· Microsoft founder reveals distaste for $50bn fortune
· Tycoon denies ambition to run for elected office
Oliver Burkeman in New York
Friday May 5, 2006
The Guardian
In news that will either gladden or enrage non-billionaires everywhere, Bill Gates has revealed that he would rather not be the world's richest man.
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Fans can look forward to a September filled with classic Star Wars nostalgia, led by the premiere of LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy video game and the long-awaited DVD release of the original theatrical incarnations of the classic Star Wars trilogy. In response to overwhelming demand, Lucasfilm Ltd. and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment will release attractively priced individual two-disc releases of Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Each release includes the 2004 digitally remastered version of the movie and, as bonus material, the theatrical edition of the film. That means you'll be able to enjoy Star Wars as it first appeared in 1977, Empire in 1980, and Jedi in 1983.
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"Over the years, a truly countless number of fans have told us that they would love to see and own the original version that they remember experiencing in theaters," said Jim Ward, President of LucasArts and Senior Vice President of Lucasfilm Ltd. "We returned to the Lucasfilm Archives to search exhaustively for source material that could be presented on DVD. This is something that we're very excited to be able to give to fans in response to their continuing enthusiasm for Star Wars. Topping it off with a new interactive adventure makes September 12 a red-letter day for Star Wars fans."
That's also the day fans will be able to experience the LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy video game, the action-packed sequel -- filled with tongue-in-cheek humor -- to one of the best selling video games of 2005. To see the trailer to the new game from LucasArts and TT Games, click here!
Click here to order your copy today.
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's president will approve a law that decriminalizes possession of small amounts of marijuana, cocaine and other drugs to concentrate on fighting violent narco gangs, the government said on Tuesday.
President Vicente Fox will not oppose the bill, passed by senators last week, presidential spokesman Ruben Aguilar told reporters, despite likely tensions with the United States.
"The president is going to sign that law, there would be no objection," he said. "It appears to be a good law and an advance in combating narcotics trafficking."
The approval of the legislation, passed earlier by the lower house of Congress, surprised Washington, which counts on Mexico's support in its war against gangs that move massive quantities of cocaine, heroin, marijuana and methamphetamines through Mexico to U.S. consumers.
Under the law, police will not penalize people for possessing up to 5 grams of marijuana, 5 grams of opium, 25 milligrams of heroin. Nor does the law penalize possession of 500 milligrams of cocaine -- enough for a few lines.
The legal changes will also decriminalize the possession of limited quantities of LSD, hallucinogenic mushrooms, amphetamines, ecstasy and peyote -- a psychotropic cactus found in Mexico's northern deserts.
Hundreds of people, including many police officers, have been killed in Mexico in the past year as drug cartels battle for control of lucrative smuggling routes into the United States.
The violence has raged mostly in northern Mexico but in recent months has spread south to cities such as vacation resort Acapulco.
While likely to complicate relations with the U.S. government, the legislation has drawn relatively little attention from the media in Mexico, where drug use is less common than in the United States.
Aguilar did not say when Fox would sign the bill.
Under current law, it is up to local judges and police to decide on a case-by-case basis whether people should be prosecuted for possessing small quantities of drugs.
 Meiwes has always said his victim "wanted to be eaten" |
Meiwes was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to eight years in 2004 after admitting killing and eating a Berlin engineer he met on the internet.
But a federal judge ruled the verdict was too lenient, prompting a retrial.
Meiwes insists his victim wanted to be eaten and died "a beautiful death", but prosecutors said Meiwes had a "fetish for human flesh" and could re-offend.
Prosecutor Markus Koehler told the court in Frankfurt that Meiwes should be barred from parole after 15 years, as is usual for those serving life sentences in Germany.
Known as the "Rotenburg cannibal", Meiwes placed an advert on the internet before meeting his victim, 43-year-old Bernd Juergen Brandes. 
Joachim Bremer
Defence lawyer
The pair met at Meiwes's home in Rotenburg in March 2001, where they had sex before Meiwes cut off Brandes's penis, which the men then cooked and attempted to eat.
Meiwes later stabbed and killed Brandes, before cutting him to pieces and freezing parts of his body, some of which he later ate.
Fantasies
His defence lawyers argue that Brandes willingly agreed to Meiwes's plans, saying the original advert clearly stated that he was looking for a volunteer to be "slaughtered and eaten".
"This was not murder. His [Brandes's] goal was to be eaten and that meant being killed," defence lawyer Joachim Bremer told the court.
However, Mr Koehler insisted that Meiwes killed Brandes "like a piece of livestock" and was obsessed with power and dominance.
Meiwes has admitted that he still fantasises about killing when he sees pictures of attractive young people, a fact prosecutors used to stress that he remains likely to kill again.
Psychiatric assessments of Meiwes during his time in prison have suggested his behaviour cannot be controlled by therapy, prosecutor Annette von Schmiedeberg told the court.
"I find this extremely worrying," she said.
A verdict is expected later this month.
