NHL: Vancouver beats San Jose 4-2, lead West Final 3-1

The San Jose Sharks, needing a win on home ice to avoid falling behind the Vancouver Canucks 3 games to 1 in the best of seven.

Pick it up, halfway through the second, scoreless, but Vancouver on a 5 on 3 power play, and Ryan Kesler, absolutely unloads on the one-timer to beat Anti Niemi, the Canucks ahead 1-0.

The Sharks, just couldn't stay out of the box in the second, later in the frame, another 5 on 3 for Vancouver, and this time it's Sami Salo.

The huge bomb from the top of the slot beats Niemi, 2-0 Canucks.

And less than a minute later, another Shark penalty, another 5 on 3 for Vancouver, and again, Salo will come through.

The Finnish McInnis is teed up by Henrik Sedin and he blasts it home to make it 3-0.

All three Canuck goals, coming on 5 on 3 advantages.

Then, five minutes into the third period, it's Henrik Sedin with some magic, he cuts in, freezes the defenseman, then slips it through Niemi's legs for Alex Burrows who makes it 4-0 Canucks. Sedin finished with a franchise playoff-record four assists.

The Sharks, would get two back, but the Canucks, led by the solid play of Roberto Luongo who made 33 saves would skate to the win.

4-2 the final, and Vancouver is now one win away from playing for Lord Stanley's Mug, as they lead their best of seven 3-games to 1. Vancouver can wrap up the series with a win on home ice on Tuesday evening.

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China crush Germany 4-1 to open Sudirman Cup

The 2011 Sudirman Cup, also known as the World Mixed Team Championships, have kicked off in east China's coastal city of Qingdao. The event is held every two years and China is looking to defend the title on home turf. The hosts drew Germany in the opening round.

China, who finished the 2009 edition without losing a match got off to a dream start as Xu Chen and Ma Jin won the mixed doubles match in straight games.

In the men's singles, all eyes were on China's mega star Olympic champion Lin Dan.

Lin dominated his German opponent Marc Zwiebler from the start.

Super Dan pulled away midway through the opening game, eventually taking it 21-10.

The German made a bit of a recovery in the second game to make it more of a contest, but Lin Dan, who has won every major title in the sport, didn't make enough mistake for Zwiebler to seriously challenge. Lin Dan, closing out the game 21-10, 21-16, putting China on top 2-0.

In the men's doubles, China's powerhouse duo of Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng had a chance to secure the best of five win for China and got it done 21-14, 21-9, to ensure China's victory win.

Despite her team moving on, China's top seed Wang Shixian did suffer a shock defeat to Germany's Juliane Schenk 21-19, 21-16 in the women's singles.

But China's Tian Xin and Zhao Yunlei wrapped up 4-1 rout of Germany.

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Honduras says ready to resume relationship with Venezuelan oil alliance

Honduras was ready to restore ties with Venezuelan oil alliance Petrocaribe to buy preferential oil from the country, Honduran President Porfirio Lobo said Tuesday.

Lobo told reporters that during a recent talk with Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro, he said he was willing to travel to Caracas as early as possible to sign a deal that would re-establish Honduras' partnership with the alliance.

The talk took place over the weekend in the Colombian city of Cartagena, where Lobo signed an agreement with former Honduran President Manuel Zelaya that allowed his "safe return" to Honduras.

Caribbean countries, after joining Petrocaribe, can buy oil from Venezuela on conditions of preferential payment.

The alliance, launched in 2005, allows some Caribbean nations to buy oil from Venezuela on market value but only a certain amount is needed up front. The remainder can be paid with an interest rate as low as 1 percent through a 25-year financing agreement.

Caribbean nations can purchase up to 185,00 barrels of oil per day on these terms.

Honduras joined Petrocaribe in December 2007, but Caracas decided to stop oil shipments to Honduras after Zelaya, a close ally of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, was removed from office in June 2009.

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Local gov't in Mexico starts campaign to reduce arms in citizens

A soldier carries weapons exchanged by citizens, during the "Campaign life without weapons, exchange for money 2011", in Mexico City, capital of Mexico, May 24, 2011. Local government implemented the campaign with the intention of capturing 2,000 weapons during 20 days in the 16 districts of Mexico City. 

Pistols exchanged by citizens are seen during the "Campaign life without weapons, exchange for money 2011", in Mexico City, capital of Mexico, May 24, 2011.

Soldiers make record of a pistol exchanged by a citizen, during the "Campaign life without weapons, exchange for money 2011", in Mexico City, capital of Mexico, May 24, 2011. 

Soldiers make record of a handed-out weapon, during the "Campaign life without weapons, exchange for money 2011", in Mexico City, capital of Mexico, May 24, 2011. 

Mexican soldiers guard weapons exchanged by citizens, during the "Campaign life without weapons, exchange for money 2011", in Mexico City, capital of Mexico, May 24, 2011.

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Rihanna, Swift win at Billboard Awards

After a five-year hiatus, the Billboard Music Awards officially returned in the United States. Two of the big winners at this year's awards were Rihanna and Taylor Swift. But a major indication of the show's popularity came from others such as Beyonce, U2, the Black Eyed Peas, and First Lady Michelle Obama.

This year marks the Billboard Awards' rebirth. The Billboard Awards had been a staple since 1989, but handed out what appeared to be its last award in 2006.

This year the show was brought back in Las Vegas, broadcast live on ABC, and hosted by "The Hangover 2" star Ken Jeong. However, like many other awards shows, the three-hour awarding ceremony served more as a promotional vehicle for today's pop stars than a trophy presentation.

The show was packed with performances - Cee-Lo Green floating in the air with his piano, surprising duets between Rihanna and Britney Spears, and this year's Billboard "Icon" Award winner, Neil Diamond, leading the audience in a sing-a-long to "Sweet Caroline" and "America."

Among Rihanna's wins were for radio artist of the year and top female artist. Taylor Swift won the evening's first award, as top album artist, as well as top country artist.

Taylor Swift said, "I wanna thank my family, my mum, my dad."

Beyonce received a special "Millennium" Award for her career achievements: The 29-year-old phenomenon was lauded in a video by an array of legends and luminaries, including Lady Gaga and Michelle Obama. She also performed her new song, "Run the World".

U2 was also honored for their blockbuster "360" tour as the top touring act of 2010.

The Billboard Music Awards are given out to the most popular artists in the mainstream music scene. The finalists and winners are determined by their rank on the Billboard charts and their "social and streaming activity."

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New immigration law takes effect in Mexico

 A new immigration law took effect in Mexico on Tuesday aimed at better protection of undocumented migrants passing through Mexican territory on their way to the United States.

The new law will permit undocumented migrants to obtain a special visa when entering Mexico from either Guatemala or Belize and tries to enact reforms in the country's immigration ministry, which has been implicated as complicit in criminal acts such as kidnapping migrants.

"Today, Mexico is doing its part to improve the immigration system in North America," President Felipe Calderon said during a ceremony in which he signed the law.

"This, without doubt, is advanced legislation, bold legislation, immigration legislation with few precedents in the world," he said.

Migrants have been attacked and kidnapped in increasing numbers in Mexico. The National Human Rights Commission has reported that 11,333 migrants were abducted by criminal groups, including Los Zetas, during a six-month survey period in 2010.

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E China: Abandoned tiger cubs nursed by dog

Officials at an east China zoo say two rare cubs, born to a male lion and a female tiger, are being nursed back to health by a kindly dog. She took over the nurturing duties, after the baby felines were abandoned by their mother.

Handlers at the Wildlife Zoo in Shandong Province say four "liger" cubs were born to the couple earlier this month. They add that the tiger mother fed her babies for four days, but then left them behind for unknown reasons.

Two died of malnutrition shortly afterwards.

The surviving pair of siblings initially had trouble drinking the dog's milk, but soon got used to the new flavor. Meanwhile five new tiger cubs have been born at a facility in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province.

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Doha Round trade talks need different approach: U.S. expert

The Doha Round of trade negotiations at the World Trade Organization (WTO) is "doomed" and needs a new plan, said a former top U.S. trade official on Tuesday.

"There is not going to be a big happy conclusion and therefore we need to move on," former U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab said in a speech at the Washington-based think tank Peterson Institute for International Economics. "It is time to try a different approach."

Schwab, who was trade representative from 2006 to 2009, argued in an article published in Foreign Affairs magazine that the long-running Doha round is dead.

"The purpose of the article was an emperor has no cloth moment," she told the audience.

She noted that the gap between what the U.S. needs in an agreement to win congressional approval and what major developing countries like China, India and Brazil are willing to put on the table is too big.

The Doha Round was launched in late 2001 with the goal of helping poor countries prosper by removing barriers to trade.

The marathon talks have been stalled by "unbridgeable" gaps between the advanced economies and developing countries in many key areas, including agriculture and export subsidy among others.

It is expected that the Doha Round trade talks will be one of the key topics of the coming Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum later this year. Although officials from the 21-member organization refuse to pronounce the round dead, they acknowledged that there were many uncompromisable obstacles.

Schwab said it is not a new idea that the Doha Round may be in trouble. She suggested that countries should try to get prepared for new focus on the next trade round in December when the WTO holds its next major meeting of all 153 members.

She said that the new plan could include sectoral agreements in areas like pharmaceuticals and medical devices and environmental goods and services.

Besides, the new talks could include industrial fishing subsidies and regulatory barriers to trade, Schwab added.

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Price hikes for traditional medicine shock users in China

The prices of Chinese herbal medicine have gone up sharply across the board in China over recent months.

According to figures from the China Association of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 84 percent of 537 types of traditional medicine were the subject of a price hike in 2010. The selling price of 96 of them at least doubled.

Shen Jianhua, president of the Liwan District Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, was quoted by the English newspaper China Daily that the average prescription at his hospital rose from 84 yuan (12.7 U.S. dollars) last year to 102.7 yuan in April.

"The big price rise will affect a lot of people who consult traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) doctors after they fall ill," said Wen Zhangbin, who had just taken his three-year-old grandson to see a TCM practitioner at a hospital in Guangzhou, capital of southern China's Guangdong Province.

TCM has a lot of followers in the city, because many people believe it is not only effective but cheaper than Western medicine, 63-year-old Wen said.

At a bazaar where herbal medicine is sold in Guangzhou's Qingping, a kilogram of taizishen now sells for more than 500 yuan but was less than 50 yuan at the beginning of 2010. Taizishen is mainly used in the treatment of children's cough and fever.

A trader surnamed Li at the Qingping bazaar said the serious drought that hit southwest China last year and the north China plain earlier this year meant less herbal medicine was produced.

Meanwhile, many herbal medicine growers have refused to plant herbs used in Chinese medicine because of the high cost of fertilizers and farm chemicals.

Xing Zhenjie, general manager of Bozhou Zhenjie Medicine Company based in Anhui Province, said part of the problem is the fact that the price of traditional medicine can be easily manipulated.

"Some medicines can only be planted in certain areas, so, if all products are bought by one investor or a group of them, speculating on those products is quite easy," he said.

Xing said people are buying up stocks so they can drive up the price.

"The shelf life of some products is 20 years, so many people, including planters, hoard medicine as a way of speculating and that drives up prices," said Xing. "There is no standardized shelf time for traditional Chinese medicine so people will not worry about an expiry date."

Jiang Yanghua, an analyst from China Investment Consulting, said it is necessary to establish a price and production monitoring mechanism to oversee the market. In addition, Jiang said a reserve mechanism would help ease the pressure when the price goes up even higher.

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Peru's Keiko leads slightly in polls ahead of presidential runoff

With less than two weeks away before Peru's June 5 presidential off, Keiko Fujimori was enjoying a slight lead over opponent Ollanta Humala, results of polls showed Tuesday.

Polling firm Datum gave Keiko and her Force 2011 party 52.4 percent of the vote against 47.6 percent for Humala and his Peru Wins party. The poll was based on 5,000 people surveyed between May 16-18.

"There is not a spectacular increase for either candidate. The fight is so strong that they are basically tied, with a slight advantage to Fujimori," said Datum Director Manuel Torrado.

Ipsos Apoyo also put Fujimori ahead with 51.4 percent of the vote against 48.6 percent for Humala.

Torrado said that the polls were so close that "anything can happen" in Peruvians' final choice between Fujimori, the daughter of former imprisoned Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori, and former military commander Humala.

The two candidates are measuring their strategies and campaign tactics "millimeter by millimeter" in order to avoid any mistakes that could cost them crucial votes.

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E-G8 Summit: Sarkozy calls for greater gov't role on internet work

 French President Nicolas Sarkozy's call for a greater government role in the workings of the Internet, have drawn both criticism and cautious praise, from industry heavyweights gathered in Paris for a pre-G8 forum.

In his opening address at the e-G8 technology forum in Paris, French President Nicolas Sarkozy made clear that he thinks governments have a role to play in fostering innovation and the digital economy, but that online businesses could not expect to operate in regulatory vacuum.

He said, "The universe that you represent is not a parallel one, free of the rule of law, free of moral and, more generally, more fundamental principles that govern social life in democratic countries. From the moment that Internet is part of the life of the majority of people, it would be a contradiction to keep governments away from this immense forum."

The gathering of tech elite, including Google's Jimmy Wales, Amazon's Jeff Bezos, and Wikipedia's Jimmy Wales, is taking place over two days in Paris, ahead of a G8 Summit.

The chairman of the e-G8 forum, Maurice Levy of Publicis Groupe, says the views expressed here will be synthesized for the political gathering in the resort town of Deauville later this week.

He said, "Obviously, there is one aspect which is very important, which is how the Internet and digital tech can accelerate growth. It is something which is very important."

However, some participants are concerned with what they see as an agenda that aims to clamp down on the Internet's freewheeling culture.

John Perry Barlow is a co-founder of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which works to safeguard civil liberties on the net.

He said, "We've been trying to civilize cyberspace for 22 years, and I think we may have different notions of what that means. We think civilization implies liberty, implies openness, implies to the extent possible minimal regulation, and I would say that's not what this conference is about. (Why are you here?) I think it's a good idea to be present when movement is afoot to take away some of the values that you cherish."

One delegate raised the point that Skype, recently bought by Microsoft -- was started by entrepreneurs who previously ran a peer to peer file sharing service. And that YouTube, now owned by Google -- had a history of being hit by lawsuits for violating copyright laws.

The key question that's emerging is -- can governments fuel digital innovation and growth -- without harming the engine that drives it?

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Singapore plans trial run of new road pricing system soon

 Singapore will conduct trial run of a new generation of electronic road pricing (ERP) system that may use satellite tracking instead of the huge gantries standing at roads leading to the downtown areas, local media reported on Wednesday.

For bidders have been selected for the trial run, including the Kapsch TrafficCom from Austria, ST Electronics and IBM Singapore, MHI Engine System Asia and NCS from Japan, as well as Watchdata Technologies and Beijing Watchdata System from China. The Land Transport Authority said each will receive 1 million Singapore dollars (0.8 million U.S. dollars) in seed funding "to design, develop and demonstrate technological solutions."

The trial run will start next month and last 18 months, including on-the-road testing to prove the robustness of the new system. The new system will likely charge drivers not only according to where they go, but also for the distances they clock, the Straits Times reported.

Experts say the main challenge of the new system would be its patchy accuracy as densely built-up areas can create what are known as "urban canyons," where satellite signals bounce off tall buildings and distort the readings.

In an early trial done in 2007, the Land Transport Authority found that the accuracy of satellite tracking in open areas such as highways to be above 90 percent, but it dropped to about 30 percent in the city center.

But the technology has since improved and signal beacons can be erected on curbs or buildings to overcome the pitfalls of satellite tracking in the city center.

Singapore is one of the first countries to introduce an electronic road pricing system to reduce congestion in the city center. Currently 71 huge gantries of blue and white stand astride major roads and expressways in the system introduced in 1998. Each of the gantries were built at the cost of 1 million to 1.5 million Singapore dollars (0.8 million to 1.2 million U.S. dollars).

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S Korea investigates new allegation of chemical dumping by U.S. military

South Korea has launched an on-site inspection of a former U.S. military base suspected to be another burial site of large amounts of chemicals by the U.S. military in the 1960s, local media reported Wednesday.

An investigation team of environmental experts and officials from related ministries, including the Ministry of Defense, has been dispatched to Camp Mercer in Bucheon, just west of Seoul, to probe a new allegation of chemical dumping raised by a U.S. Army veteran.

Retired Master Sgt. Ray Bows wrote in his message posted on a website that U.S. troops buried "hundreds of gallons" of chemicals at Camp Mercer between 1963 and 1964, Seoul's Yonhap news agency reported.

"The team plans to review environmental data of the base and check areas where chemicals were suspected of being buried," an official from the defense ministry was quoted by Yonhap as saying.

The new allegation came as South Korea and the United States began a joint investigation into the alleged burial of the toxic defoliant Agent Orange by the U.S. military at Camp Carroll in Chilgok, some 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, in 1978.

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BRICS: IMF Chief pick should reflect realities

 Five key members of the International Monetary Fund are saying the procedure to pick the organization's next head, should reflect the changing realities of the global economy, and not be done on the basis of nationality.

The IMF directors for Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa -- known as the BRICS nations -- reiterated this in a joint statement issued Tuesday. They noted that selecting a Managing Director based, in practice, on nationality undermines the legitimacy of the Fund. They also rejected that the successor to former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn should be a European.

The BRICS nations expressed their belief that if the IMF is to have credibility and legitimacy, its chief should be selected on the basis of broad consultation among the members. A nomination period to select a new IMF chief was initiated on Monday. The process will close on June 10th.

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Foreigner buyers hit record in Singapore's private home market in Q1

Foreign buyers snapped up 16 percent of all private homes sold in Singapore in the first quarter, the highest quarterly percentage since data became available in 1995, local daily Straits Times reported.

Experts attributed the high foreign proportion in the market to the fact such buyers were less affected by the rounds of cooling measures.

Foreigners bought 1,028 units in the first three months of the year, real estate consultancy DTZ Research said in a report. The proportion of 16 percent being foreign buyers also hit a new record, and the previous record was 15 percent in the fourth quarter of 2007.

Foreigners were also active in the last quarter of 2010, buying 1,092 units or 13 percent of the total private homes sold.

Demand from holders of permanent residency -- those who are not citizens -- remained stable at 17 percent in both quarters.

Chinese buyers including permanent residents also set a record to account 24 percent of the total foreign buyers, overtaking Malaysians for the first time.

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Australia expects to finalize asylum deal with Malaysia in weeks

Australian federal government on Wednesday said it expected to finalize the asylum-seeker swap deal with Malaysia in "coming weeks".

Immigration Minister Chris Bowen said he is "very satisfied" with the progress of negotiations between Australia and Malaysia over the final agreement, which will see up to 800 new boat arrivals to be relocated to Malaysia for processing, in return for Australia resettling 4,000 Malaysian refugees.

When asked when the agreement would be signed, Bowen on Wednesday told ABC Radio: "In coming weeks."

When pressed on what "coming weeks" meant, the minister said, " Weeks, not months."

Bowen added that Australia was keen to pursue similar agreements with other nations in the Pacific-Asia region.

Since the deal was first announced on May 7, 107 boat people had been picked up in waters off the Western Australian coast.

Immigration Department confirmed that these 107 people will all be processed overseas, but it is unclear when and where they will be sent, as the deal with Malaysia is yet to be formalized.

Australian Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young said these asylum seekers were now stuck in legal limbo on Christmas Island, including seventeen children, some as young as four, and nine were unaccompanied minors.

"(Immigration Minister Chris Bowen) is undermining his role as guardian to protect these kids simply to uphold what is a poorly patched together agreement with (Malaysia) which has not signed the refugee convention," Senator Hanson-Young said.

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New oil rig marks innovative breakthrough

The advanced deep-sea oil platform marks another milestone in Chinese design and engineering. Its innovations improve both the security and efficiency of offshore oil exploration.


The advanced deep-sea oil platform marks another milestone in Chinese design and engineering. Its innovations improve both the security and efficiency of offshore oil exploration.

Oceanic Petroleum 9-8-1 platform can drill for oil 3-thousand meters below sea level. The deck on the 130-meter-high rig covers an area about the size of a football field.

Setting new standards in work safety was one of the key priorities for the rig's engineers. It is designed to withstand powerful seas and winds and remain stable at all times.

Chen Gang, Engineering Director of Shanghai Waigaoqiao Ship Building, said, "In total, there are 12 anchor chains - three on each of the four pillars. We've called the the rig's stabilizing system."

The 12 anchor chains are tightly fitted to the platform to ensure it remains stationary in water as deep as 15-hundred meters. For water deeper than that, the platform will use a supplementary stabilizing system.

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Iraq to sign gas deal with ROK firm

 Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister Hussain al-Shahristani says the Korea Gas Corporation has agreed to sign a development contract for the Akkas Field. He adds that the deal could be finalized next month.

Akkas, the country's largest gas field, has estimated reserves totaling 5.6 trillion cubic feet. Hussain al-Shahristani says Royal Dutch Shell and Mitsubishi have also agreed on all technical and contractual aspects of another gas accord, and expect the Oil Ministry to present a final draft to the Cabinet, later this month.

The Deputy Prime Minister points out that Iraq has set its future production targets of 12 million barrels per day, based on his expectation that world oil demand will increase by 20 million barrels per day, over the next 20 years. He stresses that Iraq will be key to meeting these needs.

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China explores using fish to tackle water pollution in Three Gorges Reservoir

China has begun the second phase of a research project to explore the use of fish to clean up water pollution in the Three Gorges Reservoir on the Yangtze River, the country's largest river.

China Three Gorges Corporation, operator of the world's largest hydroelectric station at the Three Gorges Dam, has released 600,000 fish into the Gaolan River, a tributary of the Three Gorges Reservoir.

The company said Tuesday that it sought to determine how well silver and bighead carp could clear algae blooms and improve the water environment while learning more about these efficient algae-eating fish.

The first-phase test, between 2008 and 2009, showed certain kinds of fish did help prevent algae outbreaks in the highly polluted Gaolan River.

The algae blooms in the Three Gorges Reservoir have long been under the spotlight. Some of its waters were polluted due to rapid developing agriculture and industry along the river, said officials.

The move came as the Chinese government decided to take effective measures to curb the environmental deterioration in the Three Gorges Project areas by 2020, said a statement released after an executive meeting of the State Council last week.

The world's largest hydroelectric project has played a significant role in flood prevention, power generation, shipping and water resources use, the statement added.

While at the same time there existed problems concerning the well-being of relocated residents, environmental protection, and geological disaster prevention that should be resolved urgently, it said.

It further stressed the need to curb water pollution in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, which affects eight provinces with an area of 633,000 square km. The area is also the nation's most densely populated, which means it coexists among significant environmental pressures.

Zheng Shouren, a main Three Gorges Project designer and chief engineer of the Yangtze River Water Resources Committee, said the designers were aware of some of the ecological problems as early as when the construction designs were under deliberation.

"We've been taking measures to tackle the problems during these years and the efforts have yielded marked results," Zheng said. "Also some problems are not as severe as expected," he added.

The silt accumulation in the Three Gorges Dam since 2003, when water levels were raised to 135 meters, for example, was only 40 percent of the design level, with an annual accumulation of less than 200 million tonnes, data from China Three Gorges Corporation showed.

As the Three Gorges Reservoir stored water, problems like algae outbreaks and floating garbage occurred, and they attracted widespread attention, Zheng said.

"They are all world-wide problems which all major reservoirs face," he said. "Given the limitations of current conditions and methods, we can only try resolving these issues."

"Some problems even come with economic and social development. When we made the designs, we didn't expect China's economy to grow so fast," he said.

The reservoir was designed to discharge 5,000 square meters of water per second downstream after October each year, but now the discharge has been raised to 8,000 to 10,000 square meters per second, as the designed volume failed to meet the demand of the lower reaches hit by severe drought, he said.

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Dozens killed in Yemen's heavy clashes

 Play Video At least 49 tribesmen of Yemeni opposition leader Sadeq al-Ahmar , as well as 15 government soldiers , have been killed in intensified clashes in Sanaa. The shooting, in the sandbagged streets surrounding a fortified mansion belonging to the powerful al-Ahmar clan, pitted loyalist forces against guards of Sadiq al-Ahmar.

The clashes have further dimmed prospects for a political solution to a transition of power following months of protests demanding an end to President Ali Abdullah Saleh's rule. The new clashes follows fighting in the same area of the capital on Monday, which killed seven people.

The government accused Ahmar's men of igniting Monday's clashes by firing on a school and the headquarters of the state news agency. Early on Tuesday, tribal mediators were holding talks in the Ahmar house, to try to bring an end to the fighting. But government reps said the mediation had not brought a resolution.

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