中国核実験で１９万人急死、被害は１２９万人に 札幌医科大教授が推計

中国核実験で１９万人急死、被害は１２９万人に　札幌医科大教授が推計
2009.4.30 19:03

　中国が新疆ウイグル自治区で実施した核実験による被害で同自治区のウイグル人ら１９万人が急死したほか、急性の放射線障害など甚大な影響を受けた被害者は１２９万人に達するとの調査結果が札幌医科大学の高田純教授（核防護学）によってまとめられた。被害はシルクロード周辺を訪れた日本人観光客２７万人にも及んでいる恐れがある。

　５月１日発売の月刊「正論」６月号掲載の「中国共産党が放置するシルクロード核ハザードの恐怖」と題する論文で明らかにした。

　高田教授は２００２年８月以降、中国の核実験に伴う影響を調査した。高田教授によると、中国の核実験は１９９６年までに爆発回数で４６回。爆発威力や放射線量、気象データや人口密度などをもとに被害を推定した。

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UK block on Afghan surge riles army chiefs

By James Blitz in London

Published: April 30 2009 19:27 | Last updated: May 1 2009 00:03

British army chiefs are incensed at Gordon Brown’s decision this week to block a long-term surge in UK forces in Afghanistan, arguing that a troop increase is vital to the success of the mission in troubled Helmand province.

As the UK on Thursday marked the official end of its military mission in Iraq, attention was focused on the completion of the operation in the city of Basra that has cost 179 British lives since the US-led invasion in 2003.

But behind the scenes, this week also marks the end of a cross-departmental battle over Britain’s military operations in Helmand, one which has ended with Mr Brown rejecting a recommendation from service chiefs for 2,000 more UK troops to be sent to the province.

“People are pretty angry about the decision around here,” a senior defence figure told the Financial Times on Thursday. “We’re not in a situation where generals are thinking of resigning. But the outcome announced by Number 10 this week has come as something of a surprise to people.”

In recent months, the Ministry of Defence, the Treasury and Number 10 have been locked in a dispute over whether Britain should increase the number of troops it has in Afghanistan, currently numbering 8,300.

Army generals have told Mr Brown that Britain is now making steady progress in Helmand, creating a string of security zones in which the Afghan population can live without intimidation from the Taliban.

But the army believes the UK operation in central Helmand, which is seen as the front line in the battle against the Taliban, is over-stretched. Backed by John Hutton, the defence secretary, it has argued that the UK should increase its Afghan deployment permanently by 2,000 troops to 10,300.

“If we are going to be in Helmand then we urgently need to resource the campaign properly,” said a senior army figure. “We need to thicken up on the ground and get ourselves on a sustained campaign footing.”

On Wednesday, Mr Brown unveiled a fresh government strategy on Afghanistan and Pakistan. This had been seen by service chiefs as the critical junction at which a long-term increase would have to be approved.

But Mr Brown rejected their calls. The prime minister announced that Britain will send some 700 troops to Afghanistan this autumn to help provide security for a three-month period covering Afghanistan’s presidential elections.

‘If we are going to be in Helmand then we urgently need to resource the campaign properly’
Senior defence figure

“The 700 increase might have been palatable if it had been permanent,” said a defence source on Thursday, “but we didn’t even get that”.

Some Whitehall officials argue that the UK operation in Afghanistan is now well resourced, with the government spending more cash to improve army equipment. They note that the Afghanistan operation will cost a projected £3bn in 2009-10, while the cost of UK operations in southern Iraq never rose above £1.5bn in any year since the invasion.

Officials also argue that a US troop surge in southern Helmand this month will help the UK task force consolidate security across the province’s central belt. “We’re getting another 8,000 American soldiers in Helmand, for goodness sake,” said one official last night. “Isn’t that good enough for the army?”

Even so, defence chiefs fear damage from Mr Brown’s decision on two fronts. First, they fear that the Obama administration, which wants Europe to share more of the burden of the Afghan war, will take a dim view of the failure to agree a long-term troop increase. Mr Obama has never explicitly asked the UK to send more troops.

But Mr Brown’s refusal to grant a long-term boost will take pressure off other European states to do more.

The army also fears the implications for its own long-term future. Britain will hold a strategic defence review after the next election, and its generals are adamant that land operations must not lose out to calls for stronger naval and air power. “The higher our profile going into the review,” one general said recently, “the harder it will be to ignore us.”

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BAE to close three sites and cut 500 jobs

By Sylvia Pfeifer and Jeremy Lemer

Published: April 30 2009 11:46 | Last updated: May 1 2009 04:11

BAE Systems, Europe’s biggest defence contractor, added to the gloom surrounding the UK manufacturing sector with the announcement it was closing three sites and cutting 500 jobs .

The proposed cuts, in response to falling orders and less work for the British army, prompted calls from the Prospect defence union for the government to intervene. Prospect said it should stop “dithering” and lay out its defence strategy more clearly.

BAE said the cuts were the result of a decision by the Ministry of Defence to postpone a significant element of the Future Rapid Effects System programme to build a new generation of armoured vehicles for the army and a slowdown in work supporting operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“While we clearly regret having to take this step, our forecast UK order intake has reduced and we have to match the size of our business appropriately to the projected nature and volume of workload,” said David Allott, managing director of Global Combat Systems.

BAE said it would close sites in Guildford, Leeds and Telford, resulting in the loss of 330 jobs. It will cut a further 90 posts in Barrow due to slowing production of its M777 lightweight towed howitzer for the US military. New posts means the net loss across UK sites is expected to be 400 jobs.

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クライスラー法的整理、日本メーカーも対応急ぐ

　クライスラーと関係を持つ日本の自動車・部品メーカーも対応を急いでいる。日産自動車は車両のＯＥＭ（相手先ブランドによる生産）供給計画の見直しに着手する。部品はアイシン精機などに続き、鋳造品を納める日立金属、発電機を供給する三菱電機、ロボットの不二越の3社が米政府によるクライスラー向け未回収金の保証制度の活用を申請した。ただ債権額は多いところで20億―30億円とみられ、業績面への影響は限定的だ。

　日産とクライスラーは2008年に車両のＯＥＭ契約で合意。日産が今年後半に小型セダンをクライスラーの南米市場向けに供給するほか、10年以降には日産が欧米向けに新型の小型車を、クライスラーが北米向けにピックアップトラックを、それぞれ供給する予定だった。(10:45)

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丸紅、穀物調達でブラジル大手と提携

　丸紅はブラジルの穀物大手と提携し、現地で直接調達した大豆など穀物を日本や中国に供給する。港湾などの物流設備にも共同投資する。丸紅は中国の国家食糧備蓄を管理する政府系企業と提携済み。大量消費国の日中向けの供給網を持つ強みを生かして南米など輸出国の穀物大手との協力を拡大し、米カーギルなど穀物メジャーに頼らず安定して調達・供給できるようにする。

　ブラジルの穀物最大手、アマーギ（マトグロッソ州）と包括提携に向けた合意書を締結した。現地農家からの大豆調達量は2010年に100万トン規模とする予定。一部の農家では丸紅の技術指導で日本市場に合った非遺伝子組み換え大豆を生産してもらう。また、農地や港湾などに集荷・貯蔵設備を建設し、アジア向けの輸出拡大に備える。投資額は50億―60億円となる見込み。(07:00)

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新型インフルワクチン調達に限界も　国内製造は４社・団体のみ

　豚インフルエンザから変異した新型インフルエンザの感染拡大で、日本国内でも感染を予防するためのワクチンへの関心が高まっている。ただ国内でのインフルエンザワクチン製造は事業規模が小さい財団法人など4社・団体に限定されており、短期間での大量調達は難しいのが現状だ。

　国内でインフルエンザワクチンを製造しているのは財団法人・阪大微生物病研究会（大阪府吹田市）、財団法人・化学及血清療法研究所（熊本市）、学校法人・北里研究所（東京・港）と民間企業のデンカ生研（同・中央）。(07:00)

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住友金属鉱山、米金鉱山の権益を拡大

　住友金属鉱山は30日、カナダのテック・リソーシズ社から米アラスカ州の金鉱山の権益4割を6月末までに取得すると発表した。取得金額は2億4500万米ドル（約237億円）。住友鉱山は既に同鉱山の51％の権益を持っており、住友商事の9％と合わせると日本側の比率は100％になる。住友鉱山にとって過半数の権益を持って自ら操業を手掛ける初の海外鉱山になる。

　金は導電性が高く電子部品の通電素材として中長期的に需要拡大が期待されている。同社は鹿児島県にも金鉱山を所有しており、今回の権益拡大で金の生産拡大につなげる。

　場所はアラスカ州東部の「ポゴ金鉱山」。住友グループ（住友鉱山51％、住友商事9％）と加テック社が40％を出資し、2006年に開山した。年間生産量は11―12トンで、生産した金は北米で販売している。(07:00)

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China Manufacturing Expands, Adding to Recovery Signs (Update2)
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By Kevin Hamlin and Hanny Wan

May 1 (Bloomberg) -- China’s manufacturing expanded for a second month as government stimulus spending stoked a fledgling recovery in the world’s third-biggest economy.

The Purchasing Manager’s Index rose to a seasonally adjusted 53.5 in April from 52.4 in March, the Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said today in Beijing in an e-mailed statement. A reading above 50 indicates an expansion.

Stronger Chinese demand is helping exporting nations across Asia, where South Korea reported today a 9 percent gain in shipments in April from the previous month. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. says the Chinese economy will grow 8.3 percent this year even as countries from the U.S. to Japan are mired in recessions.

“The worst is already behind China,” said Sun Mingchun, an economist at Nomura Holdings Inc. in Hong Kong. “Domestic strength should outweigh the tougher external environment.”

In the manufacturing data, the output index rose to 57.4 from 56.9 in March, the new order index climbed to 56.6 from 54.6, and the export order index increased to 49.1 from 47.5.

The Chinese and South Korean numbers show “global demand is no longer in freefall,” said David Cohen, an economist with Action Economics in Singapore. “Maybe the global downturn is bottoming out -- maybe the first quarter will prove to have been the worst.”

South Korea’s exports fell a less-than-estimated 19 percent from a year earlier after a 22 percent slide in March. Month-on- month, the nation’s shipments have climbed since February.

AU Optronics, Nissan

Singapore’s shipments to China jumped 29 percent in March from February, and those from Japan, South Korea and Taiwan also increased. AU Optronics Corp., Nissan Motor Co. and Hyundai Motor Co. this month all forecast higher sales to China.

Signs that the Chinese economy is reviving because of the government’s 4 trillion yuan ($586 billion) stimulus package include a 30 percent increase in urban fixed-asset investment in March from a year earlier. New loans more than tripled to a record 4.58 trillion yuan ($670 billion) in the first quarter. Growth in industrial output accelerated in March.

In today’s numbers, the employment index climbed to 50.3 from 48.6 in March. The overall manufacturing index has gained for five months after falling in November to the lowest since the data began in 2005.

The latest numbers show that “China’s economy will continue to recover,” Zhang Liqun, an economist at the State Council Development and Research Center, said in a statement released with the data.

Record Export Decline

While China’s exports plummeted in the first quarter from a year earlier, including a record 25.7 percent plunge in February, Commerce Minister Chen Deming said last month that the pace of the decline was slowing.

Rio Tinto Group, the world’s second-largest iron ore exporter, said April 22 that sales will improve this quarter as China’s stimulus measures, including spending on infrastructure projects, spur demand for the steelmaking material.

Manufacturing contracted for five straight months, from October through February, as demand for exports evaporated because of the global recession. China’s economy grew 6.1 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier, the slowest pace since at least 1999.

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World Bank Bonds Show What Happens When Governments Rush Rescue
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By Gabrielle Coppola

May 1 (Bloomberg) -- Federal guarantees by 13 countries on more than $400 billion of financial company bonds are punishing the AAA-rated World Bank Group with record borrowing costs -- an indication of what can go wrong when government gets in the way.

The Washington-based World Bank, founded in 1944 to rebuild economies after World War II, sold $6 billion of three-year notes March 26 priced to yield 30 basis points more than the benchmark for such borrowings. The so-called spread was the widest for a dollar-denominated bond offering by the supranational lender, said George Richardson, the institution’s head of capital markets, in an interview.

Just seven months ago, the World Bank paid a record low 35 basis points less than the midswap rate, a market measure for exchanging fixed- and floating-rate cash flows. The sudden rise in World Bank relative bond yields is an unintended consequence of sales of taxpayer-backed debt by more than 50 companies, including Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Bank of America Corp. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. While these special offerings were designed to bring stability to the credit markets after $1.4 trillion in losses and writedowns in the past 28 months, no one realized the World Bank would be depreciated by such government policies.

“Governments started announcing guarantees for their banks, and then the whole world changed,” said Richardson, a former Goldman Sachs banker.

Rising Sales

Rising risk premiums are also affecting the Washington- based Inter-American Development Bank, which lends to Latin American and Caribbean countries, and Germany’s state-owned Kreditanstalt fuer Wiederaufbau, whose credit supports housing, education and small business.

Banks and financial companies worldwide sold 320 billion euros ($424 billion) of state-guaranteed debt since October, denominated in euros, dollars and U.K. pounds, according to Leef Dierks, a fixed-income analyst at Barclays Capital in Frankfurt.

They may issue a total of 900 billion euros in bonds for all of 2009, Dierks said.

The total includes $235 billion of dollar-denominated debt in the U.S. with backing from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. as of yesterday, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Lenders backed by multiple governments, known as supranationals, have the flexibility to borrow billions in multiple currencies and at any part of the yield curve, making their bonds among the most liquid securities.

Financial Acumen

The financial acumen of the World Bank, which pioneered the first use of derivatives to obtain Swiss francs and German marks by exchanging cash flows with International Business Machines Corp. in 1981, hasn’t protected the institution from widening borrowing spreads.

Average yields relative to midswap rates on dollar- denominated supranational debt rose to 164.4 basis points, as of yesterday, from 46.8 basis points at the start of October, according to the Credit Suisse Liquid U.S. Corporate Sovereign Spread Over Swap index.

The midswap index, which contains bonds sold by the World Bank and the IADB, reached a record-high of 217.4 basis points on Jan. 2, Credit Suisse data show. A basis point is 0.01 percentage point.

A benchmark for borrowers, the midswap index lies between the bid and asking yields on contracts exchanging fixed for floating interest-rate cash flows.

Double Borrowings

The World Bank, which now finances AIDS prevention in Botswana, will more than double borrowings to as much as $35 billion this year to help provide food, health and education services through the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Richardson said.

Robert Zoellick, the bank’s president, recently announced plans for $100 billion of new loans over the next three years to relieve the recession. The lender issued $1.5 billion of five- year notes on Oct. 1 at 35 basis points below the midswap rate, a record low for that maturity, according to Richardson.

The International Monetary Fund, a Washington-based agency of the United Nations that monitors the global economy, may sell its first bonds to China and Brazil to raise money to combat the downturn. IADB borrowings will total $15 billion to $20 billion this year, up from $6 billion to $7 billion in 2007 and $11 billion in 2008, said Soren Elbech, the bank’s treasurer.

“There is a major crisis going on, and institutions like ourselves have been asked to step up to the plate and use our financial strength and pass it on to the regions that we cover,” Elbech said. “The IADB is heeding that call.”

While development lenders’ spreads more than tripled since October, the yield premiums on World Bank and other supranationals’ bonds have narrowed since their sale as corporate credit markets begin to heal.

Passed On

The three-year notes sold by the World Bank on March 26 rose to 100.4 cents on the dollar as of yesterday to yield 50.8 basis points more than Treasuries, according to Bloomberg data. That’s down from 82.2 basis points when they were issued.

Spreads on the IADB’s five-year notes sold April 13 fell to 109.8 basis points over Treasuries as of yesterday, from 140.25 basis points at their sale.

Increased financing costs are being passed to borrowers, according to Horst Seissinger, head of debt capital markets at Frankfurt-based KfW, which has a direct guarantee from the German government.

“What we are doing is what all the banks have to do,” he said. “The interest rates for the loans we grant to our customers have to reflect the re-pricing we have seen in capital markets over the last few months.”

Nathalie Druecke, a spokeswoman for the bank, said she couldn’t specify which projects are paying more because of the cost increase.

Energy-Efficiency Projects

KfW’s increased borrowing costs aren’t reflected “on a one to one basis,” in its lending, she said.

Development lenders face higher costs than the AAA-rated World Bank. IADB, which last month said it’s supporting $2 billion in Latin American and Caribbean energy-efficiency projects with the Export-Import Bank of Korea, paid 83 basis points more than the midswap rate on notes sold April 13 and due in 2014, according to Bloomberg data. That compares with 24 basis points below the benchmark on similar debt sold in February 2008.

KfW, a sovereign agency, sold $4 billion of notes due 2014 on March 3 priced to yield 162.8 basis points more than similar- maturity Treasuries, or 95 basis points over midswaps. The bank paid 83.5 basis points more than Treasuries, or 20 basis points less than the midswap rate on five-year debt sold in July, Bloomberg data show.

“Supranational borrowers’ costs “went from the best of times to the worst of times within a matter of weeks,” said Daniel Shane, head of Morgan Stanley’s supranational and sovereign debt syndicate in London.

Unlock Credit Markets

Banks began issuing government-backed debt on Oct. 22, when Barclays Plc of London sold 3 billion euros of three-year notes. The guarantees were intended to help unlock credit markets, which had been effectively shut since the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. a month earlier.

New York-based Goldman Sachs opened the market for FDIC- backed debt on Nov. 25, issuing $5 billion of three-year notes. With top AAA rankings, they were priced to yield 200 basis points more than similar-maturity Treasuries, according to Bloomberg data.

Bank of America, based in Charlotte, North Carolina, is the biggest user of the FDIC program, raising $41.7 billion of dollar-denominated debt since Dec. 1, Bloomberg data show.

Michael DuVally, a spokesman for Goldman Sachs, and Scott Silvestri, a Bank of America spokesman, each declined to comment.

Temporary Program

“Credit market conditions have improved in response to government stabilization efforts such as the TLGP,” Andrew Gray, an FDIC spokesman, wrote in an e-mailed statement.

“The FDIC has taken steps to reduce reliance on this program, including establishing the deadline of Oct. 31, 2009 for any new issuances,” Gray wrote. “Clearly this is not a program that will exist in perpetuity.”

Worldwide losses tied to distressed loans and securitized assets may reach $4.1 trillion by the end of 2010, prompting private banks to further curtail lending, the International Monetary Fund said in an April report.

The IADB, which may approve a record $12 billion of loans to finance projects and enhance social programs in 2009, has raised lending rates, Elbech said. He wouldn’t elaborate.

Borrowers from the World Bank are still paying about the London interbank offered rate, the same as a year ago, according to Richardson. The institution’s cost of new debt hasn’t yet affected the overall average yield on existing bonds, Richardson said.

Libor is the rate banks say they charge each other for loans. It was set at 1.02 percent yesterday for three-month credit.

“If we’re going to be issuing at these wider, above-Libor spreads for a while, then you’ll see that lending rate move slowly higher,” he said.

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Toyota Partmakers in Japan Hire Bankruptcy Detectives (Update1)
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By Makiko Kitamura and Masatsugu Horie

May 1 (Bloomberg) -- Hironori Minezawa, a private detective, spends his days investigating struggling autoparts makers in Toyota City, Japan, as cuts by Toyota Motor Corp. end a 7-year expansion for the city’s thousands of parts suppliers.

Toyota slashed production following the automaker’s first loss in 59 years, pushing some partsmakers into bankruptcy. Minezawa said he is employed by Toyota suppliers to find out whether subcontractors may fail, leaving his clients unable to fill their own orders.

“A rumor of a possible bankruptcy gets out, and we are called in to find out what’s going on,” said Minezawa, who works for Tokyo Shoko Research, based in nearby Nagoya. “These companies aren’t getting any work and are at the end of their tethers.”

Failure of the weak links in the chain may force Toyota to turn to suppliers outside its traditional network, ending the company’s stranglehold over a procurement system that has driven down profit margins at subcontractors to 1 percent or less, said Takeshi Miyao, a Tokyo-based supply chain analyst at CSM Worldwide, which advises the auto industry.

“This would change the balance of power and could become reflected in prices,” Miyao said.

Toyota’s supply network consists of two groups: the 217 primary partsmakers that deal directly with the carmaker and their subcontractors. Toyota spokeswoman Ririko Takeuchi declined to comment on the company’s pricing practices or negotiations between its suppliers and their subcontractors.

Minezawa expects bankruptcies to mount over the next six months, particularly in the lower ranks of Toyota’s supply chain.

Toyota’s Grip

“Profit is next to nothing,” said Kazushi Kawabata, president of Comco Holdings Inc., a maker of machine tools, that supplies Toyota. “The suppliers are totally in Toyota’s grip.”

Nationwide, bankruptcies in the auto sector surged 52 percent to 41 cases in March compared with last year, according to Tokyo Shoko. The number of newly registered unemployed in Aichi prefecture, which includes Toyota City, jumped 88 percent in February.

About 80 percent of the labor force in Toyota City serves the auto industry, according to Norio Seki, the head of the city hall’s industrial affairs division. Domestic production of Toyota and Lexus cars fell last year to 4 million vehicles, the first decline in 7 years.

The cuts have rippled through the local economy.

In the Meitetsu Toyota Hotel, opposite Toyota City rail station, occupancy rates have halved since October to as low as 30 percent, said front desk manager Chiharu Suzuki. Foreign suppliers, who used to make up more than half the hotel’s guests, are gone, leaving the once popular samurai swords untouched in the gift shop, she said.

Hello Work

At the Hello Work employment agency, Satoru Tsuda, a 31- year-old Japanese-Brazilian from Parana in southern Brazil, is trying to find work to meet his family’s 41,500 yen monthly rent. He, his two brothers and his parents worked for 12 years at an engine-parts factory until they were fired in March, he said.

Toyota may post a 227 billion yen ($2.34 billion) loss for the year ending March 2010, according to the median of 20 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

The company forecast a loss of 350 billion yen for last fiscal year. It reports earnings on May 8th. The carmaker said it may cut global production by 12 percent this fiscal year to about 6.2 million vehicles.

As Japanese companies report earnings for the fiscal year ended March, more bankruptcies may come to light, said CSM’s Miyao.

Dry Towel

Nihon Koshuha, a maker of car-door parts for Toyota affiliate Toyota Boshoku Corp., halted operations on March 3 after orders dropped and the company couldn’t service debt on a new plant built in 2007. Taishin Kasei Inc., a maker of plastic car interior and body parts in Nagoya, ceased production in April and filed for bankruptcy.

Former President Eiji Toyoda, great-uncle to incoming President Akio Toyoda, once said “water can be wrung even from a dry towel if you put your mind to it,” to explain how the company overcame the economic crisis following the 1973 oil shock, according to the company. This philosophy permeates the supply chain, Miyao said.

Sub-suppliers’ profit margins are restricted because they are expected to open their books and show their costs to customers, he said. The price of their products is then typically decided after delivery, Kawabata and Miyao said.

“Part of Toyota’s success is based on its ability to squeeze parts makers,” said Bob Sliwa, advance design director at Nagoya-based Cobo Design Co., which works with Toyota suppliers such as Denso Corp., the world’s largest listed auto- parts maker.

Tied to Toyota

Toyota group companies like Denso and Aisin Seiki Co., Japan’s largest maker of car transmissions, in which Toyota has equity stakes, sell to automakers around the world. Sales to carmakers other than Toyota make up about half of Denso’s business. In contrast, most secondary suppliers in Toyota City make parts only for Toyota.

Denso set up a taskforce in January to help sub-suppliers cut costs, said spokesman Goro Kanemasu.

Comco’s Kawabata said the company’s relationship with Toyota “shocked” him when he joined his father’s business in 1981, leading him to diversify his company from being completely dependent on the Toyota group to getting 80 percent of sales from other companies.

Subcontractors “are pushed to cut costs in units of hundredths of a yen at times,” Tokyo Shoko’s Minezawa said. “It’s that kind of world.”

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Big rise in stop and search

By James Boxell, Home Affairs Correspondent

Published: April 30 2009 23:12 | Last updated: April 30 2009 23:12

The number of people stopped and searched in the UK on the basis of counter-terrorism concerns trebled last year, raising fears that the police are misusing their powers.

Officers used powers enshrined in the 2000 Terrorism Act to search 124,687 people, up from 41,924 the previous year. Almost nine out of 10 of the searches were carried out by London’s Metropolitan Police. Only 1 per cent of the people stopped were arrested, and only 73 of those were for alleged terrorism offences.

Vernon Coaker, a Home Office minister, said the figures reflected the “police response to the terrorist threat during the 2007-08 reporting period, most notably the events in Haymarket, London”, when two car bombs capable of killing hundreds of people were found outside packed bars in London’s West End.

However, Chris Grayling, the shadow home secretary, said: ”People will be highly suspicious about the scale of stop and search under terror laws. This will only serve to reinforce the view that many anti-terror powers are being used for unrelated purposes.”

Overall, police carried out slightly more than 1m stop and searches in 2007-08, with almost half of these on suspicion of drugs use.

Separately, the Independent Police Complaints Commission on Thursday launched a fourth investigation into alleged excessive use of force by police officers at April’s G20 demonstrations. The latest investigation concerns an alleged assault against a 22-year-old woman involved in the demonstrations on April 1, thought to be a climate camp protester.

The IPCC is already investigating the circumstances around the death of Ian Tomlinson, a 47-year-old newspaper seller, after he was knocked to the ground by an officer.

The watchdog has now received 256 complaints relating to the G20 protests, including 121 complaints relating to the use of force by police officers during the protests. These include complaints from witnesses as well as alleged victims.

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メキシコでのオバマ大統領案内役が死亡　「豚インフルエンザではない」　
2009.4.28 08:36
このニュースのトピックス：新型インフルエンザ

　【ワシントン＝有元隆志】米ホワイトハウスは２７日、オバマ大統領が４月中旬にメキシコを訪問した際、案内役を務めた国立人類学博物館の館長が２３日に死亡したのは、豚インフルエンザが原因ではないとの声明を出した。

　大統領は４月１６日にメキシコに到着しているが、豚インフルエンザの発症時期とほぼ重なっていたうえ、館長が大統領との面会から１週間後に死亡したため、大統領に感染している可能性があるのではと不安視する声が出ていた。

　ホワイトハウスがメキシコ側から確認したところによると、館長は持病の合併症で亡くなったという。ギブズ報道官は「オバマ大統領が感染していたら既に症状が出ていたはずだ」として、大統領の体調に問題はないと強調している。

　オバマ大統領はメキシコ訪問中に博物館での夕食会に出席した。

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大統領周辺の米政府職員、新型インフルの疑い

2009年5月1日14時52分

　【ワシントン＝伊藤宏】オバマ米大統領のメキシコ訪問にかかわった米政府職員が、新型の豚インフルエンザに感染した疑いがあることがわかった。ホワイトハウスのギブズ報道官が３０日に明らかにした。

　この職員は、チュー・エネルギー長官の警護員としてメキシコ入りし、大統領が先月１６日にメキシコ市で出席した夕食会の場にいたという。ただ、その際、大統領のそばには近づかなかったといい、感染の恐れはないという。

　職員は同日、体調不良を訴え、１８日に米国に帰国した。その後、職員の妻、息子、おいにも感染したが、全員回復したという。

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農水職員が減反データ捏造…調査出張１７回、公園でさぼる

　農林水産省の九州農政局（熊本市）と福井農政事務所（福井市）の職員計３人が、コメの生産調整（減反）などを決める基礎データの調査をしていないのに、数値を勝手に捏造(ねつぞう)していたことがわかり、同省は、この３人を停職１か月や戒告の懲戒処分にし、当時の直属の上司（課長）３人を訓告処分にした。

　うち１人は出張に出かけながら、公園で時間をつぶすなどして調査を怠っており、同省はほかにも同様の不正がなかったか、過去３年間にさかのぼり全国の出先機関の食糧部門の職員約１８００人を対象に緊急点検を始めた。

　同省によると、停職１か月となった九州農政局の男性職員（４６）は、熊本県内のコメの在庫量調査などで生産者６人と３農協、３６業者から調査したように装い、一昨年１０月～今年３月、計４９回もデータを捏造して報告。昨年５月～今年３月には調査対象を訪問するとして計１７回の出張などをしながら、公園で時間をつぶすなどしていた。

　戒告になった同農政局の別の職員（４６）は、同県内の米麦加工食品業者に対する調査で、担当した２４業者すべてに「調査を依頼することを忘れた」として今年１月まで計５回データを捏造した。

　同じく戒告になった福井農政事務所の職員（４５）は、コメの在庫量調査で「担当した４農協のうちの１農協と連絡が取れなかった」として今年３月まで計７回、虚偽のデータを報告していた。

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横田基地に到着の乳児、Ａ型インフル陽性…新型の可能性も
特集 新型インフル

　米本土からのチャーター機で１日朝、米軍横田基地（東京都福生市など）に到着した米国籍の４か月の乳児がＡ型インフルエンザの陽性反応を示したことがわかった。

　新型インフルエンザの可能性があり、検体を本国に送り、検査を行う。外務省が同日午後、発表した。

　同省によると、乳児は発熱症状があり、現在は母親とともに横田基地内の医療施設に隔離され、治療を受けている。

　米シアトルから１日午前８時２０分に到着したチャーター機は約２７０人が乗っており、母子の周囲の米軍関係者１３人も、感染していないことが確認されるまで隔離される。乳児の検体の検査結果判明には３～５日かかる見通し。

　そのほかの乗客は検疫を受けた後、同機で米軍岩国基地などに向かったという。

　新型インフルエンザの発生を受け、米側は日本と同様の検疫態勢を敷いていた。