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WORLD NEWS
Historic N Ireland deal reached

Northern Ireland's arch-rival leaders Ian Paisley and Gerry Adams have agreed a power-sharing deal at historic talks.
The two men agreed to form a joint executive on 8 May to run the province. Their first ever direct talks were held at Stormont, the province's parliament.

Mr Paisley, leader of the Protestant DUP, and Mr Adams of the mainly Catholic Sinn Fein, have been implacable opponents for decades. The DUP wants to keep British rule. Sinn Fein calls for a united Ireland.

Mr Paisley is expected to be first minister in the new administration, while Martin McGuinness of Sinn Fein - the political wing of the IRA - would be deputy first minister.

Mr Paisley said the DUP was committed to full participation in government and Mr Adams said it was a "new era". UK Prime Minister Tony Blair said it was a very important day for the people of Northern Ireland.

The British and Irish governments had said they would shut the assembly if an executive was not agreed on Monday.
However, Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain later said that deadline might be allowed "to slip" for a few weeks if the parties agreed to work together.

The Northern Ireland assembly was suspended in October 2002, amid allegations of an IRA spy ring at Stormont. A subsequent court case collapsed. Direct rule has been in place since that date.

After Monday's meeting, Mr Paisley said: "Our goal has been to see devolution returned in a context where it can make a real, meaningful improvement in the lives of all the people of this part of the United Kingdom." (BBC NEWS)





Amazon 'faces more deadly droughts'
By James Painter
Latin America analyst

Two years ago the world was shocked by pictures of hundreds of rotting fish floating in the world's largest river.

Stranded villagers stared in bewilderment at dried out banks, and helicopters delivered food and water to isolated river communities. They were the images of the widespread drought in 2005 in the Amazon - an area of lush rainforest in most people's imagination. It was the worst in some areas since records began, and prompted the Brazilian government to declare a state of emergency.

Nearly two years on, the world may have forgotten the drought, but the scientific community has not. Meeting at Oxford University this week, many of the world's leading experts on climate change and Amazonia have been grappling with issues critical to the future climate of the world.

Did global warming cause the drought? How likely is it that such droughts will be repeated in a warming world? And just how much devastation did the drought cause?

There was broad consensus that the 2005 drought was linked not to El Nino - the periodic phenomenon which begins with a warming of waters in the Pacific - as with most previous droughts in the Amazon, but to warming sea surface temperatures in the tropical North Atlantic.

Peter Cox, professor in climate change dynamics at the University of Essex in the UK, thinks the same factors which caused the drought are likely to be repeated. What drives it, he says, is the warming of the North Atlantic Ocean in the Tropics relative to the South - this causes less rain to fall.

The Hadley Centre climate change model predicts that, under current levels of greenhouse gas emissions, the chances of such a drought would rise from 5% now (one every 20 years) to 50% by 2030, and to 90% by 2100.

The more alarming predictions for the Amazon say the combination of forest fires, drought, deforestation, changes in land use (such as soya production) and global warming will combine to push the Amazon over a "tipping point" into a cycle of destruction.

However low the probability, changes to the Amazon are likely to be a 'high impact' event on the world's climate.
Scientists at the conference were keen to stress they do not know the risk of this occurring, but talked instead of "corridors of probability". (BBC NEWS)

US NEWS
Snoop Dogg is denied UK tour visa

US rap star Snoop Dogg has been denied a visa to enter the UK on a European tour alongside fellow rapper P Diddy.
He was due to play in London on Tuesday, followed by Manchester, Glasgow, Cardiff and Nottingham.

The performer accepted a police caution last year after being arrested on suspicion of violent disorder and affray at Heathrow Airport. His spokeswoman said he was "mystified" at the decision. Tuesday's London show will go ahead regardless, she added.

P Diddy will appear at the Wembley Arena show, she said. "Snoop and his team are hoping the British government will reconsider this decision, especially as he has toured here before and sees the UK as being the highlight of the tour," the spokeswoman said.

"He has asked how he can help rectify the situation and would happily talk to and give assurances to officials."

The 35-year-old - whose real name is Calvin Broadus - was held overnight by police in Sweden earlier this month on suspicion of using drugs.

He is also currently facing weapons and drugs charges in the US stemming from three separate arrests in 2006.

Snoop Dogg came to prominence as part of the 1990s gangsta rap scene, scoring hits with What's My Name? and Gin and Juice.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office said it could not comment on individual cases. (BBC NEWS)


LOCAL NEWS
Jury finds two men guilty in subway shooting that killed unborn child

After 10 days of deliberations, a jury found two young men guilty today in the 2003 shooting of a pregnant woman on a crowded Orange Line train that killed her unborn baby boy.

Chimezie Akara, 23, and Andre Green, 22, were both charged with firing an errant bullet that struck Hawa Barry in the stomach on Feb. 5, 2003 when she was 8 1/2 month pregnant. Barry survived, but her baby died 45 minutes after being delivered by Cesarean section at Boston Medical Center.

The Suffolk Superior Court jury, which began deliberating on March 13, found both men guilty of first-degree murder; three counts of armed assault in attempt to murder; three counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon; one count of unlawful possession of a firearm; and one count of unlawful possession of ammunition. (BOSTON GLOBE)

SCHOOL NEWS
Real Japanese Hip-Hop:
9/11, Iraq, and the Global Crisis

As hip-hop becomes an increasingly global cultural movement, the political potential of the genre arises in part from the ways artists in particular locations interpret world-shaking events. In this talk, Prof. Condry explores how several Japanese rap groups rethink the significance of 9/11, the Iraq War and the workings of mainstream media and politics in today's world. Does hip-hop offer a vehicle for approaching a global crisis in media, whereby greater connectivity and media saturation seems primarily to inflame cross-cultural hatred and mistrust? Multimedia examples of Japanese rap include critical perspectives on 9/11, Hiroshima, and the Iraq War.

Dr. Ian Condry, M.I.T.
108 West Village H
Thursday, March 29, 2:50-4:30


Ian Condry is author of Hip-Hop Japan: Rap and the Paths of Cultural Globalization. He is also Associate Professor of Foreign Languages and Literatures at MIT and Advanced Research Fellow at the US-Japan Program of Harvard.

Web: http://iancondry.com.

Sponsored by the NU Asian American Center in collaboration
with the NU Hip-Hop Studies Collective

For further information, contact Murray Forman, 617-373-5004 m.forman@neu.edu


CELEB GOSSIP
nna Nicole Smith was a walking zombie the months prior to her untimely death earlier this year.

Undoubtedly still coping with the tragic death of her son and probably being controlled by some unsavory influences in her life - HKS, cough cough - the former Playmate took enough prescription drugs to stock a small pharmacy.

Anna was taking meds given to her from various doctors, all of which combined led to her accidental drug overdose.

What was in Smith's system at the time of her death?

A whole lot!

The drugs found in Anna's body included:

- Trichloroethanol (a sedative and hypnotic)

- Trichloroacetic acid (treatment of warts, including genital warts)

- Diphenhydramine hydrochloride (an antihistimine and sedative)

- Clonazepam (aka Klonopin; used for treating anxiety)

- Diazepam (muscle relaxant, used for treating anxiety, insomnia)

- Nordiazapam (sedative)

- Temazepam (a sedative and hypnotic)

- Oxazepam (a muscle relaxant and sedative)

- Lorazapam (anti-nausea, sedative, muscle relaxant)

Sweet Jesus!!!!

Anna Nicole was taking SIX different types of sedatives!!!!!

That is just.....

Wow. Wow. Wow. (www.perezhilton.com)


VISUAL JOKES ON THE RADIO
The Today Show's Meredith Vieira eats ice during a segment with Blades of Glory star Will Ferrell in NYC's Rockefeller Plaza on Monday. The looks on their faces....priceless! (PerezHilton.com)



MUSIC NEWS
50 Cent 'Not In New York State' At Time Of Yayo Incident, Lawyer Says

G-Unit MC Tony Yayo pleaded not guilty on Sunday to misdemeanor charges of harassment and endangering the welfare of a child, stemming from his arrest over the weekend for allegedly slapping and hitting a 14-year-old boy, who is reportedly the son of G-Unit rival Game's manager, Jimmy "Henchman" Rosemond. Yayo posted $5,000 bail and was released following his arraignment.

While some unconfirmed reports placed 50 Cent at the scene of the incident, his lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, said that 50 was not in the state at the time.

"We are conducting our own investigation to determine exactly what happened," his statement reads. "One thing I can say with absolute certainty, however, is that at the time of the alleged incident, 50 Cent was not in New York State."

According to police, Yayo, 28 (real name: Marvin Bernard), pushed and slapped the boy, causing minor injuries to his ear and face. The incident (see "G-Unit's Tony Yayo Arrested — Reportedly For Slapping Game's Manager's Teen Son") occurred on March 20, police said, near Rosemond's New York offices. The offices are located across the street from Violator Management, which represents 50 Cent and G-Unit.

While police have yet to confirm the identity of the victim or details of the alleged assault, Cynthia Reed — who, with Rosemond, is the parent of the boy — claims her son was harassed by Yayo for wearing a T-shirt bearing the logo of Czar Entertainment, Rosemond's company.

A statement issued by Yayo's attorney, Scott Leemon, refutes those charges. "We adamantly deny the allegations as they were were set forth by the district attorney's office," the statement reads. Leemon declined MTV News' requests for further comment.

Police provided few details about Yayo's arrest, but a source close to the situation told MTV News the victim identified Yayo as his attacker to police on Saturday.

The incident was the most recent in a long string of events following Game's acrimonious departure from the G-Unit camp in 2005 (see "50 Drops Game From G-Unit; Shots Fired At Radio Station," "Game Ends 50 Cent Truce With Verbal Attacks At Summer Jam" and "Mixtape Monday: Young Jeezy Talks Game/Buck All-Star 'Incident'; Rare Biggie Bangers").