Conservative, leftist up for Bulgaria presidency

(AP) ? Bulgarians on Sunday are choosing between a member of the ruling center-right party and a leftist ex-foreign minister in an election run-off for the presidency of the impoverished, corruption-plagued country.

Although most of the power in Bulgaria rests with the prime minister and Parliament, the president leads the armed forces and can veto legislation and sign international treaties.

Polls opened at 6 a.m. (0400 GMT) on Sunday and close at 7 p.m. (1700 GMT). Some 6.9 million people are eligible to vote.

A vote last Sunday yielded two top candidates, neither of whom achieved the 50 percent required for outright victory. Ruling conservative party candidate Rosen Plevneliev garnered just over 40 percent of votes, while Ivailo Kalfin ? who ran on the opposition Socialist party ticket ? got nearly 29 percent.

With the gap between the front-runners just over 375,000 votes, both candidates have tried to rally support outside their parties' traditional voters.

Plevneliev, 47, a former entrepreneur, has been lauded for pushing through several large-scale infrastructure projects as regional development minister in the incumbent cabinet. He has pledged to reduce the budget deficit and pursue business-friendly policies in the economically struggling country.

Kalfin, 47, has pledged to safeguard democracy and the rule of law. The European Parliament member is one of the few top left-wing politicians seen as largely untainted by the Socialist party's communist past. During his term as foreign minister, Bulgaria joined the European Union in 2007.

The winner replaces Georgi Parvanov, a former leader of the Socialist Party who has often criticized the government and used his powers to veto legislation or key judicial office or diplomatic service appointments. Parvanov has served two five-year terms, the legal limit.

Former European Commissioner Meglena Kuneva, running as an independent, came in third in last Sunday's vote. But Kuneva has refused to endorse Kalfin or Plevneliev for the second round, saying they both stand for things she cannot agree to.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2011-10-30-EU-Bulgaria-Elections/id-e617027a9de64b78a42abb21179b5c3b

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Long-lost Cornell Woolrich story republished (AP)

NEW YORK ? A long-lost Cornell Woolrich story, with a rhyming title that seems destined to become a catch-phrase, is being published this week.

The Strand Magazine will reintroduce a short thriller by the author whose fiction was the source for such classic films as Alfred Hitchcock's "Rear Window" and Francois Truffaut's "The Bride Wore Black." The name of the new piece features the common slang for "detective" in the 1930s: "Never Kick a Dick."

"When I found out that a lost story by Woolrich existed yet hasn't been published in over 70 years I was skeptical," said Strand managing editor Andrew Gulli. "When I read the story though, I found my misgivings were unfounded. It's a great noir story: eccentric characters; card sharks; vengeance; gritty dialogue; and a fantastic twist."

The Woolrich story will appear in the Strand's holiday issue, coming out Friday.

Woolrich, who died in 1968 at age 64, wrote more than 200 novels and short stories, and his work was often adapted into film, radio plays and television. His style changed dramatically over time, from the jazzy influence of F. Scott Fitzgerald to the pulp prose of some of his `30s work to a lyrical approach in his later years.

Much of his writing is now out of print.

"It's not atypical for these great pulp writers to ebb and flow," says Murray Weiss, president of Literal Media, which manages rights to Woolrich's work. "But we are negotiating to bring his work back and you should expect to see more Woolrich on the shelves and as e-books in 2012."

"He's a mystery writer's mystery writer, the one all the pros speak about in tones of hushed reverence but that the average Joe wouldn't know by name," says Charles Ardai, publisher of Hard Case Crime, which reissued the Woolrich novel "Fright" in 2007.

Weiss said "Never Kick" was offered to the Strand because he was impressed by the magazine's history of publishing little-known stories by such authors as Mark Twain, Graham Greene and Dashiell Hammett. Weiss added that the Woolrich piece was so obscure he couldn't find it in the agency files and had to track it down through biographer Mike Nevins.

"I was fascinated by the plot ? a rich college kid on spring break in Florida is marked, robbed and led to suicide by gangsters in a high-stakes poker game, whose tragic death is avenged by his New York-based tough guy brother," Weiss said.

The Strand story was first published in Double Detective magazine in 1938, and then forgotten for decades even as Woolrich became a leading crime writer. "Never Kick" is vintage hard-boiled fiction ? the word "hard-boiled" appears several times ? with great names such as Tricks Bernstein as the heavy and Semaphore Stell as the blonde. The setting is the penthouse of the Miami-Coney Plaza, overlooking Biscayne Bay. The detective, who is indeed on the wrong end of a kick, is Driscoll ? no first name.

"It's baffling to me that it has remained unpublished for nearly three-quarters of a century while some better-known Woolrich stories got reprinted three, four, five times," Ardai says. "It's a fine example of Woolrich's work during his pulp period (the late `30s), packing a novel's worth of characters and plot into just 10 pages of concentrated storytelling."

Ardai can already imagine the movie. Quentin Tarantino would be a "no-brainer" as the director.

"And casting?" he wonders. "It's a story about two tough guys going toe-to-toe, one cold, one hot. How about Daniel Craig vs. Robert De Niro? With Rose McGowan as the dame."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111031/ap_en_ot/us_books_never_kick

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Barclays gets one-off investment banking boost (AP)

LONDON ? Barclays PLC reported a 7 percent rise in net profit in the first nine months on Monday, largely on the back of a one-time boost from investment banking.

The bank reported a net profit of 2.65 billion pounds ($4.25 billion) compared to 2.48 billion pounds a year earlier.

Revenue was up 10 percent to 25.2 billion pounds in part due to a 3 billion pounds credit gain in the third quarter.

The bank said the gain came from widening spreads on Barclays Capital's structured products, a range of investment products which typically include complex derivatives.

For the third quarter, pretax profit was up from 327 million pounds a year ago to 2.4 billion pounds, again reflecting the one-off gain. Adjusted pretax profit for the quarter was up 5 percent to 1.34 billion pounds, broadly in line with the market consensus.

The adjusted figure excludes the own credit, a 1.8 billion pounds writedown on its stake in the investment firm BlackRock Inc. and other one-time items.

Barclays Capital third-quarter income excluding the gain was down 15 percent to 2.25 billion pounds.

Barclays shares were up 2.9 percent to 207 pence in early trading on the London Stock Exchange.

"Overall, these results are slightly better than we had expected," said Gary Greenwood, analyst at Shore Capital, who nonetheless rates the shares as "sell."

The bank reported that it had reduced its exposure to sovereign debt in Spain, Italy, Portugal, Ireland and Greece by 31 percent in the quarter to 8 billion pounds, with about half of the remaining exposure in Italy.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111031/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_britain_earns_barclays

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Obama takes more steps on own to help businesses (AP)

WASHINGTON ? Pushing a campaign to act without Congress, President Barack Obama moved unilaterally Friday to boost private business.

He signed executive orders aimed at spurring economic growth, capping a week in which Obama sought to employ the power of his office as he struggles to make headway on his jobs bill on Capitol Hill.

Obama's orders direct government agencies to shorten the time it takes for federal research to turn into commercial products in the marketplace. The goal is to help startup companies and small businesses create jobs and expand their operations more quickly.

On the other front, Obama called for creation of a centralized online site, to be known as BusinessUSA, for companies to easily find information on federal services. The site, a recommendation of the president's jobs council, is to be up and running within 90 days and will be designed with input from U.S. businesses.

Obama announced both steps in presidential memos released Friday morning.

"Today, I am directing my administration to take two important steps to help American businesses create new products, compete in a global economy, and create jobs here at home," Obama said. The White House had no estimate for how many jobs would be created.

On a larger scale, the president himself announced two other executive actions this week, one offering help for homeowners seeking to refinance at lower mortgage rates and the other allowing college students to simplify and lower their student loan payments. The White House also issued a challenge to community health centers in a bid to help get veterans jobs.

White House aides expect more such actions in coming days. Obama, up for re-election, is waging a public campaign to show voters he is acting on jobs more than Republicans are.

The Republicans who control the House counter that their economic bills have not been considered in the Senate. And they question Obama's latest tactic.

"This idea that you're just going to go around the Congress is just, it's almost laughable," House Speaker John Boehner told radio talk show host Laura Ingraham on Thursday.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obama/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111028/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_obama_businesses

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Cards, Rangers give baseball quite a run in Series

St. Louis Cardinals' David Freese celebrates after Game 7 of baseball's World Series against the Texas Rangers Friday, Oct. 28, 2011, in St. Louis. The Cardinals won 6-2 to win the series. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

St. Louis Cardinals' David Freese celebrates after Game 7 of baseball's World Series against the Texas Rangers Friday, Oct. 28, 2011, in St. Louis. The Cardinals won 6-2 to win the series. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Texas Rangers pitcher C.J. Wilson slaps hands with fans at DFW Airport in Grapevine, Texas, early morning Saturday, Oct. 29, 2011. The Texas Rangers lost in seven games to the World Series Champion St. Louis Cardinals. (AP Photo/Mike Fuentes)

(AP) ? David Freese swooped in, expecting Elvis Andrus to bunt. He did, but the ball trickled wide of the line.

The St. Louis third baseman scooped up the foul, scanned the crowd and spotted his target sitting near the Texas dugout: a man in the front row wearing a Rangers jacket, with a glove.

Freese flipped him the souvenir, drawing a big smile and making yet another friend in his hometown.

Then again, why not? There was plenty to share in this World Series.

A Game 6 that ranked among baseball's greatest thrillers. A three-homer performance by Albert Pujols that's probably the best hitting show in postseason history. Ron Washington running in place, Tony La Russa reacting in dismay at a ball that got away. Everyone learning how to chant Nap-Oh-Lee!

Oh, and a Rally Squirrel on the scoreboard and a telephone mix-up in the bullpen.

"I told you it was going to be a great series ? and it was," Texas slugger Josh Hamilton said.

Hamilton put Texas ahead with an RBI double in the first inning Friday night in Game 7. Freese and the Cardinals, however, would not be denied. A night after twice rallying when it was one strike from elimination, St. Louis came back to win the championship with a 6-2 victory.

"Now that we've won it, it makes yesterday greater," La Russa said.

Said Hamilton: "It was actually fun to watch and fun to see. You hate it, but it happened."

An October for fans to cherish, for sure. A lot of them tuned in: The clincher drew the most viewers for a baseball game since Boston won in 2004, and boosted overall television ratings 19 percent higher than last year's World Series between Texas and San Francisco.

Even before the opener, many observers predicted this Series would be a dud because it lacked big-market teams. Minus the likes of the Yankees, Red Sox and Phillies, some said, it would attract little attention.

Inning by inning, it got more intriguing.

"I know there's been a lot of conversation about ratings," Commissioner Bud Selig said before Game 7. "Some of it, in my opinion ... was misinformed."

No mistaking that it was quite a run for baseball.

Exactly a month before the Cardinals won their 11th championship, they captured a playoff spot on the final day of the regular season. The night of Sept. 28 was riveting ? St. Louis capped a comeback from 10? games down to overtake Atlanta for the NL wild card, Tampa Bay completed its late surge to beat out Boston for the AL wild card.

The playoffs produced their moments, too. The one that brought winning and losing into a tight focus: Chris Carpenter and the Cardinals celebrating their 1-0 win over Roy Halladay in Philadelphia while star slugger Ryan Howard writhed on the ground, having torn his Achilles tendon during a game-ending groundout.

Soon after, the first Game 7 in the World Series since 2002.

"Somebody said on television, baseball has had a coming-out party since Labor Day. I don't think so. I think it's always there," Selig said. "It's produced for this country really a remarkable chain of events."

In a year punctuated by historic comebacks and epic collapses, it'd be easy to say the biggest rally of all belonged to baseball. That's what many like to say whenever the game shows up well.

Is it true, will that be so?

Selig insists the sport already is more popular than ever. Major league attendance slightly increased this season, ending three seasons of drops. The Chicago Cubs have renewed hope for next year after hiring Theo Epstein to oversee the club, a new ballpark is waiting in Florida for the team that will soon officially become the Miami Marlins.

Certainly a back-and-forth World Series boosted interest, helped by the two most magical words in sports: Game 7.

"There isn't anybody on this team, the other team, too, that when you're a young kid you don't think about winning the World Series, and it's always in Game 7," La Russa said.

Freese delivered the key hit, a two-run double that tied it in the first inning. The MVP of the NL championship series wound up adding the World Series MVP trophy.

He saved the Cardinals' season in Game 6, lining a two-strike, two-out, two-run triple in the ninth and then hitting a winning home run in the 11th.

An inning before Freese connected, Hamilton homered to put Texas ahead. Had the Rangers held on, mostly likely Mike Napoli would've been picked the Series MVP. So, so close.

Freese estimated he got about 45 minutes of sleep as Thursday night turned into Friday. A lot to think about for a player who quit baseball out of high school because it wasn't fun anymore. From done to donating his bat and jersey to the Hall of Fame.

"I'm trying to soak this all in," he said. "I've tried to soak in this whole postseason as much as I can because you never know if it's your last attempt at a title."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2011-10-29-BBO-World-Series/id-068b68736f554382b880c21635d18fb4

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11 New Warning Signs Help Spot Mental Illness in Children (LiveScience.com)

To help children with undiagnosed mental disorders, researchers today (Oct. 28) issued a list of 11 easy-to-recognize warning signs for use by parents and others in the community.

Among the signs: feeling sad or withdrawn for two weeks or more may indicate depression, and intense fears or worries that get in the way of daily activities may indicate an anxiety disorder.

The list is intended to help close the gap between the number of children who suffer from mental illness and those who actually receive treatment for it.

Studies indicate that three out of four children with mental health disorders, including attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), eating disorders and bipolar disorder, go unrecognized and do not receive the care they need, the researchers say.

Parents who notice any of the signs in their child should take him or her to see a pediatrician or mental health professional for a psychiatric evaluation, the researchers said.

The researchers hope the list will help parents distinguish between normal behaviors of childhood and true signs of mental illness.

"Many people [have] been confused about whether their child has a problem," said Dr. Peter S. Jensen, a professor of psychiatry at the Mayo Clinic, who helped compile the list. "If you have a simple yes, no decision, it becomes easier," Jensen said.

Identifying a psychiatric disorder early in life will also allow children to receive treatment sooner, which will likely make the treatments more effective, the researchers said. Some children go 10 years between the time their symptoms appear and when they receive treatment, Darcy Gruttadaro, director of the Child & Adolescent Action Center at the National Alliance on Mental Illness, said at a news conference about the warning signs.

The list is published today in the journal Pediatrics. It was spurred by a 2001 request by the U.S. surgeon general to develop a list similar to the one created in 1971 to help people recognize the early signs of cancer.

To come up with the list, the committee reviewed mental health studies involving more than 6,000 children. They made sure the symptoms on their list could identify the majority of kids with certain mental health disorders.

The 11 warnings signs are as follows:

  • Feeling very sad or withdrawn for two or more weeks
  • Seriously trying to harm or kill yourself, or making plans to do so
  • Sudden overwhelming fear for no reason, sometimes with a racing heart or fast breathing
  • Involved in multiple fights, using a weapon, or wanting badly to hurt others
  • Severe, out- of-control behavior that can hurt yourself or others
  • Not eating, throwing up or using laxatives to make yourself lose weight
  • Intensive worries or fears that get in the way of daily activities
  • Extreme difficulty in concentrating or staying still that puts you in physical danger or causes school failure
  • Repeated use of drugs or alcohol
  • Severe mood swings that cause problems in relationships
  • Drastic changes in your behavior or personality

The signs are indented to be mental health disorder "profiles" and not specific diagnoses in and of themselves. For accurate diagnoses, parents should seek help from their health care provider, the researchers said.

To avoid potential alarm from parents and over-diagnosis of mental disorders, the researchers said they designed the list to be conservative. That is, these signs will not be evident in every child who has a mental health disorder. Of the 15 percent of youth estimated to have mental illness, the profiles will identify about 8 percent, Jensen said.

Pass it on: Eleven warning signs can be used by parents to help diagnose mental illness in their children.

This story was provided by MyHealthNewsDaily, a sister site to LiveScience. Follow MyHealthNewsDaily staff writer Rachael Rettner on Twitter @RachaelRettner. Find us on Facebook.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/parenting/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20111029/sc_livescience/11newwarningsignshelpspotmentalillnessinchildren

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Irresponsible Romney: 'We Don't Know What's Causing Climate Change' (ContributorNetwork)

COMMENTARY | The problem with politicians is that for far too many of them, science is subject to convenience. Take for example the words of former Massachusetts governor and the most likely GOP nominee for the 2012 presidential election.

According to the Huffington Post, Mitt Romney told a group of supporters at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh: "My view is that we don't know what's causing climate change on this planet. And the idea of spending trillions and trillions of dollars to try to reduce CO2 emissions is not the right course for us. My view with regards to energy policy is pretty straightforward: I want us to become energy secure and independent of the oil cartels."

Sometimes when I read a quote from a politician, I literally spit expletives at my computer screen. The fact is we do know what's causing climate change. To say otherwise is a blatant lie, aimed at a constituency that thinks absolutes can be fudged.

I will give you that Al Gore's plea to save the snows of Kilimanjaro is a bit weak. I've never been to Kilimanjaro, and if I ever go, I doubt the snow will be my favorite part of the experience. Gore appealed to outdoorsy people, but my idea of roughing it is a hotel where room service shuts down at 8 p.m. So for the climate change skeptics who say that Kilimanjaro's snow and the plight of polar bears is no big deal, let me just say this: Earth is the only planet we know how to live on.

If the scientists are wrong, we're out a few trillion dollars, but friends, if they're right, that's the ballgame. Oh, Earth will be fine. George Carlin was right. Earth will shake off our existence like a minor head cold. But I'm sort of fond of humanity. Climate change is happening now. It's threatening our existence now. Scientists aren't political, but politicians aren't immune from science. Neither are the rest of us. Mitt Romney is irresponsible. He should apologize and drop out. We deserve better.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/gop/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20111029/us_ac/10312861_irresponsible_romney_we_dont_know_whats_causing_climate_change

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Health Watch: What Happens When Your Health Insurance ...

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Blood tests are vital for taking care of patients, and they?re usually covered by insurance. But what happens when the insurance company says no? 3 On Your Side Health Reporter Stephanie Stahl finds out and gets the problem solved.

Jorje Ann Laughlin depends on hormone replacement topicals for several conditions.

?It changed my life dramatically,? said Laughlin.

Along with the hormone prescription comes a script for regular blood tests. It?s the only way the doctor can accurately monitor hormone levels that fluctuate and often need adjusting.

The tests had been routinely covered by Laughlin?s insurance company, Aetna. But in February, Laughlin received a bill for $176.00 for a blood test. Aetna first said it wasn?t covered, then there was a paperwork problem, then too much time passed.

Stephanie asked, ?They had paperwork saying that it was supposed to be covered. The doctor said it was medically necessary, and they keep saying no??
Laughlin said, ?Financially it would have been a real burden to have to pay that.?

?It can be overwhelming at times,? said Dr. John McGeehan, an Internist with Cooper University Hospital. He says doctors depend on blood tests to diagnose and monitor many conditions. And he says they?re usually paid for by insurance companies.

?My experience has been they will always be covered if that slip is filled out appropriately,? said Dr. McGeehan.

Laughlin says she had all the necessary paperwork, but she still spent months on the phone fighting about the bill. Being 65 and on a fixed income, she says there?s no way she could pay the $176.00 bill.

?I just thought it was so unfair to be treated like that. How can they issue a policy, you follow it, the doctor follows it, and they can say they don?t want to cover it?? said Laughlin.

With her credit rating on the line, Laughlin called 3 On Your Side. And we called Aetna. Days later we got a response from Aetna.

?After hearing from you, we looked at all of it again and went ahead with the second appeal. And they?ve decided to overturn their denial. So they?re going to pay for it,? reporter Stephanie Stahl told Laughlin.

?I?m glad you guys are out there being for the people,? said Laughlin.

Aetna also said after 3 On Your Side got involved they were able to get more information from Laughlin?s doctor.

Experts say people need to know that you can and should stand up to insurance companies, if it appears there?s a mistake. It?s up to the policy holder to check and follow up.

Reported by Stephanie Stahl, CBS 3

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Source: http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2011/10/28/health-watch-what-happens-when-your-health-insurance-company-says-no/

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Tim Peters provides Helping Hands to North Korean defectors

Christian missionary Tim Peters sends aid to impoverished North Korea while working to help defectors come to the South.

Almost every day, Tim Peters faces the same quandary: Should he highlight the life-and-death struggle of North Korean defectors, or fly under the radar as he bids to help them escape along the precarious ?underground railway.?

Skip to next paragraph

In the end, the American pastor invariably manages to unite the two apparently opposing strategies.

It is a recurring dilemma that was captured in real-time by a South Korean television camera crew last year while they were working on a documentary. Set up at an airport in Vietnam, the team filmed an unwitting Reverend Peters as he was shepherding a group of North Koreans to the penultimate stop on their journey along the railway ? a byword for escape routes through China to countries that permit safe passage out ? before arriving at the promised land of South Korea.

?I had no idea they were going to be there,? he recalled last summer, describing the deep reservations he harbored of being included in the finished film so as not to arouse the suspicions of China, North Korea's closest ally and a country that treats undocumented North Koreans as economic migrants, not refugees. ?Fortunately, I am not shown in China but in Vietnam. Hopefully, China won?t take too much notice.?

It is perhaps this sort of dedication that appeals to the eclectic group of activists and other interested parties who gather for weekly meetings in the South Korean capital under the umbrella of Peters? organization, Helping Hands Korea, based in Seoul, the South's capital.

Metaphorically known as the ?Seoul catacombs,? the group acts as ??a looking glass onto the North Korean refugee situation,? says Peters, who frames himself as a Christian activist in the struggle to free North Koreans. ?We have had all types of people walk through the doors ? ambassadors, teachers, foreigners, Koreans. It?s quite cyclical, and every year the faces seem to change as people come and go.?

Peters? involvement in Korea dates to 1975, when he arrived as a missionary from his hometown of Benton Harbor, Mich. In 1990 he established Helping Hands Korea, with an initial focus on only South Korea. Then came the cataclysmic period of the mid-1990s in North Korea.

?In 1995, early 1996, news began surfacing about the famine,? he says emphatically. ?For the first time in my life in Korea, it was clear as can be to help North Korean people in crisis.?

The work of the group has since followed a bumpy road, Peters explains.

"The problem with helping inside North Korea was it was fraught with all kinds of challenges, frustrations, and lack of transparency. Every organization I ever heard of shared the same consternation ? the lack of ability to monitor and the misuse and misdirection of humanitarian goods."

Some groups ?just up and left," he says. ?Probably the most high profile was Doctors Without Borders."

Peters, though, held firm. In the early days, Helping Hands Korea was focused on a "Ton-a-Month" aid package to North Korea, achieved largely through private donations, charity events, and a newsletter-driven fund-raising drive. Today, the organization focuses on helping ?stateless children? in China, many of them the undocumented offspring of Chinese fathers and North Korean mothers sold by human traffickers and later sent back to the North.

It also sends humanitarian aid to those who need it inside North Korea and enables North Korean refugees in Chinese territory, faced with the prospect of forced repatriation, to escape along the underground railway.

Lately, aiding defectors ? particularly in the China-North Korea border region ? has become fraught with a greater level of danger: Two activists were targeted in recent months in separate suspected attacks involving poison-tipped needles in Dandong and Yanji, towns on the Chinese side of the border. One died; the other escaped and survived. Many believe the incidents bore the handiwork of agents acting on behalf of the North Korean government.

More alert but undetered, Peters says the threat will do little to alter his work with defectors.

?I think that most of us [activists] try to abide by common-sense parameters of security and exercise caution whenever possible. I can't speak for everyone in the aid community, but I definitely claim in a very practical way the Biblical promises of protection,? he says, quoting a passage from the Bible that illustrates his faith.

Above all, Peters says the clandestine incidents point to progress in the fight to help defectors.

?As the old saying goes,? he says, ? ?It's the hit dog that howls.? By that I mean that it seems increasingly clear that the sacrificial efforts of missionaries, aid workers, and human rights activists are having considerable impact in North Korea, and these clumsy responses, if nothing else, smack of desperation.?

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/SYufUwahnGM/Tim-Peters-provides-Helping-Hands-to-North-Korean-defectors

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