ZMERT_example/ref.1 - joshua - Git at Google

 scientists decrypted the sequence of a chromosome crucial to symptoms of early disorders
 ( agence france-presse , paris , 2nd ) - an international consortium of scientists said that they have decrypted the sequence of the fourteenth pair of human chromosome , which is linked to a broad range of diseases , including an early onset of alzheimer that can strike people in their 30s .
 this is the fourth chromosome to be fully sequenced up till now and it comprises of over 87 million pairs of deoxyribonucleic acid ( dna ) .
 the research , which was published in the weekly british science journal nature , said the sequence of chromosome 14 is made up by 1,050 genes and gene fragments .
 the goal of gene scientists is to provide diagnostic tools to identify flawed genes that cause illness , and ultimately to provide treatments , which can stop these genes from malfunctioning .
 the international consortium of scientists led by french gene research center genoscope said chromosome 14 has two clusters of genes , which are vital for the immune system , as well as more than 60 disease genes .
 chromosome 14 has been identified in a wide range of diseases during previous studies , which include a form of spastic paraplegia that strikes young children ; missing teeth ; several kinds of vision and hearing impairments ; and early onset of alzheimer disease .
 around 200,000 americans have early onset of alzheimer disease , which accounted for five percent of all alzheimer sufferers in america .
 human beings have 23 sets of chromosomes .
 in the past three years , three other chromosomes have been fully sequenced and they are pair 20 , 21 and 22 .
 australia reopened manila embassy
 ( agence france-presse , manila , 2nd ) - australia reopened its embassy in the philippines today . the embassy was closed seven weeks ago after what was described as a specific threat of a terrorist attack .
 philippine foreign department said in a statement that australian ambassador to manila ruth pearce phoned philippine foreign secretary blas ople to announce the resumption of full operations of the embassy .
 canada and the european union , which both shut down their embassies like australia on november 28 , have reopened their embassies earlier this week .
 ople said all three ambassadors expressed satisfaction with the enhanced security measures adopted by the philippine government .
 the closure of the embassies had angered the philippine government , which said that the alleged threats were exaggerated and the closure of embassies harmed the image of philippines .
 manila had once relieved the duty of a police intelligence official because he leaked unverified intelligence about terrorist threats on australian and canadian embassies .
 the european union office is in the same building as the australian embassy .
 at the time around the anniversary of the 911 terrorist attacks in united states , western diplomatic missions across southeast asia have closed their doors one after the other because of threats related to osama bin laden's al-qaeda organization and its regional allies .
 australian foreign minister : north korea's bad behavior could not win more aid
 ( agence france-presse , sydney , 2nd ) - australia called for a concerted international effort to convince north korea that it cannot win more aid or other concessions by defying the nuclear non-proliferation agreement or through other " bad behavior " .
 australian foreign minister alexander downer said today that pyongyang's decision to restart a controversial nuclear facility and expel united nations inspectors was obviously aimed at forcing international community to make concessions in aid and trade .
 australia is one of the several countries that have diplomatic relations with north korea .
 " we believe what north korea wants to do is to violate the agreed framework put into place in 1994 , such as to obtain concessions , aid and trade etc . from other countries in the world , including the united states , " downer said .
 " we want to raise a point to north korea and it is a very important point . bad behavior is not going to be rewarded , " downer said during an interview by australia broadcasting corporation .
 " the kind of behavior , like expelling united nations inspectors and reactivating the yongbyon nuclear facility , will only cause the international community to hold back their supports , " he said .
 " it is going to create an opposite effect . we hope that diplomatic measures are going to be effective . "
 " on the other hand , if we are to overreact , we will fall into north korea's trap .
 we do not want to do that . "
 downer said australia is working closely with the united states and other key allies to force north korea to revoke its recent steps for restarting a previously frozen nuclear program .
 " what we want to do is to ensure that international community adopts a common countermeasure . we do not want any uncoordinated and ad hoc responses , " he said .
 bush defends his economic stimulus plan
 ( agence france-presse , washington , 6th ) - u . s . president george w . bush vowed that his upcoming economic stimulus plan would benefit the " working class " and not just the wealthy . people generally believe the wealthy ones will benefit most from bush's plan , which pushes for a substantial cut in taxes .
 bush told reporters in anticipation of the formal unveiling of his plan in chicago , " tomorrow , ladies and gentlemen , you will hear me say : the u . s . economy is one of the strongest economies in the world .
 however , we believe the u . s . economy can be stronger than what it is now . "
 it is expected that president bush is to unveil a 10 - year , us $ 600 billion economic stimulus plan . about half of the amount will be used to absorb the effect on elimination of dividend taxes payable by shareholders . the plan also calls for accelerated implementation of the tax-rate cuts approved by members of u . s . congress in 2001 .
 whether the plan can go through smoothly is generally viewed as a foretaste of the battle in the 2004 u . s . presidential election . democrats accused that president bush's blueprint will only give the rich additional splendor and is unlike the democrat's proposed plan , which tries to send the poor charcoals during a snowy weather .
 the eight-point democratic proposal revolved around a us $ 136 billion incentive package to stimulate consumer spending . over 10 years , the democratic plan would cost us $ 100 billion .
 " this is a fair , fast-acting and fiscally sound plan , " said nancy pelosi , the democratic leader in the house of representatives , during a joint press conference with other opposition congress members .
 bush led the white house to retort outsiders' allegations that the plan only benefits the rich . bush said the economic stimulus plan , that he is going to unveil , focuses on " stimulating economic vitality and growth " .
 bush said , " this plan will provide tax cuts and concessions to the working class .
 the plan recognizes that people can only spend money when they have more money to spare . it is only then will more jobs be created . "
 u . s . willing to talk to north korea , but will not pay any rewards again
 ( agence france-presse , washington , 7th ) - the united states said today it was willing to talk to north korea , its " axis of evil " enemy , but would not offer any new incentives to cause the cash-strapped communist state to cancel its nuclear programs .
 u . s . president bush's administration is facing twin crises over iraq and north korea . after talks with senior japanese and south korean diplomats , officials of bush administration issued a statement , which said united states was taking a " step forward " in its policy towards pyongyang .
 " the u . s . delegation explained that the united states is willing to talk to north korea about how it can meet its obligations to the international community , " the statement said .
 " however , the u . s . delegation stressed that the united states will not provide any rewards to north korea for its fulfillment of existing obligations . "
 in a carefully worded language full of diplomatic terms , u . s . officials insisted that they were willing to talk to north korea . however , they would not contemplate a negotiating process until pyongyang complied with the various agreements prohibiting the production of nuclear weapons .
 " we are not willing to pay again for the same agreements that have been reached before , " said state department spokesman richard boucher .
 previously , bush administration said u . s . would refuse to talk to the stalinism state until north korea abandoned its nuclear programs based on enriched uranium and plutonium .
 former executive of a u . s . online real estate business pleaded guilty to fraud
 ( agence france-presse , los angeles ) - prosecutors said a former executive of homestore inc . , a u . s . online real estate and nice home business , agreed to plead guilty to a fraud charge and settled out of court a lawsuit stemming from an insider trading scandal .
 special assistant u . s . attorney michael wilner said that jeffrey kalina , homestore's former senior manager of mergers and acquisitions , agreed in a pleas bargain deal to plead guilty on a securities fraud charge in the form of insider trading .
 another prosecutor douglas fuchs said kalina agreed to pay us $ 70,000 to settle a civil case brought against him by the u . s . securities and exchange commission .
 wilner said the maximum penalty for securities fraud is 10 years imprisonment . however , the sentence is expected to be " significantly shorter " under the plea deal .
 prosecutors and investigators said that kalina took part in a financial fraud scheme in which homestore executives misled investors by inflating revenues in the financial reports of 2001 .
 fuchs said kalina knew the price of the stock was artificially inflated and he sold his own stock in homestore for profits when " wall street was not aware that a key portion of homestore's revenue was falsified " .
 john desimone , a former vice president of homestore , has pleaded guilty to a similar insider trading charge . the court is expected to hand out a sentence on april 21 .
 homestore's chief operating officer john giesecke and ex-chief financial officer joseph shew have also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit securities fraud .
 prosecutors said giesecke and shew , along with other executives of the company , are suspected to have manipulated the books of homestore to inflate revenue numbers .
 several days of heavy snowfall in europe have caused several deaths and disruptions in traffic
 ( agence france-presse , vienna , 8th ) - several days of heavy snowfall , siberian low temperatures and high winds across europe have caused a number of deaths and disruption in highway , rail , air and sea traffic .
 in the russian capital city of moscow , temperatures plunged to levels considered cold even for local residents last night and six people died . that brings this year's death toll , due to cold weather , to 239 people . most of the people died were homeless and seniors , but it also included many who were drunk .
 in lithuania , three people died last night and a number of people had to have legs and fingers amputated because of frost injury .
 temperatures plunged to a 16 - year low of minus 32.6 degrees celsius in the south region of varena .
 in slovakia , three illegal immigrants from india died on monday because of cold and fatigue . local temperatures dropped to minus 20 degrees celsius .
 meanwhile , civil defense services in countries all across europe and beyond said that roads were closed , trains delayed and airports paralyzed because of the snowfall .
 in britain , railways were frozen along the line and road accidents paralyzed traffic in some regions . heavy snow has hit the eastern regions and is now moving westwards .
 the czech republic , which was hard hit by severe flooding last summer , recorded temperatures as low as minus 18 degrees celsius in areas near the slovakian border .
 worldwatch institute applauds the environmental revolution
 ( agence france-presse , washington , 9th ) - in an unusually optimistic stance , worldwatch institute , an environmental research organization , applauds the arrival of the " environmental revolution " in its annual state of the world report . the institute pointed out that many countries have successfully curbed and are solving environmental , health and social problems .
 " building a world that meets our own needs and , at the same time , allows our next generation to enjoy a healthy society is no longer a daydream , " said worldwatch institute president christopher flavin on the 9th .
 the state of the world report pointed out that the increased use of renewable energy sources , such as solar energy and windmills , in germany , japan and spain was one of the encouraging achievements .
 " we are entering a new era , " flavin said , when he talked about the success in promotion of renewable energy policies .
 the aforesaid report said that the global production of chlorofluorocarbons , a prime culprit that depletes our ozone , has reduced by 81 percent during the 90s .
 in addition , the world health organization's campaign against infantile paralysis has reduced the number of cases worldwide from 350,000 in 1988 to 480 cases in 2001 .
 the washington based environmental research organization also praised regional achievements in environmental protection . for example , netherlands have a 86 percent recycling rate for cars ; denmark has banned the usage of aluminum cans and opted for reusable glass bottles ; and brazil started to use renewable energy in 2001 .
 the organization's report also said that past successes have brought hope to other serious global threats , such as , malaria , which claims 7,000 lives every day , and pollution of air , food and water , which kills 5,500 children every day .
 chairman of aol time warner to resign in may
 ( agence france-presse , washington , 12th ) - steve case , chairman of aol time warner inc . , announced tonight that he will resign in may . he said that his move is " in the best interest of the company " .
 in an explanation of the decision , case said he decided to adopt steps to avoid the criticisms of shareholders " from hindering our ability to cooperate as a team and focus fully on our businesses " .
 upon approval by u . s . federal trade commission , case oversaw america online's merger with time warner in january 2001 . the intention was that he would remain as a director in the board of aol time warner .
 the merger had a value of us $ 155 billion when it was announced in january 2000 . later in that year , european policy makers approved the merger .
 case said in a statement , " as you might expect , this decision was personally very difficult for me . i have hoped that i can serve as chairman for this large company in the next few years as i was the architect of the merger . i have felt it was important that i stay as chairman and help get things on track . "
 case stressed , " first , this company does not need distractions at this critical time . since some shareholders continue to focus their disappointment with the company's post-merger performance on me personally , i have decided that we should take steps now to avoid any obstruction to our cooperation as a team and focus fully on our businesses . "
 america online , the internet arm of aol time warner conglomerate , said it expects advertising and commerce revenue to decline from us $ 2.7 billion in 2001 to us $ 1.5 - 1.6 billion in 2002 .
 whereas , the total sales revenue will be around us $ 8.8 - 9.0 billion and it was us $ 8.718 billion the year before .
 the conglomerate further expects that america online's sales revenue in 2003 will be about the same as 2002 , while advertising and commerce revenue will decrease by 40 - 50 percent .
 north korea withdrew from nuclear non-proliferation treaty and becomes a foe of the world
 ( agence france-presse , washington , 15th ) - the showdown between united states and north korea has elevated from a side issue of " axis of evil " to an international crisis . it appears that the global efforts for nuclear non-proliferation in the past several decades are likely to fall short of success for lack of a final effort .
 pyongyang announced its withdrawal from the nuclear non-proliferation treaty on the 10th of this month and is poised to confront with washington .
 analysts said the global endeavor and attempt to curb nuclear proliferation have the fear of a failure . the treaty was already seriously damaged when non-treaty countries , pakistan and india , joined the nuclear club in 1998 .
 four days after pyongyang adopted the aforesaid action , the five permanent members of united nations security council have all taken preemptive diplomatic actions for the crisis .
 russia said it would send a special envoy to pyongyang with a proposal to end the stalemate . on the other hand , china suggested to host dialogues for a possible compromise between united states and north korea .
 britain and france discussed the crisis in london .
 international atomic energy agency warned that it might demand actions by the security council if pyongyang refuses to abandon its nuclear plan .
 as to the actions of russia and china , many u . s . observers believed this kind of talks might force moscow and beijing to decide whether to cast a veto vote for north korea .
 other countries that might have nuclear capability , for example , iran and libya , are certainly monitoring closely the development of the north korea crisis .
 they would be interested to know whether north korea can withdraw from the nuclear non-proliferation treaty without any penalty , or would united states offer huge sums to north korea in exchange for a cessation in nuclear weapon development .
 " if north korea is considered to have the ability to withdraw from the nuclear non-proliferation treaty , then these countries may contemplate that they could also adopt the same action without paying any price , " said robert einhorn , former assistant secretary of state for weapon non-proliferation .
	scientists decrypted the sequence of a chromosome crucial to symptoms of early disorders
	( agence france-presse , paris , 2nd ) - an international consortium of scientists said that they have decrypted the sequence of the fourteenth pair of human chromosome , which is linked to a broad range of diseases , including an early onset of alzheimer that can strike people in their 30s .
	this is the fourth chromosome to be fully sequenced up till now and it comprises of over 87 million pairs of deoxyribonucleic acid ( dna ) .
	the research , which was published in the weekly british science journal nature , said the sequence of chromosome 14 is made up by 1,050 genes and gene fragments .
	the goal of gene scientists is to provide diagnostic tools to identify flawed genes that cause illness , and ultimately to provide treatments , which can stop these genes from malfunctioning .
	the international consortium of scientists led by french gene research center genoscope said chromosome 14 has two clusters of genes , which are vital for the immune system , as well as more than 60 disease genes .
	chromosome 14 has been identified in a wide range of diseases during previous studies , which include a form of spastic paraplegia that strikes young children ; missing teeth ; several kinds of vision and hearing impairments ; and early onset of alzheimer disease .
	around 200,000 americans have early onset of alzheimer disease , which accounted for five percent of all alzheimer sufferers in america .
	human beings have 23 sets of chromosomes .
	in the past three years , three other chromosomes have been fully sequenced and they are pair 20 , 21 and 22 .
	australia reopened manila embassy
	( agence france-presse , manila , 2nd ) - australia reopened its embassy in the philippines today . the embassy was closed seven weeks ago after what was described as a specific threat of a terrorist attack .
	philippine foreign department said in a statement that australian ambassador to manila ruth pearce phoned philippine foreign secretary blas ople to announce the resumption of full operations of the embassy .
	canada and the european union , which both shut down their embassies like australia on november 28 , have reopened their embassies earlier this week .
	ople said all three ambassadors expressed satisfaction with the enhanced security measures adopted by the philippine government .
	the closure of the embassies had angered the philippine government , which said that the alleged threats were exaggerated and the closure of embassies harmed the image of philippines .
	manila had once relieved the duty of a police intelligence official because he leaked unverified intelligence about terrorist threats on australian and canadian embassies .
	the european union office is in the same building as the australian embassy .
	at the time around the anniversary of the 911 terrorist attacks in united states , western diplomatic missions across southeast asia have closed their doors one after the other because of threats related to osama bin laden's al-qaeda organization and its regional allies .
	australian foreign minister : north korea's bad behavior could not win more aid
	( agence france-presse , sydney , 2nd ) - australia called for a concerted international effort to convince north korea that it cannot win more aid or other concessions by defying the nuclear non-proliferation agreement or through other " bad behavior " .
	australian foreign minister alexander downer said today that pyongyang's decision to restart a controversial nuclear facility and expel united nations inspectors was obviously aimed at forcing international community to make concessions in aid and trade .
	australia is one of the several countries that have diplomatic relations with north korea .
	" we believe what north korea wants to do is to violate the agreed framework put into place in 1994 , such as to obtain concessions , aid and trade etc . from other countries in the world , including the united states , " downer said .
	" we want to raise a point to north korea and it is a very important point . bad behavior is not going to be rewarded , " downer said during an interview by australia broadcasting corporation .
	" the kind of behavior , like expelling united nations inspectors and reactivating the yongbyon nuclear facility , will only cause the international community to hold back their supports , " he said .
	" it is going to create an opposite effect . we hope that diplomatic measures are going to be effective . "
	" on the other hand , if we are to overreact , we will fall into north korea's trap .
	we do not want to do that . "
	downer said australia is working closely with the united states and other key allies to force north korea to revoke its recent steps for restarting a previously frozen nuclear program .
	" what we want to do is to ensure that international community adopts a common countermeasure . we do not want any uncoordinated and ad hoc responses , " he said .
	bush defends his economic stimulus plan
	( agence france-presse , washington , 6th ) - u . s . president george w . bush vowed that his upcoming economic stimulus plan would benefit the " working class " and not just the wealthy . people generally believe the wealthy ones will benefit most from bush's plan , which pushes for a substantial cut in taxes .
	bush told reporters in anticipation of the formal unveiling of his plan in chicago , " tomorrow , ladies and gentlemen , you will hear me say : the u . s . economy is one of the strongest economies in the world .
	however , we believe the u . s . economy can be stronger than what it is now . "
	it is expected that president bush is to unveil a 10 - year , us $ 600 billion economic stimulus plan . about half of the amount will be used to absorb the effect on elimination of dividend taxes payable by shareholders . the plan also calls for accelerated implementation of the tax-rate cuts approved by members of u . s . congress in 2001 .
	whether the plan can go through smoothly is generally viewed as a foretaste of the battle in the 2004 u . s . presidential election . democrats accused that president bush's blueprint will only give the rich additional splendor and is unlike the democrat's proposed plan , which tries to send the poor charcoals during a snowy weather .
	the eight-point democratic proposal revolved around a us $ 136 billion incentive package to stimulate consumer spending . over 10 years , the democratic plan would cost us $ 100 billion .
	" this is a fair , fast-acting and fiscally sound plan , " said nancy pelosi , the democratic leader in the house of representatives , during a joint press conference with other opposition congress members .
	bush led the white house to retort outsiders' allegations that the plan only benefits the rich . bush said the economic stimulus plan , that he is going to unveil , focuses on " stimulating economic vitality and growth " .
	bush said , " this plan will provide tax cuts and concessions to the working class .
	the plan recognizes that people can only spend money when they have more money to spare . it is only then will more jobs be created . "
	u . s . willing to talk to north korea , but will not pay any rewards again
	( agence france-presse , washington , 7th ) - the united states said today it was willing to talk to north korea , its " axis of evil " enemy , but would not offer any new incentives to cause the cash-strapped communist state to cancel its nuclear programs .
	u . s . president bush's administration is facing twin crises over iraq and north korea . after talks with senior japanese and south korean diplomats , officials of bush administration issued a statement , which said united states was taking a " step forward " in its policy towards pyongyang .
	" the u . s . delegation explained that the united states is willing to talk to north korea about how it can meet its obligations to the international community , " the statement said .
	" however , the u . s . delegation stressed that the united states will not provide any rewards to north korea for its fulfillment of existing obligations . "
	in a carefully worded language full of diplomatic terms , u . s . officials insisted that they were willing to talk to north korea . however , they would not contemplate a negotiating process until pyongyang complied with the various agreements prohibiting the production of nuclear weapons .
	" we are not willing to pay again for the same agreements that have been reached before , " said state department spokesman richard boucher .
	previously , bush administration said u . s . would refuse to talk to the stalinism state until north korea abandoned its nuclear programs based on enriched uranium and plutonium .
	former executive of a u . s . online real estate business pleaded guilty to fraud
	( agence france-presse , los angeles ) - prosecutors said a former executive of homestore inc . , a u . s . online real estate and nice home business , agreed to plead guilty to a fraud charge and settled out of court a lawsuit stemming from an insider trading scandal .
	special assistant u . s . attorney michael wilner said that jeffrey kalina , homestore's former senior manager of mergers and acquisitions , agreed in a pleas bargain deal to plead guilty on a securities fraud charge in the form of insider trading .
	another prosecutor douglas fuchs said kalina agreed to pay us $ 70,000 to settle a civil case brought against him by the u . s . securities and exchange commission .
	wilner said the maximum penalty for securities fraud is 10 years imprisonment . however , the sentence is expected to be " significantly shorter " under the plea deal .
	prosecutors and investigators said that kalina took part in a financial fraud scheme in which homestore executives misled investors by inflating revenues in the financial reports of 2001 .
	fuchs said kalina knew the price of the stock was artificially inflated and he sold his own stock in homestore for profits when " wall street was not aware that a key portion of homestore's revenue was falsified " .
	john desimone , a former vice president of homestore , has pleaded guilty to a similar insider trading charge . the court is expected to hand out a sentence on april 21 .
	homestore's chief operating officer john giesecke and ex-chief financial officer joseph shew have also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit securities fraud .
	prosecutors said giesecke and shew , along with other executives of the company , are suspected to have manipulated the books of homestore to inflate revenue numbers .
	several days of heavy snowfall in europe have caused several deaths and disruptions in traffic
	( agence france-presse , vienna , 8th ) - several days of heavy snowfall , siberian low temperatures and high winds across europe have caused a number of deaths and disruption in highway , rail , air and sea traffic .
	in the russian capital city of moscow , temperatures plunged to levels considered cold even for local residents last night and six people died . that brings this year's death toll , due to cold weather , to 239 people . most of the people died were homeless and seniors , but it also included many who were drunk .
	in lithuania , three people died last night and a number of people had to have legs and fingers amputated because of frost injury .
	temperatures plunged to a 16 - year low of minus 32.6 degrees celsius in the south region of varena .
	in slovakia , three illegal immigrants from india died on monday because of cold and fatigue . local temperatures dropped to minus 20 degrees celsius .
	meanwhile , civil defense services in countries all across europe and beyond said that roads were closed , trains delayed and airports paralyzed because of the snowfall .
	in britain , railways were frozen along the line and road accidents paralyzed traffic in some regions . heavy snow has hit the eastern regions and is now moving westwards .
	the czech republic , which was hard hit by severe flooding last summer , recorded temperatures as low as minus 18 degrees celsius in areas near the slovakian border .
	worldwatch institute applauds the environmental revolution
	( agence france-presse , washington , 9th ) - in an unusually optimistic stance , worldwatch institute , an environmental research organization , applauds the arrival of the " environmental revolution " in its annual state of the world report . the institute pointed out that many countries have successfully curbed and are solving environmental , health and social problems .
	" building a world that meets our own needs and , at the same time , allows our next generation to enjoy a healthy society is no longer a daydream , " said worldwatch institute president christopher flavin on the 9th .
	the state of the world report pointed out that the increased use of renewable energy sources , such as solar energy and windmills , in germany , japan and spain was one of the encouraging achievements .
	" we are entering a new era , " flavin said , when he talked about the success in promotion of renewable energy policies .
	the aforesaid report said that the global production of chlorofluorocarbons , a prime culprit that depletes our ozone , has reduced by 81 percent during the 90s .
	in addition , the world health organization's campaign against infantile paralysis has reduced the number of cases worldwide from 350,000 in 1988 to 480 cases in 2001 .
	the washington based environmental research organization also praised regional achievements in environmental protection . for example , netherlands have a 86 percent recycling rate for cars ; denmark has banned the usage of aluminum cans and opted for reusable glass bottles ; and brazil started to use renewable energy in 2001 .
	the organization's report also said that past successes have brought hope to other serious global threats , such as , malaria , which claims 7,000 lives every day , and pollution of air , food and water , which kills 5,500 children every day .
	chairman of aol time warner to resign in may
	( agence france-presse , washington , 12th ) - steve case , chairman of aol time warner inc . , announced tonight that he will resign in may . he said that his move is " in the best interest of the company " .
	in an explanation of the decision , case said he decided to adopt steps to avoid the criticisms of shareholders " from hindering our ability to cooperate as a team and focus fully on our businesses " .
	upon approval by u . s . federal trade commission , case oversaw america online's merger with time warner in january 2001 . the intention was that he would remain as a director in the board of aol time warner .
	the merger had a value of us $ 155 billion when it was announced in january 2000 . later in that year , european policy makers approved the merger .
	case said in a statement , " as you might expect , this decision was personally very difficult for me . i have hoped that i can serve as chairman for this large company in the next few years as i was the architect of the merger . i have felt it was important that i stay as chairman and help get things on track . "
	case stressed , " first , this company does not need distractions at this critical time . since some shareholders continue to focus their disappointment with the company's post-merger performance on me personally , i have decided that we should take steps now to avoid any obstruction to our cooperation as a team and focus fully on our businesses . "
	america online , the internet arm of aol time warner conglomerate , said it expects advertising and commerce revenue to decline from us $ 2.7 billion in 2001 to us $ 1.5 - 1.6 billion in 2002 .
	whereas , the total sales revenue will be around us $ 8.8 - 9.0 billion and it was us $ 8.718 billion the year before .
	the conglomerate further expects that america online's sales revenue in 2003 will be about the same as 2002 , while advertising and commerce revenue will decrease by 40 - 50 percent .
	north korea withdrew from nuclear non-proliferation treaty and becomes a foe of the world
	( agence france-presse , washington , 15th ) - the showdown between united states and north korea has elevated from a side issue of " axis of evil " to an international crisis . it appears that the global efforts for nuclear non-proliferation in the past several decades are likely to fall short of success for lack of a final effort .
	pyongyang announced its withdrawal from the nuclear non-proliferation treaty on the 10th of this month and is poised to confront with washington .
	analysts said the global endeavor and attempt to curb nuclear proliferation have the fear of a failure . the treaty was already seriously damaged when non-treaty countries , pakistan and india , joined the nuclear club in 1998 .
	four days after pyongyang adopted the aforesaid action , the five permanent members of united nations security council have all taken preemptive diplomatic actions for the crisis .
	russia said it would send a special envoy to pyongyang with a proposal to end the stalemate . on the other hand , china suggested to host dialogues for a possible compromise between united states and north korea .
	britain and france discussed the crisis in london .
	international atomic energy agency warned that it might demand actions by the security council if pyongyang refuses to abandon its nuclear plan .
	as to the actions of russia and china , many u . s . observers believed this kind of talks might force moscow and beijing to decide whether to cast a veto vote for north korea .
	other countries that might have nuclear capability , for example , iran and libya , are certainly monitoring closely the development of the north korea crisis .
	they would be interested to know whether north korea can withdraw from the nuclear non-proliferation treaty without any penalty , or would united states offer huge sums to north korea in exchange for a cessation in nuclear weapon development .
	" if north korea is considered to have the ability to withdraw from the nuclear non-proliferation treaty , then these countries may contemplate that they could also adopt the same action without paying any price , " said robert einhorn , former assistant secretary of state for weapon non-proliferation .