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| Philippine police say rebels hijack sugar strike MANILA, Nov 19: Philippine police accused communist rebels today of hijacking a strike by sugar workers after at least.....more Clinton
enjoys the spotlight LITTLE ROCK, ARK, Nov 19: Bill Clinton reveled in the spotlight as political friend and foe alike, including two....more San
Francisco mulls ban SAN FRANCISCO, Nov 19: San Francisco officials pondered whether to stop keeping elephants in the city’s zoo as.......more Outkast,
usher sweep ROME, Nov 19: Hip-hop duo outkast and R B sensation usher shared top honours, scooping a combined five prizes at.......more |
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Spain’s new ministers prove over eager to please MADRID, Nov 19: Every Friday has become handout day for somebody since Spain’s socialist Government took power.....more Afghan
opium cultivation BRUSSELS, Nov 19: Afghanistan’s opium cultivation jumped 64 percent to a record 131,000 hectares this year and drug......more India,
Russia working out NEW DELHI, Nov 19: India and Russia are working out a simplified new visa regime to facilitate travel of businessmen......more Additional
spending WASHINGTON, Nov 19: An additional 2.5 per cent growth in Government health spending as a share of the gross........more |
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Philippine police say rebels hijack sugar strike MANILA, Nov 19: Philippine police accused communist rebels today of hijacking a strike by sugar workers after at least seven protesters died in clashes with security forces this week. Union and plantation officials agreed to resume negotiations next week to try to defuse tension at Hacienda Luisita, which is owned by the brothers of Corazon Aquino, the President of the Philippines from 1986 to 1992. Workers and farmers went on strike at the sugar plantation and mill in Tarlac province, about 100 km north of Manila, two weeks ago to demand higher wages and implementation of land reforms brought in during Aquino’s term. Leftist groups say up to 14 people died on Tuesday when police used guns, tear gas and water cannon to disperse about 6,000 protesters. Nine police officers face disciplinary action for firing their weapons and two commanders were sacked. Thousands of farmers formed a new picket line yesterday, parading coffins of three dead workers. Striking workers held a second day of vigils today under the watchful gaze of security forces and voiced anger over police reports that the protesters had fired guns. "We don’t have guns. If we did, we would have sold them to buy food," said one woman, whose nephew died on Tuesday. The national police, who put the death toll at seven, said some protesters may have fired at security forces. In an official report seen , it said the violence was "part of a grand design" by the New People’s Army (NPA) and its Communist political wing to embarrass the Government. The report said three dead protesters had tested positive for gunpowder residue, one of them an alleged member of the Maoist rebel group that has staged a 35-year insurgency across much of this southeast Asian country. "The NPA is riding on the Hacienda Luisita labour problem to gain public sympathy," Rodolfo Mendoza, a senior Superintendent at the National Police, told reporters. But a rebel spokesman said there were no guerrillas at the rally, denying they were responsible for mobilising thousands of farmers to go on strike at the plantation and mill. "The red fighters of the NPA did not participate in the Hacienda Luisita demonstration," said Gregorio Rosal, alias Ka Roger, in a statement sent to news agencies. "But the NPA vows to mete punishment on the perpetrators of the Hacienda Luisita massacre. NPA serves the peasants and unites them in struggling for land reform." The perception of inequality in rural areas has helped fuel the Communist rebellion, which analysts say is likely to remain strong as long as corruption and poverty are major problems. The 1988 Land Reform Law, signed by Aquino, obliged landowners to give up most of their property to tenant farmers. But Vic Fabe, head of the national peasants alliance, told yesterday that some wealthy landowners had exploited loopholes to resist breaking up their estates. Farmers have received just 55 percent of the 10 million hectares (24.7 million acres) meant to be redistributed by 1998, Fabe said. In Manila, the Labour department hosted a meeting today, the first since violence erupted early this week, between leaders of two unions and the management of the sugar plantation and the mill to discuss wages and conditions. Aquino, who remains popular for her role in overthrowing dictator Ferdinand Marcos in 1986, has appealed for calm but made no recent comments on the issue of land distribution. (AGENCIES) |
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Clinton enjoys the spotlight as library dedicated LITTLE ROCK, ARK, Nov 19: Bill Clinton reveled in the spotlight as political friend and foe alike, including two Presidents named Bush, helped him dedicate his 165 million Presidential library, which highlights his achievements with a little bit of Monica Lewinsky mixed in. Only 91-year-old Gerald Ford was among former Presidents absent, a group that grew smaller last summer with the death of Ronald Reagan. Democrat Jimmy Carter, 80, and republican George Bush, 80, and his son, President George W Bush, and their wives, attended a rain-soaked ceremony yesterday on the Bank of the Arkansas river. The event featured 30,000 of Clinton’s best friends and supporters, most of them huddled under a sea of red, blue and black umbrellas. It was a day to set aside political disputes. "Today, we are all red, white and blue," said Clinton, 58, looking thin as he recovers from major heart surgery recently. He urged Bush to take the opportunity of Yasser Arafat’s death to try to bring peace to the west Asia: "I hope you get to cross over to the promised land of peace in the Middle East. You have a good opportunity and we are all praying for you." And Clinton said he was troubled by America’s political divide. "I once said to a friend of mine about three days before the election... ‘You know, am I the only person in the entire United States of America who likes both George W Bush and John Kerry, who believes they’re both good people, who believes they both love our country and they just see the world differently?" he said. Former President Bush, defeated for re-election by Clinton in 1992, admired Clinton’s persistence and resiliency in times of trouble and called him "one of the most gifted American political figures." "Trust me, I learned it the hard way. ... Simply put, he was a natural. And he made it look too easy. And oh, how I hated him for that," Bush said. He recalled his campaign debate with Clinton and Ross Perot in Richmond, Virginia, in which he was caught looking at his watch, a famously fateful political moment. "I was wondering when the heck Ross Perot would be finished and how I could get out of there," Bush said. Current President Bush said Clinton "led our country with optimism and a great affection for the American people and that affection has been returned." he told a tale about Clinton’s political style. "He’ll look you in the eye, he’ll shake your hand, he’ll hold your baby, he’ll pet your dog, all at the same time," Bush quoted a Clinton supporter as saying. Clinton returned the favor: "The first time I ever heard George W Bush give a speech in Iowa and I called a friend of mine and I said: ‘My God that guy can beat us. He is a good politician."’ Carter recalled the first time he met Clinton 30 years ago. "It may be a surprise to some of you that he was late to the appointment," Carter said of the famously Tardy Clinton. It was a classic Clinton event — really long. He was heralded by trumpets, serenaded by a college choir and a latin children’s band and the "flying razorbacks" of the Arkansas Air National Guard flew over. Bono sang "when the rain comes." and still the rain fell. In the audience were tipper and Al-Gore, the former Clinton Vice President defeated by the current President in 2000. Standing by her man on stage was Hillary Rodham Clinton, the New York senator mentioned as a likely contender for the democratic Presidential nomination in 2008. The Clinton Presidential center, a box-like structure extending over the Arkansas river, includes replicas of the oval office and cabinet room, and shelters Clinton’s Presidential archive of 80 million documents, 21 million e-mails and 2 million photographs. Clinton’s sexual dalliance with Lewinsky is not ignored, but is put in the context of a partisan battle with Congress. It is part of a section called "the fight for power" in which there are discussions of the partisan politics that led to Clinton’s 1998 impeachment and acquittal. (AGENCIES) |
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San Francisco mulls ban of beloved zoo elephants SAN FRANCISCO, Nov 19: San Francisco officials pondered whether to stop keeping elephants in the city’s zoo as activists pushed for a ban amid concerns about their conditions in captivity. Considered one of the best in the nation, San Francisco’s zoo plans to send its two elephants, Tinkerbelle and Lulu, to a California sanctuary by next month before improving its facilities for pachyderms in the future. That plan is not enough for Elliot Katz, president of in defense of animals, which is lobbying San Francisco’s board of supervisors for what would be the first ban on zoo elephants in the country. "It’s cruel and inhumane for these elephants," Katz told reuters before city legislators held a public hearing. "Unfortunately the public doesn’t have the full picture, how these elephants have suffered." The American zoo and aquarium association counts 295 elephants in 78 different north American zoos accredited by the industry group, and says they are well treated. Their numbers grew by one on Wednesday after an elephant birth in Canada. That count excludes elephants privately owned by people, such as singer Michael Jackson, and by Circuses. A spokesman said the department of agriculture’s animal and plant health inspection service has licensed 494 elephants in the United States. The debate in San Francisco is part of a wider campaign among animal activists against keeping wild animals in captivity, particularly elephants which are not only the largest but also considered among the more intelligent and social animals. Officials for the San Francisco zoo, which is located in the city’s southwest corner across from the Pacific Ocean, acknowledge their current facilities are inadequate. "The facility is outdated," Robert Jenkins, director of animal care at the zoo, said in an interview. "We’re looking for a situation that gives them a larger amount of space." The zoo seeks to raise 7 million to 25 million to implement the latest standards before reopening that section in five to seven years with perhaps six elephants, he said. The new plan would give them more space and better conditions, but Katz, a veterinarian based in Mill valley, California, said elephants in captivity suffer disease and death more often than in sanctuaries or in the wild. The board of supervisors services committee, split over the issue yesterday, delivered the legislation to the full city legislature for a Dec 7 vote without a recommendation. Mayor Gavin Newsom has not taken a position on the issue. Zoo officials say the elephant ban idea comes from a vocal minority of animal activists who want to close all zoos. "It is highly questionable whether politicians who know absolutely nothing about animal management ought to be the ones who are making decisions about complex animals, about elephants or other animals in zoos," said Michael Hutchins, the American zoo and aquarium association’s director of conservation. His group says cramped conditions for elephants such as New York city’s Central park zoo once had are now a thing of the past and that new standards have prompted several zoos, including in Madison, Wisconsin, to give up their elephants. (AGENCIES) |
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Outkast, usher sweep MTV Europe awards ROME, Nov 19: Hip-hop duo outkast and R B sensation usher shared top honours, scooping a combined five prizes at the MTV Europe music awards in Rome which was broadcast to millions of viewers worldwide. Outkast stars Andre 3000 and big boi, whose speakerboxxx/the love below won the 2004 grammy for album of the year, walked away yesterday with best group, best song and best video awards. The smooth-singing usher grabbed best male artist and best album for confessions less than a week after dominating the American music awards. "I humble myself to all of my fans, without them it wouldn’t be possible," said Usher, who turned out in a pin-stripe suit with a red carnation in his buttonhole. Music fans across Europe chose the winners by voting online and with mobile phones, although ironically American musicians swept the awards, claiming all of the main prizes. Britney spears won best female artist, the black eyed peas won best pop and Linkin park won best rock, while Alicia keys took home best R B and D12 secured best hip hop. Rap star eminem kicked off the ceremony with the rat-a-tat of machine guns and whirring of helicopters as he performed his new politicised single "Mosh" in front of a tank on stage. Children in fatigues marched by while the 32-year-old rapper belted out the song that takes US President George W Bush to task and includes lyrics such as: "Strap him with an AK-47/ let him go fight his own war/ let him impress daddy that way." Eminem’s much-hyped spoof of Michael Jackson never materialised, however, amid rumours he scrapped plans to re-enact his video "just lose it", which makes light of child molestation charges against the pop legend. Gwen Stefani, frontwoman of top-selling US band no doubt, also made waves with her performance of "what you waiting for?" As a kind of alice in wonderland in silver platform shoes. The mega-event was put on for 6,000 music fans at the racetracks on the outskirts of Rome. MTV hosted a simultaneous concert at the Colosseum in the heart of the capital. Some 200,000 people crowded into the wide avenue facing the ancient Roman stadium to get a glimpse of Anastacia and ageing goth rockers the cure. The entertainment wasn’t without its controversy, including protests by some politicians who said they feared the noise of the amplified music at the Colosseum could harm the 2,000-year-old monument. Earlier in the evening, MTV awarded its "free your mind" humanitarian prize to La Strada, an organisation dedicated to the fight against the trafficking of women and sexual slavery. In a bid to heighten awareness about a business that exploits some 500,000 women and girls in europe alone every year, mtv said it was also launching a television awareness campaign that would run through 2005. (AGENCIES) |
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Spain’s new ministers prove over eager to please MADRID, Nov 19: Every Friday has become handout day for somebody since Spain’s socialist Government took power six months ago. But there was a day last month when ministers really seemed to have hit the jackpot and emerged from their regular cabinet meeting, where spending is approved, with offers for everyone. There would be 1 billion euros for housing, 2.5 billion for new roads and, to top it off, 800 million euros to help Madrid’s bid to host the Olympic games in 2012. The result — 4.3 billion euros, or 5 percent of this year’s gross domestic product — was promised away in the space of an hour long news conference. Closer investigation showed that things were not quite so simple. The housing plan was actually money to be spent between now and 2028 and included investment by local and regional authorities as well as the Central Government. The Olympic money would be spent fully only if the city won its bid, and much of the road funding was for 2007 and 2008. "It’s normal for a new Government to be making lots of promises ... What’s true is that they are creating the impression the Government just wants to spend," said Pedro Mirete, Chief Strategist at Broker Ahorro Corporacion Financiera. Unlike some of Spain’s ministers, the man in charge of the economy, Pedro Solbes, is no newcomer to national politics. He presided over the economy in the last years of the previous socialist Government in the mid-1990s before moving to Brussels as Monetary Affairs Commissioner in charge of budget discipline across the European Union. He said recently he had heard some of the other ministers’ proposals before "and rejected them years ago". Solbes’s tight control of the purse strings does little to dampen the enthusiasm of the younger ministers, impatient to honour the party’s election pledges of generous social measures to counter the relative austerity of the previous eight years of conservative rule. The Education Minister has promised free school books for all within four years. Even at a conservative estimate of 150 euros a child, that would amount to more than 1 billion euros if all 8.4 million students are covered. The Social Affairs Minister has promised full incapacity benefits for the country’s 600,000 Alzheimer’s sufferers. The agriculture ministry has offered to help farmers cover the rise in fuel costs. Housing is proving the most contentious issue as the socialists struggle to help young people afford some of Europe’s most expensive homes. Minister Maria Antonia Trujillo has proffered solutions ranging from public land for housing to subsidising rentals or paying deposits for young people to buy apartments. She decided to stop publishing house price data, reversed that and published it, decided public land was not needed after all ... The list goes on. Newspapers have called it "the ministry of confusion" and the opposition has had a field day. Economists say they are not unduly concerned unless the pledges become law and hence into actual spending. ‘’we see this as a transition phase ... What we don’t like about it is that they are raising expectations that will not be fulfilled, or will be difficult to fulfil,’’ said miguel angel garcia, economist at the big left-leaning trade union ccoo. "In housing they are not hitting the mark. The problem is serious and requires a period of reflection before they act." Besides, like health and education, responsibility for housing has largely been devolved to Spain’s 17 regions and the Central Government has minimal authority to act. "They are giving over-simplistic messages about complex matters," Garcia concluded. "They give the impression of lurching along," added Ahorro Corporacion’s Mirete. But he noted that most of the promises had no budget to back them and until they did, were not worrying. "Another question is that the 2005 budget is over optimistic because it is based on 3 percent growth when no international organisation is forecasting growth that high," Mirete said. The European Commission last month cut its 2005 growth forecast for Spain to 2.6 per cent from 3.3 per cent. If oil prices remain high, the Government will be forced to cut its growth and revenue forecasts and that will put a brake on further spending promises. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and his team are keeping the political pledges that cost little in monetary terms. So far he has brought the troops back from Iraq, moved to legalise gay marriages, toughened the law on wife beating, raised the minimum wage and offered to legalise the status of any of the country’s estimated 800,000 illegal migrants who can prove they have jobs. The Government’s problem soon will be how to retain its popularity after it has, in the words of one observer, "given away all the candies too quickly". "The socialists are carrying out very symbolically left-wing social and foreign policies," said Juan Carlos Rodriguez of consultancy analistas socio-politicos. "They will have to move back towards the Centre." (AGENCIES) |
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Afghan opium cultivation reaches record high: UN BRUSSELS, Nov 19: Afghanistan’s opium cultivation jumped 64 percent to a record 131,000 hectares this year and drug exports now account for more than 60 percent of the economy, the United Nations drugs office said. "This year Afghanistan has established a double record — the highest drug cultivation in the country’s history, and the largest in the world," Antonio Maria costa, executive director of the UN office on drugs and crime, told a news briefing yesterday. Opium, the raw material for heroin, was grown in all Afghanistan’s 32 provinces this year. Ten percent of the population, or 2.3 million people, were involved in farming it as grinding poverty made it more attractive than other crops. "Cultivation has spread ... Making narcotics the main engine of economic growth and the strongest bond among previously quarrelsome peoples," costa said. "valued at 2.8 billion, the opium economy is now equivalent to over 60 percent of Afghanistan’s 2003 gross domestic product." "The fear that Afghanistan might degenerate into a narco-state is slowly becoming a reality as corruption in the public sector, the die-hard ambition of local warlords, and the complicity of local investors are becoming a factor in Afghan life." While the area under cultivation soared, it was still less than three percent of the country’s Arable land, the UN said in a report posted on its website, www.Unodc.Org/unodc/en/croptmonitoring.Html. But heroin production rose just 17 percent to 4,200 tonnes, below the 1999 record of 4,600 tonnes under the radical Islamic Taliban regime, due to bad weather and an insect infestation. Three-quarters of production is exported as heroin, meaning Afghanistan must import some 10,000 tonnes of chemicals to refine the raw opium every year, underlining the scale of the corruption involved in the trade, Costa said. He said Iranian intelligence had recently shown him pictures of a drug convoy of 62 vehicles with military protection. "We can’t hope that the Afghan police or army could possibly take on a convoy of 62 vehicles," he said. As well as being a narco-economy, Afghanistan was largely a narco-society, he said, with so many people benefiting from the business: Farmers pay a "tax" of around 10 percent of their earnings to local warlords laboratories pay 12 to 15 percent and export convoys pay 15 to 18 percent. But he said the Government of President Hamid Karzai’s commitment to eradicate the business meant it was not yet possible to say Afghanistan was a narco-state. The major export route is through Iran and Turkey, with a hub in Istanbul and another in the Albanian capital, Tirana, before the heroin reaches the Netherlands, Europe’s main distribution centre. Other routes are through Pakistan across the ex-Soviet central Asian state of Tajikistan, from where it moves across Kyrgyzstan and Russia to Europe and through Turkmenistan. Afghanistan now accounts for 87 percent of global heroin production, which has a worldwide market value of 30 billion. (AGENCIES) |
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India, Russia working out simplified visa regime NEW DELHI, Nov 19: India and Russia are working out a simplified new visa regime to facilitate travel of businessmen, teachers and students and an agreement on it would be signed during the visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin here early next month, it was announced today. "We are in the final stages of working out a new visa regime", Exteranl Affairs Minister K Natwar Singh said at a joint press conference with visiting Russian deputy Prime Minister Alexander Zhukov. The new visa regime will be similar to the one Russia has with Italy, Germany and France, Zhukov said when asked about the difficulties faced by Indian businessmen in getting quick visas. The two leaders signed a protocol outlining the outcome of the two-day inter-Governmental commission on trade, economic, scientific, technological and cultural cooperation aimed at further consolidating bilateral cooperation in diverse spheres. Singh announced that an Indo-Russian round table on information technology would be held in Bangalore on December one and two to be attended by 15 major Russian IT companies. The two sides would hold the first energy meet here on January 15, he said. As part of steps to facilitate trade and bank guarantees, Canara Bank and the State Bank of India would sign agreements with Russian banks during Putin"s visit. (PTI) pri gen nat .Newdel del43 ld russia 2 russian deputy premier said india and russia will also sign agreements on cooperation in communications, joint space research and other diverse fields. "There is growing interest among russian businessmen in india in infrastructure and high technology areas. Russia is ready to develop cooperation in fields of energy in various ways like participating in thermal and nuclear power plants," zhukov said. Singh said both countries were concentrating diversifying areas of cooperation and trade. "We are concentrating on new areas like nuclear power, biotechnology, communications, it, pharma and transportation. We expect in next five to ten years we could expect russian companies working on 15-20 billion dollar worth of infrastructure projects in india," he said. On russia’s seeking its support for its entry into wto, singh said, "we will do our best to have an agreement with russia towards this end. But i cannot guarantee if it could be done before president putin’s visit." Singh hoped that trade volume between two countries which stood at 1.67 billion dollars in 2003 will receive a major boost with new initiatives being taken. He said russian preisdent’s visit would further widen and deepen bilateral ties. Zukohv demanded that Russia be recoginsed as a market economy by India unconditionally as US, European countries and China has done. "The issue is not fully resolved. Our experts will continue to engage with the Indian side. We are hopeful of finalising an agreement on this during Putin’s visit," Russian deputy Premier said. Russia has already adhered to WTO regulations, he said, adding several countries including USA and China had already recognised it as a market economy. India recognises Russia as a market economy only on a case-to-case basis for anti-dumping purpose wherein functioning of an industrial sector in question is investigated, based on which the status of market or non-market economy is conferred. Market economy status is linked to cost and pricing of products based on market forces and not by state intervention apart from determination of exchange rate by market and application of bankruptcy and property laws on enterprises. Earlier at a function organised by FICCI, Zukov expressed concern over the "very low" volume of Indian investment in Russia. He said the trend needs to be reversed and invited more investment in sectors like oil and natural gas, it, ferrous and non-ferrous metal, construction and metallurgy. Only ONGC Videsh Ltd has made major investment in Russia so far, he said. (PTI) |
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Additional spending will enable
India to WASHINGTON, Nov 19: An additional 2.5 per cent growth in Government health spending as a share of the gross domestic product would enable India and south Asian states, to reach their Millennium Development Goals (MDG) by 2015, a World Bank study has said. The study titled "rising to the challenges", also completed a multivariate analysis of the large disparities in mdg performance across Indian states and an assessment of the impact of public expenditures and other policies on MDG outcomes. The study concluded that the impact of additional public spending for improved child health and nutrition would be greatest in the poorer states. It recommended steps to improve the efficiency of public expenditures by targeting certain services (such as immunization and community-based nutrition activities) in villages and districts in the states with the worst health and nutrition indicators. The study deplored the fact that absenteeism among health care professionals was high in India. "Recent random surveys of primary health facilities in six developing countries found absenteeism rates between 19 per cent in Papua new guinea and 43 per cent in India", it said. On a positive note it praised the success of the Tamil Nadu’s integrated nutrition programme and devoted much attention to it. (PTI) HK children infected by parainfluenza virus: Govt HONG KONG, Nov 19: Thirty-two children who fell ill with a mysterious respiratory disease in a hospital in Hong Kong were infected by a parainfluenza virus, the Government said. Parainfluenza viruses commonly attack infants and small children and are spread by respiratory secretions through close contact with infected people or contaminated objects. Tests on three of seven specimens taken from the children showed they were infected by parainfluenza virus, the centre for health protection said in a statement late yesterday. The children were all patients in paediatric wards for the mentally handicapped at the Caritas medical centre when they began falling ill with high fever and respiratory infection in early November. The mysterious cases revived memories of the SARS epidemic in early 2003, in which nearly 300 people died in Hong Kong, and raised questions about whether the city’s healthcare system was prepared for another outbreak. Scientists earlier ruled out SARS as well as influenza A and B. Two children still have fever and the rest have recovered. Doctors said earlier that their illnesses had been mild. With the advent of cooler weather and the start of the flu season, the Government has ordered schools to step up precautions against influenza. An outbreak of deadly bird flu in parts of Asia this year, which killed 32 people in Thailand and Vietnam, has added to the concern. (AGENCIES) Ten arrested in immigration fraud SEATTLE, Nov 19: At least 10 people were arrested in Seattle on Thursday and charged with trying to use fake documents to bring gambian nationals into the United States, federal court documents showed. A grand jury issued indictments and arrest warrants yesterday for souleyman camara, Muhamed Njolo Tunkara, Bubacarr Tunkara, Muhamad Fofana and Mohamed Jawara, according to court filings. Those five along with other unnamed suspects appeared in court yesterday for an initial hearing, a court clerk said. The suspects tried to get false sierra leone passports for Gambian nationals so they could enter the United States and seek political asylum, the Government said in the indictment. Sierra Leone has been ripped apart by civil war, making US immigration authorities more likely to accept asylum seekers from that country, the Government said in its indictment. A law enforcement official in Washington, DC, who declined to be identified said the suspects, most of whom are Muslim, are not linked to any terrorism-related investigation. They face one count of conspiracy, seven counts of falsifying documents and one count of illegally transmitting money. (AGENCIES) As ice thaws, Arctic peoples at loss for words REYKJAVIK, Nov 19: What are the words used by indigenous peoples in the Arctic for "hornet", "robin", "elk", "barn owl" or "salmon"? If you don’t know, you’re not alone. Many indigenous languages have no words for legions of new animals, insects and plants advancing north as global warming thaws the polar ice and lets forests creep over Tundra. "We can’t even describe what we’re seeing," said Sheila Watt-Cloutier, chair of the inuit circumpolar conference which says it represents 155,000 people in Canada, Alaska, Greenland and Russia. In the inuit language inuktitut, robins are known just as the "bird with the red breast", she said. Inuit hunters in north Canada recently saw some ducks but have not figured out what species they were, in inuktitut or any other language. An eight-nation report this month says the Arctic is warming twice as fast as the rest of the planet and that the norh pole could be ice-free in northern hemisphere summer by 2100, threatening indigenous cultures and perhaps wiping out creatures like polar bears. The report, by 250 scientists and funded by the United States, Canada, Russia, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark and Iceland, puts most of the blame on a build-up of heat-trapping gases from human use of fossil fuels like coal and oil. The thaw may have some positive spin-offs for people, for instance by making chill Arctic seas more habitable for cod or herring or by shifting agricultural lands and forestry north. But on land, more and more species will be cramming into an ever-narrowing strip bounded to the north by the Arctic ocean, threatening to destroy fragile Arctic ecosystems from mosses to Arctic foxes or snowy owls. In Arctic europe, birch trees are gaining ground and saami reindeer herders are seeing Roe deer or even elk, a forest-dwelling cousin of moose, on former Lichen pastures. "I know about 1,200 words for Reindeer— we classify them by age, sex, colour, Antlers," said Nils Isak Eira, who manages a herd of 2,000 reindeer in north Norway. "I know just one word for elk — ‘Sarvva’," said 50-year-old Eira. "But the animals are so unusual that many Saami use the Norwegian word ‘Elg’. When I was a child it was like a mythical creature." (AGENCIES) Ex-navy diver was ‘obsessed’ with sheryl crow NEW YORK, Nov 19: A former navy deep-sea diver charged with stalking rock star Sheryl crow had developed "a dangerous obsession" for the singer, prosecutors told the trial jury. Ambrose Kappos, 38, is accused of breaking into New York’s hammerstein ballroom where crow was rehearsing for a benefit show last October, then slipping into her dressing room before he was tossed out, only to follow the singer to her limousine in an attempt to engage her in conversation. "This defendant is a stalker and has a dangerous obsession for sheryl crow," assistant District Attorney Tara Daly said in her opening statement at Kappos’ trial on stalking and burglary charges in Manhattan Supreme Court. "This defendant did not stop at merely being a fan but got personal with her." The prosecutor told Jurors that Kappos "hunted" crow, 42, to learn her whereabouts by contacting her family in Missouri. Daly also said that crow’s father, Warren, became "greatly concerned about his daughter’s safety" and told navy authorities how Kappos had showed up at his home to ask for a date with his daughter. Prosecutors said Kappos, whom they accused of stalking crow for more than a year, had since been discharged from the navy after taking an emergency medical leave. The Grammy-winning recording star is expected to testify in the trial next week. In his brief opening statement, defense lawyer Stan Hickman did not offer any explanation of his client’s behavior. Instead, he urged jurors to keep an open mind until they heard all the evidence in the case. (AGENCIES) |
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