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Natural
protein may WASHINGTON, Dec 16: A natural body protein usually associated with cystic fibrosis might......more
Pak Govt not to make ISLAMABAD, Dec 16: Pakistan’s military regime will not make public the apology tendered....more Chemical weapons body THE HAGUE, Dec 16: The organisation for the prohibition of chemical weapons......more ‘India, Pak Govts WASHINGTON, Dec 16: The US National Security Council (NSC) has said that Government......more |
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Scientists
suggest new SAN FRANCISCO, Dec 16: The West Antarctic ice sheet, closely watched as an indicator of the impact of global warming, may be imperiled by a different threat a slowing of the "ice streams" which nourish the massive shelf.......more Nepal to ban all tobacco, KATHMANDU, Dec 16: Nepal is to ban all tobacco and liquor advertisements in the print media, following a ban in place for two years ......more Human right activists’
COLOMBO, Dec 16: Ten leading Sri Lankan human rights activists have urged the Government and the ....more Two Germans held for BERLIN, Dec 16: Two germans of Indian origin have been arrested after German Border Police smashed an international racket in smuggling of 21 ...more |
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Natural protein may defend from HIV: Study WASHINGTON, Dec 16: A natural body protein usually associated with cystic fibrosis might be enlisted in the fight against AIDS because it shuts down the HIV virus, researchers have said. The protein, called Alpha-1 Antitrypsin (AAT), seems to prevent the AIDS virus from infecting cells, the team at the university of Colorado Health Sciences Centre reports. "In the laboratory, we confirmed the surprising observation that the AIDS virus did not grow in blood," Dr Leland Shapiro, an Assistant Professor of Medicine who led the study, said yesterday in a statement. "This suggested that there was at least one substance in the blood that blocked the virus. We believe we have identified one of the substances as AAT." In a study to be published in the Federation of the American Societies of Experimental Biology (FASEB) journal, Shapiro and colleagues said AAT works in several ways against the virus. Looking at blood donated to the American red cross, Shapiro and colleagues saw the HIV virus did not proliferate when added to blood from healthy volunteers, but it did when added to blood from patients who had genetic defects that caused them to have low levels of AAT. They also found, working in the laboratory, that AAT blocked the ability of the virus to infect previously healthy, uninfected cells. And in cells infected with HIV, adding AAT to the lab dish virtually stopped the virus’s ability to spread out of the cell. Shapiro said it may be that the virus reproduces in areas naturally low in AAT. They think it might be possible to give extra AAT to HIV-infected patients. "These findings are preliminary but promising," Shapiro said. "If clinical results are as promising as what we have seen in the laboratory, methods of increasing AAT or use of an AAT ‘Mimic’ might be an effective form of AIDS therapy." He said he would propose running tests in humans. AAT is used to treat patients with cystic fibrosis and other genetic defects. It is being grown in the milk of genetically engineered animals by PPL therapeutics, the Scotland-based company involved in cloning the first mammal, dolly the sheep, in 1997. (REUTERS) |
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Pak Govt not to make Nawaz’s apology public ISLAMABAD, Dec 16: Pakistan’s military regime will not make public the apology tendered by deposed Premier Nawaz Sharif before being exiled to Saudi Arabia as "it might jeopardise relations" with the Kingdom, a media report said today. "Saudis are extremely sensitive on these matters and they have conveyed in so many words that proceeding further in this matter (of making public the apology) would not be taken in good spirit," The News daily quoting diplomatic sources said. The military leadership has been under pressure to publicise the apology tendered by Sharif from several cabinet ministers after the Sharifs challenged the Government’s claim that they had apologised and appealed for release, it said. The decision followed intense debate at different levels including a cabinet meeting on thursday presided by military ruler Gen Pervez Musharraf. "Pakistan and Saudi Arabia Musharraf also put off his address to the nation, earlier scheduled to be delivered tomorrow, for an indefinite period following the decision, it claimed. No promises were made or secured from the Saudi crown Prince Abdullah in return for Sharif’s exile, but he did mention that Pakistan would see their helping hand working hard for it, the report quoted the sources as saying. "We have been receiving signals of this anticipated help from the Saudi Kingdom," it said. (PTI) |
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Chemical weapons body faces challenges in 2001 THE HAGUE, Dec 16: The organisation for the prohibition of chemical weapons claims major successes since its birth three years ago, but its greatest challenges, in Russia and the Middle East, lie ahead. The independent Hague-based OPCW, which cooperates closely with the United Nations, began life with the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). It has a four-pronged mandate of disarmament, non-proliferation of chemical weapons, protection against them and the promotion of chemistry for peaceful uses. It has helped secure the destruction of seven per cent of the world’s chemical agents and 15 per cent of its chemical munitions, has carried out almost 900 inspections and can count the United States, Russia, China and Iran among its members. But its work is far from over, Director General Jose Bustani told Reuters in an interview. Finding enough cash to destroy Russia’s massive stockpile of chemical weapons has been a major headache in 2000, but Bustani is confident the country can make some serious headway in 2001 by helping itself and attracting foreign aid at the same time. With 40,000 tonnes of chemical weapons, all of it inherited from the former Soviet Union, the Russian Federation has the largest stockpile in the world. Its destruction is expected to cost around 6.0-7.0 billion dollars — a sum Russia cannot afford. "It’s a fact that Russia has a very serious financial problem with the sheer amount of chemical weapons it has to destroy," Bustani said. The United States provides the lion’s share of Russian funding, with smaller amounts from European countries and Canada. The US has however withheld funding for the key Shchuch’ye chemical weapons destruction plant, after complaints in congress of funds being misdirected. "Shchuch’ye is emblematic," Bustani said. "If that does not start, then it will be a serious problem for the CWC and for the organisation as a whole." The Russians have drastically reorganised their overly ambitious original destruction programme, and Bustani said that should encourage the United States as well as the european union to dig deeper into their pockets in 2001. Russia has already missed the OPCW’s first deadline of destroying one percent of its declared stockpiles by April 2000 and seems highly unlikely to stick to the timetable of total chemical weapon dismantling by 2007. But this target, which can be extended to 2012 under OPCW rules, should come second to commitment, Bustani said. "Things are moving, so let’s forget deadlines for the time being. Let’s help those who still face difficulties in meeting the deadlines by working together," he said, agreeing that extending credit and writing off debt would be another way of helping Russia achieve its chemical weapons goals. Although 141 countries have ratified the CWC — including the United Arab Emirates, which will become the newest member state on December 28 — there are some glaring omissions. Key among these are Israel and the Labanon, who have signed the treaty but not yet ratified it, and Iraq, Libya and Egypt, who have not yet acceded to the convention. "Those countries in the Middle East should make an extra effort... They should not wait for peace to be established. In fact, agreements of this nature often give the confidence for peace to occur," Bustani said, pointing out that chemical weapons have been used recently in conflict there. He warned the 33 countries who have signed but not yet ratified the treaty — many in Africa, but also thailand, Myanmar and Cambodia — that they may suffer trade restrictions in chemical products like pharmaceuticals unless they ratify. "Listen guys, it’s not just chemical weapons at stake here," he said. There is also a pressing problem closer to home. Funds are short because the OPCW’s tiny annual budget of 60 million dollars is not enough to finance inspections which are increasing in scope, number and geographical spread, let alone the more positive aspects such as chemical training for developing countries. "Every single year we get promises and promises (from the member states) but they don’t deliver," Bustani said. "In spite of my appeals when the budget was being negotiated the 2001 budget will not be enough. We will not be able to finance all our activities without external resource and already the indications for 2002 are the same," he said. But Bustani remains optimistic that the days of chemical weapons are numbered. "It is my firm belief that chemical weapons will be destroyed sooner or later," Bustani said. "In 20 years, this will be an organisation to promote chemistry for peaceful purposes and will not be concerned with chemical weapons." (REUTERS) |
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‘India, Pak Govts enmeshed in corruption’ WASHINGTON, Dec 16: The US National Security Council (NSC) has said that Government leaders in several countries including India and Pakistan have become "enmeshed" in corruption scandals. "In recent years, Government leaders in India, Pakistan, South Korea, Greece and elsewhere have become enmeshed in procurement corruption scandals despite global initiatives against bribery," the NSC said in a report yesterday. "Bribes related to Government or parastatal contracts promote official corruption, including at the highest political levels, which adversely affects internal Government operations and fosters negative foreign perceptions of such Governments," it said. The report pointed out that bribe recipients are vulnerable to exposure in countries with alternating political parties, a free press or independent judicial system. "Although international initiatives are underway to limit international bribery, effective curbs may be years away." Corrupt business practices cost American firms billions of dollars each year in lost contracts abroad, it said adding foreign companies often use bribes to win global contracts. About half of the known bribes in the last five years were for defence contracts, with other offers directed at purchases by Governments and parastatal bodies for telecom, infrastructure, energy and transportation projects, it said. "Procurement corruption is common in virtually all parts of the developing world — in Asia, Africa and Latin America as well as parts of Europe," the report added. (PTI) |
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Scientists suggest new threat to antarctic ice SAN FRANCISCO, Dec 16: The West Antarctic ice sheet, closely watched as an indicator of the impact of global warming, may be imperiled by a different threat a slowing of the "ice streams" which nourish the massive shelf. Scientists told a meeting of the American Geophysical Union yesterday that new research indicated the ice streams could be slowing because of the gradually changing shape of the ice sheet over the past 10,000 years. Slawek Tulaczyk, an assistant Professor of Earth Sciences at the University of California, Santa Cruz, said the new model proposed that the ice streams - fast, river-like flows which move ice out into ice shelves floating on the sea - were slowing and in some cases stopping altogether. "In the most extreme case, some models suggest that these changes could result in a shift from the current interglacial climate to another glacial period," Tulaczyk said. "I don’t want to go that far, because we’re still learning how the ice sheet would respond to changes in the ice streams but it’s an interesting possibility, especially since people have focused for so long on the possible collapse of the West Antarctic ice sheet due to global warming." The West Antarctic ice sheet, much of it contained in the sea-borne shelves, contains enough ice to raise global sea levels by five to six yards (metres), and has been melting since the end of the last ice age. Huge icebergs have recently been breaking off the shelves, however, prompting widespread concern that global warming has boosted the flow of the ice streams and accelerated the melting process. Tulaczyk said, however, that his investigation of the flow behavior of the antarctic ice streams indicated that the thinning of the broader ice sheet may be a natural process that is strangling the flow of ice to the ice shelves. One ice stream, known as ice stream C, is known to have stopped moving about 150 to 200 years ago, while a second, ice stream B, has slowed by 50 percent over the past 40 years. Tulaczyk said the slowing flow of the ice streams is not the result of global warming caused by human activity in the past century. Rather, he suggested that it has been caused by the gradual change in climate and resulting change in the geometry of the ice sheet itself over the past 10,000 years. (REUTERS) |
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Nepal to ban all tobacco, liquor advertising KATHMANDU, Dec 16: Nepal is to ban all tobacco and liquor advertisements in the print media, following a ban in place for two years in the electronic media, a newspaper report said today. The Nepali language Daily Kantipur said that the Government has drafted a bill to be presented in the next session of Parliament that will apply to the print media. The ban is likely to come into effect in April or May. According to the Nepalese Health Minister Dr. Ram Baran Yadav, the ban was being imposed to meet Nepal’s commitment to the international community. He said the ban was in keeping with the recommendations made by the World Health Organisation. Advertisements of tobacco and alcoholic products are among the main source of revenue for the print media and their ban is likely to have an adverse impact on newspaper revenue. In South America on Wednesday, Brazil banned tobacco advertising in all its media, stadia and streets. (DPA) |
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Human right activists’ plea to Lankan Govt, LTTE COLOMBO, Dec 16: Ten leading Sri Lankan human rights activists have urged the Government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to seize the opportunity provided by international facilitation to negotiate a just and durable solution to the island nation’s ethnic conflict. In a joint statement, they said though both LTTE and the Government have been sending mixed signals to each other and the international community concerning a possible peace process, the broad contours of negotiating positions enumerated by both parties lend themselves to some optimism. However, it is imperative that the parties to the conflict take concrete, unilateral and reciprocal measures to address the sufferings of those affected by the war. Urging the Government and LTTE to abide by international human rights and humanitarian norms, they asked the Government to lift the economic embargo, in particular on food and medicine to the north and east, and withdraw- war related taxes. They also called upon the international community to support the peace process and use its good office to ensure that human rights are not violated and humanitarian standards maintained. Signatories included Ms Sunila Abeyasekera, Dr Radhika Coomraswamy, Dr Jehn Perera and Mr Rohan Edrisinha. (UNI) |
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Two Germans held for smuggling Indians to UK BERLIN, Dec 16: Two germans of Indian origin have been arrested after German Border Police smashed an international racket in smuggling of 21 Indian nationals to the UK, all of whom having been released after investigations, police said. The two men, along with their German male accomplice, all in their forties and fifties, were picked up by police from their homes near Cologne in the West German state of North Rhine Westphalia. Two British nationals are already under arrest in the UK in connection with the incident, police said. Acting on a tip-off from the national crime squad in the UK, the German Border Police seized a UK-registered huge 40-tonne truck carrying the 21 Indian men on the highway at Moers, near Dusseldorf, on the German-Dutch border on Thursday night while it was proceeding to its intended destination in the UK. The two British truckers were handed over to the UK police. Investigations showed that each of the Indians coughed out about 5,000 DM (about Rs one lakh) for their illegal immigration to the UK from Germany. They were aged between 17 and 35 and hailed from Punjab and nearby areas, police said. A Border Police spokesman clarified that the 21 Indian nationals were not illegal immigrants as originally believed. Thirteen of them were asylum seekers and had applied for refugee status and the remaining eight claimed the right to asylum after they were arrested in the police action involving about 150 personnel. The spokesman said each of the Indians, who had entered Germany in the last one month, could be sent back to India since their asylum pleas could be in jeopardy after they were caught leaving Germany allegedly in an illegal manner. ‘As long as border police is concerned they are free till their asylum pleas are decided by authorities,’ he told PTI from Cologne. The spokesman said all the Indians were ‘quite fit and in good health’. They were apparently not for a long duration in the truck which had ‘no signs of an unbearable environment inside’, he said. ‘The conditions inside the truck could not have posed any danger to life,’ he said. The arrested Indians were treated to refreshments including ‘chicken delicacies’ during their police detention, the spokesman said. Officials of the Indian consulate in Bonn said they were not aware of the incident and had ‘no information’ about it. The illegal trafficking of 21 Indians was the second incident busted on Thursday night by the border police. This was preceded by another case where five Indians along with 14 other foreigners were caught near the Czech border after entering Germany illegally with the help of two Germans. They were sent back to the Czech Border. (PTI) |
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