China threatens war

China threatens war
BEIJING -- A senior Chinese official warned that Beijing won't rule out war with Taiwan if the island's president pursues his plan to adopt a new constitution by 2008, the government's China Daily newspaper reported today.
Wang Zaixi, vice minister of the State Council's Taiwan Affairs Office, also said it would be an "unwise move" for Taiwan to buy more advanced weapons from the United States, the paper said.
Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian has said he plans to introduce a new constitution for the island when his term ends in 2008. China and Taiwan split in 1949 amid civil war, but Beijing claims Taiwan is a part of its territory and has long said that formal independence would lead to war.
Chinese officials have said for months that Chen's constitution plans show he wants independence for the island and therefore endanger "peace and stability" across the Taiwan Strait. Chen has said any constitutional changes wouldn't touch on sovereignty issues.
"New tensions and even a serious crisis in the cross-Straits situation may arise if Chen obstinately pursues his timetable," Wang said in an interview with the China Daily.
"We cannot completely rule out the possibility [of a military conflict] though it is not at all what we hope for," the paper quoted Wang as saying.
Republicans urge peopleto vote by absentee ballot
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Republican Gov. Jeb Bush has tried for months to persuade Florida voters that touchscreen voting machines are reliable. His own party apparently hasn't gotten the message.
The state GOP paid for a flier critical of the new technology and sent it to some south Florida voters where a primary election is scheduled next month.
"The new electronic voting machines do not have a paper ballot to verify your vote in case of a recount," the message states. "Make sure your vote counts. Order your absentee ballot today."
That's what Democrats and a coalition of civil rights groups have been saying in legal challenges, trying to force the state to provide a paper trail in case the touchscreen machines malfunction.
"It is insulting that the leadership's own party would believe that the system is broke," said Sharon Lettman Pacheco, spokeswoman for People for the American Way.
The machines are being used in 15 of the state's largest counties.
The governor, unaware of the mailing beforehand, wasn't happy.
"I think he was disappointed that there would be any message that's out there that criticizes these machines," Bush spokeswoman Jill Bratina said.
Draft resolution criticized
UNITED NATIONS -- Aid groups criticized a revised U.S. draft resolution that tempered a threat of sanctions against Sudan if the government doesn't act to stop atrocities in the western Darfur region.
The Security Council planned to vote today on the new draft, which deleted the word "sanctions" but kept the threat of economic action against the African nation unless it disarms Arab militias blamed for killing thousands of black African farmers.
Activists said the resolution wasn't tough enough and relied too much on the Sudanese government.
"Each step of the way it seems to be getting weaker and weaker," said Iain Levine of Human Rights Watch, which has accused the Arab-led government of supporting the militias -- a claim Sudan denies.
Janjaweed militias have killed up to 30,000 people in Darfur, most of them black Africans, and driven over 1 million from their homes in a 17-month conflict over dwindling resources.
Judge denies motionsin Peterson murder trial
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. -- Scott Peterson's murder trial will resume next week after his lawyer failed to convince the judge that false testimony from an investigator warranted a mistrial or dismissal of the two charges.
Defense attorney Mark Geragos argued that detective Allen Brocchini lied on the witness stand to help prosecutors convict Peterson of killing his pregnant wife, Laci, and dumping her body into San Francisco Bay.
The defense had asked for a mistrial twice before. Judge Alfred A. Delucchi also quickly denied the earlier requests.
In court, Geragos said he would be "delusional" to have expected a dismissal. He appeared to be following standard procedure in a death penalty case by establishing a record for appeal.
Geragos contends someone framed Peterson after learning his alibi, that he took a solo fishing trip on the bay Dec. 24, 2002, the day Laci Peterson went missing from their Modesto home.
To dismiss the charges, Delucchi would have had to find intent on Brocchini's part; he could have declared a mistrial if he felt Brocchini's comments poisoned the jury.
Associated Press