Anger as rapist avoids deportation

The Tories and Liberal Democrats have called for an urgent explanation from the Government over how a convicted rapist facing deportation was allowed to stay in Britain to get married.
A senior judge pointed to apparent confusion in the Home Office when making his decision over the case of Alphonse Semo, a refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
On Monday he won a High Court battle to remain in the UK for his wedding just hours before he was due to board a plane back to Africa.
Mr Justice Collins said it was difficult to have any sympathy for Semo, who was jailed for eight years for raping a woman before throwing his victim on a rubbish tip.
The judge said the Home Office had at first agreed to let the 53-year-old, from Deptford, south-east London, get married to his long-term partner, a German national.
Then the wedding was effectively cancelled by a subsequent decision "by the same Home Office - no doubt by a different department".
The judge said he was "very reluctant" to intervene - "but it seems to me the Home Office really cannot be allowed to play hot and cold".
The judge said: "With considerable reluctance, I have to say he must be allowed to marry. That means there will be a prohibition against removing him."
Shadow immigration minister Damian Green said: "The Home Secretary needs to explain urgently what happened in this case, with the Home Office seeming to contradict itself. Many people will be rightly angry that a convicted rapist can find ways to stay in this country when he has no right to be here."
Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Chris Huhne said: "The Home Secretary should have had Semo on the first flight out after his release. Until the left hand knows what the right is doing at the Home Office, we will not have a migration system fit for purpose. It's time to end the mismanagement."

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21 Babies Killed in China

The bodies of 21 babies have been discovered in plastic bags in a river in eastern China, and authorities suspect they were dumped there by local hospitals, state media reported.
An initial investigation showed that eight of the 21 babies wore identification tags on their feet tracing them back to Jining Medical College Hospital in Shandong province, according to the People's Daily website. The other 13 were unidentified.
Three of the eight were admitted to the hospital in critical condition, the report said. It did not say when they were admitted.
Video footage posted online showed interviews with local residents who discovered the bodies covered in plastic rubbish bags floating near the shore over the weekend.
Calls to the Jining Medical College Hospital information office rang unanswered.
Some of babies shown in the video, ranging from newborns to several months old, wore bluish-green identification tags with their mother's name, their birth dates, measurements and weight, while others were found shrouded in hazardous waste bags.
An official who answered the phone at the Jining Health Bureau confirmed the news, but would not give any details.

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China Disable Google

Chinese censors have disabled all Google searches on the mainland, blocking the US company's Hong Kong servers from delivering results.
In almost every major Chinese city, users reported that trying to access Google searches returned an error page.
The hiatus began at around 5pm on Tuesday in China. Although it was still possible to access Google's websites, searches on any topic delivered an error message.
Google was unable to immediately confirm the cause of the problem, but said it was investigating. Chinese internet users blamed the "Great Firewall" for blocking Google searches. Google's email services were unaffected.
In addition, Google said its mobile search has been partially blocked in China, leaving mobile phone users unable to use the Google search function.
The developments suggest that the Chinese government is preparing to make its move against Google, after the company moved the servers of its search engine to Hong Kong last week to avoid censorship.
At first, the move seemed to be a neat solution that would allow Google to provide Chinese users with its service without having to continue to censor search results.
Sergey Brin, the company's co-founder, even suggested, in an interview with the Wall Street Journal, that the idea to move to Hong Kong had come "indirectly" from the Chinese government itself.
Under the "one country, two systems" motto dreamed up by Deng Xiaoping, China's former leader, Hong Kong retains the freedom of speech and British law left behind after the UK ceded the territory to China in 1997.
However, Google's move to Hong Kong has opened the eyes of many Chinese to the fact that they are being censored by the Communist party while their cousins in Hong Kong are not.
Since Google began redirecting mainland users to its Hong Kong site last week, the company has come under criticism from the state media, which has accused it of being part of a US "plot" to destabilise China.
The Communist party has been deeply concerned by the public's reaction to Google's departure from the mainland, and the Education ministry has even asked a selection of university students to write their "thoughts" about Google.
Similar student polls are usually conducted after major catastrophes, such as the riots in Xinjiang last year or in Tibet in 2008.
Meanwhile, the government has kept a tight leash on the domestic media, forbidding newspapers from publishing anything that deviates from the party line.
Instructions from the Central Propaganda Department to newspapers and websites said: "Only use Central Government media content.
"Do not use content from other sources. It is not permitted to hold discussions or investigations on the topic of Google. Please remove text, images, sound and video that supports Google."
Only the Chongqing Evening News was able to publish a report expressing remorse about Google's exit, after using the code words "Valley Dove", which sounds like Google in Chinese.
Other Chinese reporters have been banned from Google's offices in Beijing and all content expressing support for Google on the Chinese internet has been erased.
Meanwhile, other attacks on Google include the removal of the company's page on Renren, the Chinese equivalent of Facebook, and the blocking of a translated version of the company's blog post, in which it explains the reasons for its departure from the mainland.
Other websites which partner with Google for advertising have been told not to carry links to the blog, or its Chinese version.

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Nasa To Help Toyota's Problem

U.S. auto safety regulators said on Tuesday they will tap the expertise of the country's top space and aeronautics experts to analyze Toyota Motor Corp's electronic throttles to see if they are behind the reports of unintended acceleration that have hounded the automaker.
The news that NASA scientists will join the probe came as Toyota, reeling from a recall crisis sparked by the acceleration reports, launched a task force aimed at regaining consumer trust and pledged to give its regional operations more clout to speed up decisions on quality issues.
"We are determined to get to the bottom of unintended acceleration," U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in an interview with Reuters.
The Transportation Department's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is just beginning its review of Toyota's electronic throttles, which have come under heightened scrutiny following the recall of millions of Toyota and Lexus vehicles over the past six months for unintended acceleration.
CRITICISM OF NHTSA BEHIND MOVE
While the government and the Japanese automaker blame mechanical or equipment flaws for the problem, questions have been raised about whether NHTSA over the years adequately handled investigations into motorist and other complaints of possible electronic throttle problems.
Critics have said NHTSA, which at the time of congressional hearings last month on the Toyota issue only had two electrical engineers on its staff, lacked the expertise and resources to assess the company's claims that its vehicles could not fail.
The Transportation Department inspector general is investigating NHTSA's and Toyota's handling of investigations into unintended acceleration. LaHood said the department watchdog would also determine whether NHTSA has appropriate staffing and expertise to handle sophisticated investigations.
Nine NASA scientists would bring expertise in electronics, electromagnetic interference, software integrity and complex problem solving to the Toyota review, Transportation Department officials said.
LaHood has maintained that NHTSA could handle the analysis itself, but said suggestions from lawmakers at congressional hearings prompted him to consider outside help.
"We've used them before. We've heard that they may have some influence," LaHood said of his decision to ask NASA to help.
The NHTSA review is to be completed by late summer, after which the highway traffic safety agency would then determine whether a formal investigation of Toyota throttles was warranted. Such a probe would set in motion a process that could lead to a recall.
LaHood said the timetable would not likely change unless "something very dramatic" happened with the NASA work.
Other investigations dating to 2004 found no throttle defect, but the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration handled those cases internally.
QUALITY CONTROL PANEL CONVENES
Meanwhile in Japan on Tuesday, Toyota President Akio Toyoda, who was criticized for not acting quickly enough when the automaker's safety issues first came to light earlier this year, convened a 50-member committee on quality at the automaker's headquarters.
It marked the first meeting of Toyota's newly named regional quality officers and came at a crucial time as the world's largest automaker attempts to recapture lost sales momentum in key markets including the United States.
"We need a renewed commitment to placing customers first and to reviewing all our work processes from the customers' perspective," Toyoda, who chairs the committee, said ahead of the meeting.
In a departure from past practice, chief quality officers assigned in six designated regions will have a say when headquarters makes decisions on safety issues, in an effort to better reflect customer needs gleaned in local markets.
Third-party experts in each region, including one in North America headed by former U.S. Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater, will assess the steps Toyota has taken to renew its focus on quality and safety.
The initial review results are due to be released in June, Toyota said.
Toyota has recalled some 8.5 million vehicles globally in recent months. Those recalls take aim at accelerator pedals that can become stuck with condensation, pedals that can be held down by floormats and a braking glitch on its latest Prius and other new hybrids.
The quality slippage has highlighted the pressure on Toyota's stretched work force as it scrambled to keep up with soaring demand for its popular cars in the past decade.
Toyota will also expand the use in North America of event data recorders, which can record data on vehicle condition and driver operations, and work with authorities in other markets to better analyze the causes of accidents.
While a sales suspension of recalled models hit Toyota's U.S. sales hard in February, demand is expected to soar on incentives this month, leaving analysts uncertain as to how deeply the recalls will actually damage Toyota's business.

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"Responsible will be Caught" - Putin

Vladimir Putin vowed Tuesday to "drag out of the sewer" the masterminds of the twin suicide bombing of the Moscow subway system that killed 39 people and left scores wounded.
The powerful prime minister spoke as Russia mourned the dead from Monday's attacks; teary passengers lit candles and left carnations at both of the central stations that were hit.
The blasts shocked a country that had grown accustomed to such violence being confined to a restive southern corner — and marked the return of terrorism to the everyday lives of Muscovites after a six-year break.
As senior politicians call for the return of the death penalty, the attacks have raised fears that civil liberties may again be sacrificed under the pretext of fighting terrorism — a charge Putin faced during his eight-year presidency.
"I understand what authorities will do. They will resume persecution of opposition, there will be more censorship, political spying. There will be more riot police dispersing opposition rallies and protests. But it will not save us from terrorism," prominent opposition leader Boris Nemtsov said in an editorial published by Grani.ru online magazine.
As president, Putin consolidated control in the wake of the 2004 Beslan school hostage crisis by abolishing the election of regional governors, and came to power in 1999 promising a strong crackdown on rebels in Russia's North Caucasus.
Putin said on television Tuesday that he is sure the organizers of Monday's attacks by two women will be found.
"We know that they are lying low, but it is already a matter of the pride of law enforcement agencies to drag them out of the sewer and into broad daylight."
Many have speculated that the blasts — blamed on Muslim extremists in the Caucasus region, which includes Chechnya — were retaliation for the recent killing of separatist leaders in the area by Russian police. No claims of responsibility have been made.
The city remained on edge Tuesday, even as people began to commute on the subway again.
"I feel the tension on the metro. Nobody's smiling or laughing," said university student Alina Tsaritova, not far from the Lubyanka station, one of the targets.
The female suicide bombers detonated belts of explosives during the morning rush-hour at the stations, investigators said.
Five people remained in critical condition out of 71 hospitalized after the blasts, city health department official Andrei Seltsovsky told the Rossiya-24 state news channel. Emergency officials said later Tuesday that five bodies remained unidentified.
Some commuters said Tuesday they would try and block the events out of their mind completely.
"We have to live with this, not to think about it, especially when we're underground," said Tatyana Yerofeyeva, a Muscovite in her early 50s.
As public outrage swells, the upper house of parliament is proposing bringing back the death penalty for such crimes, a lawmaker was quoted as saying.
"This is our reaction to yesterday's tragic events," Anatoly Kyskov, the Federation Council's legal committee chairman, said in comments carried by state news agency RIA Novosti.
President Dmitry Medvedev called on chairmen from the Supreme Court and the High Court of Arbitration to propose ways to "perfect" terrorism laws.
Russia announced a moratorium on capital punishment when it joined the Council of Europe in 1996 and pledged to abolish it, but has not done so. The Kremlin-controlled parliament has been reluctant to fully outlaw executions, due to broad public support for the death penalty.
As Moscow mourned, plastic plaques hung in the two metro stations above rickety tables overflowing with flowers; their inscriptions promised permanent replacements. Some people were choked by tears as they laid candles.
Flags flew at half staff on government buildings, at the Kremlin, and in other cities across the vast country. Entertainment events and television shows were canceled, and services were scheduled at several churches.
Heightened transportation security remained in effect across the capital and elsewhere. Police with machine guns and sniffer dogs patrolled subway entrances.
Later, jittery authorities evacuated 45 residents of a central Moscow apartment building over a suspicious-looking object found under a police vehicle nearby, Russian media said.
Monday's first explosion took place just before 8 a.m. at the Lubyanka station in central Moscow, beneath the notorious headquarters of the Federal Security Service or FSB, the KGB's main successor agency. The FSB is a symbol of power under Putin, a former KGB officer who headed the agency before his election as president in 2000.
About 45 minutes later, a second blast hit the Park Kultury station on the same subway line, which is near the renowned Gorky Park. In both cases, the bombs were detonated as the trains pulled into the stations and the doors were opening.
The last confirmed terrorist attack in Moscow was in August 2004, when a suicide bomber blew herself up outside a subway station, killing 10 people. Chechen rebels claimed responsibility.

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Core Group Questions Obama's Call

President Barack Obama says he believes the Tea Party is built around a "core group" of people who question whether he is a U.S. citizen and believe he is a socialist.
But beyond that, Obama tells NBC he recognizes the movement involves "folks who have legitimate concerns" about the national debt and whether the government is taking on too many difficult issues simultaneously.
In an interview broadcast Tuesday on NBC's "Today" show, Obama said he feels "there's still going to be a group at their core that question my legitimacy." But he said he didn't want to paint Tea Party activists "in broad brushes" and he hopes to win over members who have "mainstream, legitimate concerns."

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Obama Approved Bill

Finalizing two major pieces of his agenda, President Barack Obama on Tuesday sealed his health care overhaul and made the government the primary lender to students by cutting banks out of the process.
Both domestic priorities came in one bill, pushed through by Democrats in the House and Senate and signed into law by a beaming president.
The new law makes a series of changes to the massive health insurance reform bill that he signed into law with even greater fanfare last week. Those fixes included removing some specials deals that had angered the public and providing more money for poorer and middle-income individuals and families to help them buy health insurance.
But during an appearance at a community college in suburban Virginia, he emphasized the overshadowed part of the bill: education.
In this final piece of health reform, Democrats added in a restructuring of the way the government handles loans affecting millions of students.
The law strips banks of their role as middlemen in federal student loans and puts the government in charge. The president said that change would save more than $60 billion over the next 10 years, which in turn would be used to boost Pell Grants for students and reinvest in community colleges.
"I didn't stand with the banks and the financial industries in this fight — that's not why I came to Washington — and neither did any of the members of Congress who are here today," Obama said to a supportive crowd at Northern Virginia Community College. "We stood with you. We stood with America's students."
Private lenders still will make student loans that are not backed by the government, and they still will have contracts to service some federal loans. But the change reflected in the new law represents a significant loss in what has been a $70 billion business for the banking industry.
Among many other features, the new law is expected to make it easier for some college graduates to repay loans.
The government will essentially guarantee that workers in low-paying jobs will be able to reduce their payments. Current law caps monthly payments at 15 percent of these workers' incomes; the new law will lower the cap to 10 percent.
About half of undergraduates receive federal student aid and about 8.5 million students are going to college with the help of Pell Grants.
Obama was effusive in his praise for the lawmakers who stood by him on the health care and education legislation. Many of them face tough sells in their home districts over the massive health care legislation, a complex mix of crackdowns on the insurance industry, coverage expansions and insurance mandates.
He was introduced by Dr. Jill Biden, the vice president's wife, who teaches English there.

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Stephenie Meyers New Book

Attention "Twilight" fans: Stephenie Meyer has a new book coming out.
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers will release "The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner" on June 5.
The novella is told from the viewpoint of Bree, a newborn vampire featured in "Eclipse." That's one of the books in Meyer's best-selling teen-vampire saga.
Meyer says in a statement Tuesday the novella had originally been planned for "The Twilight Saga: The Official Guide." But she says it became too long to fit into the guide.
The publisher says one dollar for each book sold in the U.S. from the first printing of 1.5 million copies will be donated to the American Red Cross International Response Fund. It supports disaster relief efforts such as those in Haiti and Chile.

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Christian Militia in US confirmed

The U.S. attorney leading the prosecution against nine suspected members of a Michigan-based Christian militia says authorities "needed to arrest them and take them down."
Barbara McQuade said Tuesday that federal investigators had been watching the group called Hutaree for some time and felt compelled to act based on an imminent threat against police.
McQuade says the "most troubling" finding was that Hutaree members plotted to make a false 911 call, kill responding officers and then use a bomb to kill many more at the funeral.
The nine face seditious conspiracy charges after weekend raids in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana. Eight appeared in court Monday.
One suspect, 21-one-year-old Joshua Matthew Stone, was arraigned Tuesday and was ordered held without bond until a hearing Wednesday.

The last of nine people charged with plotting to kill police has been arraigned in a Detroit federal court.
Twenty-one-year-old Joshua Matthew Stone was arraigned Tuesday before a U.S. District Court magistrate and was ordered held without bond until a hearing Wednesday.
Stone peacefully surrendered Monday night in Hillsdale County's Wheatland Township.
Authorities say Stone's father and seven others charged Monday were part of the Michigan-based Hutaree. They say the group plotted to kill a police officer and slaughter scores more by bombing the funeral — all in hopes of touching off an uprising against the government.
Stone was the only suspect not arrested during weekend raids in Michigan, Indiana and Ohio.
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Sentenced Death

A judge on Tuesday sentenced serial killer Rodney Alcala to death before hearing emotional testimony from the families of four women and a 12-year-old girl he strangled in the 1970s.
The sentence was announced three weeks after a jury recomended death for the 66-year-old Alcala, who was convicted last month of five counts of first-degree murder after a bizarre and sometimes surreal trial.
After the sentencing, Bruce Barcomb, the brother of victim Jill Barcomb, begged Alcala to admit to the murders to help family members heal.
"There is murder and rape and then there is the unequivicable carnage of a Rodney Alcala-style murder," he said. "Give up your debt Rodney: all victims, all states, all occurences. Own your truth."
Alcala acted as his own attorney during the trial and unveiled a rambling defense that included questioning the mother of one of his victims, playing an Arlo Guthrie ballad and showing a clip from the 1970s TV show "The Dating Game."
After the verdict, authorities released more than 100 photos of young women and girls found in Alcala's possession in hopes of linking him to other unsolved murders around the country. Authorities from New Hampshire to Washington are now trying to determine if the UCLA graduate may have killed in their states.
Alcala has been sentenced to death twice before in the 1979 murder of young Robin Samsoe, but those verdicts were overturned on appeal. Prosecutors refiled charges in that case and added the four other murders in 2006 after investigators linked them to Alcala using DNA samples and other forensic evidence.
Those cases, which had gone unsolved for decades, went on trial for the first time this year.
The 12-year-old Samsoe disappeared on June 20, 1979, while riding a friend's bike to ballet class in Huntington Beach in Orange County. Her body was found 12 days later in Angeles National Forest, where it had been mutilated by wild animals.
Alcala was arrested a month after Samsoe's disappearance when his parole agent recognized him from a police sketch and called authorities. He has been in custody ever since.
He was first tried in Samsoe's murder in 1980. Prosecutors added the murders of the four women in 2006 after investigators discovered forensic evidence linking him to those crimes, including DNA found on three of the women, a bloody handprint and marker testing done on blood Alcala left on a towel in the fourth victim's home.
Alcala was convicted on Feb. 25, and also found true special-circumstance allegations of rape, torture and kidnapping, making him eligible for the death penalty.
During the guilt phase of trial, Alcala played a seconds-long clip of himself on a 1978 episode of "The Dating Game." He said the grainy clip proved that he was wearing a gold-ball earring almost a year before Samsoe was killed.
Prosecutors said the earring, found in a small pouch with other earrings in a storage locker Alcala had rented, belonged to Samsoe and that Alcala had taken it as a trophy. They also found the DNA of another victim of Alcala on a rose-shaped earring in the same pouch.
During the penalty phase, the trial took another bizarre twist when Alcala played Arlo Guthrie's 1967 song "Alice's Restaurant," in which the narrator tries to avoid being drafted for the Vietnam War by trying to persuade a psychiatrist that he's unfit for the military because of his supposed extreme desire to kill.
"I wanna see blood and gore and guts and veins in my teeth," the song's narrator sings. "Eat dead burnt bodies. I mean: kill, kill, kill, kill."
The song prompted Samsoe's brother to stalk out of the courtroom when it was played.
In addition to Samsoe, Alcala is charged with killing Jill Barcomb, 18, who had just moved to Los Angeles from Oneida, N.Y.; Georgia Wixted, 27, of Malibu; Charlotte Lamb, 32, of Santa Monica; and Jill Parenteau, 21, of Burbank.

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Still Trapped Below

Rescuers pumped water from a flooded mine in northern China where time is running out for 153 trapped workers as efforts stretched into a second day with no communication from those stuck deep underground.
Some 1,000 rescue workers were rotating on shifts to try to drain enough water to reach the trapped miners, but the rescue effort could take days. It was unclear if anyone was still alive in the shafts, some which extended a half-mile (one kilometer) into the earth.
The accident could be one of the worst mining disasters in recent years if rescue efforts fail and would set back marked improvements in mining safety.
"Their situation until now is still unknown so that is making everyone very worried," said Liu Dezheng, a chief engineer with the work safety bureau in northern China's Shanxi province, where the mine is located.
The flood at the state-owned Wangjialing coal mine may have started Sunday afternoon when workers dug into a network of old, water-filled shafts. Such derelict tunnels are posing new risks to miners across China even as the country improves safety in its notoriously hazardous mines, where accidents kill thousands each year.
China's State Administration of Work Safety said 261 workers were inside the mine when it flooded, and 108 escaped or were rescued.
"We can't get in touch with the people down there," said miner Li Jianhong, 33, who was helping move pipes to suck water from the shaft. "If they haven't drowned yet, they might have suffocated from a lack of oxygen."
He was just about to head into the mine for his shift on Sunday when he heard that "something happened" underground. As he and his colleagues gathered for a meeting, they received a call from some of the trapped miners.
"We just received one phone call from them and after that there was no more contact. Those poor people," he said.
Liu warned any rescue was still days away and said the 1,000 rescuers were rotating on four-hour shifts to make sure they got enough rest in the days ahead.
"This is not something that can be achieved in one or two days," Liu said. "(Rescuers) must be prepared to work at least seven days and seven nights."
State television said the workers were trapped in nine different places in the mine, which was flooded with up to 5 million cubic feet (140,000 cubic meters) of water.
Authorities were not only worried about the flood. Gases from the abandoned shafts may have flowed into the mine, bringing new dangers such as explosions or poisoning.
At the mine, located at the end of a long winding mountain road, rescuers worked in drizzling rain Monday to strap metal pipes and other parts of a pump onto a metal trolley. They pushed it along rail tracks into the entrance, where it was lowered into the shaft.
About 30 people stood quietly behind the police cordon watching.
Fan Leisheng, one of the miners who escaped, described the sudden rush of water that tore through the mine.
"It looked like a tidal wave, and I was so scared," Fan told China Central Television. "I immediately ran away and looked back to see some others hanging behind. I shouted at them to get out. It was unbelievable because I got out from 1,000 meters (3,280 feet) underground."
Officials have yet to declare the cause of the accident, but experts said it was likely that workers broke into the old shafts or pits of derelict mines that had filled with water.
"It could be that they broke into old workings, works that were not properly mapped out," said David Feickert, a coal mine safety adviser to the Chinese government. "That's a common problem with flooding, and Shanxi is an area where they have very extensive mining, a lot of old mines."
Though China's mining industry is still the world's deadliest, it has dramatically improved its safety record over the last seven years, said Feickert, who is based in Wanganui, New Zealand and Beijing.
Accidents killed 2,631 coal miners last year, fewer than half the 6,995 deaths in 2002, the most dangerous year on record, according to the State Administration of Coal Mine Safety. That means on average more than seven miners die every day, down from 19.1 in 2002.
The decline in deaths comes amid a ramping up in the mining of coal, which fuels about 70 percent of China's voracious energy needs.
Much of the safety improvement has come from shutting down smaller, labor-intensive operators or forcing them into mergers with better-funded state companies.
Wangjialing, located about 400 miles (650 kilometers) southwest of Beijing, was under construction and had been scheduled to start production later this year, the China Daily newspaper reported.
Major mine accidents in China in recent years include a coal mine flood in eastern Shandong province in August 2007 that left 172 miners dead and a mine blast in northeastern Liaoning province in February 2005 that killed 214 miners.

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US President Offer Help to Russians

President Barack Obama has phoned Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to discuss the rush-hour bombings on the Moscow metro.
The White House says the two leaders spoke Monday and that Obama conveyed the condolences of the United States.
The White House is calling the attack an "outrageous terrorist act."
Obama told the Russian leader that the United States is ready to cooperate with Russia to bring to justice the attackers.
Earlier Monday, Obama condemned the bombings in a statement and called the attack "heinous."
The head of Russia's main security agency said a preliminary investigation places the blame on rebels from the restive Caucasus region, which includes Chechnya, where separatists have fought Russian forces since the mid-1990s.
President Barack Obama has condemned the rush hour bombings in the Moscow metro, offering his condolences to the Russian people. In a statement issued by the White House early Monday, the president said the American people stand united with the people of Russia in opposition to violent extremism and "heinous" terrorist attacks.
The blasts came about 30 minutes apart during the morning rush hour, killing at least 37 people and wounding 102.
The head of Russia's main security agency said a preliminary investigation places the blame on rebels from the restive Caucasus region that includes Chechnya, where separatists have fought Russian forces since the mid-1990s.
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May 1 Winner SHOULD Face Manny Pacquiao

Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao may be considering three more fights before actually hanging his gloves for good. But he will have to kneel before his mother to get her blessings as he will have to renege on his earlier promise for one last fight.

Despite his announcement of possible retirement from professional boxing in deference to his mother's wishes for him to retire now for good, many of his local boxing fans believe that the pound-for-pound king will remain active for at least one more year. The popular Filipino boxer is expected to make a deal with his mother for one last fight before retiring. It may be recalled that Pacquiao promised his mother after his bout with Miguel Cotto that he will do one last fight before hanging up his gloves. That one last bout was his recent encounter with Joshua Clottey of Ghana at the Dallas Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. One of the compelling reasons for Pacquiao to remain active for another year is probably the thought of beating Floyd Mayweather, Jr who remains undefeated in his entire professional boxing career. Mayweather and his camp have thrown too much 'trash' on the Filipino boxer. Pacquiao's local boxing fans say that the Filipino boxer should settle the long-drawn word war between him and Mayweather inside the ring. The proposed Pacquiao-Mayweather fight was originally scheduled for Marcgh 13 but did not happen due to Mayweather's demand for an Olympic-style blood testing which Pacquiao declined saying that he had passed all drug tests conducted by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Mayweather accused Pacquiao of taking steroids or performance enhancing drugs during his last fights to gain added advantage over his opponents. Pacquiao denied such accusations and sued Mayweather and some members of his team in court for defamation. The other compelling reason is the huge prize money that Pacquiao-Mayweather fight will generate for both boxers. Boxing analysts say that that each of them will earn at least $50 million excluding revenues from PPV and gate receipts. The Filipino boxer may have thought that one year will be a safe period for him to make one last commitment to his mother on her call for early retirement. In a year Pacquiao can make three more fights as trainer Freddie Roach projects. Roach said the Pacquiao-Mayweather match can still happen if they both bury the hatchet and let their punches do the talking. “I’m sure there’s going to be a tradeoff between Manny dropping the lawsuit and him (Mayweather) dropping the drug test,” boxing’s hottest trainer told fighthype.com. But what if Mayweather is defeated by Mosley when they collide on May 1 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas? Surely Pacquiao will have to choose Mosley for his next mega fight as he (Mosley) will become the hottest boxing sensation by then. A Pacquiao-Mosley fight will also bring in huge revenues for both of them. If this happens, it would be Pacquiao's first match within the one year self-imposed fight calendar. But then again, win or lose with Mosley, Pacquiao will have to face Mayweather to settle the issues and bad blood between the two most popular boxers. This will be Pacquiao's second in his calendar and if he wins he may just opt to retire for good unless an automatic rematch is provided for in their fight contract. If that happens, a third and last fight for the Filipino boxer is inevitable.

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Mosley Mayweather Update

Floyd Mayweather & Shane Mosley are the same but yet so different. They are the same because they are both one punch fighters. Mosley lost to Miguel Cotto because for every hard right hand or left hook he would throw Cotto would answer back with 2 and 3 punch combinations. 

When Mayweather fought Marquez he threw one punch at time. Rarely does either fighter throw combinations. When Mosley throws combinations it’s usually in the midst of a storm. When Mayweather throws combinations it’s usually when it’s safe for him to do so. 


They are both defensive. A lot of times Floyd will use his legs to step out of range, and he will roll his shoulders to do so. Mosley will sometimes back out of his opponents punching range to avoid punches. For the most part he will parry punches, and use his elbows to block body punching. 

They both have fast hands, and they both have leaping left hooks. They differ because one fighter is a pure boxer while the other is a 2 handed boxer puncher. Mosley has an aggressive style. He can also switch hit, in that he can fight southpaw, and orthodox and do it with power. I really believe that this fight will be better than what people think. 

Mayweather is safety 1st, he relies on his brilliant defense and stamina. Zab Judah, Carlos Baldomir, Oscar De La Hoya, and Ricky Hatton all faded in the 2nd half of their fights with Mayweather. Marquez to his credit didn’t fade in his fight with Mayweather. But he was too small. Marquez weighed in at 142lbs at the fight, barely making welterweight by 2lbs. Mayweather weighed in at 146lbs, one lb under the welterweight limit. Mayweather had a natural 11lb weight difference over Marquez. 

Marquez due to the 7lbs he gained in a 5 month period was slow of hand and foot. Much like the way Margarito was way to slow when he fought Shane Mosley. Like Margarito, Marquez had no defense for Mayweather’s offense. Mayweather’s last 4 opponents were flat footed fighters, much like Mayorga, and Margarito. 

Shane relies on true grit which is something he has relied on during the course of his career. I mean let’s face it sugar has always been a fighter. A power boxer as Jack Mosley would put it. Shane has always been a very good body puncher. Jesse James Leigha told De La Hoya that Mosley punches to the body were a lot harder than his head punches. 

Mayweather has had the better trainer throughout his career, in Roger Mayweather. He was a former champion fighting people like Julio Cesar Chavez, Pernell Whitaker, Harold Brazier, Livingstone Bramble, amongst others. He's been there so he has been able to give his nephew expert advice in the corners and in training because he was a former champ. Mosley has relied on physical instead of technical. The advice his dad has given him throughout his career has been questionable. 

They are both consistent in their fighting styles. Mayweather consistently boxed Juan Manuel Marquez despite enjoying an 11lb weight advantage. He dropped Marquez with a left hook in the 2nd round of their fight. He never opened up on Juan to try to finish him. Defense, defense, defense that’s who Mayweather is. 

Mosley is consistently aggressive. He consistently attacks the body, and he never hesitates to go for the KO. He will gamble and take risks. In round 11 & 12 of his fight with Cotto, It was Shane who was the aggressor, landing hard body punches. This fight should be billed Brains vs Brawn I can’t wait to see it.

 David Mikael Taclino
Inyu Web Development and Design
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Boeing 787 Update

The Boeing Co. completed its "ultimate wing load" test on its 787 jet Sunday and will spend weeks analyzing the results.

Boeing's new 787 Dreamliner has been in flight testing for more than three months. The wing load test was performed on the company's static 787 test plane. During the testing, loads were applied to the airframe to replicate 150 percent of the most extreme forces the airplane is ever expected to experience while in service. The wings were flexed upward by approximately 25 feet during the test.

"The test program has been more robust than any conducted on a Boeing commercial jetliner," said Scott Fancher, vice president and general manager of the 787 program. "We are looking forward to the technical team's report on the details of the test results."

Boeing said it will be several weeks before the full results are ready but initial results looked good. The company plans to deliver its first 787 Dreamliner later this year, more than two years late.
 David Mikael Taclino
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Grasshopper Attack

Grasshopper infestations have taken on mythic tones here on the arid prairie of northeastern Wyoming — they blanket highways, eat T-shirts off clotheslines and devour nearly every scrap of vegetation on ranches and farms.

The myth may come closer to reality this summer than at any time in decades in several states in the West and the Plains.

A federal survey of farm areas taken last fall found high numbers of adult grasshoppers in parts of Wyoming, Montana, South Dakota, North Dakota, Nebraska and Idaho. Each female lays hundreds of eggs so that high count could turn into costly grasshopper infestations this summer.

David Mikael Taclino
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Rebel Denies Massacre

A Ugandan rebel group has denied accusations it took part in the massacre of hundreds of civilians in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

A spokesman for the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA ) Justin Labeja said Monday a Human Rights Watch report of the massacre in Congo's northeastern area of Makombo is, in his words, "fabricated."

The human rights group says LRA rebels attacked at least 10 villages during a four-day rampage in December, killing at least 321 people.

Human Rights Watch says most of the massacred villagers were men who were tied up and killed by blows to the head or machetes. It says the dead included 13 women and 23 children, including a 3-year-old girl who was burned to death.

The group says the LRA also abducted at least 250 people from the villages, including 80 children.

Human Rights Watch says the attack shows the LRA remains a dangerous threat, despite claims to the contrary from the DRC and Ugandan governments.

Ugandan forces have been chasing the LRA across central Africa since late 2008. The group was originally based in northern Uganda before evolving into a regional threat, active in the DRC, the Central African Republic and southern Sudan.

The rebels are accused of killing, kidnapping and mutilating thousands of people over the past 22 years. LRA leader Joseph Kony is wanted by the International Criminal Court on war crimes charges.

U.N. officials have confirmed the massacre and say the world body is investigating. U.N. investigation chief Liliane Egounlety told the Reuters news agency that her team has confirmed 290 deaths so far.

Officials say it has taken a long time to carry out the investigation because of the remoteness of the area.

The U.N. mission to Congo has about 1,000 peacekeeping troops in the general region. Human Rights Watch says that number is far too low given the vast size of the area.

David Mikael Taclino
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Sony Bids Farewell

One of the most distinguishing features in the pre-Slim era PlayStation 3s is the ability to install other operating systems, including Linux. Starting in April, Sony will remove this capability from pre-Slim PS3s.

Sony will release the PS3 firmware update v3.21 on April 1, and with it comes the removal of the “install other OS,” feature from older PS3s. It seems this change has to do with security concerns.

Patrick Seybold, Sr. Director of corporate communication and social media, wrote this on the PlayStation blog: “In addition, disabling the ‘Other OS’ feature will help ensure that PS3 owners will continue to have access to the broad range of gaming and entertainment content from SCE and its content partners on a more secure system.”

If you already have another operating system on your PS3 and choose not to install firmware update v3.21, you will experience the following changes: you can no longer play copyright-protected videos that are stored on a media server (when DTCP-IP is enabled under Settings), the ability to sign in to the PlayStation Network and use network features that require signing into the PSN will be removed, and you can no longer playback PS3 software titles or Blu-ray Disc videos that require PS3 system software version 3.21 or later.

Essentially, it sounds like Sony really wants you to do a system update, even if you already have another OS installed. Sony says it's best to back-up any data stored within the hard drive partition for those using the “Other SO” feature. You will not have access to that data after the update.

It should be noted that this will not have an impact on anyone with a Slim PS3 since it does not have the “Other OS” feature.

David Mikael Taclino
Inyu Web Development and Design
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Bomb Explodes in Athens

An overnight pipe bomb explosion outside an Athens business management institute killed a 15-year-old Afghan passer-by and severely injured his 10-year-old sister, Greek police said Monday.
There was no claim of responsibility for the blast, which lightly injured the children's 45-year-old mother.
The bomb exploded at 10:40 p.m. (1940GMT) Sunday, in the capital's densely populated Patissia residential district. The blast instantly killed the youth. His sister was hospitalized with severe facial shrapnel wounds and burns, and doctors were trying to save her eyesight.
Surgeons removed metal fragments embedded in both the 10-year-old's eyes, and a hospital statement said further operations would be required, but the outlook was negative.
Police spokesman Athanasios Kokalakis said the motive and target of the attack were unclear, but the Afghan family, who lived nearby, had no connection with the bomb.
"On the contrary, they were the tragic victims of a blind act of violence," he said. "We are examining the explosives used and whether there was a timer. We can't say right now who was behind the bomb."
Small far-left and radical anarchist groups have claimed a string of bombings in recent years against symbols of wealth and state power, including banks and the Athens stock exchange. But nearly all have been preceded by warning calls, allowing police to evacuate the target areas. Sunday's death was the first since 1999, when a blast outside a hotel killed a conference worker.
Kokalakis said the bomb exploded in front of the Hellenic Management Association, a private not-for-profit organization.
"What appears likeliest is that the device had been left at the entrance to the building, the young man picked it up, felt it and it exploded in his hands," he said.
Police said they were investigating any link with a phone call warning of a bomb blast in the Patissia area early Sunday, which had given a garbled version of the management association's acronym.
Civil Protection Minister Michalis Chryssochoidis condemned what he called a despicable act of terrorism.
"These murderers see us all — police, immigrants, ordinary citizens — as enemies," he said. "We will find them soon."
Greek radical groups have escalated bomb and gunfire attacks over the past year and a half, shooting one policeman dead and injuring five more. Since September, authorities have arrested eight suspected members of a radical anarchist group called Conspiracy Nuclei of Fire, which claimed three Athens bombings this month.
The attacks, which caused no injuries, targeted the offices of an ultra right-wing party, a police immigration center and the home of a Pakistani immigrant leader whom the group accused of collaborating with authorities.
The group posted a statement on the Internet late Monday, claiming it had no connection with Monday's fatal bomb blast.
Separately Monday, a small gas-canister bomb damaged a church in the northern city of Thessaloniki, where police also defused similar devices outside a bank and a toy shop.

David Mikael Taclino
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World Cup Update

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson on Monday warned that his side were gunning to improve on their poor European record against German giants Bayern Munich.
The sides meet in the Champions League quarter-final first leg here on Tuesday night in a match that re-unites the teams that contested the 1999 final, in which United won 2-1 thanks to two injury-time goals to record their only win over Bayern in Europe's top club competition.
"The two clubs have a great history, it does put an edge to the game I feel," said Ferguson.
"We have met quite a few times in European football and I was surprised to discover that we have never beaten them in European ties apart from once in Barcelona. We want to change that, the team is in good form and hopefully we will get the result we want."
Ferguson continued: "I respect Bayern Munich. I have a great admiration for this club. We are playing against history.
"They have a certain pride and we have to contend with that tomorrow, without forgetting the kind of history they've got."
Ferguson said Wayne Rooney and Rio Ferdinand were both fit and raring to take on Bayern's best including French midfielder Franck Ribery and Dutch winger Arjen Robben, who is an injury doubt.
"We plan to play against their best team. If something changes, it's easier to adjust from the strongest team to a less strong team," he said.
"They have many good players. Whether Ribery and Robben will play I don't know, I have to plan for that."
The Scot refused to countenance comments from Bayern coach Louis van Gaal that the German side are the underdogs.
"He (van Gaal) is a clever man, I don't pay attention to that," said Ferguson. "I haven't seen all their games this season, I have seen some footage. They have had one or two bad results recently, that doesn't mean it is a bad team.
"Their motivation to play the first game at home will be strong, I don't think at any moment it will be an easy game.
"We should aim to win the game first and it will be a difficult task. It's not easy, they have very good players and a great coach, and we have to be aware of that."
Ferguson believes, however, that his side are at their peak, as they play in Munich after six straight wins, while the Germans are smarting after back-to-back losses.
"We have matured as a team in Europe. Over the last two to three years our record is fantastic," he said.
"We are undefeated over the last 17 games, which is a sign of our maturity and our understanding of how to play in Europe. There have been fantastic challenges in those 17 games.
"Our back four has been solid together again, (goalkeeper Edwin) van der Sar too. There was a time in the season where all these players have been injured.
"It wasn't easy and we were very fragile, but their performances make a massive difference in the performance of the team.
"We are playing the best football of the year and there is a saying: 'Strong at the back, strong as a team'.
"It's a massive week for us, two great games against Bayern and a great game against Chelsea (in the league). This is the time of the year, you have to enjoy it and also know it is crucial."
The 1999 triumph in Barcelona brought Ferguson the first Champions League title of his glittering Old Trafford tenure but he insisted that all thoughts of that night were in the past.
"I don't think they (Bayern) think about it," said Ferguson.
"In fact, I don't think one of their (current) players played in the final."

David Mikael Taclino
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Latest Discovery Open New Doors?

Archaeologists have unearthed a 3,500-year-old door to the afterlife from the tomb of a high-ranking Egyptian official near Karnak temple in Luxor, the Egyptian antiquities authority said Monday.
These recessed niches found in nearly all ancient Egyptian tombs were meant to take the spirits of the dead to and from the afterworld. The nearly six-foot- tall (1.75 meters) slab of pink granite was covered with religious texts.
The door came from the tomb of User, the chief minister of Queen Hatshepsut, a powerful, long ruling 15th century B.C. queen from the New Kingdom with a famous mortuary temple near Luxor in southern Egypt.
User held the position of vizier for 20 years, also acquiring the titles of prince and mayor of the city, according to the inscriptions. He may have inherited his position from his father.
Viziers in ancient Egypt were powerful officials tasked with the day-to-day running of the kingdom's complex bureaucracy.
As a testament to his importance, User had his own tomb on the west bank of the Nile in Luxor, where royal kings and queens were also buried. A chapel dedicated to him has also been discovered further south in the hills near Aswan.
The stone itself was long way from its tomb and had apparently been removed from the grave and then incorporated into the wall of a Roman-era building, more than a thousand years later.
False doors were placed in the west walls of tombs and faced offering tables where food and drink were left for the spirit of the deceased.

David Mikael Taclino
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US Threaten in Aussies Filter

The United States has raised concerns with Australia about the impact of a proposed Internet filter that would place restrictions on Web content, an official said Monday.
The concerns of Australia's most important security ally further undermine plans that would make Australia one of the strictest Internet regulators among the world's democracies.
"Our main message of course is that we remain committed to advancing the free flow of information which we view as vital to economic prosperity and preserving open societies globally," a U.S. State Department spokesman Michael Tran told The Associated Press by telephone from Washington.
Tran declined to say when or at what level the U.S. State Department raised its concerns with Australia and declined to detail those concerns.
"We don't discuss the details of specific diplomatic exchanges, but I can say that in the context of that ongoing relationship, we have raised our concerns on this matter with Australian officials," he added.
Internet giants Google and Yahoo have condemned the proposal as a heavy-handed measure that could restrict access to legal information.
The plan needs the support of Parliament to become law later this year.
Australian Communications Minister Stephen Conroy says the filter would block access to sites that include child pornography, sexual violence and detailed instructions in crime or drug use. The list of banned sites could be constantly updated based on public complaints. If adopted into law, the screening system would make Australia one of the strictest Internet regulators among the world's democracies.
Conroy declined to comment on the U.S. concerns.
"The Australian and U.S. governments liaise regularly on a broad range of issues. It would be inappropriate to discuss the details of these consultations," said his spokeswoman, Suzie Brady.
Some critics of Australia's filter have said it puts the nation in the same censorship league as China

David Mikael Taclino
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Myanmar Reports: Opposition to Boycott Polls Result

In a bold gamble, the party of Myanmar's detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi decided Monday to boycott the military-ruled country's first election in two decades, saying it would carry on its struggle for democracy even if it was officially disbanded.
The decision by the National League for Democracy, approved by an unanimous vote of the 113 executive members present at an all-day meeting, spotlights the question of the polls' credibility. The NLD won the most parliamentary seats in the last election in 1990, whose results the military refused to honor.
The party said new laws guiding the election are undemocratic. Their provisions would bar Suu Kyi from participating, or even being a member of the party she helped found 22 years ago in the wake of a failed popular uprising against military rule.
"We will continue to pursue, through peaceful means, democracy and human rights with support, understanding and assistance from the people, ethnic nationalities and democratic forces," said party vice chairman Tin Oo.
The boycott could undermine the junta's claims that the election represents a step forward in its "roadmap for democracy."
The reaction of the international community, which has already expressed doubt over the fairness of the polls, could be crucial in determining whether the election will proceed smoothly. The junta hopes holding the vote will ease pressure for political reforms and accommodation with the country's pro-democracy movement.
At the same time, the party risks being further marginalized. It has been the focal point for opposition to military rule, even though it has faced fierce repression. If it loses its status as a legal party, it may face tighter restrictions.
A call to revoke the country's 2008 constitution, pushed though by the military to ensure its influence under an elected government, also puts it in jeopardy of laws against criticism of the charter.
"It is a great pity that they've opted out to participate. I could understand why they would have done this, because of the adversity they have to face. But it would be a great loss to Burma and the Burmese people," said Trevor Wilson, a Myanmar expert at Australian National University. Burma is the former name for Myanmar.
"This may prove quite significant for NLD's future," he said. "Because of this, they may not be as productive or as valuable to Burmese politics as they had in the past."
Cheering could be heard from the delegates after they reached their decision and concluded their meeting. Officially, the party decided it would not register itself, the first legal step to taking part in the polls.
Earlier, a message from Suu Kyi was read to the delegates, explaining her position. Suu Kyi is still general-secretary of the party and its most dominant figure. The pro-democracy icon has spent 14 of the last 20 years in jail or under house arrest.
Party spokesman Nyan Win told reporters afterward the party should not take part in the polls because new electoral laws were "unjust and biased" and the stipulations "undemocratic."
Nyan Win did not elaborate, but the party had previously objected to a provision of the party registration law that requires parties to expel members who have criminal convictions, or face de-registration.
Because Suu Kyi was convicted last year of allowing an unregistered guest to stay at her home, the provision would appear not to allow her to be a member of the National League for Democracy, which she helped found.
"In her message to the people, she said she will continue to work for the achievement of democracy," said Nyan Win, quoting her saying, "I don't consider the party finished if the party is dissolved."
The new election laws require political parties to register before the first week in May. Parties that do not register will not be able to participate in this year's election and will cease to exist.
No date has been set for the polls, which many critics deride as a sham designed to cement the power of the military.
Last week, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said key nations want Myanmar's government to give its people the opportunity to participate freely in upcoming elections — including political prisoners and Suu Kyi, who is under house arrest.
He spoke after a meeting of the Group of Friends of Myanmar to discuss the country's new electoral laws.
The group includes about 15 countries, including Myanmar's neighbors, interested Asian and European nations, and the five permanent U.N. Security Council members: the U.S., Russia, China, Britain and France. Ban said the group believes inclusive elections are necessary to advance the prospects of stability, democracy and development in the country.
"The government must create conditions that give all stakeholders the opportunity to participate freely in elections," Ban said. "This includes the release of all political prisoners — including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi — and respect for fundamental freedoms."

David Mikael Taclino
Inyu Web Development and Design
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Nigeria's Ethnic Line

 Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi suggested Monday that Nigeria be split along ethnic lines, like Yugoslavia, into several mini-states as a way of resolving violence in Africa's most populous nation.
Gadhafi drew Nigeria's anger last week by saying the oil-rich nation should be divided into Muslim and Christian nations along the model of the 1947 partitioning of the Indian subcontinent, which led to the independence of India and Pakistan.
In those comments, he told a group of African student leaders in Tripoli that the violence in Nigeria was symptomatic of a "deep-rooted conflict of a religious nature" and required a radical solution.
On Monday, Gadhafi said that wasn't radical enough.
"Actually, the problem of Nigeria won't be solved by dividing it into two Muslim and Christian states. There are other people who, regardless of their religion, also demand independence," Libya's official JANA news agency quoted Gadhafi as saying.
"Therefore, what fits Nigeria in this case is Yugoslavia," he said.
Nigeria criticized the earlier remarks as unacceptable and withdrew its ambassador from Tripoli.
Nigeria has experienced two outbursts of violence between Muslims and Christians this year, where men, women and children were slaughtered. The violence mostly involves revenge attacks, but growing religious hatred, political and ethnic rivalries and poverty have fueled the unrest.
Nigeria, a nation of 150 million people, is almost evenly split between Sunni Muslims in the north and the predominantly Christian south. The recent bloodshed has been happening in central Nigeria, where dozens of ethnic groups vie for control of the nation's fertile center.
The mercurial Libyan leader, who until recently was chairman of the African Union and adopted the title "King of African Kings," has always claimed to be a champion of African unity.
David Mikael Taclino
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Tornado Hit Bahamas

Police in the Bahamas say a tornado has apparently touched down in at least two places on the island of Grand Bahama.
Police spokeswoman Loretta Mackey says there are no immediate reports of fatalities. Mackey says authorities are still checking reports of damage at the island's container port and elsewhere.
Monday's storm uprooted trees in the tourist area of Lucaya.
There are also reports of damaged cars and businesses.
A forecaster with the Bahamas Meteorology Department says heavy thunderstorms are expected to last until at least late afternoon.









David Mikael Taclino
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Britain's Credit Risk

Britain's credit rating could be lowered if a new government fails to cut massive public debt, Standard & Poor's warned on Monday as rival parties traded barbs over strained public finances.
With polls widely expected in early May, S&P affirmed Britain's top-grade AAA rating but said it remained on "negative outlook," meaning the rating could be lowered -- a move that would cause shockwaves in the global economy.
"The outlook on the United Kingdom remains negative based on our view that ... the UK's net general government debt burden may approach a level incompatible with a 'AAA' rating," S&P warned in a statement.
S&P said "the rating could be lowered if we conclude that the incoming government's fiscal strategy is unlikely to put the UK debt burden on a secure downward trajectory over the medium term."
The ruling Labour Party and opposition Conservatives have made the public finances a key battle ground in the run-up to the general election, which is widely expected to be held on May 6.
The government says it has had to spend massively in order to keep the economy on track during the worst global slump in decades.
Any move now by the Conservatives to withdraw some of the spending so as to balance the state's books will only undermine what is a still tentative economic recovery, Prime Minister Gordon Brown and his cabinet have argued.
The Conservatives in turn insist that a massive and growing budget deficit alongside soaring national debt endangers the longer-term future of the country and something must be done -- for example through budget cuts.
Analysts at Schroders, a London-based asset management company, said in a report that Britain was in for "a rocky ride" on financial markets in the coming months and that its bonds and the pound could become targets.
"Now that a solution has been announced for Greece, bond vigilantes will be taking stock and looking for their next target," Schroders said, referring to proposed EU-IMF loans to help Greece through a public finances crunch.
"As we approach the general election and the probability of a hung parliament rises, (bond market) vigilantes may find the allure of a vulnerable UK too tempting," it said.
"We expect increased volatility in Sterling and Gilt (bond) markets in the short-term," it added.
Michael Hewson, an analyst at online trading company CMC Markets, said that "the prospect of a hung parliament continues to be the over-riding concern for investors right now and this will continue to weigh."
A hung parliament is one in which no single party has a majority, meaning a coalition or minority government.
Earlier on Monday, the Conservatives pledged to scrap a planned extra levy on personal income, saying it was "a tax on jobs and the middle classes."
The planned rise in National Insurance contributions was "the economics of the madhouse," said George Osborne, shadow finance minister, pledging that the Conservatives would cover the cost by cutting six billion pounds of "waste" from the public sector.
S&P forecast that general government debt will rise to 77 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2010 and approach 100 percent by 2014 -- far higher than official forecasts -- because of weak growth and a huge deficit.
The government forecasts debt to peak at 89.2 percent of GDP in 2013-2014.
"As a result of the sizeable structural general government deficit, together with our weaker economic outlook, we project the general government gross and net debt burdens to continue on an upward trend," it added.
The ratings agency also said that the budget announced last week did not make any clearer how the government planned to deal with the debt in the medium-term, adding that there was "substantial uncertainty" over policy.

David Mikael Taclino
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