Voice of America

The latest topic on our VOA News Blog is "Attacks on The Press".
And don't forget to check out our VOA Election Blog focusing on the
U.S. elections. E-mail us to let us know how you like these new
features!

Scotland Yard Says Suicide Bomb Blast Killed Bhutto, Not Bullet

http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=1B304CB:CCDED43CF5A0B870F616565C84920B875C6F54A6CF9DC2CA& Detectives conclude
former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto died when force of
suicide bomb blast rammed her head into hatch of car British
investigators from Scotland Yard have concluded that former Pakistani
Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was killed as the result of a suicide
bomb blast and not an assassin's bullet. The results of the
investigation were handed over to Pakistani government officials in
Islamabad. VOA correspondent Meredith Buel has details.

The findings by Scotland Yard support the Pakistani government's
version of how Ms. Bhutto was assassinated after leaving a political
rally last December in Rawalpindi.

Benazir Bhutto arrives for election campaign rally in Rawalpindi, 27
Dec 2007 Immediately before she was attacked, Ms. Bhutto was waving to
supporters from the hatch of her armored car.

The Scotland Yard detectives concluded that Ms. Bhutto died when the
force of a suicide bomb blast rammed her head into the hatch of the
car.

The head of Pakistan's team investigating the assassination, Abdul
Majeed, read the findings of the British pathologist who assisted with
the investigation.

"The blast caused a violent collision between her head and the escape
hatch area of the vehicle causing a severe and fatal head injury,"
Majeed said.

Television footage of the attack shows a single gunman firing shots
toward Ms. Bhutto seconds before the explosion.

Investigators determined the person firing the gun was also the
suicide bomber.

"All the evidence indicates that one suspect has fired the shot before
detonating an improvised explosive device," Majeed said. "At the time
of the attack this person was standing close to the rear of Mrs.
Bhutto's vehicle."

Pervez Musharraf (file photo)Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf
invited Scotland Yard to investigate the cause of Ms. Bhutto's death
after some of her supporters charged that the government could be
involved in the attack and was covering up circumstances of her
assassination.

Officials of Ms. Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party maintain she was
shot during the attack.

Even after the results of the Scotland Yard investigation were
released, party spokeswoman Sherry Rehman insists that an assassin's
bullet hit the former prime minister.

"We clearly saw even on footage that she recoiled from a bullet and
she fell inside," Rehman said. "The issue really is that this gives us
all the more reason to ask for a larger U.N. investigation into what
led up to the events of December 27 and to what is behind the hand
that pulled the trigger and to who are the financiers, sponsors,
organizers and perpetrators of this crime."

The Scotland Yard report notes that despite the lack of a detailed
search of the crime scene or an autopsy of Ms. Bhutto's body,
sufficient evidence is available for investigators to draw what they
are calling reliable conclusions.

Detectives relied on X-rays of Ms. Bhutto's head and a detailed
examination of video footage of the attack.

The British team only investigated how Ms. Bhutto was killed, not who
was behind it.

The Pakistani government says an al-Qaida-linked militant chief based
on the border with Afghanistan is responsible for her killing.

At least four people have been arrested in connection with the case,
including a 15-year-old boy who told police he was among a five-man
suicide squad charged with assassinating the opposition leader.

Ms. Bhutto's death led to widespread rioting and protests and forced a
delay of nationwide elections currently scheduled for later this
month.

------------------------------------------------------

NATO Chief Calls on Afghanistan to Step Up Fight Against Taliban

http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=1B304C7:CCDED43CF5A0B870F616565C84920B875C6F54A6CF9DC2CA& Jaap de Hoop
Scheffer says it is up to Afghanistan to improve government, boost
support for security forces

prior to the start of the Informal meeting, 08 Feb 2008" hspace=2
src="/english/images/AFP_NATO_Scheffer_210.jpg" width=210 vspace=2
border=0>

Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, left, listens to Supreme Allied Commander for
Europe, US General John Craddock, right, 08 Feb 2008prior to the start
of the Informal meeting, 08 Feb 2008NATO Secretary General Jaap de
Hoop Scheffer says Afghanistan must step up its fight against the
Taliban.

During a meeting with NATO defense chiefs Friday, Scheffer said it is
up to Afghanistan to improve its government and boost support for its
security forces. He stressed the need to fight corruption, build up a
viable police force, and take on opium producers.

The NATO chiefs are in their second day of contentious talks in
Vilnius, Lithuania, as the alliance considers a U.S. request for the
deployment of more combat troops to southern Afghanistan.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has been pressuring NATO members
to send more troops to fight Taliban insurgents.

Canada, the Netherlands and Britain have joined the United States in
doing the bulk of fighting in Afghanistan's volatile south. Some
information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.

------------------------------------------------------

Kenya Negotiators Report Progress in Reconciliation Talks

http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=1B304C8:CCDED43CF5A0B870F616565C84920B875C6F54A6CF9DC2CA& Former UN
Secretary-General Kofi Annan says two sides agree negotiated agreement
is needed to end political crisis

In Kenya, government and opposition negotiators have wrapped up a week
of talks saying progress has been made toward resolving the crisis
over December's elections. However, chief negotiator Kofi Annan says
details still need to be worked out. VOA's Scott Bobb reports from
Nairobi.

Kofi Annan, center, mediates talks between government officials,
right, and opposition, at Nairobi hotel, 4 Feb 2008Former U.N.
Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who is mediating the Kenya talks, said
Friday that the government and opposition have agreed that a
negotiated agreement is needed to end the crisis that has killed 1,000
people and displaced 300,000 across the country.

"We are all agreed that a political settlement is needed, that a
political settlement is necessary and we are now in the process of
discussing the deals, working out the terms of that settlement," Annan
said.

He said Friday's session was very good and he hoped to announce a deal
next week.

Annan made the remark after meeting President Mwai Kibaki and
opposition leader Raila Odinga during which he said appealed to both
leaders to support their negotiators and encourage a settlement. He
also suggested parliament be convened to discuss the crisis.

Considerable progress has been reported since the talks began one week
ago. But a government negotiator, Parliament Member Mutula Kilonzo,
told VOA that several major obstacles remain.

"We are making extremely good progress," said Kilonzo. "The three
issues are being discussed. They have probably in fact, let me say,
been narrowed to one now. So that should tell you."

Kenya was wracked by a wave of violence after the opposition Orange
Democratic Movement party accused the government of rigging the
December vote in order to give President Mwai Kibaki a second term.

Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki, left, attend a session of the African
Union summit, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Thursday, 31 Jan. 2008The talks,
which began one week ago, stalled over the opposition's demand that
Mr. Kibaki resign. But opposition leader Raila Odinga Thursday
indicated a new flexibility over this point.

"But we say that we are not static on that point. We are willing to
move, we are willing to yield some ground so that an acceptable
solution can be found," he said.

The opposition also reportedly wants an all-party interim government
to be sworn in until a new presidential poll can be held. The Kibaki
team reportedly rejected these demands.

Among the diplomatic delegations seeking to encourage a political
solution, the European Union's Development Commissioner, Louis Michel,
expressed optimism over the talks after meetings with Odinga and Mr.
Kibaki.

"There is now a mood and conditions to negotiate a good and balanced
agreement. The international community and the European Commission and
the European Union, we are very concerned about the situation in this
country," said Michel.

Foreign Ministers from the IGAD block of East African nations Friday
concluded a two-day visit expressing regional support for the talks.

And the United Nations Security Council issued a statement urging the
government without delay to dismantle armed gangs, improve the
humanitarian situation and restore human rights.

The United States Thursday announced a ban on five Kenyan politicians
and five businessmen allegedly involved in the violence. Canada also
announced a ban on leaders who in its words "disrupt the democratic
process." And the United Kingdom has threatened similar sanctions.

Kenyan officials Friday rejected the sanctions.

------------------------------------------------------

McCain Appeals to Conservatives as Nomination Appears Certain

http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=1B304CA:CCDED43CF5A0B870F616565C84920B875C6F54A6CF9DC2CA& Republican senator
reassures crowd he has 'maintained the record of a conservative'
during his long political career U.S. Senator John McCain is focusing
his sights on the November presidential election, now that his major
rival for the Republican Party nomination, former Massachusetts
Governor Mitt Romney, has suspended his campaign.

John McCain and his wife Cindy, 05 Feb 2008McCain, the veteran Arizona
lawmaker, tried to rally conservatives to his side Thursday, when he
spoke to a gathering of activists in Washington. Conservatives are
upset with McCain because of his views on immigration reform, and his
opposition to President Bush's first term tax cuts.

McCain assured the crowd that he has "maintained the record of a
conservative" during his long political career.

Earlier, Romney told the same crowd that he was suspending his fight
for the nomination so Republicans can focus on the November election
against the eventual Democratic nominee, either Senator Hillary
Clinton or Senator Barack Obama. He did not endorse McCain.

Romney's withdrawal came two days after winning some states in the
Super Tuesday voting, but not enough to match McCain.

The Arizona senator has more than half of the delegate votes needed to
win the nomination. Two other rivals, former Arkansas Governor Mike
Huckabee and Texas Representative Ron Paul, trail far behind.

For the Democrats, Clinton and Obama each scored key wins Tuesday but
no definitive victory. They are focusing on a race Saturday in
Louisiana and Tuesday in Washington D.C. and the adjacent states of
Maryland and Virginia.

2,025 delegates are required to win the Democratic presidential
nomination, while 1,191 are needed to win the Republican nomination.

Some information for this report was provided by Reuters and AFP

------------------------------------------------------

Palestinians Fire Rockets as Israel Reduces Electricity to Gaza

http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=1B304C5:CCDED43CF5A0B870F616565C84920B875C6F54A6CF9DC2CA& Electricity cuts
aimed at halting daily Palestinian rocket attacks that have terrorized
Israeli communities on Gaza border

Palestinian militants have stepped up rocket attacks against Israel
after a tightening of Israeli sanctions on the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.
Robert Berger reports from the VOA bureau in Jerusalem. Palestinian
militants fired more than 20 rockets at Israel, hours after Israel cut
electricity supplies to Gaza by about one percent. It was the first
time that Israel reduced electricity from one of its own power plants
to Gaza, though fuel cuts have prompted blackouts in the impoverished
territory in the past.

A Palestinian family reads by candlelight, in Rafah, in the southern
Gaza Strip, 20 Jan 2008The electricity cuts are aimed at halting the
daily Palestinian rocket attacks that have terrorized Israeli
communities on the Gaza border.

"Israel is applying pressure on the terrorist organizations in Gaza,"
said Israeli spokesman Arieh Mekel. "We believe that no government
would have acted differently; any government has the ultimate
responsibility to protect its citizens."

The Islamic militant group Hamas, which rules Gaza, said it would not
be intimidated by the sanctions. Hamas refuses to recognize Israel and
it believes armed resistance is the only way to liberate Palestine.

Israel has tightened sanctions on Hamas since the group seized control
of Gaza in June, defeating the Fatah forces of western-backed
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

The Abbas government in the West Bank, which is involved in peace
talks with Israel, also condemned the electricity cuts.

"This is a collective punishment that absolutely should not be
tolerated by anyone in the international community," said Palestinian
negotiator Saeb Erekat.

The tension in Gaza is overshadowing peace talks that resumed in
December after a seven year break. Speaking in the United States,
Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said it is unlikely that
President Bush will achieve his goal of a peace agreement by the end
of the year.

------------------------------------------------------

Thailand's New Prime Minister Says UN Should Increase Contacts With
Burma

http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=1B304C2:CCDED43CF5A0B870F616565C84920B875C6F54A6CF9DC2CA& Samak Sundarawej
says UN Secretary- General should visit Rangoon and use Thailand as
base for possible negotiations on political reform Thailand's new
prime minister, Samak Sundarawej, says the United Nations should step
up contacts with Burma's military leaders. The Thai leader said the
U.N. Secretary-General should visit Rangoon and use Thailand as a base
for possible negotiations on political reform. VOA's Luis Ramirez
reports from Bangkok.

Thailand is Burma's neighbor and closest trading partner. Unlike the
United States and other nations, it refrained from imposing sanctions
on the country after the Burmese generals' bloody crackdown on monks
and other pro-democracy demonstrators last year.

Samak SundaravejThai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej, who was sworn in
on Wednesday, held his first news conference with foreign journalists
on Friday and said Thailand would continue its policy of not imposing
sanctions.

He said, instead, his government will encourage negotiation for
democratic change in Burma, and he said U.N. Secretary-General Ban
Ki-moon should visit the country soon. The Thai leader invited Mr. Ban
to use Thailand as a base for negotiations with the Burmese leaders.

"He should visit Thailand again. When he came here, I had no
opportunity, no reputation to talk to him," he said. "Now, if I have
the occasion, I should ask to him, 'Mr. Ban Ki-moon, it's only a 35
minute flight from Bangkok to Rangoon, very easy or … you can go by
land, and then have a good time talking."

Burma is a major supplier of natural gas to Thailand. The Thai
government has come under criticism from some in the international
community for not taking a harder stance on the Burmese military
leadership.

Thailand itself emerged from military-backed rule this week. The
country experienced a coup in 2006 that ousted Prime Minister Thaksin
Shinawatra. He has gone into exile and been banned from politics for
five years, but his supporters - led by Mr. Samak - regrouped and came
back to power this week after winning the most parliamentary seats in
a December election.

Mr. Samak's party won largely because many people identify the party
with Mr. Thaksin, who retains huge popularity among Thailand's poor.
During his campaign, Mr. Samak said he would bring Mr. Thaksin back,
but the new prime minister has suggested he may not do that in the
near future.

At Friday's news conference, Mr. Samak said Mr. Thaksin poses no
threat to his rule.

Thailand has a long history of military coups. In an apparent effort
to keep the military in check, Samak Sundaravej also has assumed the
post of defense minister.

------------------------------------------------------

US Lawmakers Continue Debate Over 'Waterboarding' Interrogation
Technique

http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=1B304C6:CCDED43CF5A0B870F616565C84920B875C6F54A6CF9DC2CA& Lawmakers press US
attorney general for more specifics about legal justifications used by
Bush administration in authorizing past use of waterboarding Lawmakers
pressed the U.S. attorney general on Thursday for more specifics about
the legal justifications used by the Bush administration in
authorizing the past use of the extreme interrogation technique known
as waterboarding. VOA's Dan Robinson reports, the subject was also a
major topic in congressional hearings, and the focus of more questions
at a White House briefing, as the debate continues over interrogation
techniques.

Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell (l) and CIA Director
Michael Hayden on Capitol Hill, 07 Feb 2008Officials are now telling
Congress that President Bush made a specific decision to provide
additional information about the use of waterboarding because of the
way the issue was being reported in the media.

That new information came in a congressional hearing this week when
CIA director Michael Hayden revealed that the technique was used on
three al-Qaida terrorist suspects in the wake of the September 11,
2001 al-Qaida attacks on the United States, although not in the past
five years or so.

But in his latest appearance on Capitol Hill, before the House
intelligence committee, Hayden faced more tough questions about why
the CIA employed the technique, and why it insists on retaining the
option to use it again.

He had this exchange with Congressman Rush Holt, a New Jersey
Democrat.

HOLT: "My question is when you must use them and why you must retain
them, what is the justification, when [and] what circumstances, or
why?"

HAYDEN: "[When] an unlawful combatant is possessing information that
would help us prevent catastrophic loss of life of Americans or their
allies."

Hayden said that in the overwhelming majority of cases involving
detainees in the CIA program, enhanced interrogation techniques were
not needed.

But Representative Holt went on to ask FBI director Robert Mueller and
Lt. General John Maples, who heads the Defense Intelligence Agency,
why their organizations do not use the techniques.

MUELLER: "From the perspective of the FBI, our protocol is not to use
coercive techniques. That is our protocol, we have lived by it, and it
is sufficient and appropriate for our mission here in the United
States."

MAPLES: "The Army Field Manual guides our efforts and the efforts of
the armed forces."

HOLT: "That is satisfactory for all of your interrogations?"

MAPLES: "Yes sir, we believe that the approaches that are in the Army
Field Manual give us the tools that are necessary for the purpose
under which we are conducting interrogation."

Michael Mukasey, 07 Feb 2008In a separate hearing, House judiciary
committee chairman John Conyers pressed U.S. attorney general, Michael
Mukasey, to explain why he has refused to open a formal investigation
into past use of waterboarding.

CONYERS: "Are you ready to start a criminal investigation into whether
this confirmed use of waterboarding by U.S. agents was illegal?"

MUKASEY: "No I am not for this reason. Whatever was done as part of a
CIA program, at the time that it was done, was the subject of a
Department of Justice opinion through the Office of Legal Counsel, and
was found to be permissible under the law as it was then."

Mukasey said that to launch an investigation simply because past use
of waterboarding was confirmed would be to place past and future
Department of Justice opinions in question.

In an exchange with Republican Congressman John McHugh, CIA director
Hayden was pressed to clarify his agency's current thinking on
waterboarding and appeared to cast doubt on the legality of the
practice:

MCHUGH: "And it is your understanding and your method of operation
right now that that is a prohibited technique?"

HAYDEN: "It is not a technique that I have asked for, it is not
included in the current program, and my own view, the view of our
lawyers, and the Department of Justice, it is not certain that that
technique would be considered to be lawful under current statute."

The White House continues to defend the justice department legal
opinions supporting the CIA's use of waterboarding, saying they were
necessary to protect Americans against further terrorist attacks.

Tony Fratto, 04 Jan 2008Deputy press spokesman Tony Fratto was asked
whether the White House was refusing to rule out use of waterboarding
in the future.

"I think we acknowledge that it had been done in the past in an
exceedingly limited way, with safeguards and under certain
circumstances.," he said. "We have made clear that the law has changed
that has given greater clarity to these questions and to the policy of
the U.S. but we are not going to speculate on the future, that is all
we have said."

Amnesty International issued a statement Thursday criticizing
Mukasey's refusal to open an investigation, saying the Bush
administration's refusal to call waterboarding torture a double
standard.

Attorney General Mukasey told judiciary panel chairman Conyers that
while the Department of Justice cannot simply turn over the specifics
text of its legal opinion, it can be the subject of future briefings.

Lawmakers also continue to investigate another aspect of the
controversy over interrogation, the CIA's destruction, undisclosed at
first, of interrogation videotapes, a matter that is also the subject
of a justice department probe.

------------------------------------------------------

Reporters Without Borders Holding Demonstration to Protest Free Speech
Curbs in China

http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=1B304C4:CCDED43CF5A0B870F616565C84920B875C6F54A6CF9DC2CA& Protest comes six
months ahead of August 8 opening of Olympic games in Beijing The
Paris-based journalist advocacy group Reporters Without Borders is
holding a demonstration Friday to protest free speech curbs in China.
Lisa Bryant has more from the French capital.

Chinese man poses during 'Reporters sans Frontieres' (Reporters
without Borders)in Paris, 08 Feb 2008The demonstrations come six
months ahead of the opening on August 8 of the Olympic games in
Beijing. China had promised to improve its human rights conditions
ahead of the games. Reporters Without Borders, or RSF, is one of a
number of human rights groups who fear this is not the case.

"Our concern is that despite all the promises that were made in 2001
by the Chinese authorities to get the games, we monitor a lot of press
violations. Especially detention of journalists and cyber
dissidents," explained Vincent Brossel, the head of the Asia desk at
Reporters Without Borders in Paris.

According to RSF, 35 journalists and 51 dissidents and human rights
defenders have faced political subversion charges in recent months.
And Brossel says there are more Chinese journalists in jail now than
in 2001.

Earlier this year, Beijing also formally arrested a prominent Chinese
human rights advocate, Hu Jia.

But China is also debating whether to relax control of the Internet
during the games. Beijing lifted travel and interview restrictions on
foreign journalists at the start of this year. And on Tuesday, China
freed a Hong Kong-based reporter jailed for five years for allegedly
spying for Taiwan.

Brossel hopes the Paris protest will send a message to the Olympic
committee as well.

"The main message goes to the IOC - the International Olympic
Committee. In talking freely and strongly to the Chinese government
they have the responsibility to defend Olympic values," Brossel said.

Other human rights groups have also protested China's human rights
abuses in recent weeks, and Amnesty International is organizing a
similar protest on Monday.

------------------------------------------------------

Aviation Industry Looks to China, India for Growth

http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=1B304C9:CCDED43CF5A0B870F616565C84920B875C6F54A6CF9DC2CA& As US economy
slows and fuel costs rise, industry leaders remain upbeat due to
expectation of strong demand in China and India Asia's aviation
industry is likely to be tested in 2008 by the slowing United States
economy and high fuel costs. But as Ron Corben reports from Bangkok,
industry leaders remain upbeat, because they expect strong demand in
India and China to keep profits strong.

Airp*** prepares to land at Beijing airport (File)Asia's airlines are
expected to lead the world's travel industry in growth this year.

But travel executives worry about the slowing U.S. economy and
possible increases in fuel costs.

The International Air Transport Association, IATA, forecasts that
global airline profits last year fell because of high oil prices and
tighter credit in economies such as the United States.

Singapore Airlines Chief Executive Officer Chew Choon Seng hopes the
regional industry will be only moderately harmed should the United
States go into a recession, causing growth to slow around the world.

"If the global economy pulls through the present turmoil caused by the
sub-prime crisis and the credit crunch resulting thereof - if energy
prices do not go up any further - that's a lot of 'ifs'," he noted. "
Then I think 2008 will be very much along the same lines as 2007 -
meaning demand for air transportation will remain strong."

Singapore Airlines - like other carriers - hopes China's booming
economy will fuel growth. Travel experts also say rising demand in
India and other Asian countries will help keep profits aloft.

And there is evidence that hope may be valid.

For China, 2008 should prove to be a boom year because of the Summer
Olympic Games in Beijing. Both Shanghai and Beijing have built
additional airport capacity to meet both the expected rising demand
this year and for the future.

In 2007 Shanghai's airport saw passenger traffic jump 12 percent from
the previous year, to more almost 52 million passengers. By 2010, when
Shanghai hosts the World Expo, the airport is expected to handle 70
million passengers.

The widening reach of two major airlines - Air China and Shanghai Air
- was evident in December when both joined the Star Alliance airline
network.

Indian airlines, too, are expanding their global reach as passenger
demand takes flight. Air India also has joined Star Alliance.

Vasudevan Thulasidas is Air India's chairman and managing director.

"India is one of the most viable markets for aviation," Thulasidas
said. "Perhaps the fastest growing market in the world for aviation
and I believe the largest alliance in the world there naturally has to
have an important place in India."

Even European and U.S. airlines are looking to Asia for growth.
Wolfgang Mayrhuber, the chairman of Germany's Lufthansa airline says
the economic energy and drive of the Asia region is drawing travelers
and cargo to the region.

"Coming to Asia - coming to China looking at India and the other parts
you see that the development in this region is just enormous.
Connecting this market with the United States, with Europe and
actually all continents is the desire of the world population,"
Mayrhuber said.

Both India and China are pushing to expand their airport capacity to
cope with rising demand.

In March, the Indian state of Hyderabad will open a new airport with
an initial capacity of 12 million passengers. A 17-million passenger
capacity airport opens in Bangalore a few weeks later. And the Indian
government is upgrading 50 airports around the country.

China, now the world's second-largest air travel market, is spending
$62 billion on building 97 new airports by 2020, up from about 147
airports now.

------------------------------------------------------

Space Shuttle Atlantis Launches With European Research Lab

http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=1B304C3:CCDED43CF5A0B870F616565C84920B875C6F54A6CF9DC2CA& Launch follows a
two-month delay needed to fix a problem in the fuel gauge on shuttle's
external fuel tanks Atlantis lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center
in Florida, Thursday, carrying seven astronauts and a European built
research module. The launch follows a two-month delay needed to fix a
problem in the fuel gauge on the shuttle's external fuel tanks.

Atlantis climbs toward space, 07 Feb 2008

NASA weather officers had expected bad weather to possibly delay the
mission, but the storm system did not affect the launch pad.

A NASA spokesman described the shuttle's trip into orbit.

"A smooth and uneventful ascent, Atlantis now in its preliminary
orbit," he said. "The Columbus module is headed to the International
Space Station."

An undated company photo provided by EADS shows the Columbus space
laboratory in the clean room of EADS Space Transportation in Bremen,
northern GermanyAtlantis is scheduled to dock on Saturday with the
International Space Station to deliver the $2 billion Columbus module
built by the European Space Agency (ESA). Officials say Columbus will
bring new capabilities to conduct research on the space station, such
as experiments into the impact of space travel on humans and various
materials. Columbus joins a U.S.-built research module already in
space and a Japanese module that is set to be delivered later this
year.

After the launch, NASA administrator Michael Griffin said the
international cooperation has been important to expanding the space
station.

"This is a real partnership among nations and among societies to bring
together a capability greater than any one nation can bring by
itself," he said.

NASA officials have scheduled at least five shuttle flights this year
to meet a 2010 deadline to finish construction of the space station.

------------------------------------------------------

If you have questions about this E-mail newsletter send an e-mail to:

voanews@voanews.com Click here to *** from the VOA Daily World
News Summary: http://enews.voanews.com***id=CCDED43CF5A0B870F616565C84920B875C6F54A6CF9DC2CA

Forward this E-mail:
http://enews.voanews.com/bin/ftaf?id=CCDED43CF5A0B870F616565C84920B875C6F54A6CF9DC2CA

Back to newsletter list

Date:

From:

Subject:

Your VOANews.com Headlines (UTF-8)