BC-AP World Features Digest

2009-06-07 02:40:30 -

Below is a list of feature stories that The Associated Press plans to move in the coming week. Questions about the stories may be addressed to the North America Desk supervisor in New York at 212-621-1650 (fax 212-621-5449 or e-mail amidesk@ap.org) or to individual bureaus in your country or region.
We will update this digest daily, adding new features as available. Feature stories that moved in the previous three days are included at the bottom for editors who may not have seen them.
Sunday, June 7
Ahmadinejad's power vs `green' reformist in Iran
TEHRAN, Iran _ A text message bouncing among foes of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad closes with a rallying cry: «Vote so that he will be defeated.» Whether that's possible in Friday's election is far from certain. But the text is more important for its optimism than its analysis. There's a growing sense that Ahmadinejad is vulnerable as his main reformist rival gathers momentum. BC-ML-FEA--Iran's Showdown. By Ali Akbar Dareini And Brian Murphy. AP Photos VAH101-109
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BC-ML-FEA--Iran's Showdown-Glance
White woman shakes up black-led South Africa's politics
CAPE TOWN, South Africa _ Helen Zille thrives on challenge. She fought the apartheid regime and lately she has gone up against South Africa's black political establishment. She won plaudits as mayor of Cape Town, and continues to triumph at the ballot box. Zille's rise is a striking example of South Africa's vibrant democracy, and a demonstration that in this black-ruled country, there's room at the top for white politicians. BC-AF-FEA--South Africa-Woman in Charge. By Clare Nullis. AP Photos NY324-329
Teen survivor of genocide awaits US graduation
SEATTLE _ Two years ago, Candide Uwizeyimana could not speak a word of English. A survivor of the Rwandan genocide, she lost her family and later was separated from those who rescued her from an orphanage, fed and housed her and paid for her education. Survival was the focus of her first 16 years. But drive, determination and some luck have given Candide the opportunity to live a completely different life in the suburbs north of Seattle, where she saw snow for the first time and is about to graduate from high school. BC-US--FEA-Candide's Journey. By Donna Gordon Blankinship. AP Photos NY337-342
Kidnappings spike in Pakistan
KARACHI, Pakistan _ The three gunmen forced the car carrying a famous Hindu filmmaker to stop along the bumpy street, then injected both men with a sedative. A few hours later, the driver woke up to find the filmmaker gone. Pakistan is suffering from a rise in kidnappings, because of a floundering economy and an overall erosion of security in a country facing spreading Islamist militancy. BC-AS-FEA--Pakistan-Ransomed Lives. By Nahal Toosi. AP Photos NY308-310
Militant Hamas gets into matchmaking business
GAZA CITY , Gaza Strip _ At 29, Tahani is considered a spinster by the conservative standards of Gaza. So in her search for a husband, she turned to the best in the marriage business: the Islamic militant group Hamas. Despite its fearsome reputation elsewhere, in this poverty-stricken, seaside strip the group has built its political support on its cradle-to-grave welfare programs _ so turning to matters of the heart with a matchmaking service was only natural. BC-ML-FEA--Gaza-Hamas Hookups. By Diaa Hadid. AP Photos NY311-313
Alexander the Great's statue stirs Balkan passions
SKOPJE, Macedonia _ Feeling its identity is under siege by all its neighbors, tiny Macedonia is turning to an ancient hero for reassurance. It plans an eight-story-high statue of Alexander the Great on horseback, in the center of the capital. But some Macedonians are aghast, saying the planned statue is a costly eyesore that also may revive ethnic tensions and antagonize powerful Greece next door. BC-EU-FEA--Macedonia-Alexander's Statue. By Konstantin Testorides And Elena Becatoros. AP Photos NY359-364
US Indian tribes, police band together to fight crime
LAC DU FLAMBEAU, Wisconsin _ The two law officers sharing breakfast on this Indian reservation had not been looking for trouble. But walking outside, they saw two teenagers flashing bills in the parking lot. A search of the teens and their hotel room found marijuana, bottles of vodka and a 17-year-old girl who had told her parents she was visiting a friend in Minnesota. It was a small-time bust but represented something larger _ a rare instance of cooperation between tribal police and state agents to battle the growing crime problem on reservations. BC-US--FEA-Indian-Reservation Crime. By Todd Richmond. AP Photos NY314-321.
Monday, June 8
Health care in Pakistan crumbles under refugee burden
DAGAR, Pakistan _ She doesn't have a name yet. She was born five weeks early, after riding for six hours on a creaky old bus through a battlefield and arriving at a hospital with no electricity. Pakistan's rundown health care system is near collapse, with hospitals overwhelmed with refugees. The crisis has exhausted doctors, used up limited supplies of medicines and buried hospitals in a mountain of red tape as they try to get money and medicine. By Kathy Gannon. BC-AS-FEA--Pakistan-Health Horrors. By Kathy Gannon. AP Photos NY344-350
Japan explores using cell phones to stop pandemics
TOKYO _ A few months from now, a highly contagious disease will spread through a Japanese elementary school. The epidemic will start with several unwitting children, who will infect others as they attend classes and wander the halls. If nothing is done, it will quickly gain momentum and rip through the student body, then jump to parents and others in the community. But officials will attempt to stymie the disease and save the school _ using mobile phones. BC-AS-FEA--Japan-Mobile Pandemic Stopper. By Jay Alabaster. AP Photo TOK301
`Smart grid' _ buzz of the electric power industry
WASHINGTON _ Thomas Alva Edison, meet the Internet. More than a century after Edison invented a reliable lightbulb, the nation's electricity distribution system, an aging spider-web of power lines, wants to move into the digital age. The Smart Grid has become the buzz of the electric power industry, at the White House and among members of Congress. It is being talked of as essential for President Barack Obama to achieve his energy priorities from tackling climate change to getting people to use less energy and more renewable sources such as wind and solar. BC-US--FEA-Smart Grid. By H. Josef Hebert. AP Photo WXSC101
Latvia to abandon Soviet-era bomb shelters
LIGATNE, Latvia _ One of the old bomb shelters is now a fish cannery. Another has just been turned into a high-tech data storage center. Yet another is a museum. Deep below the ground in Latvia runs a vast labyrinth of 311 bomb shelters, dating back to an era when Communist Party bosses built thousands across the Soviet Union in case of nuclear attack. But now Latvia can no longer afford to maintain the shelters, at a time when the government can barely pay public servants and is begging for help from the International Monetary Fund. BC-EU-FEA--Latvia-Bomb Shelters. By Gary Peach. AP Photos NY353-356
Obama's problems yet to match earlier presidents
WASHINGTON _ It felt, the new president told reporters the day after he took office, «like the moon, the stars and all the planets had fallen on me.» President Barack Obama's lament about the financial, international and domestic crises bearing down on him? Wrong time, wrong president. The speaker was Harry S. Truman, telling White House reporters in 1945 about the overwhelming and lonesome responsibility confronting a new president. BC-US--FEA-Obama-Problems-Analysis. By Barry Schweid. AP Photos WX201-203
Top hospital willing to try 'mystical mumbo jumbo
BALTIMORE _ At a premier trauma hospital, a nurse circles a patient's bed, humming and waving her arms as if shooing evil spirits. Another woman rubs a quartz bowl with a wand. They are doing Reiki therapy, which claims to heal through invisible energy fields. A doctor calls it «mumbo jumbo» but sees value in it. It's just one example of how unproven alternative treatments have become mainstream. BC-US--FEA-Unproven Remedies. By Marilynn Marchione. AP Photos NY554-559; AP Graphics UNPROVEN REM LOG, ALT MEDICINES, ALT MED DEMOGRAPHICS
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BC-US--FEA-Remedies-Q&A
BC-US--FEA-Remedies-Supplements Glance
Tuesday, June 9
60 pct of cancer patients try nontraditional med
TAMPA, Florida _ Nowhere is alternative medicine more of a risk than for cancer. Putting off standard cancer treatment while trying alternatives first can be fatal. It was for Leslee Flasch, a Florida woman who had a curable cancer but died a painful death after putting her trust in herbals. Other patients risk interfering with their treatment by taking handfuls of vitamins. BC-US--FEA-Unproven Remedies-Cancer. By Marilynn Marchione. AP Photos NY567-573
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BC-US--FEA-Remedies-Rectal Cancer
BC-US--FEA-Remedies-Ovarian Cancer
BC-US--FEA-Remedies-Prostate Cancer
BC-US--FEA-Remedies-Cancer Tips
AP Enterprise: States give Hollywood a fortune in tax breaks; but are they worth the money
BALTIMORE _ Many states that are cutting spending on schools, roads and other basics have been lavishing hundreds of millions of dollars in incentives on Hollywood studios to lure TV and movie productions _ this, despite scant evidence that taxpayers come out ahead on such deals. An Associated Press survey found that states competing for projects handed out $1.8 billion in tax breaks and other advantages to the entertainment industry from 2006 through 2008. Several states have even sweetened their incentives recently or are considering doing so, for fear that if they don't land the next major motion picture, someone else will. BC-US-FEA--Film Incentives. By Ben Nuckols and Martha Waggoner. AP Photos NYET193, NCRAL201, GFX899. AP Graphic FILM INCENTIVES.
US highway shoulders, medians grow shaggy as cash-strapped states mow less during recession
HAGERSTOWN, Maryland _ America's highways are taking on a shaggier look for the peak travel season. Grasses, shrubs and wildflowers are exploding across median strips and road shoulders this summer as states cut back on mowing to save money. Although there are some environmental benefits, the principal reason for the cuts are financial since states rely on fuel taxes to pay for highway maintenance, and fuel sales have been hurt by the recession and the shift toward thriftier vehicles. BC-US-FEA--Shaggy Highways. By David Dishneau. AP Photos MDRC101-102.
Wednesday, June 10
Tests show many supplements have quality problems
MILWAUKEE _ Lead in ginkgo pills. Arsenic in herbals. Bugs in a baby's teething syrup. Such contaminants have been found in «natural» products and dietary supplements in recent years. An independent lab found one-fourth of supplements tested don't live up to the claims on the label. But the law allows government to act only if someone gets sick. BC-US--FEA-Unproven Remedies-Safety. By Marilynn Marchione. AP Photos NY551-553
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BC-US--FEA-Remedies-Safety-Business
BC-US--FEA-Remedies-Safety-Consumer Tips
Slave cabins were home to family through '60s
CHARLESTON, South Carolina _ Eighty-six-year-old Johnnie Leach leans on his cane as he sits in warm sunshine on the steps of the old slave cabin where he raised 13 children four decades ago. Despite the humble setting and the terrible history of the place, living there is a time he and his family remember fondly. «The good Lord blessed me. I sent three of them to college from here,» he says, reminiscing about his old home.The building is one of four former slave cabins at Magnolia Plantation and Gardens that have been restored to show visitors the path of blacks from slavery to freedom. BC-US--FEA-Slavery to Freedom. By Bruce Smith. AP Photos SCMC101-105
No geek license needed for latest airport hi-tech
NEW YORK _ Welcome to the 21st century, passengers. Self-serve ticket kiosks and other electronic screens and gadgets aren't exactly new at airports around the world, but some travelers are hesitant _ maybe a little scared _ about using them. They prefer the old-fashioned comfort of face-to-face contact with an agent, even if waiting in line slows them down. But there are a growing number of ways to cut time and hassle out of a trip to the airport, from new kiosks to boarding passes scanned directly from your cell phone screen. There is, airports insist, no reason to be afraid. BC-US--FEA-Flight-Plan-Airport-Technology. By Samantha Bomkamp. AP Photo NYBZ123
Thursday, June 11
$2.5 billion spent, no alternative med cures found
BETHESDA, Maryland _ Ten years ago the government set out to test herbal and other alternative health remedies to find the ones that work. After spending $2.5 billion, the disappointing answer seems to be that almost none of them do. Echinacea for colds, ginkgo biloba for memory, glucosamine and chondroitin for arthritis. All proved no better than dummy pills in big government studies. BC-US--FEA-Unproven Remedies-Research. By Marilynn Marchione. AP Photos NY579-582
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BC-US--FEA-Remedies-Research-Chelation
San Antonio expands size of River Walk
SAN ANTONIO _ For decades, the channel of the San Antonio River north of the popular restaurants and retail shops downtown was overgrown and blighted _ the kind of place tourists went only if they made a wrong turn. But not anymore. A $72 million overhaul _ essentially doubling the size of the River Walk _ has transformed the dry weed-choked eyesore north of the River Walk into a 1 1/2-mile manicured waterway with whimsical art, benches and fountains that can be passed on foot or by water taxi en route to attractions upriver. BC-US--FEA-San Antonio River Walk. By Michelle Roberts. AP Photos NY412-417
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Features already moved
Thursday, June 4
BC-US--FEA-Smokies 75th
Smoky Mountains Park marks 75th anniversary.
BC-US--FEA-Noir-Tours
Tour keeps spirit of Raymond Chandler's LA alive.
BC-US--FEA-Wall Drug
Wall Drug, founded during Depression, endures.
BC-US--FEA-Aspen-on-a-Budget
Low-budget fun in Aspen? Head to the outdoors.
BC-US--FEA-Traveling Cooking School
Wisconsin chef teaches cooking in forests, fields.
BC-US--FEA-No Defense
In US, public defender offices are in crisis.
Friday, June 5
BC-US--FEA-3-D Theater Shortage
Theater owners behind on 3-D projectors.
BC-US--FEA-The Dreyfuss Initiative
Dreyfuss promotes a return to civility, civics.
BC-US--FEA-Olana-Church's View
Olana exhibit gives visitors Church's views.
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_BC-NA-FEA--US-Top Ten
Saturday, June 6
No features moved
The AP