Berlusconi attacker found unfit for trial

The man who hurled a statuette at Premier Silvio Berlusconi, leaving the bloodied Italian leader with a broken nose and two broken teeth, is not fit to stand trial, a judge ruled Tuesday.

Judge Luisa Savoia, however, placed Massimo Tartaglia under observation for one year in a psychiatric hospital where he has been held since February.

The ruling technically finds Tartaglia not guilty of the attack based on a psychiatric evaluation that found the defendant was not capable of knowingly or intentionally committing a crime at the time the attack took place, said defense lawyer Gian Marco Rubino.

"It is clear that the absolution is satisfactory …

Member counts rewards of profession

Member News

When AIChExtra asked its readers, "What are you doing?"members responded enthusiastically from all over the country. The following is the first in an occasional series of member profiles to be featured in upcomimg issues of AIChExtra. The purpose of the series is to let chemical engineers know what their colleagues are doing, what they are thinking, and especially to foster an ongoing dialogue between the Institute and its membership. AIChExtra welcomes comments about the series and encourages more members to tell their stories by writing to communications@aiche.org.

Linda Thompson will never forget her first AIChE meeting. After graduating from Montana State …

French Soccer Standings

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Team GP W D L GF GA Pts

Lyon 18 12 2 4 37 15 38

Nancy 18 9 7 2 24 10 34

Bordeaux 18 8 6 4 26 23 30

Le Mans 18 9 3 6 26 25 30

Valenciennes 18 8 5 5 23 16 29

Caen 18 8 4 6 21 19 28

Nice 18 6 8 4 18 14 26

Monaco 18 7 4 7 22 18 25

Millions of unseen species fill Earth

WASHINGTON — Our world is a much wilder place than it looks.

A new study estimates that Earth has almost 8.8 million species, but we've only discovered about a quarter of them. And some of yet-to-be-seen ones could be in our own backyards, scientists say.

So far, only 1.9 million species have been found. Recent discoveries have been small and weird: a psychedelic frogfish, a lizard the size of a dime and even a blind hairy mini-lobster at the bottom of the ocean.

"We are really fairly ignorant of the complexity and colorfulness of this amazing planet," said the study's co-author, Boris Worm, a biology professor at Canada's Dalhousie University. "We need to expose …

Psychiatric problems tied to vitamin B-12 deficiency

Psychiatric problems stemming from a deficiency of vitamin B-12appear to be more prevalent than commonly believed, researchers say.

"I think it's a lot more common than people had thought," saidDr. John Lindenbaum, a professor of medicine at theColumbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in New York.

Doctors had long known that a variety of mental problems rangingfrom minor memory lapses to severe psychotic behavior could be causedby a lack of the vitamin. Also known as cobalamin, the vitamin isnecessary for proper brain function, so a lack of the substancedisrupts normal brain activity.

The problem usually occurs in older people who develop digestiveproblems …

Bush Knows Many Blacks Distrust GOP

WASHINGTON - President Bush, addressing the NAACP after skipping its convention for five years, said Thursday he knows racism exists in America and that many black voters distrust his Republican Party.

Bush lamented the GOP's rocky relations with blacks. He pledged to improve that relationship and work with the NAACP's new leader to achieve common goals.

"I understand that racism still lingers in America," Bush told more than 2,200 people at the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People's annual gathering. "It's a lot easier to change a law than to change a human heart. And I understand that many African-Americans distrust my political party."

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Replica of ancient Philippine boat to sail SE Asia

Adventurers who conquered Mount Everest successfully launched a replica of an ancient Philippine boat Saturday that they will use to sail around Southeast Asia and possibly to Africa to promote Filipino pride and unity.

The replica of the balangay _ a wooden-hulled boat used in the archipelago about 1,700 years ago _ was built in 44 days by native Badjao boat-builders from the southernmost Philippine province of Tawi Tawi using traditional skills handed down through the generations.

About 300 spectators counted down to the launch, cheering and applauding as the bow hit the water in Manila Bay.

Jubail Muyong, a teacher who belongs to the Badjao …