy – were named in court as leaders of the Real IRA. A fifth man, Seamus McKenna, was cleared of any involvement.
Henry McDonald on the civil case against leaders of the Real IRA Link to this audio The Northern Ireland lord chief justice, Declan Morgan, said in his ruling that there was "overwhelming evidence" the four were connected to the explosion. He recommended that the 12 families who brought the case receive compensation ranging from £60,000 to £100,000 each. The awards will have to be pursued by the seizure of assets belonging to the four men.
Victor Barker, whose 12-year-old son James was killed, welcomed the ruling. "I am absolutely delighted that at long last we have got some justice for the Omagh families," he said. "After this judgment, now is the time for the entire republican community throughout Ireland to treat these people [the Real IRA] as pariahs."
One of those found liable today, Colm Murphy, had been found guilty in Dublin's special criminal court of conspiring to cause the Omagh bomb, but his conviction was later quashed.
The only man to face criminal charges, Sean Hoey, from Jonesborough, South Armagh, was acquitted in December 2007.
The bombing in August 1998 was the single biggest atrocity of the Northern Ireland Troubles. Twenty-nine people were killed in Omagh, a County Tyrone market town, including a woman pregnant with twins, as well as children from Northern Ireland, England and Spain.
The Omagh civil action became the first case to be heard on both sides of the Irish border after gardaí – the police of the Irish Republic – were granted special permission to give evidence about the bomb plot and the Real IRA.
Stanley McCombe, whose wife died in Omagh, said the legal fight would continue. "It is a result we hoped for but didn't expect. We didn't build our hopes up because we've been let down so many times before.
"It was never about money. We can stand and say that these guys are responsible for Omagh, that's what we wanted."
He said relatives were still demanding a public inquiry. "We have to carry on fighting for that. There is nobody doing time for 29 murders and we have to have a public inquiry to see where things went wrong."
The judge awarded more than £1.6m in damages to 12 relatives who pursued the case after criminal prosecutions failed.
The men found liable – Michael McKevitt, regarded as the founder of the Real IRA, Liam Campbell, Seamus Daly and Colm Murphy – were named in court as leaders of the Real IRA. A fifth man, Seamus McKenna, was cleared of any involvement.
Henry McDonald on the civil case against leaders of the Real IRA Link to this audio The Northern Ireland lord chief justice, Declan Morgan, said in his ruling that there was "overwhelming evidence" the four were connected to the explosion. He recommended that the 12 families who brought the case receive compensation ranging from £60,000 to £100,000 each. The awards will have to be pursued by the seizure of assets belonging to the four men.
Victor Barker, whose 12-year-old son James was killed, welcomed the ruling. "I am absolutely delighted that at long last we have got some justice for the Omagh families," he said. "After this judgment, now is the time for the entire republican community throughout Ireland to treat these people [the Real IRA] as pariahs."
One of those found liable today, Colm Murphy, had been found guilty in Dublin's special criminal court of conspiring to cause the Omagh bomb, but his conviction was later quashed.
The only man to face criminal charges, Sean Hoey, from Jonesborough, South Armagh, was acquitted in December 2007.
The bombing in August 1998 was the single biggest atrocity of the Northern Ireland Troubles. Twenty-nine people were killed in Omagh, a County Tyrone market town, including a woman pregnant with twins, as well as children from Northern Ireland, England and Spain.
The Omagh civil action became the first case to be heard on both sides of the Irish border after gardaí – the police of the Irish Republic – were granted special permission to give evidence about the bomb plot and the Real IRA.
Stanley McCombe, whose wife died in Omagh, said the legal fight would continue. "It is a result we hoped for but didn't expect. We didn't build our hopes up because we've been let down so many times before.
"It was never about money. We can stand and say that these guys are responsible for Omagh, that's what we wanted."
He said relatives were still demanding a public inquiry. "We have to carry on fighting for that. There is nobody doing time for 29 murders and we have to have a public inquiry to see where things went wrong."
UK's Brown wins support from Labour MPs
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown beat off a challenge to his authority on Monday, winning over Labour members of parliament after admitting mistakes and taking responsibility for a week of political turmoil.
Addressing Labour's 350 MPs a day after his party suffered a resounding defeat in European elections, Brown expressed contrition but said he was determined to fight on as leader after one of the most difficult weeks of his premiership.
"I know I need to improve," Brown told the MPs, according to a spokesman. "I have my strengths and I have my weaknesses. There are some things I can do well, some not so well.
"You solve the problem not by walking away but by facing it and doing something about it," he said, earning cheers and applause from the majority in the room, according to witnesses.
Several senior Labour members, including Charles Clarke, a former interior minister, called for Brown to step down. However, most threw their weight behind him ahead of a general election due within a year which the opposition center-right Conservatives are tipped to win.
The head of Labour's parliamentary group, Tony Lloyd, said he now saw little chance of Brown being ousted from office.
"I do not believe there will be any challenge to Gordon Brown within our party," he told Sky News.
Brown critics at the meeting said the prime minister had been "put on probation," suggesting there would be no immediate further challenge to his leadership.
EX-MINISTER CALLS FOR BROWN TO GO
Minutes later, a former Labour cabinet minister called for Brown to go.
"Now is the time for Gordon Brown to stand down as Labour leader and as prime minister," Stephen Byers, an ally of former Prime Minister Tony Blair, told a meeting of Labour activists.
Brown, in power since 2007 when he took over from Blair in mid-term, has been under pressure since a parliamentary expenses scandal caused popular disillusion with politics and, particularly, the party that has been in power for 12 years.
The unrest prompted six senior ministers to resign last week. Brown reshuffled his cabinet but Sunday's European election results -- giving Labour its smallest share of a national vote in 100 years -- dealt a new blow to his authority.
An opinion poll in Tuesday's Independent newspaper may give ammunition to those wanting a new leader.
The ComRes survey found that the Conservatives would win a big parliamentary majority if Brown leads Labour into the next election. However, if interior minister Alan Johnson replaced Brown, the Conservatives would fall six seats short of an overall majority. Johnson has pledged allegiance to Brown. Investors have been unsettled by talk of a leadership battle at a time of economic turmoil and soaring government borrowing.
The pound hit a near two-week low against the dollar on Monday after the election results raised the possibility of a Labour leadership challenge. Sterling later erased its losses.
"The election results put more pressure on Brown," said Paul Robinson, chief sterling strategist at Barclays in London.
"We don't know who will be prime minister in a month's time ... We don't know if he's going to stay, which is an uncomfortable position for an economy to be in," he said.
The collapse in the Labour vote in the European Parliament election, which followed a dismal showing in local government elections last week, helped the far-right British National Party (BNP) win its first two seats in the assembly.
Labour won 15.7 percent of the European vote, behind the anti-EU UK Independence Party with 16.5 percent and the Conservatives with 27.7 percent. Labour's vote was about seven points down from the 2004 European election.
NO VISION
Finance minister Alistair Darling was quoted as saying Labour's failure to articulate a vision was to blame for the BNP's success. "People felt disillusioned with us and didn't vote for us. That's our fault. We should be able to inspire confidence," he told The Guardian newspaper.
Culture Secretary Ben Bradshaw appealed for a halt to the leadership speculation, saying Labour would not win a fourth term in government unless it ended. He urged anyone who wanted to challenge Brown to "stand up and declare themselves."
Although considered a sharp politician, Brown frequently appears dour and unable to connect with voters.
One junior minister who resigned accused him of treating her as "window dressing," while another who quit on Monday said she was tired of "threats and intimidation."
A change of leader would almost certainly precipitate an early election this year which Labour is in no shape to fight.
Brown and his leadership circle believe their best chance of winning an election rests on a strong economic turnaround.
There have been some signs that Britain may be starting to emerge from recession faster than forecast, but Bank of England policymakers have said the recovery may be slow.
Addressing Labour's 350 MPs a day after his party suffered a resounding defeat in European elections, Brown expressed contrition but said he was determined to fight on as leader after one of the most difficult weeks of his premiership.
"I know I need to improve," Brown told the MPs, according to a spokesman. "I have my strengths and I have my weaknesses. There are some things I can do well, some not so well.
"You solve the problem not by walking away but by facing it and doing something about it," he said, earning cheers and applause from the majority in the room, according to witnesses.
Several senior Labour members, including Charles Clarke, a former interior minister, called for Brown to step down. However, most threw their weight behind him ahead of a general election due within a year which the opposition center-right Conservatives are tipped to win.
The head of Labour's parliamentary group, Tony Lloyd, said he now saw little chance of Brown being ousted from office.
"I do not believe there will be any challenge to Gordon Brown within our party," he told Sky News.
Brown critics at the meeting said the prime minister had been "put on probation," suggesting there would be no immediate further challenge to his leadership.
EX-MINISTER CALLS FOR BROWN TO GO
Minutes later, a former Labour cabinet minister called for Brown to go.
"Now is the time for Gordon Brown to stand down as Labour leader and as prime minister," Stephen Byers, an ally of former Prime Minister Tony Blair, told a meeting of Labour activists.
Brown, in power since 2007 when he took over from Blair in mid-term, has been under pressure since a parliamentary expenses scandal caused popular disillusion with politics and, particularly, the party that has been in power for 12 years.
The unrest prompted six senior ministers to resign last week. Brown reshuffled his cabinet but Sunday's European election results -- giving Labour its smallest share of a national vote in 100 years -- dealt a new blow to his authority.
An opinion poll in Tuesday's Independent newspaper may give ammunition to those wanting a new leader.
The ComRes survey found that the Conservatives would win a big parliamentary majority if Brown leads Labour into the next election. However, if interior minister Alan Johnson replaced Brown, the Conservatives would fall six seats short of an overall majority. Johnson has pledged allegiance to Brown. Investors have been unsettled by talk of a leadership battle at a time of economic turmoil and soaring government borrowing.
The pound hit a near two-week low against the dollar on Monday after the election results raised the possibility of a Labour leadership challenge. Sterling later erased its losses.
"The election results put more pressure on Brown," said Paul Robinson, chief sterling strategist at Barclays in London.
"We don't know who will be prime minister in a month's time ... We don't know if he's going to stay, which is an uncomfortable position for an economy to be in," he said.
The collapse in the Labour vote in the European Parliament election, which followed a dismal showing in local government elections last week, helped the far-right British National Party (BNP) win its first two seats in the assembly.
Labour won 15.7 percent of the European vote, behind the anti-EU UK Independence Party with 16.5 percent and the Conservatives with 27.7 percent. Labour's vote was about seven points down from the 2004 European election.
NO VISION
Finance minister Alistair Darling was quoted as saying Labour's failure to articulate a vision was to blame for the BNP's success. "People felt disillusioned with us and didn't vote for us. That's our fault. We should be able to inspire confidence," he told The Guardian newspaper.
Culture Secretary Ben Bradshaw appealed for a halt to the leadership speculation, saying Labour would not win a fourth term in government unless it ended. He urged anyone who wanted to challenge Brown to "stand up and declare themselves."
Although considered a sharp politician, Brown frequently appears dour and unable to connect with voters.
One junior minister who resigned accused him of treating her as "window dressing," while another who quit on Monday said she was tired of "threats and intimidation."
A change of leader would almost certainly precipitate an early election this year which Labour is in no shape to fight.
Brown and his leadership circle believe their best chance of winning an election rests on a strong economic turnaround.
There have been some signs that Britain may be starting to emerge from recession faster than forecast, but Bank of England policymakers have said the recovery may be slow.
NY sees clean energy creating up to 50,000 jobs
New York could create as many as 50,000 jobs by converting 45 percent of its electricity needs to renewable energy sources by 2015, Governor David Paterson said on Monday as he unveiled plans to reduce the state's reliance on Wall Street.
Paterson proposed modernizing the electricity grid, making broadband technology available throughout the state and investing $600 million into stem cell research over 10 years.
New York ranks behind only California in stem cell research, thanks to $118 million of investments in the past three years or so, Paterson said in a speech to the New York Academy of Science.
The stem cell fund would have to win the legislature's approval before it adjourns in about two weeks, as would some of other initiatives, said Paterson. These include reform of Empire Zone tax credits, which critics say failed to create jobs.
Developing new batteries needed for solar and wind energy was one of Paterson's major thrusts.
"Whoever learns to store energy in this country first will replenish their economy for years to come," he said.
Paterson also announced a matching grant program that will add 10 percent to every stimulus dollar that state research centers get from the federal government.
Such grant-sweeteners have already won the state over 50 percent of federal grants for advanced batteries, he said.
New York's economy, which has relied on the financial sector to pay a fifth of its taxes, has been hurt by losses on Wall Street. New York City is also home to top teaching hospitals and state universities that Paterson hopes will join with industry via a task force.
A number of states, including New Jersey and Texas, are vying to lead stem cell research, and others are also focusing on green energy.
Though Paterson said energy is "probably the greatest job creator," he also stressed improving education, saying that once the economy revives, he will finish major investments begun a few years ago and increase college loans.
Nanotechnology and agriculture were other promising fields, he said.
Noting New York led the nation with canals, steamships, light bulbs, radio and television broadcasts and power lines, the governor called on state agencies to develop "smart grid programs," saying the current transmission system was so outdated that inventor Thomas Alva Edison would see few changes.
He urged the Public Service Commission to release $100 million by summer's end for "shovel-ready" renewable projects.
Paterson proposed modernizing the electricity grid, making broadband technology available throughout the state and investing $600 million into stem cell research over 10 years.
New York ranks behind only California in stem cell research, thanks to $118 million of investments in the past three years or so, Paterson said in a speech to the New York Academy of Science.
The stem cell fund would have to win the legislature's approval before it adjourns in about two weeks, as would some of other initiatives, said Paterson. These include reform of Empire Zone tax credits, which critics say failed to create jobs.
Developing new batteries needed for solar and wind energy was one of Paterson's major thrusts.
"Whoever learns to store energy in this country first will replenish their economy for years to come," he said.
Paterson also announced a matching grant program that will add 10 percent to every stimulus dollar that state research centers get from the federal government.
Such grant-sweeteners have already won the state over 50 percent of federal grants for advanced batteries, he said.
New York's economy, which has relied on the financial sector to pay a fifth of its taxes, has been hurt by losses on Wall Street. New York City is also home to top teaching hospitals and state universities that Paterson hopes will join with industry via a task force.
A number of states, including New Jersey and Texas, are vying to lead stem cell research, and others are also focusing on green energy.
Though Paterson said energy is "probably the greatest job creator," he also stressed improving education, saying that once the economy revives, he will finish major investments begun a few years ago and increase college loans.
Nanotechnology and agriculture were other promising fields, he said.
Noting New York led the nation with canals, steamships, light bulbs, radio and television broadcasts and power lines, the governor called on state agencies to develop "smart grid programs," saying the current transmission system was so outdated that inventor Thomas Alva Edison would see few changes.
He urged the Public Service Commission to release $100 million by summer's end for "shovel-ready" renewable projects.
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