Afghanistan's Neighbors Discuss Trade

NEW DELHI - Afghanistan's neighbors and donor countries met Sunday to discuss ways to boost trade, economic growth and stability in the war-ravaged country.

No specific proposals were offered nor was any money pledged at the two-day conference which brought together Pakistan, Iran, China and members of the Group of Eight industrialized nations. They did adopt a declaration urging neighboring countries to open up aviation and other facilities to make transportation easier in the area.

Afghan Foreign Minister Rangin Dadfar Spanta said the declaration urged donor countries and international aid agencies to help Afghanistan become an "energy bridge" to supply fuel from the …

China shares rebound to 5-month high

Chinese shares rose Friday to a five-month high on investor enthusiasm about higher liquidity in the economy after the central bank confirmed January bank lending hit a record high.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index jumped 3.2 percent, or 72.7 points, to close at 2320.79, ending the week up 6 percent. The Shenzhen Composite Index for China's smaller second exchange climbed 3.6 percent to 749.31.

Analysts said investors' expectations that some of the added liquidity would flow into stocks pushed up prices despite China's economic downturn. The central bank said Thursday that banks lent 1.6 trillion yuan ($237 billion) in January, more than double the …

`Ganado Red' simple, yet emotionally complex

The aim of Susan Lowell's novella Ganado Red (Milkweed Editions,Box 3226, Minneapolis, Minn. 55403, $9.95) is so simple, yet so fullof possibilities, that creative writing teachers may be tempted toborrow it for their classes - to follow the lives that are touched bya single object as it passes out into the world from the hands of itsmaker. In Lowell's case, the object is a finely made Navajo rug, theGanado red of the title, and in her hands the tales that are wovenaround it are as colorful as the rug itself.

"Ganado Red" is the centerpiece of a slender collection ofstories that was chosen by contest judge Phillip Lopate as the winnerof the first Milkweed National …

Feds: People can snap photos outside courthouses

NEW YORK (AP) — Federal officers who patrol the perimeters of federal courthouses across the country will be reminded that members of the public can shoot pictures and videos in public spaces outside the buildings, according to the terms of the settlement of a lawsuit brought by a photographer who was arrested.

The settlement announced Monday was a victory for the First Amendment, the New York Civil Liberties Union said.

The deal calls for written notices to be distributed to Federal Protective Service officers to remind them that no general security regulations prohibit photography outside the buildings.

Federal buildings including courthouses have faced a steady stream …

South Korean government says US beef safe

South Korea's agriculture minister went on national television Friday to assure citizens of the safety of U.S. beef after the government agreed last month to resume imports following a lengthy ban over fears of mad cow disease.

"U.S. beef is safe from mad cow disease," Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Chung Woon-chun said at a televised news conference attended by the health minister and other officials.

Chung added that concerns about mad cow disease were "to some extent exaggerated."

South Korea agreed to resume imports of U.S. beef last month just hours before a meeting between the leaders of the two …

Blagojevich tells students: You can change the system

The keynote speaker at the convention of the Junior State of America — a group that aims to develop young political leaders — had an uplifting message for the 230 students in attendance Saturday in Oak Brook.

"Young people can change the system," he said. "It doesn't happen overnight. Pick yourself up and never give in. Adversity will only make you stronger."

That the speaker delivering the message was impeached Gov. Rod Blagojevich, a convicted felon, might seem unusual for a group trying to strengthen American democracy.

But he was well received by the students, who came in from across the state, as well as Michigan, Wisconsin, Indiana and Minnesota.

He …

Reapportionment Then and Now

WHEN THE U.S. Census Bureau released congressional reapportionment numbers based on the 201U Census in December, the results were more or less as expected. Texas and Florida were the big gainers, along with a smattering of other rapidly growing states, primarily in the Sunbelt, while New York and Ohio were the big losers, along with a swath of slower growing states, primarily in the Northeast and Midwest.

Representatives of states destined to lose congressional seats generally took the results as a matter of course, though one exception was Louisiana Senator David Vitter, who issued a statement lamenting that his state would lose a seat "while states that welcome illegal …