Malaysia's Indian Congress turns 60

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 2: Malaysia Indian Congress (MIC), the largest Indian-based political party in the country, turned 60 today.

MIC, touted to be one of the oldest political parties in Malaysia, was formed on August 2, 1946 in a bid to end the British colonial rule and the need for Indian representation in the government during the post-war era.

The current president is S. Samy Vellu, who is also the Work Minister. Samy Vellu said the MIC's prime objective was to protect and preserve Indians' interests and well-being.

Indians, mainly from Tamil Nadu, were brought to Malaysia by the British to work in rubber plantations, build roads and the railways. Though several returned to India, thousands stayed back and today ethnic Indians comprise seven per cent of the population.

MIC's founder, John A. Thivy, became the first president at a time when the party was committed to fighting for independence and democracy, national news agency Bernama reported.

The baton of leadership was later passed on to Budh Singh who helmed the party from 1947 to 1950.

After realising the futility of non-cooperation with the government the MIC in 1954, under the tenure of fourth president K.L. Devaser, became the third partner of the ruling alliance comprising the Malay Umno and Malaysian Chinese Association.

The third phase of the party's history started under the leadership of V. T. Sambanthan from 1955 to 1973. The party's finest hour was on the country's independence day on Aug 31, 1957, when the Merdeka (independence) Agreement was signed with Sambanthan as a signatory, Bernama said. (PTI)

Malaysia's Maybank buys Amex's card business

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 2: Malaysia's Maybank has bought American Express' (Amex) entire charge card business in the country for 80 million ringett to consolidate its position as this southeast Asian nation's top lender.

With the purchase, Maybank now is Malaysia's top credit and charge card issuer commanding a qaurter of the market share, roping 1.3 million card members and upto 45,000 merchants, a media report said.

''The credit card and charge card businesses are expected to register a growth of upto 20 percent in the next year, '' Maybank president Amirsham Aziz said.

Amex will, however, continue to operate its other businesses in Malaysia, including travel service network. travellers cheques and global network services, the Business Times said.

Kuala Lumpur will remain the base for Amex global service centre which provides card and merchant services to Amex global offices in ten countries. (PTI)

Annan urges members to take action to
stop Lebanon bloodshed

UNITED NATIONS, Aug 2: UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has urged United States, Britain, Russia, France and China, the permanent members of the Security Council, to set aside their differences and take action to stop bloodshed and conflict in Lebanon which has killed hundreds.

Officials said Annan renewed his plea at a breakfast meeting with the ambassadors of the five who have veto and could block moves by one another.

Annan convened the meet as the deadly violence continued unabated in the Middle East and no official or adviser was present during the discussions.

Later a UN spokesperson said they focused on how best to achieve cessation of hostilities, effect a ceasefire and work out a political framework for a settlement. They also discussed the possible composition, mandate and deployment of stabilization force in Lebanon as also humanitarian situ ation.

The aim of the stabilization force would be to enable the Lebanese government to extend its authority over the entire country. One of the causes of the current conflict is that Hizbollah controlled southern Lebanon and the Government was unable to extend its authority over the area.

"The Secretary-General was satisfied with the outcome of this breakfast meeting and his discussions with the P-5 (Permanent Five) which permitted a clarification of the critical issues on the table and a discussion of the timelines," said a senior official Ahmad Fawzi.(

The participants, he said, had discussed various concepts relating to a new force for Lebanon, recalling that the Secretary-General had strongly urged them to agree on a common position.

Meanwhile, the United Nations peacekeeping department has convened a meeting of some 40 troop contributing countries to take sense what each has to offer in case the Security Council decided to mandate a UN force in Lebanon which either replaces or strengthens the current UN mission in the country.

Replying to questions, Fawzi reiterated the Secretary-General's urgent appeal for a cessation of hostilities. "There can only be a political solution to this crisis," he stressed. The parties must "stop killing each other and get to the negotiating table."

Given the fact that military action will not resolve the conflict, he said, "We have appealed to the parties to stop pulling the trigger and to start talking about a longer-term, more comprehensive solution." (PTI)

Fears of annual Indonesia bombing worries experts

LYONS, JAKARTA, Aug 2: Security experts with a wary eye on the calendar, are bracing for a possible attack by Indonesian militants which would fit a pattern of yearly high-profile bombings dating from the 2002 Bali blasts that killed 202 people.

Three other big attacks have taken place since then, one each year and all between August and mid-October.

''There is no reason to think they will all of a sudden stop,'' said Ken Conboy, a security consultant in Jakarta who closely monitors Indonesia's militants.

US-based analyst Zachary Abuza agrees. ''We know there is tremendous pressure on them to pull off an attack by this fall,'' Abuza said in a telephone interview from Bangkok.

Proponents of this view say such regular cycles are dictated, in part, by the need for the bombers to go to ground for six to eight months after an attack, emerging just long enough to plan and execute their next operation.

But others question whether the Jemaah Islamiah network, blamed for the four earlier bombings in Bali and the Indonesian capital Jakarta, or any of its successor factions, now have the capability or the will to carry out a vigorous new strike.

Arrests, deaths, and what appears to be a ''re-think'' among some militants about the efficacy of violence in support of their stated goal of an Islamic superstate in southeast Asia, have all taken their toll.

So, too, has an apparent split within Jemaah Islamiah, into a political wing under the fiery preacher Abu Bakar Bashir and a pro-bombing wing led by Noordin Top, who remains at large. Arabinda Acharya, of Singapore's International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research, said Bashir, released in June after serving time in jail for a role in the 2002 Bali bombing, was taking more of a political tack these days.

He said in an e-mail exchange that the emergence of what some are now calling JI Mainstream, under Bashir, may pose a greater danger than any would-be bombers on the loose.

''Although JI mainstream places a high emphasis on proselytising, they also provide military training to their members.''

Most senior figures were veterans of the same US-backed campaign against the Soviets in Afghanistan that gave birth to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda movement.

''Over time, their consolidated strength will be greater than the decentralised and ad hoc (pro-bombing) factions.''

Meanwhile, the experts agree, there is no shortage of recruits prepared to carry out attacks, including suicide missions. Sporadic religious clashes in Indonesia and an active radical movement provide breeding grounds for new militants.

''Unfortunately, the suicide volunteers is the easiest part,'' said Conboy.

More daunting is the expertise to construct complex bombs. The death of Azahari bin Husin in a shootout with Indonesian police in 2005 deprived JI of a master bomb-maker, one of the few figures with the skill to wire and detonate powerful car bombs.

Other police operations in Indonesia and nearby Malaysia have further reduced JI's striking power, said Abuza. But this has only spawned a new generation of unidentified militants.

''The good news is they are less capable as a result. The bad news is no one has ever heard of them,'' making detection by the authorities that much more difficult.

Widodo Adi Sucipto, Indonesia's chief security minister, said on Tuesday more incidents could be expected despite police successes.

''There have been significant results but we still have to prepare because... Terrorism exists and Indonesia has become the target and the victim,'' he told reporters. (AGENCIES)

Australia to host conf in bid to salvage Doha trade talks

SYDNEY, Aug 2: The world's largest trading powers will meet in Australia next month in a bid to salvage failed global free trade talks, the government said today.

Trade Minister Mark Vaile said he would propose a compromise over farm aid in an effort to break the deadlock between the European Union and United States.

He said the extended meeting of the 18-member Cairns Group of agricultural exporters would aim to "inject some energy" into the Doha Round of talks, which collapsed last week.

World Trade Organization chief Pascal Lamy, US trade negotiator Susan Schwab and US Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns had indicated they would attend, Vaile said. EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson has also been invited.

"The round's not dead but it really is only hanging by a thread," Vaile told ABC radio.

Vaile's office confirmed a report in The Australian newspaper that Canberra was proposing a compromise that would involve the US cutting its farm subsidies by a further 5.0 billion dollars and the EU reducing its tariffs by a further 5.0 percent.

Australia hopes that any movement by Brussels and Washington could breathe new life into the free trade negotiations, which opened in the Qatari capital in 2001.

Vaile said a global trade treaty would not be reached by the December 2006 deadline but any progress at the September 20-22 meeting could encourage the US Congress to extend President George W. Bush's fast track authority on international trade deals. (AFP)

Losing weight to be a cakewalk in future

HOUSTON, Aug 2: The fight against obesity might not be a task in future if the claims of scientists at a Californian Institute of having developed an anti-obesity vaccine proves right.

Scientists at the Scripps Research Institute say they have developed an anti-obesity vaccine that significantly slows weight gain by tackling the ghrelin, a naturally occuring hormone that helps regulate energy balance in the body.

The vaccine was tried on rats, who ate normally, and it was found to have reduced the animal's body fat.

This week's issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reported that the scientists have developed a way to make the immune system produce antibodies that attack ghrelin.

"We have enabled the immune system to recognise a molecule that it ordinarily will not recognise," explained study author Kim D Janda, a professor of chemistry at Scripps.

"Mice given shots of the vaccine ate just as much as untreated mice but had "about a 20 or 30 percent reduction in weight gain," Janda said.

However, the mice were fed low-fat, low-energy diets. It's not certain that a ghrelin vaccine would be effective against the burger-rich, high-fat diet that many Americans eat, the researchers noted.

A lot of basic work must be done before the Scripps obesity vaccine would be tried on humans, Janda said. "We're going to look at some different flavours of antibodies, see how they work, and then try them in animals," he said.

His best guess is that a first human trial is "about two years" away. The Scripps group is looking to link up with a major pharmaceutical company to help develop a usable vaccine, Janda said.

However, Scripps is not the only one to develop a vaccine against ghrelin, the researchers added. Cytos, a Swiss-based biotechnology company, is already testing a different vaccine in humans. The Cytos vaccine works in a different way than the Scripps vaccine, by preventing the uptake of ghrelin by the brain. (PTI)

Argentine court OKs abortion for rape victim

BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA, Aug 2: An Argentine court ruled to grant an abortion to a mentally impaired rape victim, four months pregnant, in a case that has polarized this Roman Catholic country where the procedure is restricted.

Argentine law prohibits abortion except when a woman's life is in danger or a ''demented'' woman is raped. But two lower courts denied this 19-year-old woman's request, citing in part a constitutional mandate to protect children's rights.

Both Argentina's health minister and its most powerful governor publicly backed the abortion, while Catholic groups decried their support for a ''culture of death.''

The top court in Buenos Aires province settled the matter late on Monday, ruling that the exceptions allowed by law do not contradict the constitution and saying the courts should have never interfered, leading newspapers reported.

It was not clear if the case would be appealed to the nation's Supreme Court.

The case revived debates in Argentina about whether abortion should be banned entirely or legalised.

Activists who want the procedure decriminalized rallied outside the court last week, while a Catholic university rector publicly offered to adopt the rape victim's child.

Between 500,000 and 700,000 clandestine abortions are practiced each year in Argentina, according to the health ministry.

Abortion is illegal in much of Latin America, home to half the world's Catholics. Only Cuba and Guyana have fully legalised the procedure.

In Colombia, a top court decided in May that abortion was legal in cases of rape, life-threatening complications for the mother, and pregnancies in which the fetus is deformed. In response, the Catholic Church there threatened to excommunicate anyone involved in providing abortions.

In Uruguay, which has a strong secular streak, a bill legalizing the practice was passed by the lower house but defeated by the Senate in 2004. Congress is debating the matter again, but the president has vowed to veto any such measure.

In Brazil, the world's largest Catholic country, the government sent a bill to Congress last year to legalize abortion but later distanced itself from the proposal. (AGENCIES)

Mexico's wealth divide keeps kids on street

PUEBLA, MEXICO, Aug 2: When night falls, 34-year-old Ernesto Portillo takes a bag of toy cars, board games and sweets, jumps on his moped and weaves through the dark streets of the colonial Mexican city of Puebla.

An unconventional charity worker, his job is to roam around trying to befriend the scrawny kids as young as six who live under the city's bridges and squat in open-air market stalls.

In 10 years, Portillo has got some 200 kids off the street and into care. He has also been chased off, taunted by drunks, called a pervert and threatened by a terrified 11-year-old boy wielding a rock.

''It's difficult work. At the start I often wanted to quit,'' Portillo said over a coffee in Puebla's Zocalo square, where grubby children sell candy and beg from tourists.

''But I get about 20 kids a year off the street. It's a very emotional thing. I love it. It's a passion.''

Charities like JUCONI, which Portillo represents, are working across the developing world, from Nairobi to Rio de Janeiro to pull children out of a life of violence, fear and addiction to brain-damaging solvents.

But many wonder what they are still doing in Mexico, the world's 13th-biggest economy, thanks to oil and tourism, a member of the OECD club of industrialised nations and boasting the highest per-capita income in Latin America.

Half a century after Spain's Luis Bunuel shot his harrowing movie ''Los Olvidados'' (''The Forgotten Ones'') about delinquent Mexican street kids, the country has grown rich enough to be overlooked by most philanthropists. But its yawning wealth gap means gangs of children still run wild and even die on the street.

Perpetuating the problem are low tax rates that translate into meagre funding for social services, and weak job creation.

''Mexico is considered rich enough not to need foreign aid. The country should be perfectly well off. We shouldn't have to be doing this,'' said Miguel Angel de la Vega, who helps run a shelter for street kids on a farm outside Puebla.

''Chile has hardly any street kids. Why does Mexico? There's no reduction of poverty here. Governments come and go and life goes on the same.'' (AGENCIES)