Feds to remove temporary cap from Gulf well AP

NEW ORLEANS The federal government said it will start work Monday to remove the temporary cap that stopped oil from gushing out of BPs blown-out Gulf well so that engineers can raise a key piece of equipment from the seabed.

Retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, the governments point man for the spill response, told reporters Friday that engineers must remove the cap so they can raise the failed blowout preventer. The blowout preventer is considered a key piece of evidence in determining what caused the April rig explosion that unleashed the gushing oil.

The leak was first contained when engineers were able to place a cap atop the well. Workers then pumped mud and cement in through the top in a so-called "static kill" operation that significantly reduced pressure inside the well. Officials dont expect oil to leak into the sea again when the cap is removed, but Allen has ordered BP to be ready to collect any leaking crude just in case.

The Department of Justice and other federal investigators are overseeing the work to remove the blowout preventer, Allen said. The device � which was designed to prevent such a catastrophe � will be taken out of the water with the well pipe still inside to ensure the pipe doesnt break apart any more than it already has.

Keeping the blowout preventer intact is important because its considered an essential piece of evidence in determining what caused the blast aboard the Deepwater Horizon on April 20. After the blast, 206 million gallons of oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico until the temporary cap stopped the flow.

The goal is to drill the final 50 feet of a relief well beginning Sept. 7, Allen said. From there, it will take about four days for drilling crews to reach their target. The relief well has been called the ultimate solution to plugging the well.

Once the relief well is drilled, engineers will be able to pump mud and cement in through the bottom of the well, plugging it once and for all.

Meanwhile, the U.S. government said Friday that it is reopening more federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico for commercial and recreational fishing that had been closed because of the spill. The government is reopening 4,281 square miles of waters off the coast of western Louisiana.

Oil sheen has not been seen there since July 29, and scientists found no oil or dispersants on samples of the areas shrimp and finfish.

Twenty percent of federal waters in the Gulf remain closed.

"Were sort of nibbling at the edges if you will, areas that have been free of oil for the longest time and were oiled the least," Lubchenco said.

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Scientists: Weve cracked wheats genetic code AP

LONDON British scientists have decoded the genetic sequence of wheat � one of the worlds oldest and most important crops � a development they hope could help the global staple meet the challenges of climate change, disease and population growth.

Wheat is grown across more of the worlds farmland than any other cereal, and researchers said Friday theyre posting its genetic code to the Internet in the hope that farmers can use it as a tool to improve their harvests. One academic in the field called the discovery "a landmark."

"The wheat genome is the holy grail of plant genomes," said Nick Talbot, a professor of biosciences at the University of Exeter who wasnt involved in the research. "Its going to really revolutionize how we breed it."

University of Liverpool scientist Neil Hall, whose team cracked the code, said the information could eventually help farmers better identify genetic variations responsible for disease resistance, drought tolerance and yield. Although the genetic sequence remains a rough draft, and additional strains of wheat need to be analyzed for the work to be truly useful, Hall predicted it wouldnt take long for his work to make an impact in the field.

"Hopefully the benefit of this work will come through in the next five years," he said.

Among the potential benefits of tougher strains of wheat: Lower prices for bread and greater food security for the worlds poor.

Wheat is a relative latecomer to the world of DNA mapping. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the date the human genome was laid bare. Other crops have had their genetic codes unscrambled within the past few years � rice in 2005, corn in 2009, and soybeans earlier this year.

The reason for the delay in analyzing wheats genetic code, Hall said, was that the code is massive � far larger than corn or rice and five times the length of the one carried by humans. One reason for the outsize genome is that strains such as the Chinese spring wheat analyzed by Halls team carry six copies of the same gene most creatures carry two. Another is that wheat has a tangled ancestry, tracing its descent from three different species of wild grass.

But sequencing techniques have improved dramatically over the past decade, and scientists were able to draw up their draft of the code in about a year.

Although the code may yet see use by genetic engineers hoping to craft artificial strains of wheat, Hall was at pains to stress the conventional applications of his work. Until now, breeders seeking to combine the best traits of two strains of wheat would cross pollinate the pair, grow the hybrid crop and hope for the best.

Although the process has been used by farmers since wheat was first cultivated 10,000 years ago, Talbot described it as laborious and inefficient.

"Very often we were talking about 10-15 years of intensive breeding programs," he said. "Were talking now about doing things in less than five."

Talbot noted that rice cultivation had already benefited from the publication of its genetic code � and led to the development of vitamin-enriched and drought-resistant strains. He said that his own field of specialty, the study of the destructive rice blast fungus, had been revolutionized as a result of having the genome sequence.

The cracking of wheats code comes at a time when prices have shot up in the wake of crop failures in Russia, highlighting how the vagaries of world food production can hit import-dependent countries such as Egypt.

Concerns over climate change, water shortages and population growth have loomed in the background for years. New risks include a mutant form of stem rust. The reddish, wind-borne fungus � known to scientists as Ug99 � has devastated wheat crops in places such as Kenya, where up to 80 percent of the wheat in afflicted farmers fields have been ruined.

Alexander Evans, an expert in resource scarcity issues at New York University, welcomed the announcement as something that would "very helpful" in getting farmers to grow "food that will meet those challenges."

But, as one British paper hailed the announcement as the most significant breakthrough in wheat farming for 10,000 years, Evans warned against putting too much faith in genetics, saying that reforming the politics and economics of food distribution was easily as important.

"We have to be very careful about saying that science will feed the world," he said.

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Rains trigger landslide in Turkey, 12 killed AP

ANKARA, Turkey Landslides and floods triggered by torrential rains swept through a town in northern Turkey, killing at least 12 people, officials said Friday.

The landslide hit dozens of homes in Gundogdu, in the tea-growing Black Sea province of Rize. The region has become prone to landslides because of deforestation to clear way for plantations.

The rains began late Thursday, as many people were breaking their dawn-to-dusk fasts for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, according to the Anatolia news agency.

The Interior Ministry said 11 people were killed and two were reported missing. Rescuers later pulled out the body of an elderly woman, the Anatolia news agency reported, raising the death toll to 12.

Private NTV television said dozens of homes collapsed and cars were buried in mud. Several roads, including a major Black Sea coastal highway, were shut down.

One survivor, Burak Akat, said his family was dining when a loud sound was heard.

"We realized that the house was going to collapse. It did before I could say, Run its going to collapse" Anatolia quoted Akat as saying. "I managed to throw myself out but my mother-in-law and my brother could not escape. They were buried in the landslide."

At least seven people with injuries were rescued, said Rize Gov. Seyfullah Hacimuftuoglu.

Firefighters and other rescuers also evacuated scores of people who were stranded in homes, he said.

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Canadian cattle enjoy red wine with their feed AP

VANCOUVER, British Columbia Western Canadian beef producers have found a novel way of putting the "bar" in barbecue.

Angus cattle in British Columbias Okanagan wine and cattle region are being fed red wine with their grain. Chefs in this Canadian Pacific Coast province said it makes for a unique beef taste, but Canadian food inspectors appear to have doubts.

The idea is the brainchild of Janice Ravndahl of Kelowna, British Columbias Sezmu Meats. Ravndahl said the beef produced has an enhanced flavor, the marbling is finer and the fat tastes like candy.

"You dont get any better than steak and a wine," she said. "We just start a bit earlier."

But Canadian government food inspectors apparently had a problem with giving wine to cattle. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency called Ravndahl recently and questioned her about sediment in the wine, but they didnt order her to stop.

"They said they had some concerns about wine being fed to cattle. We are not being shut down. We are being allowed to sell the product," she said. "I am trying to work with them at getting it officially approved."

Canadian Food Inspection Agency spokesman Tim OConnor later said they investigated the case and concluded there is no risk to human safety. He said concerns were about animals being fed winery waste byproducts, such as dead yeast or residual yeast as a feed supplement.

The idea of giving wine to cattle came to Ravndahl late last year during a TV food program that featured beer-swilling pigs. As the Okanagan is one of Canadas premier wine regions, getting local beef on the bottle seemed like a good plan.

Ravndahl said she started with one young cow who took to the bottle immediately, quickly earning the epithet "Wino."

It definitely changes their personalities. They moo a lot more with each other. They get really chatty," she said.

Trying to find the optimal time to serve the cows their wine course was vital to getting the best beef. Theyve determined 60 days produces a great taste in the beef.

"At 90 days, the costs get a little out of control," she said.

The first bovine wine tasting was in April 2009 with the 21-day dry-aged beef first hitting the market in February 2010.

"We just put it in a pail and said Whos going to drink it?" she said. "Wine has a very strong aroma. They were curious about it right away."

The cattle get a liter-blend of red wines daily but their preference is for sweeter vintages, she said.

Ravndahl said the wine appears to make the steers more docile, which enhances the texture of the meat.

"Cattle that are relaxed taste better," she said. "You dont want tense beef."

John Church, a cattle researcher at Thompson Rivers University in British Columbia, said the wine does not appear to have any negative effects on the health of the cows.

University of Missouri cattle nutrition professor Justin Sextena agreed. He said the long-standing use of brewing industry byproducts containing residual alcohol does not appear to have harmed cattle.

"From a feeding standpoint, these products seem to work well in cattle diets," he said.

Peter Van Soest, a Cornell University emeritus professor of animal science, said he thinks a little wine could be beneficial to the cattle. The alcohol is easily metabolized by cows livers, he said.

"The animal could get a little happy on it," he said.

He said a liter of wine would make a man tipsy but would have little effect for a 500-pound cow.

"A liter in that size animal is not very much," he said chuckling.

Canadian chefs whove tried the beef think its a great idea.

Quails Gate Winery of Kelowna, British Columbia, was among the first to put the beef on its menu. Chef Roger Sleiman uses the beef in a tenderloin carpaccio served with a touch of truffle, arugula, and Reggiano cheese.

With the beef served raw in the carpaccio, he said, its the flavors in the fats that come through.

"Weve had great reviews from our customers. At first I thought it was a gimmick," he said. "It costs a bit more but we think its worth it."

And diners think the whole thing is a bit of a novelty.

"Drunk cows," Sleiman said laughing.

Sleiman said a pinot noir complements the dish.

This version CORRECTS Corrects spelling of "carpaccio" in paragraph 27. This story is part of APs general news and financial services. For global distribution.

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Homemade bombs kill 3 US troops in Afghanistan AP

KABUL, Afghanistan Homemade bombs killed three U.S. troops in southern and eastern Afghanistan on Friday, and a roadside blast tore through a crowded market in the increasingly volatile north, killing three police and two civilians.

No other details about the attacks on the U.S. troops were given by NATO and the identities of those killed were not immediately released.

A total of 55 foreign troops have been killed in Afghanistan this month, including 35 Americans, according to a count by The Associated Press. July was the deadliest month for U.S. forces in Afghanistan since the 2001 invasion, with 66 killed.

U.S. troops make up about 100,000 of the 120,000-strong foreign military contingent in Afghanistan, most in the south and east where the Taliban is most deeply entrenched.

Meanwhile, a police official said three Afghan policemen and two civilians were killed and 15 civilians wounded in Thursday evenings bombing in Kunduz provinces Archi town. The blast went off as residents shopped for food in anticipation of the breaking of the dawn-to-dusk fast observed during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but deputy provincial police chief Abdul Rahman Aqtash said civilians appeared to be the target.

"This was a cruel act of the enemy. There was nothing to link these people to the coalition or to politics," Aqtash said.

Kunduz, about 150 miles 240 kilometers north of the Afghan capital, Kabul, has not traditionally been a Taliban stronghold. However, insurgents have steadily built their presence there since 2007, mostly among ethnic Pashtuns who are a minority in the area. Attacks on a key coalition supply line running south from Tajikistan are a constant menace, along with ambushes of German forces who help provide security.

In establishing a northern foothold, Afghan authorities believe the Taliban use veterans from southern battlefields to help organize local groups, sometimes with help from the al-Qaida-linked Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, which provides recruits from among the Uzbek minority.

"The situation is very bad and dangerous in Kunduz but unfortunately the security officials keep saying things are all right," Mabubullah Mabub, chairman of the Kunduz provincial council, told AP Thursday. "Over the last two years, the situation has been getting worse."

Farther east in Badakhshan province, Afghan army commandos aided by U.S. special forces discovered a major weapons cache in the remote village of Nawci on Wednesday, NATO reported. It said weapons found included 78 rockets with launchers, 47 mortar rounds, more than 9,000 rounds of ammunition, and 24 rocket-propelled grenades. All were destroyed.

The town is believed to be a safe haven for Taliban fighters and drug smugglers, as well as a conduit for foreign fighters arriving from neighboring Pakistan, NATO said.

Meanwhile, Afghan, French and U.S. troops wrapped up a weeklong offensive against insurgents in the Uzbeen valley northeast of Kabul, NATO said. Backed by air power, the combined force killed about 40 Taliban fighters and captured several key Taliban operatives, it said.

Another three insurgents were killed and three detained in eastern Paktiya province by Afghan and coalition forces pursuing a Taliban sub-commander � part of an expanding number of operations targeting the insurgents leadership.

While the Taliban sub-commander was not captured, the coalition claimed to have nabbed two key operatives with the Haqqani network, an Islamist militant group with deep links to al-Qaida. NATO also said its forces in Kunduz were chasing a militant affiliated with a number of groups including al-Qaida, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan and the Taliban.

NATO said the militant was recently forced to leave a safe haven in Pakistan and moved across the border accompanied by several al-Qaida members.

Afghanistan routinely complains that Pakistan hasnt done enough to drive out extremists and President Hamid Karzai on Thursday told a visiting U.S. Congressional delegation the fight against terrorism cannot succeed as long as the Taliban and their allies maintain sanctuaries in Pakistan.

A statement by Karzais office said the Afghan leader told the U.S. delegation that significant progress had been made in rebuilding the country after decades of war. But he said the campaign against the Taliban and al-Qaida had faltered because of ongoing civilian casualties during NATO military operations and a lack of focus on "destroying the terrorists refuge" across the border.

Karzai also said President Barack Obamas announcement that he would begin withdrawing U.S. forces from Afghanistan in July 2011 has given "the enemy a morale boost" because they believe they can simply hold out until the Americans leave.

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Associated Press writer Amir Shah contributed to this report.

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Fake iTunes reviews row settled

27 August 2010 Last updated at 06:57 ET

The US Federal Trade Commission FTC has ruled against a marketing firm that posted favourable reviews of its clients gaming applications on iTunes.

Reverb Communications employees posed as ordinary reviewers in a ploy that the FTC called "deceptive advertising".

The firm must now remove all of the reviews posted by its employees.

The ruling is the first under new FTC guidelines, introduced last year, that cover bloggers and celebrity endorsements as well as online reviews.

Those guidelines were the first change to the FTCs views on testimonials in nearly 30 years.

The update was necessary to bring advertising standards into the digital age, as the practice of posting false reviews - or "astroturfing" - remains largely unpoliced on the web.

Almost exactly a year ago, while the FTC was still developing its revised guidelines, Reverb Communications was widely rumoured to be engaging in astroturfing.

The FTCs ruling cites a period stretching between November 2008 and May 2009, during which employees posted reviews with praise such as "amazing new game," "one of the best" and "one of the best apps just got better".

Mary Engle, director of the FTCs Division of Advertising Practices, said: "Companies, including public relations firms involved in online marketing need to abide by long-held principles of truth in advertising.

"Advertisers should not pass themselves off as ordinary consumers touting a product, and endorsers should make it clear when they have financial connections to sellers."

In a statement reported by the New York Times, Reverb executive Tracie Snitker said that negotiations with the FTC had reached an impasse.

"Rather than continuing to spend time and money arguing, and laying off employees to fight what we believed was a frivolous matter, we settled this case and ended the discussion," she said.

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Anti-Facebook eyes launch date

27 August 2010 Last updated at 06:38 ET

An open alternative to Facebook will be launched on 15 September, the developers of the project have said.

Diaspora describes itself as a "privacy-aware, personally-controlled" social network.

The open-source project made headlines earlier this year when Facebook was forced to simplify its privacy settings, after they were criticised for being overly complex and confusing.

The project, developed by four US students, raised $200,000 �140,000.

"We have Diaspora working, we like it, and it will be open-sourced on September 15th," the team wrote on their blog.

The team said they had spent the summer "building clear, contextual sharing".

"That means an intuitive way for users to decide, and not notice deciding, what content goes to their co-workers and what goes to their drinking buddies. We know thats a hard [user interface] problem and we take it seriously."

The project was started by three computer scientists and one mathematician from New York.

Their idea of building it gained momentum earlier this year during an intense period of criticism of Facebook, the worlds largest social network

"We want to put users back in control of what they share," Max Salzberg, one of the founders, told BBC News at the time.

The team turned to the fundraising site Kickstarter to raise the $10,000 they thought they would need to build the network.

In the end the team raised $200,642 from nearly 6,500 people.

Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, reportedly donated to the project.

The initial release on 15 September will be to "open-source" Diaspora, meaning that the team will make the underlying code available for anyone to see and modify.

Many believe that it will be difficult to challenge Facebook, which now has 500 million users and is currently estimated to be worth $33bn.

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Unmanned helicopter in development

By Dan Cairns
Newsbeat reporter

An unmanned helicopter designed to lift supplies and equipment to troops in Afghanistan is being developed for the US military.

The Kaman K-MAX helicopter has been adapted by defence company Lockheed Martin to fly without a pilot and can carry up to 6,000lbs of cargo - more than the aircrafts empty weight.

Transporting equipment to troops at Forward Operating Bases on the frontline would be the K-MAXs primary use.

It would help reduce the need for large vehicle convoys lowering the risk of soldiers being ambushed or injured by IEDs improvised explosive devices.

And it can be flown into under-fire areas without risk to aircrew.

Laptop controlled

A ground-based operator using a laptop is able to control the aircraft. They can input a flight plan detailing the destination and route.

The unmanned K-MAX during parachute airdrop tests in April 2010

It can also be flown hands-on from the cockpit if necessary and uses counter-rotating intermeshing rotor blades to generate its lifting power.

The adapted K-MAX can winch four different loads on its cargo hook and each can be programmed to release at different times. Its maximum airspeed with an external load is 80 knots 92mph.

It can also fly in weather conditions that would ground other helicopters and could also be used to lighten the workload of aircrew ensuring they get enough rest.

The helicopter is being developed for the US Armys Autonomous Technologies for Unmanned Air Systems ATUAS programme.

However the US Marine Corps could make use of the aircraft.

In Lockheed Martins contract to develop the helicopter the US military describes the project as having an "indefinite delivery" of an "indefinite quantity", so a precise deployment date is currently unknown.

But if testing goes to plan its thought it could be sent to Afghanistan for assessment sometime towards the end of 2011.

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Baby tiger found stuffed in bag at Thai airport AP

BANGKOK Authorities at Bangkoks international airport found a baby tiger cub that had been drugged and hidden among stuffed toy tigers in the suitcase of a woman flying from Thailand to Iran, an official and a wildlife protection group said Friday.

The woman, a Thai national, had checked in for her flight and her oversized bag was sent for an X-ray which showed what appeared to be a live animal inside, according to TRAFFIC, a wildlife trade monitoring group.

The woman was arrested at Suvarnabhumi Airport before boarding her Sunday flight. The cub, estimated to be about 3 months old, was sent to a wildlife conservation center in Bangkok.

"The cub arrived at our unit Monday," said Chaiyaporn Chareesaeng, head of the Wildlife Health Unit at the Department of National Parks Wildlife and Plant Conservation Center, where the animal was put under close supervision.

"He appeared exhausted, dehydrated and couldnt walk, so we had to give him oxygen, water and lactation," said Chaiyaporn. "We have monitored him closely. As of today, he looks better and can walk a little now."

A DNA test was expected to provide details about its origin, said Chaiyaporn.

The woman, identified as Piyawan Palasarn, 31, faces up to four years in prison and a 40,000 baht $1,300 fine for two wildlife smuggling related charges, police said.

She denied the luggage with the cub in belonged to her and said another passenger had asked her to carry it for them, said Adisorn Noochdumrong, head of an international wildlife division at the conservation center.

The cub could have fetched about 100,000 baht $3,200 on the black market in Iran, where it is popular to have exotic pets, Adisorn said. He said he did not know what the woman allegedly intended to do with this particular cub.

Wildlife experts say the number of tigers in Asia have plummeted over the years due mainly to habitat loss and poachers who sell their skins and body parts to booming medicinal and souvenir markets, mostly in China.

Conservationists say the government needs to do more to eliminate trafficking networks that operate out of the country.

"We applaud all agencies that came together to uncover this brazen smuggling attempt," Chris R. Shepherd, TRAFFICs deputy regional director for Southeast Asia, said in a statement.

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Kenya gets new American-style constitution AP

NAIROBI, Kenya Kenyas president signed a new constitution into law Friday that institutes a U.S.-style system of checks and balances and has been hailed as the most significant political event since Kenyas independence nearly a half century ago.

Joining African leaders at the festivities was Sudans president who faces charges of genocide and crimes against humanity in connection with violence in Darfur, where U.N. officials estimate 300,000 people have died.

It is only the second time that Omar al-Bashir has risked arrest by traveling to a member state of the International Criminal Court since he was first charged in 2009. The ICC has no police force and depends on member states to enforce its orders.

Human rights groups had urged the Kenyan government to bar al-Bashir from the festivities but Kenyas foreign minister defended al-Bashirs presence.

"He is a head of state of a friendly neighbor state," Foreign Affairs Minister Moses Wetangula said. "We invited all our neighbors and they honored the invitation."

Kenyas new constitution is part of a reform package that leaders there committed themselves to after signing a power-sharing deal in February 2008. That deal ended violence that killed more than 1,000 people following Kenyas disputed December 2007 presidential vote.

"Whether Kenya allows a suspected war criminal into Kenya is a test of the governments commitment to a new chapter in ensuring justice for atrocities," said Elise Keppler, senior counsel in the International Justice Program at Human Rights Watch. "The Kenyan government should stand with victims, not those accused of horrible crimes, by barring al-Bashir from Kenya or arresting him."

Fridays event comes after an overwhelming majority of Kenyan voters adopted the new constitution in an Aug. 4 referendum. President Mwai Kibakis signature formally marks the end of a decades-long struggle to cut down the massive powers of the presidency.

The government and parliament now must implement the ambitious document, a process expected to take up to five years. The document requires, among other things, the formation of a Supreme Court and a Senate. It also demands that the countrys judiciary be vetted to rid it of corrupt or incompetent judges and that parliament pass 49 new laws.

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Associated Press writer Tom Odula contributed to this report.

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