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Peyton Manning expects to be in the starting lineup when the Indianapolis Colts open the season against the Chicago Bears.

The Colts quarterback, who underwent knee surgery in July, was activated Tuesday and went through a pregame workout with the team before the final preseason game Thursday night. He and the rest of the team went through a short practice Friday before coach Tony Dungy sent them home for the weekend.

“I don’t really want to get into daily progress reports of how it went. But it was something that we decided to do last week,” Manning said of his increased workload in practice. “We’re going to just keep progressing this weekend and going through next week. And hopefully we can just keep feeling better.”

He said he felt fine after the pregame routine Thursday night.

“It was good to get back there, doing the same things the rest of the guys were doing. Having to do rehab, having to miss practice, it’s not really the situation that you want to be in,” Manning said. “So it was good to get back out there, get in uniform, be around the guys. And hopefully that can be the sort of the norm from here on out.”

The Colts, 1-4 in the preseason, open against the Bears on Sept. 7 in the new Lucas Oil Stadium.

“Certainly I’ve been preparing for the season opener for some time from a film standpoint. It’s good to get back out there on the field and do more physical activity,” Manning said. “I feel I got in some good practices this week. I thought that was important.”

A giant panda cub whose rare birth by artificial insemination led to rejoicing in Japan died on Friday after just three days, zoo officials said.

The cub was the first panda to be born through artificial insemination in Japan in two decades, raising hopes of future success in breeding the crowd-pleasing but notoriously infertile animals.

But Oji Zoo in the western city of Kobe said the cub was confirmed dead Friday afternoon.

“Zoo officials and veterinarians were monitoring it 24 hours a day, but it ended with a sad result,” the zoo said on its website.

The cub was just 25 centimetres (10 inches) long and weighed 100 grammes (3.5 ounces).

Its sex had not yet been determined, and zoo officials said the cause of death was under investigation.

Captive giant pandas are known for their low sex drive, which is exacerbating falling numbers as their natural habitat in southwestern China is encroached on by development.

Artificial insemination has also proved difficult as the female panda is only fertile once a year.

The baby’s mother, Dan Dan, became pregnant with the sperm of Xing Xing. Both pandas are 12 years old and live at the Kobe zoo.

Dan Dan also had a stillborn baby, conceived through natural means, last year.

Force India driver Adrian Sutil was seventh on the timesheet as the VJM01 had another glitch-free day at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza.

Replacing test driver Tonio Liuzzi behind the wheels for the second day of the three-day test, Sutil looked at home as he completed 92 laps without any major problems while recording the seventh fastest time of the 12-man field.

In bright, sunny conditions, the German pushed on with evaluating set-ups and wing levels, and re-familiarising himself with the demands of the high-speed, low down-force track.

“I felt comfortable in the car and we could do a lot of laps and found some items that will help us move forward and prepare for the race here,” Sutil said.

“We had some work to do to find a good set-up that works over the kerbs and in the slow corners without losing time on braking or on the straights, and also trying to get a good setup with the inertia dampers.

“We made some good steps forward that will also help us at next week’s Belgian Grand Prix, so I am happy and feel quite prepared for these coming races,” added the German.

Chief race engineer Dominic Harlow was equally happy.

“Today’s programme very much followed on from yesterday’s schedule, with Adrian evaluating set-up options and wing levels for the Italian Grand Prix.

“We also tested some development items on the rear suspension, brakes and set-ups for the kerbs, which are quite violent particularly at the Roggia chicane.

“We completed a lot of laps today, the equivalent running of a race weekend Saturday and Sunday, which will be good preparation for the Italian Grand Prix,” he said.

Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic refused to enter pleas Friday to charges including genocide and crimes against humanity.

Karadzic faces a total of 11 charges at the U.N.’s Yugoslav war crimes tribunal. Judge Iain Bonomy, who presided over the hearing, entered not guilty pleas on Karadzic’s behalf.

He is charged with genocide for allegedly masterminding atrocities, including the slaughter of more than 8,000 Bosnian Muslims in Srebrenica in July 1995 and the deadly siege of Sarajevo, when he was president of the breakaway Bosnian Serb republic.

“This court is representing itself falsely as a court of the international community whereas it is in fact a court of NATO whose aim is to liquidate me,” Karadzic said. “I will not plead, in line with my standpoint as regards to this court.”

The next hearing is Sept. 17 when Karadzic said he would challenge the court’s jurisdiction. No trial date has been set.

Karadzic, 63, was back in court for only his second public appearance since his arrest July 21 in the Serb capital Belgrade after 13 years on the run.

The 25-minute hearing was a crucial step along the path to Karadzic’s trial for allegedly masterminding the worst atrocities perpetrated by Serb forces in the 1992-95 Bosnian war, which claimed the lives of an estimated 100,000 people.

Karadzic, looking less tired than at his first appearance shortly after his arrest a month ago, employed sarcasm that failed to amuse the Scottish judge.

When Bonomy told the former leader he was entering not guilty pleas, Karadzic said: “May I hold you to your word … that I am not guilty?”

Bonomy replied: “We shall see in due course, Mr. Karadzic.”

Outside the court, the president of the Mothers of Srebrenica group that represents survivors of the massacre said she wanted to witness the case.

“We came to see (the) initial appearance of the biggest butcher of the 20th century in the Balkans,” Munira Subasic said.

Prosecutors accuse Karadzic of orchestrating a savage campaign of ethnic cleansing to drive Muslims and Croats out of territory claimed by a breakaway Bosnian Serb ministate.

According to his indictment, the reign of terror began with the destruction of villages and establishment of brutal internment camps where civilian detainees were tortured, raped and murdered.

It progressed through the horror of the 44-month siege of Sarajevo, during which Serb forces relentlessly shelled the Bosnian capital and sniped at its inhabitants as they sat in trams, stood in line for bread and even as they mourned at funerals.

Srebrenica was its murderous climate — Europe’s biggest massacre since the Holocaust.

Bonomy pressed prosecutors to work fast to draw up a new, streamlined indictment against Karadzic.

Prosecutor Alan Tieger said he hoped to have a new charge sheet ready by the end of September.

“I sincerely hope you are not serious about that date,” Bonomy told Tieger.

Wide-eyed and interrupting occasionally with comments like “My dad’s a Marine,” a dozen or so boys listened avidly as Sgt. Roy Meredith described being injured by shrapnel in Iraq.

A former U.S. Marine now in the National Guard, Meredith returned from Iraq in March and was taking a day out of his regular duties to talk to children of military personnel at an “Operation Purple” summer camp in Maryland this month.

The free camps offer a week of outdoor activities and the chance to bond with other military children, giving parents a break while spouses are deployed in Iraq or Afghanistan.

“I didn’t realize I was wounded for about a minute or so, then after we got done, I patched my own self up,” Meredith said, showing the kids a medical bag with neck braces, bandages, IV packs and tourniquets.

“The gear we have now is the safest we’ve ever had,” he said, adding that a vehicle beside him was an old Humvee and those used in Iraq now are “up-armored” for better protection.

“They’ll stop machine gun rounds from coming and hurting anybody. Your parents are a lot safer than what I was before.”

Next it was time for a relay race wearing the flak jackets, helmets and backpacks their military parents carry.

The pack was just a third the normal size, but it was still bigger than 6-year-old Drake Stokes.

Still, he was determined to finish the race, and with the help of a camp counselor who ran behind holding the pack up, he did it, helmet falling over his face.

“That hat was too big for me,” he said, laughing, before getting his face painted with camouflage cream.

‘KIDS SERVE TOO’

Operation Purple began in 2004 with 12 camps for nearly 1,000 children. This year 10,000 attended camps around the United States in a $6 million program whose sponsors include the Sierra Club and the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation.

“One of the main messages we try to get out at camp is that kids serve too,” said Michelle Joyner, spokeswoman for the National Military Family Association, which runs the camps and estimates around 155,000 American children are experiencing the absence of a parent due to deployment in Iraq or Afghanistan.

“We want them to understand that we recognize they’re making sacrifices,” she said.

Most of the week is much like any other summer camp — swimming, kayaking, a high-rope course, and pillow fights. One day is devoted to military-related activities.

At the Maryland camp, two remote-controlled robots used to defuse bombs were a big hit.

A helicopter made a surprise visit, and Joyner said one camp had had parachute troops land in their midst.

The kids do service projects, such as making posters for injured veterans, and are given the chance to talk about their experiences, for example by creating a “top 10 list” of differences between military children and civilian children.

“Military kids have so much more stress than regular kids, worrying about their parents, having to take care of the parent that’s at home, more responsibility,” said Joshua Clark, 14, whose father is in the navy and about to leave on deployment.

‘FEAR AND UNCERTAINTY’

Sierra Miller, 10, whose father returned from Iraq in May, says when he’s away, she misses him, along with an uncle who is also serving: “Him and my uncle give the greatest hugs.”

Savanah Reinink, 9, whose father is a Marine infantry officer, said it was good to be with others who know how she feels. “It’s very sad when he goes away because you don’t really know when they’ll come back. Sometimes they’ll come back in six months but sometimes it ends up being a year.”

The kids are proud of their serving parents and not shy about showing it. “My dad’s in the Army,” “My dad makes these,” (pointing to a Humvee) or “My dad’s been to Iraq three times,” are typical comments.

Clark Rhiel, 12, says he can name all the places his father, a Marine for 20 years, has served. He rattles off a long list of countries around the globe.

After hot dogs and burgers served at picnic tables, army nurse Jay Rippel, whose two daughters were at the camp, addressed the kids.

“The military is getting better at taking care of the families, but you guys just don’t know what we’re going into, and I know there’s got to be a lot of fear and uncertainty.”

He told them that although he was lonely and missed his family while deployed on a remote base in Afghanistan, he managed to have fun too, setting up a bowling lane with a soccer ball and water bottles and decorating a Christmas tree.

When it was time for questions, one child asked: “What was your biggest fear?”

“My biggest fear was I wasn’t going to be able to get home to see my kids and my wife, because there is a war going on,” Rippel said. “Every once in a while things happen that cause you great concern that you might not get home.”

Three men who authorities feared were plotting to assassinate Barack Obama at the Democratic National Convention are facing only gun charges — a signal that officials believe they never posed a real threat.

A federal law enforcement official in Denver said Tuesday the three men and woman arrested Sunday are not expected to be charged with making threatening statements, conspiracy or other national security-related crimes.

It’s possible — but unlikely — that additional charges could come later, the official said.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because charges have not yet been filed. U.S. Attorney Troy Eid has said the suspects posed no credible threat to Obama, the convention or others in Denver.

“Akashagopuram”; Cast: Mohanlal, Shwetha Menon, Hilda Varghese, Geethu Mohandas, Nitya and Bharat Gopi; Director: K.P. Kumaran; Music: John Altman; Sound Designer: Nigel Holland; Cinematography: Santosh C. Thundiyil; Rating: ****

Malayalam thespian Mohanlal has yet again given an excellent account of his histrionic talent in “Akashagopuram” (castle in the air) by melting himself into the skin of a character with shades of grey.

Albert Samson (Mohanlal), a middle-aged architect scared of young whippersnappers overtaking him, schemes and plots to stay on top.

To ensure his rise to what he thinks is his pinnacle, Samson kills the career of his mentor, played by Bharat Gopi (a fitting swansong for the late actor), meddles with that of his son (Manoj K. Jayan), uses his fiancée (Geethu Mohandas) to climb higher and cruelly ignores the wails of his mourning wife (Shwetha Menon, terrific) till he runs into a young, female admirer Hilda Varghese (Nitya).

For those who haven’t read Norwegian author Henrik Ibsen’s classic play “Master Builder”, on which “Akashagopuram” is based, the movie is a revelation.

Mohanlal has moulded his body language to suit his character and locale.

“Akashagopuram” is embellished with imaginative cinematography of Santosh Thundiyil who has captured the picturesque London into his frames and painted the scenes with a perfect palette.

The spirited music of “Titanic” fame composer John Altman etches its dramatic moments to the taste of an audience familiar with international cinema.

The sound design of Nigel Holland, who was associated with films like “Batman Begins”, “Braveheart”, “Congo”, and “Resident Evil”, accords the dialogue delivery, effects and scores the exact underlining.

National Award winning director Kumaran’s master craftsmanship honed by majestic megaphone wielders like Adoor Gopalakrishnan is clearly visible as he brings out the best out of everyone in the cast.

Kumaran has rendered the play into a modern Malayalam masterpiece without sacrificing any of the original’s twists.

“Akashagopuram” is a must see for film lovers even for those who do not understand Malayalam.

The film’s only minor handicap is its length.

Indo-Asian News Service

Computer animation students have designed an online game to help children understand ways they can reduce their impact on climate change.

Programme coordinator of multimedia at Swinburne University of Technology, Peter Ciszewski, said the University’s student designers have incorporated educative elements into animation and game play techniques to produce the game.

“The game requests the player to be a hero and save black balloons by performing a number of energy saving actions such as switching off lights and appliances before the snowman melts because of the effects of climate change,” said Ciszewski.

“We have designed this game to appeal to late primary school and early secondary school students, but I think lots of adults may also enjoy playing it.

“The game really gives kids the understanding and empowers them by letting them know that their individual actions can reduce their impact on climate change.”

The game was developed as part of the ‘Keep Winter Cool’ climate change initiative which is a partnership between the Alpine Resorts Coordinating Council (ARCC), the Australian Alps Liaison Committee, and the Australian Ski Areas Association.

The project was made possible by a partnership with the Victorian Government’s Energy Saving Campaign, better known as the ‘black balloons’ campaign.

Chairman of the ARCC Andrew Fairley, said the game “Keep Winter Cool or the Snowman Gets It” will help children understand that every time they use energy they are producing greenhouse gases which add to global warming.

‘Keep Winter Cool or the Snowman Gets It’ is available to play free online at www.keepwintercool.com.au.

Morality should be a spur for stronger action to fight climate change, which threatens food and water supplies for the poorest in Africa, a group of Christian activists said on Saturday during U.N. climate talks.“We hear about climate change as a political issue, an environmental issue and an economic issue. We want to press the point that this is a moral issue,” said Marcia Owens, a minister in the Florida branch of the African Methodist Episcopal Church.

She and a group of Christian activists told Reuters they were lobbying delegates at the August 21-27 U.N. talks in Ghana to work out a strong new treaty, due for completion by the end of 2009, to slow global warming.

In Uganda, once predictable rains in mid-August are now often arriving late, killing off seedlings of crops such as beans, groundnuts or maize in what many local people believe is a sign of global warming.

“The crops die. Farmers then have to plough and plant again,” said Rosemary Mayiga, a Ugandan Catholic and rural economist. “It is not moral for some people to go to bed with a full stomach when others go to bed with their stomach empty.”

“Rivers are drying out where we get water and fish,” Daniel Nzengya, a Kenyan Christian who is also a lecturer at Africa University in Zimbabwe. “The walk to collect water is increasing as wells dry up.”

The Accra talks are the third this year in a series partly spurred by findings by the U.N. Climate Panel last year that it is at least 90 percent likely that human activities, led by burning fossil fuels, are the main cause of a recent warming.

The panel projects that between 75 million and 250 million people in Africa could suffer stress on water supplies by 2020. And in some African countries, yields from rain-fed agriculture could be reduced by up to 50 percent by 2020.

“It is very easy to forget the human dimension. There are people today whose lives are being disrupted by climate change,” said John Hill, a Methodist who works for a group on economic and environmental justice with the U.S. National Council of Churches.

Many of the world’s religions argue that God has given humans a role as stewards of the Earth.

Yvo de Boer, head of the U.N. Climate Change Secretariat, agreed that there was a moral dimension. “This is a moral issue in the sense that rising emissions in rich countries should not lead to rising poverty in others,” he told Reuters.

Scientists at Children’s Hospital have identified the gene responsible for inherited version of the childhood cancer neuroblastoma.

With the help of high-speed, automated analytic equipment, the study team led by pediatric oncologist Yael P. Moss, M.D., of The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia found that a region of chromosome 2 was associated with the disease.

Further sequencing of that region identified mutations in the anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) gene in eight families with familial neuroblastoma.

“This discovery enables us to offer the first genetic tests to families affected by the inherited form of this disease,” Nature magazine quoted Moss as saying.

“Furthermore, because there already are drugs in development that target the same gene in adult cancers, we can soon begin testing those drugs in children with neuroblastoma,” Moss added.

After detecting ALK mutations in familial neuroblastoma, the researchers then focused on the more common sporadic (non-familial) cases of neuroblastoma, and found that ALK mutations occurred in 12 percent of 194 tumour samples from the aggressive, high-risk form of the disease

Moss said that mutations in ALK gene might offer simple, non-invasive screening for patients with a family history of neuroblastoma.

She said that ultrasound or a urine test could assist surveillance of children with an ALK mutation, and could be detected at an early stage.

“As we increase our knowledge of ALK mutations, we will also offer specialized diagnostic testing for all newly diagnosed patients with neuroblastoma, to eventually allow oncologists to better customize treatment to a child’s genetic profile,” she added.

The study is published online Aug. 24 in the journal Nature.