HUMAN RIGHTS

YAHOO IS ACCUSED OF HELPING CHINA TRACK DOWN A DISSIDENT

Yahoo was accused yesterday of helping China’s state security police track down and jail a dissident. Reporters Without Borders said it had learned that Yahoo was approached over the case of a Chinese journalist, Shi Tao. Mr. Shi, 37, had posted on the Internet a copy of an internal Chinese government document banning press comment on the 15th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre last year. Yahoo Hong Kong provided the investigators with information, which enabled them to track down Mr. Shi’s e-mail and Internet details, according to the journalists’ organization. He was sentenced to 10 years in April for “leaking state secrets,” a charge often used to suggest that dissidents, human rights activists, and even lawyers who make contact with overseas organizations, are spies. Other Internet firms have been criticized for cooperating with the Chinese government. Google and Microsoft have gone along with censorship, Google by omitting banned Web sites from its Chinese-language news site, Microsoft by incorporating “banned word filters” in its Chinese software.

– The Daily Telegraph

IN THE COURTS

JUDGE RULES EBBERS CAN STAY OUT OF PRISON DURING APPEAL

A judge has ruled that the former WorldCom chief Bernard Ebbers can stay out of prison while he appeals his conviction for leading an $11 billion accounting fraud – a process that could take more than a year. Ebbers, 63, had been due to report to a Louisiana prison on October 12 to begin serving a 25-year sentence.

– Associated Press

IN BRIEF

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s chief accountant, Donald Nicolaisen, said he is leaving the agency in October to return to the private sector … Bill Gates boosted his stake in Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, adding 90 shares at a cost of about $7.5 million … The New York Stock Exchange unexpectedly postponed the listing yesterday of a company that uses animals to test drugs and other products amid protests from animal-rights groups … Ford and Toyota recalled nearly 5 million pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles yseterday in separate moves to respond to concerns of engine fires and problems with the power steering system … BMW said sales surged 23% last month on new demand for new versions of the midsize 3-Series and large 7-Series models … The luxury carmaker also will join General Motors and DaimlerChrysler to develop fuel-saving gasoline electric power systems and catch up with hybrid leader Toyota … United Airlines filed a reorganization plan yesterday providing a 4% to 7% return on the dollar for unsecured creditors … Northwest Airlines and its striking mechanics union plan to resume contract negotiations today … Delta Air Lines will add to its profitable international routes, cut flights from one of its hubs, and sell 11 Boeing 767-200 aircraft to lower costs as it tries to avoid bankruptcy … JPMorgan Partners Asia, a buyout unit of the American bank JPMorgan Chase, raised $1.58 billion for its Asia Opportunity Fund II … GlaxoSmithKline agreed to buy vaccine developer ID Biomedical for $1.4 billion as demand for immunizations rises because of concerns about an avian flu pandemic … Lockheed Martin is being sued for unspecified damages for allegedly contaminating property and wells near a former plant in Sarasota, Fla. … Struggling retailer Mervyns plans to close nearly a quarter of its stores and lay off 4,800 employees … Fidelity Investments hired Paul McCartney to promote the investment firm in a national ad campaign to launch this week.

– Bloomberg News, Dow Jones Newswires, and Associated Press