'Jackson's doc gave him drug before death'

File photo of pop music legend Michael Jackson. Photo Courtesy: AP.

Michael Jackson's personal doctor administered a powerful anesthetic to help him sleep, and authorities believe the drug killed the pop singer, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press on Monday.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing, also provided a glimpse inside Jackson's rented mansion, describing the room Jackson slept in as outfitted with oxygen tanks and an IV drip.


* Michael Jackson's Demise: Full Coverage

Another of his bedrooms was a shambles, with clothes and other items strewn about and handwritten notes stuck on the walls. One read: "children are sweet and innocent."

The official said Jackson regularly received propofol to sleep, relying on the drug like an alarm clock. A doctor would administer it when he went to sleep, then stop the intravenous drip when he wanted to wake up.

On June 25, the day Jackson died, Dr Conrad Murray gave him the drug through an IV sometime after midnight, the official said.

Though toxicology reports are pending, investigators are working under the theory propofol caused Jackson's heart to stop, the official said. Jackson is believed to have been using the drug for about two years and investigators are trying to determine how many other doctors administered it, the official said.

Murray, 51, has been identified in court papers as the subject of a manslaughter investigation and authorities last week raided his office and a storage unit in Houston. Police say Murray is cooperating and have not labeled him a suspect.

Using propofol to sleep is a practice far outside the drug's intended purpose. One doctor said administering it in a home to help a person sleep would constitute malpractice.

Murray's lawyer, Edward Chernoff, has said the doctor "didn't prescribe or administer anything that should have killed Michael Jackson." When asked Monday about the law enforcement official's statements he said: "We will not be commenting on rumors, innuendo or unnamed sources."

Murray became Jackson's personal physician in May and was to accompany him to London for a series of concerts starting in July.

He was staying with Jackson in the Los Angeles mansion and, according to Chernoff, "happened to find" an unconscious Jackson in the pop star's bedroom the morning of June 25. Murray tried to revive him by compressing his chest with one hand while supporting Jackson's back with the other.

It's unclear how long it took for someone at Jackson's home to summon paramedics, though Murray's own lawyers have said it was up to a half-hour.

Paramedics arrived about three minutes after they were called and tried to revive the music superstar for another 42 minutes before sliding him into the ambulance and racing with lights flashing and siren blaring to UCLA Medical Center, where Jackson was pronounced dead.

Authorities arrived at the singer's house after the death and found a chaotic scene. The top floor had been all but sealed off, with only Jackson, his children and Murray allowed upstairs, the official said. Jackson's bedroom was a mess, with items seemingly thrown about and some 20 handwritten notes stuck on the walls.

A porcelain girl doll wearing a dress was found on top of the covers of the bed where he slept, the official said.

The temperature upstairs was stiflingly hot, with gas fireplaces and the heating system on high because Jackson always complained of feeling cold, the official said.

Police found propofol and other drugs in the home. An IV line and three tanks of oxygen were in the room where Jackson slept and 15 more oxygen tanks were in a security guard's shack, the official said.

Propofol can depress breathing and lower heart rates and blood pressure. Because of the risks, propofol is only supposed to be administered in medical settings by trained personnel. Instructions on the drug's package warn that patients must be continuously monitored, and that equipment to maintain breathing, to provide artificial ventilation, and to administer oxygen if needed "must be immediately available."

Dr Zeev Kain, who heads the anesthesiology department at the University of California, Irvine Medical Center, said he has never encountered a situation where propofol was given in a home to help someone sleep. Such a situation would constitute malpractice, he said.

Cherilyn Lee, a registered nurse who gave Jackson nutritional counseling and vitamins earlier this year, said he complained of insomnia and asked her repeatedly for Diprivan, the brand-name version of propofol. Lee said she warned him of the drug's dangers and rejected his requests.

Los Angeles police interviewed Murray twice soon after Jackson's death. Last week, detectives flew to Houston and, along with federal drug agents, searched a medical clinic he ran and a storage unit he rented.

They seized a long list of items, including the contents of three computer hard drives, two e-mails from his administrative assistant at the Las Vegas practice Murray ran and various other documents.

A sealed search warrant approved by a Houston judge and later made public allowed authorities to seek "property or items constituting evidence of the offense of manslaughter that tend to show that Dr Conrad Murray committed the said criminal offense.

Wild camels 'genetically unique'

Are these some of the last remaining wild camels on Earth? The precarious status of the Bactrian camel has been highlighted by a new genetic study. An analysis by scientists in China and Inner Mongolia shows that wild Bactrian camels are distantly related to their domestic two-humped counterparts. That reinforces the idea that the few hundred remaining wild Bactrian camels are unique, and should be kept separate from those in domestic herds. Bactrians are the last remaining wild camels of any type. Bactrian camels (Camelus bactrianus) are huge animals that stand up to 2.3m tall at the shoulder and can weigh up to 690kg. The population needs to remain discrete if it is not to be genetically swamped by the domestic animal Richard Kock, Zoological Society of London Fewer than 1000 wild Bactrian camels survive in just a few areas in north-west China and south-west Mongolia. The animal is listed as critically endangered and the Zoological Society of London's EDGE of Existence programme ranks them among the 100 most evolutionarily distinct but globally endangered animals. Domestic rival Despite the tiny number in the wild, a significant number of domestic Bactrian camels are herded in the cold deserts in China and Mongolia. However, the relationship between wild Bactrian camels and those kept domestically has been unclear. The wild camels have smaller, more slender bodies with thinner, more lithe legs, and lower pyramid-shaped humps. Recent research has also shown that the two find it difficult to interbreed. To find out more about this relationship, Rimutu Ji of the Inner Mongolia Agricultural University in Huhhot, China, and He Meng of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, teamed up with scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences to sample the DNA of 18 domestic and three wild camels selected from different regions. Wild camels roam the Kumtage desert of northern China The researchers confirmed that the different groups of wild camel in Gansu, China and Govi-Altay, Mongolia are closely related, though they could not determine their common ancestor. They also confirmed that all domestic camels originated from the same population. However, domestic camels did not originate from the group of camels that still survive in the wild, say the researchers. Separate entities They found that the domestic and wild camels first diverged around 700,000 years ago. The researchers cannot be sure, but they suspect that changes to the climate may have caused one group of Bactrian camels to migrate en masse away from the others, and that the ancestor of the domestic two-humped camel probably went extinct thousands of years ago. That confirms what conservationists have long suspected: that the two groups are genetically unique, and must be considered to be distinct subspecies. "The wild group is worthy of conservation as a separate entity," says Richard Kock, conservation programme manager for the Zoological Society of London. "What is important is that the population needs to remain discrete and in a reasonably high number if it is not to be genetically swamped out by hybridisation with the domestic animal." The wild one-humped dromedary camel (Camelus dromedarius) is already extinct, making the remaining wild Bactrians the last known wild camels.

Bush mulled using military on US soil: Report

In a debated test of the Constitution, the Bush administration in 2002 considered using American troops on US soil to arrest a group of men suspected of plotting with al-Qaeda, a report says.

The New York Times reported Friday that top officials of former President George W. Bush, including Vice President Dick Cheney, urged that the military be used to arrest the men who operated in Buffalo suburb.

The Constitution and various laws restrict the military from being used to conduct domestic raids and seize property.

The Fourth Amendment bans “unreasonable” searches and seizures without probable cause. And the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 generally prohibits the military from acting in a law enforcement capacity.

However, Cheney argued that the president did have the power to do so, citing an October 23, 2001 Justice Department memorandum co-authored by John Yoo which claimed that presidential power extended to the domestic use of the military as long as it served a national security purpose, the report added.

“The president has ample constitutional and statutory authority to deploy the military against international or foreign terrorists operating within the United States,” the memorandum said.

Cheney's legal advisor David Addington and some Defense Department officials supported Cheney's position, but several aides to Bush opposed it, along with then national security adviser Condoleezza Rice and FBI director Robert Mueller.

Bush finally decided against the proposal and ordered the FBI to make the arrests in Lackawanna. The men were subsequently arrested and pleaded guilty to terrorism-related charges.

PM pays tribute to Kargil martyrs

Indian PM Manmohan Singh salutes at the Amar Jawan Jyoti in New Delhi. Photo Courtesy: A

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday led the nation in paying homage to the martyrs of the Kargil war on its 10th anniversary.

"I join the entire nation in paying homage to the martyrs of the Kargil war. They sacrificed their lives in defence of Indian unity and integrity," the Prime Minister wrote in the visitor's book at Amar Jawan Jyoti in New Delhi.

"The best tribute we can pay to the gallant officers and jawans is to dedicate ourselves to the gigantic task of nation building and work steadfastly to protect the unity and integrity of our nation," he added.

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This was the first time in the last five years of UPA government's rule that the political leadership has also participated in the Kargil war day celebrations.

Singh was accompanied by Defence Minister A K Antony, Navy Chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta, Army Vice Chief Lieutenant General Noble Thamburaj and Air Force Vice Chief Air Marshal P K Barbora.

Soon after the ceremony, the Prime Minister left for Vishakhapatnam where he will be launching the indigenously developed nuclear submarine INS Arihant for sea trials.

To mark the tenth anniversary of the Operation Vijay, the Army is holding a series of events in the Kargil-Dras sector, which are being attended by the officers who took part in the war, gallantry award winners and their families and senior Army officials.

"Army and Air Force personnel will be heli-dropped on the recaptured peaks, which will be lighted during the night and photo exhibition, beating retreat and felicitation of war awardees will be the highlights of the programme," Army officials said.

As many as 533 jawans and officers had sacrificed their lives while re-capturing 13 hill points from Pakistani troops after they had sneaked into Indian posts and occupied the heights in 1999.

Indian Air Force had also launched its Operation 'Safed Sagar' to evict the enemy troops sitting on the peak.

It had lost two MiG 27s and one Mi-17 helicopter in the battle

Indonesia sends message of defiance to bombers

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (front C) inspects damage at the hotel. Photo Courtesy: AFP

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono sent a message of defiance Thursday to the perpetrators of last week's deadly suicide attacks in Jakarta, saying the country would not be cowed by terror.

The president said the mainly Muslim archipelago must remain vigilant against further attacks after suicide bombers killed seven people at the adjacent JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels last Friday.

"I'm sure we will find these perpetrators of terror. We'll also recover the national situation," he told reporters at Jakarta's international airport, referring to four years of growth and stability since the last major attack.

"As a nation we cannot be defeated by terrorism."

Three Australians, an Indonesian and a New Zealander have been confirmed killed in the blasts, which also injured 53 people. Two Dutch tourists are also believed to have been killed, as well as the two suicide bombers.

Police have not publicly named any suspects, but senior counter-terrorism officials have said the attacks are the suspected work of Islamist fanatics linked to the Southeast Asian militant network Jemaah Islamiyah (JI).

Digital sketches of two men believed to be the bombers were released Wednesday. Both were Asians with short hair and one, the Marriott bomber who killed five people, was aged just 16 to 17 years, police said.

Police deputy spokesman Sulistyo Ishak said police were searching for two Indonesian men, Nur Hasbi and Ibrahim, who might be able to provide information on the attacks.

Hasbi, otherwise known as Nur Said, is a known disciple of JI splinter group leader Noordin Mohammed Top, while Ibrahim is believed to have worked at a florist at one of the hotels and has been missing since Friday.

Police have also detained a woman believed to be the third wife of Malaysian-born Noordin, the alleged mastermind of a string of deadly blasts in Indonesia including the 2003 truck bombing of the Marriott.

Police took samples from relatives of Nur Hasbi and Ibrahim on Monday which ruled them out as either of the unidentified bombers, but Ishak said they were still people of interest.

"Although DNA tests showed that Nur Hasbi and Ibrahim were not the suspected suicide bombers, we're still looking for them," he said.

"We want to know where they are, their roles or links to the perpetrators."

Investigators have said the Marriott bomber checked into Room 1808 of the luxury hotel two days before the attacks, disguised as a guest and bearing false identification.

Singapore's Straits Times newspaper, quoting "well-placed sources", reported Thursday that the Ritz-Carlton bomber, aged 20 to 40 years according to police, received help from Ibrahim to enter the hotel via a staff door.

He blew himself up in the cafe killing two people, minutes after the Marriott attack.

JI analyst Noor Huda Ismail said Nur Hasbi had been a person of interest to police since 2006.

"Most of the speculation, most of the reports I have obtained was that he went with Top everywhere, he was Top's right-hand man," he told AFP.

Yudhoyono said security had to be tightened across the mainly Muslim country of 234 million people, which has been hit by dozens of terror bombings over the past decade including the 2002 Bali attack that killed 202 people.

"Everybody has to be screened thoroughly. Even when I travel... my bag is being checked as well," he said.

In an address to the nation on the night of the bombings, Yudhyoyono was criticised for apparently linking the blasts to domestic politics and his election rivals.

He made no comment Thursday about whom he believed was behind the latest bombings

World's largest eBook shop launched

A Barnes & Noble board.

Barnes & Noble launched what it bills as the world's largest online electronic book shop with virtual shelves holding more than 700,000 titles.

The major US bookseller is challenging online retail powerhouse Amazon.com with electronic works readable on an array of platforms, including computers, iPod Touch MP3 players, and iPhone and BlackBerry smart phones.

Barnes & Noble added that it will be the exclusive provider of "eBooks" for electronic readers to be released by Plastic Logic.

"We want to make eBooks simple, accessible, affordable and convenient for everyone," said William Lynch, president of the book giant's website BN.com.

"Today marks the first phase of our digital strategy, which is rooted in the belief that readers should have access to the books in their digital library from any device, from anywhere, at any time."

Amazon staked out a place in the electronic book market with the release of Kindle reader devices in late 2007 and has more than 300,000 titles for sale at its website.

Early this year, Amazon made software available at Apple's App Store that lets people read Kindle books on iPhones or iPod Touch devices.

The increasingly competitive e-reader market includes offerings from Japanese electronics giant Sony.

Biden pledges US loyalty to Georgia

US Vice President Joe Biden (L) speaks with Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili in Tbilisi. Photo Courtesy: AFP

Vice President Joe Biden held talks Thursday with Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, pledging US support a year after the strategic ex-Soviet state was roundly defeated in a brief war with Russia.

"The reason why I am here... is to show you that we stand with you," Biden said at the start of his meeting with the Georgian leader at the presidential palace in Tbilisi.

He was scheduled to meet later with opposition leaders, who have accused Saakashvili of authoritarianism, before delivering a keynote address to the country's parliament.

Standing alongside Biden, Saakashvili insisted that Georgia had made an "irreversible" choice in favour of democracy and also remained committed to joining NATO.

"We are dedicated to joining Europe, the North Atlantic alliance," Saakashvili said.

Although no specific agenda for the meetings was made public, ahead of Biden's arrival Georgian officials had said they were engaged in talks for US personnel to join a European Union monitoring mission in the country.

European monitors patrol near two rebel regions that were the epicenter of last August's fighting between Russian and Georgian forces. They are part of an EU-brokered ceasefire deal that ended the fighting.

The United States has not confirmed whether sending US personnel to Georgia is on the agenda for the talks, but it has long backed Saakashvili's drive to reassert Georgian sovereignty over the two regions, Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

Both regions were formally recognized as independent countries by Russia in the wake of last year's war, but most of the world condemned the move, with only Nicaragua following suit.

Speaking with characteristic flair, Saakashvili said that a "historic injustice" had been done to Georgia, which he said was "comparable with Darfur", the scene of fierce ethnic battles in Sudan.

Biden said his discussions with Saakashvili and other Georgian officials would centre on three areas: "security, economy, democracy." But he did not elaborate.

Biden's boss, US President Barack Obama, has made repairing relations with Russia -- damaged by a variety of disagreements including Moscow's anger over close US ties with Georgia -- a top priority for his administration.

But Biden, who visited Ukraine before travelling to Georgia, said he had been sent by Obama to the two pivotal Russian neighbours to reassure them that Washington's "reset" of ties with Moscow would not come at their expense.

The Russian foreign ministry said Tuesday that Moscow would be watching Biden's travels "attentively," and another top official warned that the Kremlin would not allow Georgia to re-arm under Saakashvili.

"We will continue to prevent the re-arming of Saakashvili's regime and are taking concrete measures against this," the ITAR-TASS news agency quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin as saying.

Biden arrived in Tbilisi on Wednesday, and in an ironic start to the visit, Biden's motorcade travelled along George W Bush Avenue, the main artery linking Tbilisi's airport with the city centre.

It was re-named several years ago in honour of the former US president.

Bush strongly backed Saakashvili and was hugely popular in Georgia at a time when he was widely disliked in many other countries.

Biden was greeted in Georgia by throngs of US flag-waving supporters along the road, some of them holding placards reading: "Yes You Can!" -- a reference to Obama's election campaign slogan

Kalam yet to receive apology from Continental

APJ Abdul Kalam, Photo courtesy: AFP

Former President A P J Abdul Kalam is "yet" to receive the apology from America's Continental Airlines for breaching the protocol norms by frisking him at Delhi's international airport.

"I have not yet received it," said Kalam when asked about the apology sent by the airline.

On Wednesday, Continental Airlines had apologised to Kalam following a political uproar in the country over the frisking of the former President at Delhi's international airport before he was to board a Newark-bound flight on April 21.

Asked whether he had felt insulted when he was subjected to the security check, Kalam, who is in Kochi, declined to comment, saying the issue has been discussed in Parliament.

When contacted, the airline on Thursday said it had sent the apology letter to Kalam's Delhi office as directed by his official staff and since the former President was travelling, his staff may not have been able to communicate to him about the letter.

"We are waiting for him to return to Delhi so that we can apologise to the former president in person," Aparna Srivastava, public relations officer of the airline, said.

"It is true that such a thing (frisking) has taken place," Kalam told reporters in Kochi.

The former President said, "The issue has been discussed in both Houses of Parliament. It is before Parliament now. How can I comment?"

To a question if he was hurt by the incident, he quipped, "I am smiling."

Netanyahu Rebukes Shin Bet Chief: Stay out of “Peace Process”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu silenced Shin Bet security service head Yuval Diskin as Diskin was making a presentation during Sunday's cabinet meeting on intelligence matters, which included references to Palestinian attitudes to Israel and the possible renewal of the so-called peace process.

"First focus on your issues and give an intelligence report. The diplomatic arena is not the responsibility of the Shin Bet, but of the national security adviser," Netanyahu told Diskin. "Sir, in the past we also referred to these issues. If you want it to be different, it will be different," Diskin said to Netanyahu, cutting his presentation short.

Ministers present at the meeting told Haaretz Diskin appeared embarrassed by the incident, particularly because the national security adviser, Uzi Arad, was sitting nearby.

Netanyahu's rebuke apparently stemmed from a request by Arad, who has feuded with a number of senior defense officials over the past few months. Two weeks ago, when Arad headed a delegation to Washington to discuss the Iranian nuclear program, he quarreled with a senior Mossad official at his meetings. Senior officials at Military Intelligence also say he is difficult to work with.

The Prime Minister's Office issued a statement Monday morning saying that Arad did not ask the prime minister to censure Diskin. The statement said furthermore that Arad maintains good cooperative relations with all the senior defense officials, especially the director of the Shin Bet.

Diskin told the cabinet Hamas rhetoric had changed somewhat in recent weeks. "Public statements by leaders attest to efforts by Hamas to appear interested in ending the conflict with Israel, based on the model of a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders in exchange for a long-term hudnah [cease-fire]," Diskin said before Netanyahu silenced him. "This doesn't mean they have abandoned ideological principles. Hamas is turning to the diplomatic sphere to challenge exclusive control by Abu Mazen," Diskin said, referring to PA President Mahmoud Abbas

China riots 'planned' days ahead

At least 192 people were killed in the ethnic clashes in western China. Photo Courtesy: AFP.

Deadly ethnic unrest in China's Muslim Xinjiang region was planned and coordinated in a bid to ignite violence across the regional capital Urumqi, state media reported on Sunday.

A report by the official Xinhua News Agencysaid rioters involved in the July 5 violence, China's worst ethnic unrest in decades, appeared to have prepared weapons in the days leading up to the unrest which left at least 192 dead.

* China says police killed 12 in Urumqi rioting

Earlier on Sunday, the agency had quoted the chair of Xinjiang's government, Nur Bekri, saying police had shot dead 12 rioters amid the mayhem.

China has said the attacks by members of Xinjiang's Uighur minority, which targeted members of China's dominant Han ethnic group, were orchestrated by exiled Uighur activist Rebiya Kadeer.

Kadeer, who is based in the United States, has denied the accusation.

Xinhua made no mention of Uighur claims that the riots were touched off by a harsh police response to peaceful protests by Uighurs upset over a recent factory brawl in southern China that left two Uighurs dead.

Many Uighurs, a Turkic-speaking central Asian people, complain of repression under Chinese rule.

Instead, Xinhua said rioters instigated violent acts in more than 50 locations throughout Urumqi, suggesting that weapons were stockpiled ahead of time. "Knives became hot-selling products two or three days before the unrest," it said, citing local businesses.

It also said stones that were hurled at targets or used to bludgeon victims were not of the sort commonly found in Urumqi, implying they had been trucked into the city in large numbers beforehand.

Rioters also appeared to have a surprisingly keen knowledge of how to quickly ignite the fuel tanks of buses and other vehicles, Xinhua said.

The report, based mostly on the accounts of unnamed witnesses, provided no hard evidence for the claims.

Thousands of Han Chinese armed themselves with clubs and other weapons and marched through Urumqi seeking vengeance on Uighurs in the days after the unrest, but were mostly thwarted by a huge security force

Gandhi's gift to friend to go under hammer

Mahatma Gandhi's memorabilia on display. Photo Courtesy: AFP

Sun-Jul 19, 2009

London / Press Trust of India

With Mahatma Gandhi memorabilia doing well at a recent Sotheby's auction, a bronze statue of a seated Buddhist deity presented by him to his Irish friend Emma Harker will now go on sale on September 8.

The 13-inch-high figure, possibly of the Bodhisattva of compassion Avalokitesvara, is estimated to sell for 3,000-5,000 pounds at Bonhams sale of Asian Art.

On July 14, three of Gandhi's autographed letters sold for 4,750 pounds while a signed khadi cloth which was said to have been woven by him went under the hammer for 2,125 pounds.

Emma went to India to stay with her daughter whose husband was in the Civil Service there. It was through that influential connection that she became close friends with senior Hindu and Muslim politicians, particularly Sarojini Naidu who accompanied Gandhi in his famous Dandi salt march.

A letter from Gandhi to Emma, dated September 19, 1934 suggests she volunteered to assist with relief work among the poor in flooded areas of Bihar and Orissa. It may have been on an appropriate occasion, such as this, that Gandhi presented Emma with the Buddhist figure, the auction house said.

"Emma Harker who died in 1957 knew Gandhi well, corresponding with him over a number of years, and on one occasion introduced her granddaughter, the owner of this sculpture now, to him," said James Hammond, head of Asian Art at Bonhams

Australia warns China on spy case

Mr Rudd has come under pressure over the spying case Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has warned that China has big economic interests at stake in the case of a mining executive accused of spying. He said the matter was being watched closely from abroad. Mr Rudd has been under pressure at home to be more assertive with China, to better protect the detained Australian citizen, Stern Hu. China says it has evidence of spying, bribery and theft of state secrets in a widening probe of the steel industry. "Australia of course has significant economic interests in its relationship with China, but I also want to remind our Chinese friends that China too has significant economic interests at stake in its relationship with Australia and with its other commercial partners around the world," Mr Rudd told a press conference. The Shanghai-based staff of the Anglo-American mining firm Rio Tinto, including Australian Stern Hu, Rio's top iron ore salesman there, are accused of stealing state secrets from Chinese steel mills. China has widened its investigation into the industry's workings by investigating executives at Chinese state-owned steel firms in recent days. Investigation Rio Tinto said markets remained tough Also on Wednesday, Rio Tinto reported second-quarter results, indicating that markets were remaining tough with demand slowing. Production of bauxite, alumina and aluminium were all reduced, but on the upside iron ore production rose for the three month period by 8% from a year earlier. Rio Tinto has not yet finalised price settlements for iron ore sales to certain customers, including steel mills in China. But deals with Japan, Korea and Taiwan have been reached. "Deliveries continue to other customers on a provisional price or spot sales basis," said Rio Tinto chief executive Tom Albanese. Reports suggest the spying case is complicating talks between China and iron ore suppliers around the world. Cutting debt In June, Rio Tinto abandoned a $19.5bn deal with China's state-owned Chinalco in favour of a tie-up with rival giant BHP Billiton, to the anger of some in Beijing. The firm has been seeking to reduce the $38bn of debt it took on to buy the Canadian aluminium group Alcan in 2007. In its second-quarter results, Rio said it had continued to press ahead with steps to cut costs and bring down levels of net debt. After it pulled out of its deal with Chinalco, Rio sought other ways to raise cash. Recently it completed a £15.2bn rights issue and the firm is to offload investments worth £3.7bn.

Leaner GM emerges from bankruptcy

Fritz Henderson on GM's emergence from bankruptcy General Motors (GM) says it has emerged from bankruptcy protection after creating a "new GM" made up of the carmaker's best assets. GM chief executive Fritz Henderson said it was the beginning of a "new era". The leaner GM will own four key brands including Cadillac and will be 61% owned by the US government. Mr Henderson said negotiations were continuing "around the clock" to conclude a deal to sell GM Europe, which includes Opel and Vauxhall. It's easy to dismiss, even ridicule these changes. But they're more than purely cosmetic Greg Wood, BBC North America business correspondent Greg Wood: GM's big changes Mr Henderson said that GM would take the "intensity, decisiveness and speed" of the bankruptcy process and apply it to the new company. "We will be profitable, we will repay our loans as soon as possible and our cars and trucks will be among the best in the world," he said. A smaller GM is being created with a reduced workforce, smaller dealer network and less debt. 'Cautiously optimistic' Industry analysts interpreted the short timeframe of the bankruptcy as a good sign. GM BRANDS BRANDS STAYING Chevrolet GMC Cadillac Buick What the changes mean for GM BRANDS GOING Pontiac* Saturn# Saab# Hummer# Opel# Vauxhall# *= to be discontinued/# = to be sold "It is the smaller, leaner, tougher, better cost-focused GM," said George Magliano, an automotive analyst with consulting firm IHS Global Insight. "But they still have to deal with the problems that they faced longer-term." Analysts argue that GM will need to change what it offers consumers and produce more cutting-edge vehicles. "I'm still cautiously optimistic - they still need to put a product out there that everyone is excited about purchasing," said Pete Hastings, analyst at Morgan Keegan. "The challenge in the future is how to approach a marketplace that has been burned by GM," he added. The firm lost its title as the world's largest vehicle-maker in January. Toyota sold 8.97 million vehicles in 2008, while GM's global sales had dropped to 8.35 million vehicles. The new GM will operate with 27,000 fewer US employees and operate 13 fewer US car plants compared with last year. It will operate the strongest parts of the old company, with only its Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC brands remaining. Others such as Hummer and Saab are being sold off. The company's logo will remain the same; blue with white GM letters underlined. Loan repayment GM said it planned to repay its government loans before the current 2015 deadline. The firm is getting $60bn (£37.3bn) in financing from the US Treasury, which gives the US government a 61% share in the new GM, while the United Auto Workers union will have 17.5%. RECENT ROAD TO GM BANKRUPTCY Feb 2008: GM posts $38.7bn loss for 2007 and plans to cut 74,000 union jobs Sept 2008: GM has 100th anniversary Dec 2008: US state offers $13.3bn in loans to GM and Chrysler; Canada offers $3.3bn Feb 2009:GM posts $31bn loss for 2008 March 2009: The White House requests a new viability plan from GM and calls for boss Rick Wagoner to resign May 2009: Reaches deals with US and Canadian unions. GM bondholders approve restructuring June 2009: GM files for bankruptcy July 2009: GM emerges from bankruptcy GM's journey from boom to bust Canada's government will have a 12% share and GM bondholders will own about 10% in the new company. GM said it hoped to float the company on the stock exchange again "as soon as practical". The US government has said it does not want to be involved in the day-to-day running of the carmaker. The company also said it was exploring a partnership with online auction site eBay to make it easier for customers to buy its cars. Rocky road ahead GM filed for bankruptcy protection on 1 June, saying it would be forced to liquidate if the plan was not approved. The plan was strongly supported by President Barack Obama and GM's 40-day bankruptcy ended two days earlier than that of its cross-town rival Chrysler. However, it is unlikely to be smooth sailing for the two carmakers. US car sales have been hit hard as the financial crisis has made it harder to get credit and made consumers reluctant to make big purchases. During the past six months, car sales in the US have fallen by more than 30%, while in Japan they have declined 20%.