Andanh.com

President Nicolas Sarkozy dispatched his top diplomatic adviser to China, where a French retail giant has become a boycott target, and he sent an emotional letter to a disabled Chinese athlete who struggled against a Paris protester trying to wrench the Olympic torch from her.

In his letter to "Mademoiselle Jin Jing," Sarkozy noted the "bitterness" felt in China over the incident and insisted that several such attacks by protesters during the April 7 Paris torch stopover "do not reflect the feelings of my countrymen toward the Chinese people."

"You have shown remarkable courage that does you honor - and through you, honor to your country," he added. Jin, who uses a wheelchair, received the letter Monday in Shanghai from the visiting head of the French Senate.

But even as the national government tried to soften the tone, the Paris City Council took a step likely to anger China's leaders. It voted Monday to bestow the title of "honorary citizen" on the Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled leader, as well as Hu Jia, a Chinese rights activist who was convicted on subversion charges earlier this month and sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison.

Hamas, which advocates Israel's destruction, instead recycled previous offers, including a 10-year truce if Israel takes the unlikely step of withdrawing from the West Bank and Jerusalem first.

Hamas has repeatedly confounded observers with its conflicting messages. Actions on the ground - seven rockets were fired on Israel from Hamas-ruled Gaza Monday, including one that wounded a 4-year-old boy - contradicted the Islamic militant group's positive words about coexistence and a truce.

And a leader of the Hamas military wing, which carried out a twin suicide bombing on the Gaza border Saturday, said his group would step up attacks against Israel in coming days.

The salvo of rockets came despite a last-minute phone call from Carter, urging a one-month halt to attacks on Israel, to gain some international goodwill and defuse tensions.

The 150,000-ton tanker Takayama was attacked about 270 miles off the coast of Aden in southwestern Yemen while it was heading for Saudi Arabia, its Japanese operator, Nippon Yusen K.K., said in a statement.

None of its 23 crew members - seven Japanese and 16 Filipinos - was injured, the company said. The tanker had left the South Korean port of Ulsan on April 4.

Nippon Yusen spokeswoman Yuko Tsutsui said the attack left a 1-inch hole in the tanker's stern which was temporarily patched after hundreds of gallons of fuel leaked.

She said the tanker was heading to Aden for repairs, and its itinerary could change depending on the extent of the damage.

Ban also warned that Lebanon will not be a fully sovereign, democratic state until the Islamic militants of Hezbollah are disarmed. He told Syria and Iran they must support efforts to disarm the group, which is their ally.

The secretary-general's six-month report on Lebanon to the Security Council, obtained by The Associated Press, focused on implementation of a 2004 resolution that calls for presidential elections under the constitution and the disbanding of all militias.

"Parliament, which has not met in more than a year, must be allowed to convene urgently to fulfill its constitutional duties in order to elect a president ...," Ban said. "A free and fair presidential election, without foreign interference or influence, must take place immediately."

The Lebanese parliament is sharply divided between a pro-Western majority led by Prime Minister Fuad Saniora and a bloc led by Hezbollah that is aligned with neighboring Syria, whose army occupied Lebanon for nearly three decades.

The defendant, Nancy Kissel, has spent the past week trying to appeal the 2005 verdict that got her sentenced to life for what's widely known in Hong Kong as the "milkshake murder." The case has made headlines here because it provided a glimpse into a wealthy expatriate world of summer houses, sexual affairs and alleged drug and alcohol abuse.

Kissel has said she struck her investment banker husband, Robert, with a metal ornament when he was attacking her with a baseball bat in 2003. Her lawyer, Gerard McCoy, said Monday evidence of the bat was left on the metal ornament, which had been "distorted and damaged by a cylindrical shape object."

McCoy argued the judge in the original trial failed to fully address the self-defense argument when he summed up the case for the jury.

"The jury had to hear the defense case coherently and comprehensively put by the judge," McCoy said on the sixth day of the appeal.

In a press release Monday, developer Brad Burgess said his group had submitted numerous financing and work schedule progress reports to the Finance and Administration Cabinet.

"At no time until the state's decision to terminate was there any risk of the hotel not being finished in time for the FEI World Equestrian Games in 2010," Burgess said in the release.

He also said he had been working under a contract awarded in July, but did not receive the state's approval to sell bonds until Feb. 28. The day after that, the cabinet set an April 15 deadline for all the bonds to be sold in order to build the hotel in time for the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. According to an April 16 letter from the cabinet, state officials had not received any word that the bonds had been sold.

However, a buyer had committed to buy $42.5 of the $118 million bonds, according to the release, and a bond investor had scheduled a visit to the Kentucky Horse Park.

Worried as she watched him struggle, a gnawing fear crept into her stomach: Her only son, with big blue eyes and the jones for Star Wars, might be headed for a special education classroom.

Instead, teachers at his suburban Portland school intervened immediately, putting him into extra reading and vocabulary tutoring every day before school. It paid off.

Now, officials in districts across the country are rapidly adopting similar early intervention programs, hoping that steering a child away from expensive special education classes later will pay off for them, too, in cost savings.

"It's a chance to catch up, if you can have this instruction. We are identifying kids earlier and better than we used to" said Karen Twain, principal at Dylan's school, Metzger Elementary.

Louisville police spokesman Lt. Col. Phil Turner said this year's enforcement plan is designed to allow greater access to businesses and homes on Broadway.

Turner said it's similar to last year's plan, which allowed traffic on Broadway until it became a problem. That followed much more restrictive rules in 2006 that closed a section of Broadway to all traffic and sparked complaints from residents and businesses.

A group of Louisville businesses sued after the 2006 blockade, but a federal judge ruled last year that police can ban cruising cars to avoid gridlock and violent outbreaks.

Police began cracking down on cruising during Kentucky Derby after a series of violent incidents plagued the weekend in 2005.

Members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, which splintered from the Mormon Church when it rejected polygamy in 1890, are being investigated for child sexual abuse.

We might have commiserated with the mothers who have blanketed news shows pleading for the return of their children, and we may have nearly vomited at the thought of so many children potentially subjected to sexual abuse in the name of religion, but children are abused in Kentucky every day.

The largest investigation of abuse occurred this month, Child Abuse Prevention Month. More than 81,000 children were reported abused or neglected in Kentucky during fiscal 2007. That's not the number of incidents reported, but the number of young human beings reported as potential victims of abuse.

"Obviously, not every one of those 81,000 was substantiated," said Rashmi Adi-Brown, director of programs and prevention services at Prevent Child Abuse Kentucky. "But that number rose from the previous year.

The following roads will be resurfaced this week: Carrick Lane from Russell Cave Road to the Scott County line; Muir Station Road from Briar Hill Road to Bryan Station Road; Hughes Lane from Russell Cave Road to Paris Pike; Dolan Lane from Leestown Road to Bethel Road; Falcon Wood-Ironworks from Bethel Lane to North Yarnallton Pike; Kearney Road from North Yarnallton Pike to U.S. 25; U.S. 25 from the I-75 overpass to Leeann Lane. Lanes could be closed for these projects.

Major traffic impact

Blue Grass Parkway is reduced to one lane eastbound and westbound between mileposts 67 and 69 in Woodford County for a bridge replacement on Ky. 33. Motorists should expect delays on both roads.

Crews are working to widen and realign Liberty Road from Todds to Gerardi roads. Traffic is temporarily diverted at the west end of the project, shifting south. The speed limit through the project is 35 mph.

In 1974, the 22-year-old American rider won the World Championship for three-day eventing at Burghley in England. That meant the next equestrian championship would take place in the United States.

A young rider named Jane Atkinson of Lexington heard that Davidson had won and went to the Kentucky Horse Council -- then made up mostly of racing people -- and told them "we need to do this."

They did, and the 1978 World Championship took place at a very young Kentucky Horse Park with gravel roads and wet paint on the fences, complete with international riders and Prince Philip on hand.

(Incidentally, Davidson won this championship as well, despite barely making it onto his horse after he fell asleep in the feed room just before the competition. "When I get nervous, I fall asleep.")

The company rededicated its first headquarters on Saturday, a year or so after putting it on dollies and moving it up the road to the home of its new corporate offices.

"After the construction of this new modern facility, we weren't really going to be at home until we brought Jay Station depot back over here," said Noel Rush, vice president of strategic planning and development.

Jay Station was originally built on Jessamine Station Road and dedicated in 1986 by then-Lt. Gov. Steve Beshear. It's named for Jay Corman, father of the company's founder and owner Rick Corman.

The company was founded in 1973 and had its offices inside a locomotive before Jay Station was built, Rush said.

A company executive told the Philippine media at the celebration that the country's operation now has just as many employees as the corporate headquarters. And it's hiring 300 to 400 more people over the next few years.

He also said the company can now build a product from beginning to end at the site, a process that was once the primary domain of the company's armada of highly paid engineers and scientists in Lexington.

"If you're in Lexington, you've got to be nervous," said Larry Jamieson of industry tracker Lyra Research. "Every other major company is moving more and more stuff offshore into wherever they can get the cheaper labor. Is it going to be the same company? Who knows?"

'A global company'

That's the guiding principle a group of Eastern Kentucky University students followed in a mentoring program that connects them with young people they have never seen.

This school year, the mentors discussed college life and career opportunities with eighth-grade students at five middle schools throughout the state with Blackboard, a Web-based education tool that allows participants to post questions and responses online.

"It's just a great experience," said Ryan Harris, an eighth-grader at Clay County Middle School who participated in the mentoring.

The mentors and middle-schoolers met in person for the first time Friday at EKU, where they had lunch and heard a motivational speaker. The younger students had known their mentors only by their initials during the program.

Woodford County Fire Chief Bennie Green said a neighbor noticed the fire at Fab Oak Stable on Paynes Mill Road at the county's eastern edge about 2:30 a.m. There never was a chance to save the horses, he said, because the whole structure was on fire by the time the fire was spotted.

The identities of the horses were not available Saturday. A woman listed as an emergency contact for the stable said she was not authorized to make a statement.

The stable is owned by Fabien Ouaki, 48, of Paris, France. In addition to being involved in the racing industry, he is co-owner of the Tati chain of clothing stores in Paris, according to his biography on the National Thoroughbred Racing Association Web site.

The site also said that Fab Oak horses had 24 racing starts last year and earnings of $706,000.

Last week, two very bad things happened in Lexington while most of us slept.

Two University of Kentucky students died in tragic accidents. By all accounts, they were the most promising of young people.

Brian Hardin, 27, died Wednesday after falling and hitting his head on a sidewalk. He was walking near the intersection of Woodland Avenue and Maxwell Street about 4:30 a.m. after a night out with friends at a nearby bar.

Hardin's professor and mentor at UK described him as one of the best physiology research graduate students he had ever taught. Just this month, Hardin was published in physiology's most prestigious journal -- a remarkable achievement for a first-year grad student.

40502
Breckenwood Drive, 3216, Christine S. Dummit to Thomas A. Poskin, $168,500.
Chinoe Road, 795, John L. and Patricia Foley to John L. Foley Nine LLC, $570,000.
Cramer Avenue, 713, Sarah Detrick to Mark Hoskins et al., $238,000.
Eastwood Drive, 1761, Carl L. Meyers to Richard and Lisa Circeo, $1,055,000.
Indian Mound Road, 1169, Geraldine S. Holsclaw to Geraldine S. Holsclaw et al., $225,000.
Lakeshore Drive, 401, Kenneth L. and Renanne P. Carter to Sharon K. Williams and Mark L. Bryant, $300,000.
Lakeshore Drive, 461, Zona Ruth Hazen to Kathryn B. Johnson, $236,000.
Montavesta Road, 3346, Brigid Ann Enochs to Amy E. Dunn et al., $143,500.
Oldham Avenue, 318, Stephen F. and Karen M. Hillenmeyer to CSH Properties LLC, $180,000.
Saint Christopher Drive, 2049, Garry and Dianne Milton to Donald Douglass, $92,900.
Saint Mathilda Drive, 2129, Elmer J. Jones III et al. to Fifth Third Mortgage Co., $102,000.
Saint Mathilda Drive, 2129, Fifth Third Mortgage Co. to Bill Massie, $84,000.
Saint Michael Drive, 2105, B.C. and Betty S. Edwards to Betty S. Edwards, $95,000.
Saint Teresa Drive, 2060, James H. Trader II to Roger D. and Rita S. Maggard, $97,600.

40503
Barberry Lane, 200, Darlene Edgington et al. to Edgeview Properties LLC, $421,000.
Coventry Court, 401, Everett G. and Mary Katherine Robinson to Russ and Maggie Walkup, $176,500.
Springridge Drive, 675, Martha L. Vanatter to Daniel H. Miller, $67,400.
Tisdale Drive, 3325, Dustin W. Randall to Wood Properties LLC, $125,000.
Wabash Drive, 152, Alicen Jack May to Scott M. May, $130,000.
Wildwood Avenue, 1864, Paula Bishop et al. to Daniel J. and Rachel M. Steckler, $290,000.

40504
Camellia Drive, 1016, Neil and Ellen L. Butler to Timothy M. White, $121,500.
Honeysuckle Road, 880, Charles Benjamin Cullison et al. to Ray Vaske, $100,000.
Horsemans Lane, 1150, Jason W. and Hope Veinot to Elizabeth A. and William E. Denny, $88,000.
Saddle Club Way, 1421, D.H. and Judith A. Withers to Clifford G. and Wendy A. Lundstrum, $240,000.
Spring Meadows Drive, 838, Randall and Esther Hulshizer to Njaga Jagne et al., $89,900.

40505
Arceme Avenue, 225, Brandi N. Rust et al. to Carl and Sandra Hoskins, $15,000.
Avon Avenue, 133, Danny and Diane Strong to Town and Country Bank and Trust Co., $81,500.
Bellechasse Drive, 1777, Federal Home Loan Mortgage to Billy and Rebecca Manies, $121,000.
Brewer Drive, 1769, Betty J. Gray to Michael E. Coleman, $120,000.
Call Drive, 2085, Natasha A. Woods to Prudential Relocation Inc., $126,000.
Darley Drive, 1027, Stanley P. and Rebecca Stinnett to George McMillion, $75,000.
Eastland Drive, 1350, John L. and Patricia Foley to John L. Foley VI LLC, $472,500.
Emerson Drive, 550, Michael D. and Sarah E. Jones to Kimberly A. Bennett, $52,000.
Glenn Place, 131, Withers Enterprise Kentucky Inc. to Erik Carlson, $103,000.
Hillcrest Avenue, 219, Chester Floyd Dugger to Michael Scott Beaty, $61,480.
Locust Avenue, 476, Linda G. Lopresto to Kimberly A. Bennett, $58,000.
Loneta Avenue, 108, Danny and Diane Strong to Sue Ann Bland, $60,206.
Maple Avenue, 810, Brian Timothy and Krystal Disney to Milan T. Disney, $53,000.
Marietta Drive, 1820, John Henry and Tammy L. Riggs Jr. to Ishmael Taylor, $98,000.
Northwood Drive, 121, J. Derossett et al. to Barbara Watters, $70,750.
Pellinore Court, 1713, Jack L. and Cathy L. Barnett to David H. and Jennifer L. Russell, $170,000.
Shaftsbury Drive, 536, Sandra D. Roberts to Housing and Urban Development Secretary, $85,000.
Wanstead Way, 528, Fannie Mae et al. to Mark Warth, $80,000.

Brian Spear's bases-loaded walk in the 10th inning Sunday forced Keenan Wiley home and lifted Kentucky to a 3-2 victory over Florida.

Wiley had half of UK's six hits, including a leadoff bloop double to start the 10th.

"We knew they'd been throwing a lot of fastballs away, and that's really the pitch I was looking for," Wiley said. "And I got it."

The rubber game of a three-game Southeastern Conference series would have ended in a tie had UK not scored in the 10th. League travel curfew for "get-away day" games meant that no inning could begin after 4 p.m. It was 4:05 when Spear took ball four.

The Kentucky baseball team was at LSU. The Cats won the first two games of the series. The third game had to be halted, even though the score was deadlocked, because of an SEC travel rule that stipulates that no inning of a Sunday game can be started after 4 p.m. The Cats had to settle for a tie. A terrible tie.

"I think we finished a half-game out from making the SEC Tournament," remembered pitcher Greg Dombrowski.

Kentucky finished 13-16-1 in conference play, a winning percentage of .450. Tennessee finished 13-15, a winning percentage of .464, and thus the final spot in the eight-team conference tourney. Had the Cats beaten LSU instead of tying the Tigers, a 14-16 record would have given UK a .467 percentage and that berth.

And probably an NCAA Tournament berth, as well.

ab r h bi ab r h bi

Barnes lf 5 1 3 0 Wiley lf 5 2 3 0

den Dekker cf 4 1 2 2 Cowgill cf 4 1 2 1

Figueroa ss 4 0 0 0 Carroll rf 2 0 0 0

That's what Oklahoma State did after firing Sean Sutton as coach. The Cowboys' athletic director, Mike Holder, knew he wanted to hire Bill Self of Kansas. Yet he still called Newton for advice.

"How'd you hire Rick Pitino?" Holder asked in reference to Newton's 1989 coup in hiring Pitino away from the New York Knicks.

Newton thought Oklahoma State had a chance to hire Self. OSU was Self's alma mater. The school could rightly say it not only wanted him to return home, but needed him to return home.

When Self decided to stay at Kansas, Holder called Newton for advice on what coach to approach. Newton pondered what coach could enjoy small-town life in Stillwater, Okla. What coach had proven ability to rebuild programs. And when Holder said he wanted to hire a young coach who could relate to players, Newton recommended Travis Ford.

Brooks got what he wanted and then some, as the White team held on for a 23-22 win in front of an estimated crowd of 8,500 at Commonwealth Stadium.

Offensive coordinator Joker Phillips and defensive coordinator Steve Brown drafted the two teams earlier in the week, and the rosters appeared to be evenly matched.

"You couldn't have asked for a much more balanced or competitive game," Brooks said. "We couldn't have drawn it up or scripted it better. I was pleased with quite a few things. It's a good testament to where this program has come from to have the depth to put on a game like this and have it look like a reasonable semblance of a football game."

Quarterbacks Curtis Pulley and Mike Hartline both led their offenses to impressive late fourth-quarter drives as they continue their battle to be the No. 1 guy.

Asked whether the fans wanted him to put on a show, Miller said, "They probably did. I didn't pay any attention to it."

Miller made three of four shots and scored six points.

The other UK signee, DeAndre Liggins, played as billed. He looked like a pass-first player with the need to improve his jump shot. He finished with three assists, four turnovers and two points.

Ater Majok, the native of Sudan now playing in Australia, filled the void. He gave UK fans something to dream about in helping the Black team beat the Gold team 128-121.

ab r h bi ab r h bi

Dekker cf 3 0 0 2 Wiley lf 5 1 1 0

Figueroa ss 5 1 1 0 Cowgill cf 2 3 1 0

Adams 3b 3 2 1 0 Carroll dh/1b 5 1 3 1

Blue 3 3 10 6--22

First quarter: Blue--Lones Seiber 22 FG, 11:51; White--Seiber 38 FG, 8:27. Second quarter: Blue--Ryan Tydlacka 42 FG, 7:45. White--Dicky Lyons 12 pass from Curtis Pulley (Tydlacka kick), 0:11. Third quarter: Blue--J.J. Housley 25 FG, 9:41. Blue--Kyrus Lanxter 25 pass from Mike Hartline (J.J. Housley kick), 4:03. White--Dicky Lyons 57 pass from Will Fidler (Seiber kick), 1:56. Fourth quarter: Blue--Hartline 2 run (pass failed), 4:20. White--Pulley 17 run (run failed), 1:04. A--8,500.

White Blue

First downs 20 18

Which University of Kentucky sport most needs a vitally important player to be absolutely, positively academically eligible come fall:

Football and Curtis Pulley?

Basketball and DeAndre Liggins?

Before yesterday's Blue-White Game at Commonwealth Stadium, football was the better answer, what with the graduation of Andre Woodson, quarterback of a potent offense that also loses Rafael Little, Keenan Burton and Jacob Tamme.

The teams combined for 25 hits, including five by Florida's Avery Barnes, who also had three RBI.

Kentucky's Collin Cowgill reached base five consecutive times for the second consecutive game. Six batters were hit by a pitch, including Cowgill. Twenty-four runners were left on base, 15 by Florida, nine in scoring position.

Seven errors were committed -- all in the last three innings. Florida, which never lost the lead, used the runs to get some distance from the Cats.

Florida (25-14, 10-7 Southeastern Conference) evened the weekend series with Kentucky (29-9, 8-9). The final game is at 1 p.m. Sunday.

These evaluations are based on coaches' comments and observations through spring practice and not just on Saturday's Blue-White Spring Game.

Quarterbacks

Biggest gainer: Will Fidler

Summary: Neither Curtis Pulley nor Mike Hartline secured the No. 1 job, but Fidler put himself back in the mix by showing that he's on the way back from off-season shoulder surgery.