Clinton wins Pennsylvania primary

PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania -- U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton claimed victory in Pennsylvania over Democratic rival Sen. Barack Obama, saying the road to 1600 Pennsylvania Road -- the address for the White House -- "runs right through the heart of Pennsylvania."

With 80 percent of Pennsylvania precincts reporting, Clinton was leading Obama 55 to 45 percent. A total of 158 delegates to the national convention were at stake. A loss on Tuesday could have spelled an end to Clinton's campaign.

Obama leads in overall votes, states won and pledged delegates. And unless "the wheels come off his wagon," Obama was likely to hold that lead, said David Gergen, a former adviser to both Republican and Democratic candidates.
In the roughly two hours after her victory became apparent, Clinton's campaign said it received $2.5 million, with 80 percent of that money coming from new donors. It's our best night ever," the campaign said.

In her victory speech, Clinton, who represents New York, acknowledged her fundraising deficit. Heading into the Pennsylvania primary, Obama's campaign had roughly $40 million on hand, compared to Clinton's $8 million.

The Illinois senator had also outspent Clinton more than 2-to-1 in Pennsylvania. Obama congratulated Clinton on her win and said his campaign closed what had been a huge margin in her favor.

"There were a lot of folks who didn't think we could make this a race when it started," he said at a campaign rally in Evansville, Indiana, where Democrats will go to the polls May 6. "They thought we were going to get blown out. But we worked hard and traveled across the state, to big cities and small towns, to factories and VFW halls and now, six weeks later, we closed that gap."

Clinton's win adds to those in other big states, like Ohio, New York and California and, according to her campaign, should revive questions about whether Obama can beat presumptive Republican nominee John McCain in November.

Polls closed at 8 p.m. local time (0000 GMT) after what election officials in Pennsylvania's largest cities called a solid but not record-breaking turnout.

Heading into the primary, Clinton led Obama in published polls by nearly 20 points, but Obama closed the gap to have a competitive showing and outspent her by more than 2-to-1 in the process.

The last week of campaigning included a tough debate between Obama and Clinton, who pounded her rival for his recent remark that decades of economic decline had left some rural voters "bitter" and clinging to religion and guns.

CNN exit polls showed nearly a quarter of state voters made their decisions in the past week, and those voters leaned toward Clinton by a margin of 56 percent to 44 percent.

Weekly churchgoers made up almost 36 percent of the electorate, who went to Clinton by a 56-44 margin.

More than a third were gun owners, and they preferred Clinton by an almost-identical margin -- 60 percent to 40 percent, the polls found.

Exit polls showed Obama appeared to rack up wide margins in Philadelphia and its surrounding counties. Clinton supporters turned out heavily in Pittsburgh and the counties of western Pennsylvania, and she racked up similarly lopsided margins in the state's industrial northeast, exit polls found.

Among the state's black voters, who are heavily concentrated around Philadelphia, Obama racked up margins of more than 90 percent. The voting bloc comprised about 14 percent of the vote, while whites made up about 80 percent and voted 60-40 for Clinton.

Early exits polls indicated Obama scored big with new Democratic voters in the state while Clinton fared better with voters who made up their mind in the final days of campaigning. They also indicated the economy was the number one issue.

Analysts said a big win for Clinton could propel her back into the race. With neither candidate expected to gain a simple majority of delegates before August's Democratic Convention, the nomination could be decided among the party's 800 "superdelegates" -- state governors, members of Congress and party leaders and officials -- among whom Clinton continues to hold influence.

"If Clinton wins by more than 10 points, which was her margin in neighboring Ohio and New Jersey, her campaign will have new momentum and she will soldier on," said Bill Schneider, CNN senior political analyst.

"If Clinton wins by single digits, we're in a political twilight zone.

Nothing changes." But if Obama scores an upset, Schneider said, "Clinton will face tremendous pressure to end her campaign rather than damage the party."

Pennsylvania is also holding a Republican primary, but McCain has already secured the 1,191 delegates needed to win his party's presidential nomination.

CNN

Churches fear Zimbabwe 'genocide'

Church leaders in Zimbabwe have called for international action to prevent post-election violence developing into genocidal proportions.

African countries and the UN should intervene to deal with a "deteriorating" situation, they said.

The opposition says it won the 29 March presidential poll outright, but results are yet to be released.

Meanwhile, a Chinese ship carrying weapons to Zimbabwe may return to China after being blocked in South Africa.

Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said the ship's owners were considering bringing the arms back, amid international pressure not to let the ship unload its cargo.

But on Tuesday the ship was located off Africa's southernmost point, the Cape of Good Hope, and was said to be heading in a north-westerly direction.

In a joint statement, leaders of the main religious denominations warned against leaving the post-election deadlock unresolved.

"If nothing is done to help the people of Zimbabwe from their predicament, we shall soon be witnessing genocide similar to that experienced in Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi and other hotspots in Africa and elsewhere," they said.

"We appeal to the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the African Union and the United Nations to work towards arresting the deteriorating political and security situation in Zimbabwe."

The opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and its leader Morgan Tsvangirai insist they beat President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF party outright in presidential and parliamentary polls.

An election recount for 23 out of 210 constituencies that had been due to end on Monday, has been delayed for an unknown period.

The MDC has rejected the recount as illegal.

On Tuesday Mr Tsvangirai said the Zimbabwe Election Commission had been discredited and he would not accept any run-off.

Speaking in Ghana, he appealed for help from the international community. Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe has been under fire over March's disputed elections.

His neighbours have been supportive but regional differences are now emerging.

Next

"Robert Mugabe is a liberation hero on our continent and he must be convinced to make a graceful exit," he said.

Mr Tsvangirai also renewed his criticism of South African President Thabo Mbeki, who has been acting as a mediator over Zimbabwe.

"We call on President Mbeki to be bold and take this historic opportunity to side with the people of Zimbabwe and not with any political party," he said. The leader of the governing African National Congress in South Africa - Jacob Zuma - has further distanced himself from Mr Mbeki, criticising the delays in publishing the election results.

"It's not acceptable. It's not helping the Zimbabwean people who have gone out to... elect the kind of party and presidential candidate they want, exercising their constitutional right," he told Reuters news agency.

Post-election violence has displaced 3,000 people, injured 500 and left 10 dead, according to MDC secretary general Tendai Biti.

Human rights groups say they have found camps where people are being tortured for having voted "the wrong way".

But Zimbabwe's Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa denied that anyone had died in political violence.

Police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena was reported as saying that of the 10 people reported dead, only four names had been supplied and "of these three have no basis whatsoever while the fourth is still under investigation and will be concluded soon".

US 'pressure'

Meanwhile the fate of the Chinese ship, the An Yue Jiang, is still uncertain.

A spokesman at the Lloyds Marine Intelligence Unit in London said that according to the ship's Automatic Identifying System (AIS), it was heading up the coast of Africa, towards Angola.

BBC

Georgia accuses Russia of downing spy plane

TBILISI, Georgia -- A Russian fighter jet has shot down an unmanned Georgian spy plane as it flew over the breakaway region of Abkhazia, Georgia's air force commander said Monday.

The two countries' presidents discussed the incident by telephone Monday in what Georgian leader Mikhail Saakashvili termed a "difficult conversation."

Col. David Nairashvili, Georgia's air force commander, told The Associated Press that video footage recorded by the plane before it was shot down Sunday shows the attacking jet to be Russian.

The footage, which was shown to AP, showed an aircraft firing a missile in the direction of a plane and a few seconds later the screen goes blank.

The incident occurred over Abkhazia, a region that has had de-facto independence since breaking away from the Georgian government in the 1990s.

Nairashvili said the plane's distinctive twin-tail markings indicate it is a MiG-29 and radar shows it took off from the Abkhazian town of Gudauta, the former site of a Russian military base.

"It's a Russian aircraft. Georgia does not possess it, nor do Abkhaz separatists," he said. "It's absolutely illegal for a Russian MiG-29 to be there."

Georgia announced it had summoned Russia's ambassador to lodge a protest. Russian Defense Ministry officials directed all comments to a spokesman for Russia's joint chiefs of staff, Col. Alexander Drobyshevsky, who could not be immediately located for comment.

However, the Interfax news agency quoted him as denying any involvement by Russian air force jets, saying Sunday was a day of rest for Russian pilots.

Abkhazian Deputy Defense Minister Garry Kupalba also disputed Georgia's account. He said the spy plane was shot down by one of its L-39 jets, which the Abkhazian military has several of. He accused Georgia of violating U.N. resolutions regarding Abkhazia.

Kupalba identified the unmanned plane as an Israeli-made Hermes 450 plane and said it was identical to a Georgian one that was shot down by Abkhazian forces on March 18. Remnants of the spy plane were found over the Black Sea as well as the Gali district, which borders Georgia.

The TV footage provided by Georgia clearly shows a jet with twin-tail construction -- something that makes MiG jets distinctive and makes it impossible to confuse with the single-tail construction of the L-39.

Tensions have grown between the Abkhazia and Georgian governments since Abkhazia in February formally appealed for the world community to recognize it as independent. The Abkhazian parliament cited Kosovo's declaration of independence as a precedent.

After the March 18 shoot-down, Abkhazia's president, Sergei Bagapsh, vowed that the region's military forces would shoot down any Georgian combat planes that fly over its territory.

Last August, Georgia said a plane coming from Russia entered the country's airspace and dropped a missile. The missile did not explode and no casualties were reported.

Saakashvili, the Georgian leader, has vowed to bring both Abkhazia and another breakaway region, South Ossetia, back under central government control.

He also cultivated strong economic and military ties with the United States and actively sought NATO membership -- much to Russia's consternation.

Russia, meanwhile, has tacitly backed South Ossetia and Abkhazia, granting their residents passports and other support. Moscow recently announced that it was establishing stronger ties with both regions.

Saakashvili termed his conversation with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, "difficult." The two also discussed Russia's recent moves toward the two regions.

AP

Harry Potter case brings the law into Internet Age

By Sunny Hostin

NEW YORK (CNN) -- It's a battle worthy of Harry Potter himself. His creator, author J.K. Rowling, is locked in a courtroom fight not with an evil wizard but with one of her biggest fans, a former librarian from Michigan named Steven Vander Ark.

Rowling is suing to stop the publication of the "Harry Potter Lexicon," an encyclopedia authored by Voldemort -- I mean, Vander Ark -- that Rowling claims is a wholesale theft of her work.

The encyclopedia is an offshoot of Vander Ark's long-popular fan Web site, which details the world of Harry Potter, replete with magic spells, potions and quidditch rules. Even Rowling has admitted that she was a fan of the site.

"This is such a great site that I have been known to sneak into an Internet cafe while out writing and check a fact rather than go into a bookshop and buy a copy of Harry Potter (which is embarrassing). A Web site for the dangerously obsessive; my natural home," she said in a quote picked up by news organizations around the world.

Alas, she's not such a big fan anymore. Not since Vander Ark decided to turn the Web site into a book. Under the marketing plan, the publisher was initially to print 10,000 copies selling for $24.95, beginning last November. (In the interest of full disclosure, Warner Bros., which is part of CNN's corporate family, is also suing Vander Ark.)

Many Potter fans are crying foul. Lynn, from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, commented on the Times of London's online edition: "It seems these Web sites have promoted and publicized her works, and followed her every move like a little puppy dog and that was fine so long as she made the money.

She wrote a good story, but her books are hardly great works of literature. She needs to get a life now and perhaps not be so flattered by herself. Work on another book, have a cup of tea, move on."

Rowling is a billionaire and Vander Ark is a mere muggle: a librarian. The Web site Salary Wizard lists the expected salary for a typical librarian in the United States as $53,861. But Rowling says it is not about the money, it's about control.

"The book at the heart of this case has overstepped a boundary so unreasonably that I have been forced, regretfully, to take legal action," she said in a statement as she took the case into a New York courtroom.

"If this book is published, it will open the floodgates for anyone to lift an author's work and present it as their own," Rowling said. "But if it is not published, that will be a boon not only to all who create original works, but to all who enjoy those works."

Paul Callan, professor of Media Law at Seton Hall University, thinks she has a case. He said, "I think it's a radically different situation than a free Web site that is just there to help fans. This is a crass attempt to make money off of the creativity of a very successful author."

But Professor Tim Wu of Columbia University law School said Vander Ark (and other creators of fan Web sites like the Lexicon, for that matter) is an author in his own right. "These may not be authors like Rowling, who are going to become millionaires. But I think, however humble, they are they deserve a little respect, and that's where I think the law needs to go."

Most lawyers agree -- with both professors. That is because this is an extremely close call on the law, almost a toss-up, in my view. Even U.S. District Court Judge Robert Patterson, who is deciding the case, said so, urging the parties to settle. "This case is in a murky state of the law," said Patterson. "I've listened to the parties and heard them. I'm not sure you couldn't settle even now, if you listen to what's being said."

So, why is this legal question so murky? Most likely, the law simply hasn't caught up with the Internet. The Copyright Act of 1976, enacted way before the advent of the Internet and the fan-based Web sites, bestows copyright owners with control of their creative work. A copyright is supposed to protect its owner, and thus, only the author can authorize others to reproduce the work. But that right is not unfettered, as many think. One of the more important limitations is the doctrine of "fair use."

The law set out four factors to be considered in determining whether a use is fair:

. The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes.

. The nature of the copyrighted work.

. The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole.

. The effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

The distinction between what is "fair use" and copyright infringement is unclear. And even acknowledging the source of the copyrighted material (which the Lexicon does) is no substitute for obtaining permission.

Permission that Vander Ark apparently did not get, but curiously demands of those wishing to "copy" his "work."

That's right, "The Harry Potter Lexicon" has a copyright, too.

This is not a new battle. President Ford fought it 30 years ago. In 1977, he contracted with Harper & Row to publish his memoirs, "A Time to Heal: The Autobiography of Gerald R. Ford, " a 30,000-word tome.

Of course, what was of great interest to all was a chapter discussing why he pardoned former President Nixon. The agreement gave Harper & Row the exclusive right to license prepublication excerpts.

In 1979 (before there was a CNN), Harper negotiated a deal with Time magazine (now CNN coporate kin) for the right to excerpt 7,500 words on the pardon. Shortly before the Time article's scheduled release, an unidentified source provided The Nation magazine with the unpublished Ford manuscript.

The Nation wrote a 2,250 word article, using at least 300 words lifted directly from the manuscript, scooping Time. Time canceled its article and refused to pay Harper under the contract. Harper immediately sued The Nation, and the case went all the way to the Supreme Court. Harper's argument? No fair! No fair use, that is.

And the Supremes agreed. So what will happen in the next chapter of the Harry Potter legal saga? A decision in the case is not expected until after May 9. Whatever the outcome, we could be witnessing a precedent-setting case about creativity and control.

Sunny Hostin is a legal analyst on "American Morning."

CNN

Zardari, Nawaz hold 'inconclusive' talks:

Reinstatement of judges

by Amir Wasim

ISLAMABAD, April 21: PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari and PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif on Monday held 'inconclusive' talks to finalise a plan for reinstatement of judges.

Informed sources told Dawn that leaders of the two coalition parties held detailed discussion on the draft of a resolution to be tabled in the National Assembly for reinstatement of some 60 judges of superior courts. The meeting, which continued for more than three hours, was held at the Punjab House.

The sources said that Mr Zardari had been assisted by federal ministers Farooq Naek, Syed Khurshid Shah, Sherry Rahman and Rahman Malik, while Mr Sharif was accompanied by Shahbaz Sharif, Khwaja Asif, Ahsan Iqbal, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan and Siddiqul Farooque.

Briefing newsmen after the talks, PML-N spokesman Siddiqul Farooque said: "Today's talks remained inconclusive, but leaders of the two coalition parties will meet again tomorrow (Tuesday)."He dispelled a perception that there were differences within the coalition parties over the issue of reinstatement of judges.

"In fact no party can afford failure of talks. It is almost impossible for anyone to back out of the written commitment made by the two parties in the Bhurban Declaration."

The PML-N leader said the 30-day deadline for the reinstatement of judges would end on April 30 and the nation would soon hear good news. He said the present session of the National Assembly could be extended beyond April 25, if required. The sources said that Mr Zardari and Mr Sharif had a meeting in a separate room with law minister Farooq Naek and Petroleum Minister Khawaja Asif and discussed the draft of the resolution for about 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, constitutional expert Justice (retd) Fakharuddin G. Ibrahim, who had prepared the initial draft, also arrived in Islamabad on Monday, setting off speculations that he had been called by leaders of the two coalition parties to help finalise the draft. However, leaders of the PPP and PML-N rejected the speculations.

They, however, did not rule out the possibility of the constitutional expert having been invited to join the Tuesday's meeting between Mr Zardari and Mr Sharif to give final touches to the draft resolution.

"There is a possibility that he (Justice Ibrahim) may be asked to join the meeting," Mr Farooque said.

The sources said that although the two sides had complete understanding on the issue of reinstating the judges through a resolution, there were still differences on the draft of the resolution, mode of its implementation and the strategy to deal with its possible implications.

One major issue, the sources said, was the fate of existing judges who had taken oath under the PCO on Nov 3 and again under the 1973 Constitution when the emergency was revoked by President Pervez Musharraf on December 15 last year.

They said the two sides had yet to decide whether the present judges would be asked to continue or they would be sent home. The sources said that some PPP leaders believed that the present judges should not be called the PCO judges as they had also taken the oath under the 1973 Constitution.

They said if the present judges were to be called the PCO judges then deposed Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry would have to be placed in the same category because he also had taken oath under the PCO soon after the 1999 military takeover.

"If the present judges are allowed to function after the reinstatement of deposed judges, then the strength of the Supreme Court and some of the high courts would exceed the sanctioned strength," said a PPP leader.

Dawn, Pakistan

Nepal's king denies exile reports

King Gyanendra of Nepal has dismissed reports that he will go into exile after the election success of former Maoist rebels. A statement from the king's press office said foreign media reports - which have said he will leave Nepal - were "totally fabricated".

The Maoists say their main concern is that he steps down voluntarily, rather than being forced out of office.

The Maoists were the surprise winners of this month's elections.

The poll was for a constituent assembly that will decide Nepal's next constitution after a decade of civil war. The Maoists have emerged clearly as the biggest party but look like they will fall short of gaining an overall majority.

Reports in Indian newspapers have been suggesting for some time that King Gyanendra would go into exile there.

But a statement issued by the royal palace in Kathmandu said the foreign press reporting was "totally fabricated and unfounded".

It gave no indication as to whether the king would step down. The Maoists have made it clear that they will make the abolition of the monarchy one of the first priorities of the new constituent assembly.

"It does not matter whether he lives in India or Nepal," Maoist spokesman Krishna Bahadur Mahara told AFP news agency on Monday.

"We have already decided with the interim constitution what will be done. We are going to declare Nepal a republic, and he will have to accept it."

Last week Maoist leader Prachanda urged King Gyanendra to step down from office of his own accord. "In history, monarchs have been beheaded and also had to flee. Let that not be repeated in Nepal," Prachanda said on state-run television.

Another key demand of the Maoists is that former fighters be integrated into the army. They show no signs of wanting to compromise on the issue.

"We have already decided that the two armies will be integrated and a new security force will be created," Maoist deputy leader Baburam Bhattarai told Reuters news agency. "A new political leadership has come. The army should follow the political leadership." The army says that new soldiers should only be recruited by normal methods. "The army is an apolitical organisation," an army spokesman said.

The Maoists declared an end to 10 years of insurgency in 2006. Both the rebels and the military were regularly accused of gross human rights violations during the war.

Latest results from the 10 April election give the Maoists 120 of the 240 seats chosen by the first-past-the-post system. One seat has still not been declared. A further 335 seats are allocated by proportional representation. The Maoists now have about 30% of votes counted for those seats. Another 26 seats will be allocated by the next government.

The US still officially classifies the Maoists as terrorists. But Washington has congratulated the Nepalese people for holding elections which it says were mostly peaceful.

BBC