U.S. reportedly suspends Najaf fighting
NAJAF, Iraq, Aug. 20 (UPI) -- The U.S. military suspended operations in Najaf late Friday, awaiting the arrival of an Iraqi delegation for negotiations with Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, CNN reports.
A standoff continued around the Imam Ali mosque. Followers of al-Sadr remained in the mosque, and one spokesman said that the Mehdi Army remained there because no one with suitable religious authority could be found to take control.
There were conflicting reports Friday that police had seized the mosque, making 400 arrests, or that al-Sadr had agreed to leave. But reports by correspondents at the scene said that the rebels appeared to remain in control of the mosque.
Both the U.S. military and the interim Iraqi government are wary of an assault on the mosque, fearing that any significant damage would outrage Shiite Muslims in Iraq and elsewhere. Kianne Sadeq, a CNN producer in Najaf, told the network that the mosque has suffered some minor damage.
More separate trials sought in Enron case
HOUSTON, Aug. 20 (UPI) -- Two more former Enron Corp. executives Friday requested separate criminal trials.
Ex-Chairman Ken Lay was joined by former Chief Executive Officer Jeff Skilling and former chief accountant Rick Causey in seeking separate trials, the Houston Chonicle reported. Lay had earlier requested his own trial.
U.S. District Judge Sim Lake said he would probably rule on the motions by early October.
The defendants claimed that they could not get a fair trial if the jury has to hear the case against the other former executives charged in the investigation.
The government is expected to oppose the request because some of the charges are related and it would be less costly for taxpayers to try them at once.
Attorneys for Causey said he would also have trouble getting an unbiased jury if he is forced to face trial with the more familiar co-defendants in the Enron investigation.
All three men have pleaded innocent. Causey and Skilling each face 35 or more charges of conspiracy, fraud and insider trading. Lay faces fewer charges, and four of them are related to his personal banking, not Enron.
Malaria deaths caused by poor nutrition
BALTIMORE, Aug. 20 (UPI) -- A large percentage of child deaths related to malaria can be attributed to under-nutrition, U.S. researchers said.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University studied malaria and related death rates due to being underweight and lacking micronutrients -- vitamin A, zinc, iron and folate -- in countries including The Gambia, Vanuatu, Ghana and Senegal.
While underweight children had only a slightly increased risk of a clinical malaria attack, they were much more likely to die from malaria. Nearly 550,000 annual malaria deaths are attributable to underweight in children under age 5, according to the study, published in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.
Mildly malnourished children were two times more likely to die from malaria than children who were not under-nourished, and the risk was four times higher for the moderately malnourished and nine times higher for the severely malnourished, researchers said.
While the risk of dying from malaria increases with the severity of under-nutrition, most child deaths occur in only mildly and moderately under-nourished children because of their prevalence in many countries, researchers said.
Scientist studies number skills of tribe
NEW YORK, Aug. 20 (UPI) -- A U.S. scientist reports that a remote Brazilian tribe with no words for numbers higher than two have little numerical skill.
Peter Gordon, a bio-behavioral scientist at Columbia Teachers College, says his studies show how language affects thinking -- "Whether one language chooses to distinguish one thing versus another affects how an individual perceives reality."
Gordon has been working for several years with the Piraha. The 200 members of the tribe live in small groups along the Maici River in the Lowland Amazon region.
The Piraha have no words for numbers higher than two and even their words for one and two are fuzzy, Gordon says. For example, one appears to mean either a single object or very few objects.
Gordon reports in the journal Science that the Piraha have little skill in numerical tasks that deal with larger numbers, especially those that go beyond eight or 10. He compares their numerical ability to that of babies in other cultures and to monkeys and rodents.
He found that Piraha children are able to learn larger numbers, but adults have difficulty doing so.
