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Rescuers find remains of West Virginia miners The remains of two missing Melville, West Virginia coal miners have been found. They are said to have been found in the area of the mine where firefighters have been battling a blaze for 40 hours. Kosovo president Ibrahim Rugova dies Kosova President Ibrahim Rugova, the leader for many years of Kosova in the most difficult process and struggle for country’s independence, died Saturday. Kosovo President Ibrahim Rugova passed away in his home in Prishtina at 11:38, close to his family members.

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London whale dies A Northern Bottlenose whale died at approximately 19:00 GMT in London on Saturday despite rescue efforts.

Wikipedia Current Events
The Pittsburgh Steelers defeat the Denver Broncos in the NFL AFC Championship Game advancing to Super Bowl XL becoming the first 6th seed playoff team in NFL history to advance to the Super Bowl Evo Morales is inaugurated as President of Bolivia, becoming the country's first indigenous American president. Fears of sabotage ensue after explosions of two gas pipelines in Russia's North Ossetian Republic suspend gas supply to Georgia and Armenia.

Maoist, army overnight clashes leaves 20 dead in Nepal
The Nepali army has reported that six security forces and 17 Maoist rebels are now dead following an attack on Saturday night. Security forces have been detaining scores of protestors since fresh demonstrations began in Nepal's capital city of Kathmandu on Friday. Five opposition leaders are also reported to be under house arrest in a preemptive move to curb rallies. The government reports that nearly 200 people were taken into custody. The claim is disputed by the opposition which puts the number much higher.

Supporters of the opposition have called for a boycott of local elections claiming them to be undemocratic and that they would only entrench the king's rule. An alliance of seven parties is demanding that King Gyanendra give up the absolute power he seized last year.

William Shatner sells kidney stone
Star Trek star and actor William Shatner has sold his kidney stone for charity.

It has been announced that the actor sold his kidney stone to the online gambling website, GoldenPalace.com for $US25,000. The money will be donated to Habitat for Humanity, a Christian charity organization that builds houses for the poor.

"When I was contacted about selling my kidney stone to GoldenPalace.Com for an original price of $US15,000 I turned it down, knowing that my tunics from Star Trek have commanded more than $US100,000," Shatner said. He said that he countered by offering to sell the ring-sized stone for $US25,000.

Shatner refused selling the stone at an auction or on television. When Jimmy Kimmel interviewed Shatner, he offered to sell it on his show, an offer that Shatner also refused.

Burns engages India on civil nuclear energy pact
"India's position is unique, and there is a complexity and a difficulty to these talks" Nicholas Burns told reporters at the end of two days of discussions with the Indian Foreign Secretary, Shyam Saran. The vist by the US Undersecretary of State is the latest in a series of diplomatic missions since July of last year, when the two countries agreed to co-operate in civil nuclear energy projects. Saran described the talks as friendly and very intensive and said "We have shared with the United States our plans for a very significant expansion of our civilian nuclear energy capability over the next few years". The two also exchanged views on regional issues surrounding Iran, Nepal and Sri Lanka.

Saran and Burns head the Indo-US joint working group on civil nuclear energy cooperation. India is looking to nuclear energy as a solution for its growing energy requirements. The country is hoping that the discussions will lead to the lifting of restrictions on nuclear technology transfer imposed by the US since India's nuclear tests in 1998. The US has requested a number of safeguards in exchange. India has been asked to separate its military and civilian nuclear programmes, and allow the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to inspect its civilian reactors while continuing its moratorium on nuclear testing. If the deal goes through, the US would be making an exception in the case of India, which is not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). The two sides claimed that there is enough good will and trust to reach an agreement while admitting to have encountered difficulties that required more work.

President Bush with India's Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, during their meeting in the Oval Office in July

This is the US Undersecretary's second visit to New Delhi since October and part of an ongoing US engagement that has recently involved others including US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and US Senator John Kerry. Later this year, President Bush is expected to bestow a state visit to the country. The trip which is currently planned for the first week of March will only be the fifth such visit by a US President to India. Bill Clinton was the last president to visit India in March 2000.

The two countries announced a significant breakthrough in July of last year when the US agreed to help India with nuclear fuel for its Tarapur reactor. This was a huge policy change since India had been denied use of dual-use technology for almost three decades while it remained outside the NPT. The Bush administration defended the move by describing India as a responsible nuclear power and announced that it would work with the US Congress on passing the necessary legislation to achieve full nuclear energy cooperation with India.

The agreement has some members of the Congress concerned with opposition from both Democrats and Republicans. Critics believe the deal could harm efforts to curb the spread of nuclear weapons and potentially jeopardize the NPT. The agreement also hinges on the details surrounding the separation of India's military and civilian nuclear facilities. This may not be very easy as some of the country's nuclear research facilities are thought to contribute to both fields. US senator John Kerry has supported the deal "in principle" while saying that the fine print of the agreement would need to be studied when Congress votes on the issue. Kerry is a member of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee and met with the Indian Prime Minister and other senior officials earlier this month.

The US foreign policy towards India in the recent past shows a transformation recognizing it as an emerging global power and also an important player in regional geo-politics. Some believe that this is part of the longer term US effort to strengthen relations with Asian countries to counter the rise of China.

Recently, Iran's nuclear ambitions have been the cause for displeasure in Washington. US alleges that it is attempting to build nuclear weapons while Iran maintains that it wants the technology only for energy purposes. Ali Larijani, the chief Iranian negotiator with the IAEA complained of dual standards being set by the US and cited India as an example. Iran is bound by the NPT since it is a signatory to the treaty.

US Undersecretary Burns dismissed Larijani's remarks calling them outrageous and saying that it was not possible to compare India and Iran in the nuclear sphere. "[India] has never been a proliferator, and has been very responsible in safeguarding its nuclear technology. On the other hand, you have a government and a regime in Iran, which the IAEA says for 18 years conducted secret nuclear research without revealing it to the IAEA."

India which has had a long-standing close relationship with Iran has supported the initiative taken by the European-3 to find a solution to the issues related to Iranian nuclear program. Saran said that he would not like to see a confrontation developing in a region that is so close to India and recommended developing an international consensus. India which is looking to secure its natural gas supplies has signed a deal with Iran for a $7 billion gas pipeline project. This deal has been strongly opposed by the United States. Work is expected to commence in 2007 and the project will be owned and operated by a consortium from Iran, India and Pakistan as well as some international energy companies.

Australian Values to be taught in NSW schools
The New South Wales government will make it compulsory for schools to play Advance Australia Fair, Australia's national anthem before class this year.

Teachers at primary schools in NSW will also be required to introduce "Australian values" lessons from the beginning of this school year. The lessons are expected to teach children "what it means to be Australian" and include topics such as family values, community harmony, national heritage, national identity, cultural differences and Australian history.

The Three Rs will also be extended to five and include the topics of respect and responsibility. The NSW government claims that it needs to ensure people respect authority within the community.

Adults will not escape the government's plans to foster respect for authority with the government announcing it plans to create a new law enforcement package with new laws to make it easier for police to crack down on anti-social behaviour.

Fines and penalties for a range of offences such as damaging public property, including transport and housing, will also be reviewed.

Portugal to produce new Volkswagen model in 2008
Volkswagen announced the Palmela, Portugal factory - Autoeuropa - has been chosen to produce a new car model beginning the first quarter of 2008, but did not specify the model to be produced.

"The decision to produce a new model in Autoeuropa is the result of the competitive cost of production of the factory, well as the favorable conditions of the cooperation established by the Portuguese government and the workers," announced Wolfgang Bernhard.

José Sócrates, prime minister of Portugal, said he was "satisfied with the decision of Volkswagen to produce a new model in the factory of Palmela," and considered that the decision, "reflected the confidence [of the investors] in the portuguese economy."

Volkswagen will reveal the new model to be produced next week. By 2008 the factory at Palmela will be only producing the multi-purpose vehicle Sharan and the Eos models.

With the end of the production of the multi-purpose vehicle, the factory needs to garantee new product lines, since the new Eos is insufficient to maintain the current 2,790 workers.

The Volkswagen Autoeuropa produced a total of 79,896 vehicles last year, of the models Volkswagen Sharan, SEAT Alhambra, Ford Galaxy and Volkswagen Eos, against the 95,660 vehicles produced in 2004.

Kosovo president Ibrahim Rugova dies
Kosova President Ibrahim Rugova, the leader for many years of Kosova in the most difficult process and struggle for country’s independence, died Saturday.

Kosovo President Ibrahim Rugova passed away in his home in Prishtina at 11:38, close to his family members, his personal doctor, a US doctor, and his close staff. President Rugova suffered from lung cancer, diagnosed in end of August 2005. He fought his illness for months with an exceptional moral courage. The PM had called an urgent Cabinet session at 3 pm, sources say.

The death was a few days before the United Nations was to begin a Belgrade-Pristina discussions relating to the road to independance for the province. Rugova, 61, has no definite successor in his faction-ridden Democratic League of Kosovo or head of the Kosovo negotiating team, which he was expected to lead. Western diplomats are worried about a possible messy power struggle.

The Sorbonne-educated literature professor was the architect of the decade-old passive resistance since 1989, when former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic stripped the province of autonomy.

A statement issued by President Rugova’s Office said the public would be advised shortly concerning the details related to the events to honor the President.

Today in History
1579 - The Union of Utrecht was signed, unifying the provinces in northern Netherlands.

1719 - Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI created Liechtenstein, the only principality in the Holy Roman Empire still remaining today.

1960 - The bathyscaphe Trieste (badge pictured) reached the record depth of 10,916 m (35,813 feet) in Challenger Deep of the Mariana Trench.

1968 - USS Pueblo was seized by North Korean forces, who claimed that it had violated their territorial waters while spying.

1986 - Chuck Berry, James Brown, Ray Charles, Fats Domino, the Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Presley became the first inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Quote of the Day

"To minimize suffering and to maximize security were natural and proper ends of society and Caesar. But then they became the only ends, somehow, and the only basis of law — a perversion. Inevitably, then, in seeking only them, we found only their opposites: maximum suffering and minimum security." ~ Walter M. Miller, Jr.

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