Aus opposition leader advocates sale of uranium to India

MELBOURNE, Aug 18: Advocating the sale of uranium to India an Australian opposition leader has said it was hypocritical to sell it to countries like Russia and China which use it for military purpose while selling to India will help in reducing the global greenhouse gas emissions.

"It was hypocritical for the Government to sell uranium to countries like China and Russia which, despite being part of the pact, use uranium for weapons," Andrew Robb, opposition Liberal Party’s foreign affairs spokesperson said, adding selling uranium to India would help the nation significantly reduce its greenhouse gas emissions.

"How can we justify selling the uranium to China and to Russia in an unfettered way and yet we don’t sell uranium to India?" Robb said in a latest media reports here.

India are looking to have uranium for clean energy purposes. By 2050, 35 per cent of all of their power needs could be met by nuclear energy and that would save an enormous amount in terms of greenhouse gasses, he added.

He said that this (selling uranium to India) would also help strengthen the relationship between India and Australia.

"We must maintain our relations, build our relations with other major countries such as India and the selling of uranium is one way of doing that," he added. (PTI)

Iran rocket launch 'troubling': US

CRAWFORD, US, Aug 18: The White House said that Iran's announcement it had launched a home-built rocket into space was "troubling" because such technology could also be used for ballistic missiles.

"The Iranian development and testing of rockets is troubling and raises further questions about their intentions," spokesman Gordon Johndroe said yesterday as US President George W Bush spent time on his Texas ranch.

"This action and dual use possibilities for their ballistic missile program have been a subject of IAEA discussions and are inconsistent with their UN Security Council obligations," Johndroe said, referring to the International Atomic Energy Agency -- the UN nuclear watchdog.

He spoke after Tehran said it had sent a home-built rocket carrying a dummy satellite into space yesterday, in a move that could further exacerbate tensions with the West over its nuclear drive.

"The Safir (Ambassador) rocket was successfully launched. All its systems ... Are Iranian made," Reza Taghipour, head of Iran's space agency, told state television, adding that a "test satellite was put into orbit."

"We have paved the way for placing a satellite in space in future," state television said, showing images of the pre-dawn rocket launch.

Western governments suspect Iran is trying to build an atomic weapon and have voiced concern that the technology used in the Islamic republic's space programme could be diverted to military use, claims denied by Tehran.

Yesterday's development came amid an international standoff over Tehran's long-standing refusal to suspend uranium enrichment, a process which makes nuclear fuel but also the core of an atomic bomb. (AGENCIES)

British business body warns of recession risk

LONDON, Aug 18: An influential body which represents British business said there was a "distinct possibility" of the country facing recession in the next six or nine months.

In its quarterly economic forecast, published yesterday, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) said that while a major downturn was unlikely, a cut in interest rates was necessary to counter the threat of serious problems.

Its comments came the week after Bank of England governor Mervyn King said Britain faced an increased risk of recession, with economic growth set to slow further and inflation expected to spike.

"Our quarterly economic forecast highlights a significant worsening in UK economic prospects," said David Kern, the BCC's economic adviser. "There is now a distinct possibility of technical recession."

He added that unemployment would climb by up to 300,000 in the next two to three years. It would "likely" reach nearly two million, Kern said, and would not rule out a rise above that.

"Our view is that the threats to growth are more serious and more immediate than the risks of higher inflation," Kern added. "The UK economy urgently needs an interest rate cut to counter threats of recession." (AGENCIES)

Scores of cities using untreated wastewater-study

STOCKHOLM, Aug 18: Cities in developing countries around the world are using untreated or partially treated wastewater for agriculture, posing serious health risks to urban consumers, a study released today said.

''Irrigating with wastewater isn't a rare practice limited to a few of the poorest countries,'' said researcher Liqa Raschid-Sally, a researcher for the International Water Management Institute

(IWMI).

''It's a widespread phenomenon, occurring on 20 million hectares (50 million acres) across the developing world, especially in Asian countries, like China, India and Vietnam, but also around nearly every city of sub-Saharan Africa and in many Latin American cities as well.''

The IWMI said wastewater was most commonly used to produce vegetables and cereals, especially rice.

The study looked at 53 cities in Latin America, the West Asia, Africa and Asia. In a report released to coincide with an annual water conference in Sweden, it found 80 percent were using untreated or partially treated wastewater.

''In over 70 percent of the cities studied, more than half of urban agricultural land is irrigated with wastewater that is either raw or diluted in streams,'' the institute said.

At the same time, the IWMI noted that wastewater agriculture contributes to urban food supplies and helps provide a livelihood for the urban poor.

The institute highlighted Accra, Ghana's capital city, as an illustration of the tradeoffs from wastewater-based agriculture.

Accra has an urban population of nearly 2 million and about 10 percent of the people every day buy vegetables produced on just 100 hectares of urban agricultural land irrigated with wastewater.

Few developing countries reported having official guidelines for use of wastewater in agriculture and in the cases where they did exist there was little enforcement, the IWMI said.

The institute saw no quick fixes.

''In the face of water scarcity generally and a lack of access to clean water, urban farmers will have no alternative except to use diluted or untreated wastewater or polluted river water,'' it said.

One option is to build on local practices. In Indonesia, Nepal, Ghana and Vietnam, for example, farmers store wastewater in ponds to allow suspended solids to settle out. (AGENCIES)

Indian overseas Congress honours
NRIs on Independence Day

LONDON, Aug 18: A leading solicitor, a broadcaster and a social activist were among the four NRIs honoured here by the overseas wing of the Indian National Congress, for their outstanding contribution to society, on the occasion of India's 62nd Independence Day.

Solicitor Hari Singh, poet and broadcaster at Kismat Radio Sathi Ludianvi, social activist and prominent leader of the Conservative party, Anita Kapoor and eminent doctor Dharmendra Tripathi were felicitated by India's Acting High Commissioner to UK Asoke Mukerji here last night, at event organised by the Indian Overseas Congress (UK).

Balwant Kapoor, freedom fighter and President of the IOC (UK) said NRIs were proud of India's achievements under the leadership of Manmohan Singh, emphasising that economic growth must be all-inclusive and effective steps should be taken to bridge the gulf between rich and the poor.

Brahm Mahindra, MLA and former cabinet minister of Punjab, who was a special guest on the occasion, said the Indo-US nuclear deal would go a long way in making India strong economically.

He also hailed the strong stand taking by India in safeguarding the interest of farmers at the WTO talks.

In a message, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh complimented NRIs for their efforts to be good citizens of their adopted countries, while keeping alive their links with India.

In her message, Sonia Gandhi, Congress President and chairperson of India's ruling coalition said, "We are making India into a strong country, strong in its independence, strong in the defence of its territory and integrity, strong in its economy, strong in its commitment to the values of secularism." (PTI)

Angolans turn to Virgin Mary ahead of elections

MUXIMA, ANGOLA, Aug 18: Tens of thousands of pilgrims flocked to Angola's holiest Catholic shrine in the rural village of Muxima to pray for peace and fortune ahead of the nation's first post-civil war elections.

The pilgrims, almost all of them women, came on foot, buses and rafts from across the country to pray before a 400-year-old statue of the Virgin Mary yesterday. The statue was left behind by Portuguese missionaries and renamed Mama Muxima, or mother of hearts, by Angolans.

''They arrived during the day and night from provinces like Cabinda in the north and Benguela in the south to pray for a better life,'' Mario Torres, the priest who runs the ceremony at the sanctuary, told Reuters.

Mama Muxima is one of largest pilgrimages in sub-Saharan Africa and the largest in oil-rich Angola, which is recovering from a brutal 27-year civil war that killed more than 1 million people and left many women without husbands or barely enough to feed their own.

Women wearing headscarves and T-shirts with pictures of Mama Muxima that read: ''Mama Muxima Pray for Us,'' waited in line for hours to see the statue of the Virgin Mary inside the sanctuary.

''I came to ask for a better life, an end to misery and hunger. My sons and nephews are unemployed. I pray that Mama will help them find a job,'' said Felicity, a 60-year-old woman from the capital Luanda, as she waited outside the sanctuary.

Others prayed that next month's parliamentary elections, the first since the end of the war in 2002, would not take away their short-lived peace.

Angola's first national vote in 1992 led to the return of war between the ruling MPLA party and opposition UNITA that began soon after independence from Portugal in 1975.

The three-day religious ceremony, which began on Friday on the banks of the river Kwanza, about 120 km south of Luanda, normally takes place on the first Sunday of September but was moved up because of parliamentary elections on September 5.

''I pray for Mama to touch upon the hearts of the older ones who rule the country so that they remain at peace,'' said Catarina Gouveia, 48, from the rural province of Malange.

Another woman, with a photograph of her daughter in one hand and a picture of her husband in the the other, began to cry as she walked into the chapel and saw the Virgin Mary.

BETTER LIFE

''Mama Muxima please give me my health back for I am sick and frail,'' said Helena Queta, a farmer in her 70s said, as she looked up at the Virgin Mary.

''I lost my husband to the war and have to help my five sons and daughters grow potatoes, cassava and beans in our small farm,'' she added.

Angola's economy has registered double-digit growth in the last six years on the back of record oil exports and Chinese loans to rebuild its roads, bridges and communications.

But despite record growth, Angolans, by many indicators, remain as poor as ever.

More than two-thirds earn less than $2 a day, according to independent research and unemployment is estimated at 40 percent. Infant mortality rates are among the world's worst, with about one quarter of children dying before the age of five.

''I pray for my mother who is sick and for Mama Muxima to allow me to keep my job,'' said Aderito, 30, who lives in a shanty town outside Luanda, one of the few men at the shrine.

Asked why there were so few men at the sanctuary, Aderito replied: ''I guess they are just lazy and rely on women to ask Mama Muxima to forgive then for their sins.''

About 60 per cent of Angola's 16.5 million strong population are Catholic, down from about 85 per cent before independence, according to Torres, who added the number of faithful is expected to increase in coming years with the Catholic Church's new wave of evangelisation.(AGENCIES)

Antibodies still protect 1918 flu survivors-study

WASHINGTON, Aug 18: Antibodies from survivors of the 1918 flu pandemic, the worst in human memory, still protect against the highly deadly virus, researchers reported.

The findings reported yesterday by a team of influenza and immune system experts suggest new and better ways to fight viruses -- especially new pandemic strains that emerge and spread before a vaccine can be formulated.

These survivors, now aged 91 to 101, all lived through the pandemic as children.

Their immune systems still carry a memory of that virus and can produce proteins called antibodies that kill the 1918 flu strain with surprising efficiency, the researchers report in the journal Nature.

''It was very surprising that these subjects would still have cells floating in their blood so long afterward,'' said Dr James Crowe of Vanderbilt University in Tennessee, who helped lead the study.

The antibodies also protected mice from the 1918 virus, which swept around the world at the end of World War One killing between 50 million and 100 million people, Crowe's team reports in the journal Nature.

''The antibodies that we isolated are remarkable antibodies. They grab onto the virus very tightly and they virtually never fall off,'' Crowe said in a telephone interview.

''That allows them to kill the 1918 virus with extreme potency, meaning it takes a very small amount of antibody.''

The human body has two systems for fighting off bacterial and viral invaders. One system uses so-called T-cells while the other employs B-cells, made in the bone marrow, which in turn make antibodies to both flag and directly attack the targets.

RESURRECTED VIRUS

Dr Christopher Basler and colleagues at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York tested the 1918 survivors and found that in most of them, the B-cells made antibodies highly attuned to the 1918 flu strain.

Dr Terrence Tumpey at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had worked on a team that resurrected the 1918 virus taken from buried victims of the epidemic and tested this virus in mice. Mice given the antibodies from the elderly survivors lived, while those given placebos died.

Crowe said it will now be important to test other people who have had influenza to see if their immune responses are as strong. ''The thought is the first influenza that you see during life is the one that you have the best immunity to,'' he said.

''If we can learn the rules about how these antibodies work we may be able to design antibodies to lots of other viruses.''

The 1918 flu was an H1N1 strain that apparently came straight from birds. ''This study tells us that human beings can make long lasting immune responses to bird influenza,'' Crowe said.

Crowe said his team is working to get antibodies from people vaccinated with experimental shots for the H5N1 avian influenza now circulating in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa. H5N1 mostly affects birds but it has infected 385 people since 2003, killing 243.

Experts fear that, like the H1N1 virus did in 1918, H5N1 will mutate into a form that passes easily among people and spark another pandemic. No one knows if the vaccines being made now would protect against whatever form of H5N1 might emerge.

Crowe said antibodies from survivors might make a good interim treatment while a vaccine is formulated, manufactured and distributed -- a process that would take months. (AGENCIES)

Study links genetic traits to bipolar disorder

WASHINGTON, Aug 18: Two genes that influence the activity of nerve cells in the brain may play a key role in a person's risk for bipolar disorder, marked by dramatic swings from depression to manic behavior, researchers said.

The findings are not expected to lead to a genetic test for the risk of the condition but could help unravel the mystery of how it arises and lead to better treatments, they reported in the journal Nature Genetics.

An international team of scientists examined the genomes of 10,596 people mainly from Britain and the United States, including 4,387 with bipolar disorder, also sometimes known as manic-depression.

The researchers found those with bipolar disorder more likely to have certain variants of the ANK3 and CACNA1C genes. Proteins made by the two genes help govern the flow of sodium and calcium ions into and out of neurons in the brain, influencing the activity of these nerve cells.

''The key importance of this is that it gives us a clear idea of the sorts of chemicals and mechanisms in the brain that are involved in bipolar disorder,'' Nick Craddock of Britain's Cardiff University, who helped lead the study, said yesterday in a telephone interview.

''Over a number of years, that will help researchers to develop better approaches to diagnosis and treatment.''

Because it tends to run in families, scientists have been trying to pinpoint genes involved in bipolar disorder. This was the largest genetic analysis of its kind on the disease, which affects an estimated 1 percent to 3 percent of adults worldwide, Craddock said.

The brain disorder causes extreme shifts in mood, energy and ability to function. It is marked by high periods of elation or irritability and low periods of sadness and hopelessness that can last months.

EQUILIBRIUM

The proper function of brain neurons depends on a delicate equilibrium between sodium and calcium, the researchers said.

''The brain operates according to how quickly calcium and sodium are going in and out of cells and how much of it goes in and out,'' Craddock said.

The findings suggest that bipolar disorder may stem at least in part from malfunctions in the flow of these ions, which are electrically charged versions of the chemicals.

There is a need for better treatment, Craddock said. Lithium, the most common, helps only about two-thirds of those with the disorder and can cause drowsiness, weight gain and mild shakiness.

The US government's National Institutes of Health helped fund the research. Dr. Thomas Insel, director of the NIH's National Institute of Mental Health, said the findings may help solve the puzzle that is bipolar disorder.

''It's not going to tell us the whole story -- it doesn't give you the whole puzzle -- but it's something to build on,'' Insel said in a telephone interview.

Craddock said identifying the two gene variants probably will not be helpful in determining an individual's risk for the disorder because many who do not have the disease will have the genes. (AGENCIES)

Japan seeks to arrest anti-whaling activists-media

TOKYO, Aug 18: Japanese police have sought arrest warrants for three anti-whaling activists after their heated clashes with Tokyo's whaling fleet in the Southern Ocean last year, media reported today.

Two Americans and a Briton from the hardline Sea Shepherd group are suspected of having obstructed Japan's whale hunt through protests such as jamming a ship's propeller with a rope, Kyodo news agency said.

Tokyo's Metropolitan Police is looking to placing the three on an international wanted list, Kyodo added.

A police spokeswoman declined to comment on the reports.

Japan's whale hunts have come under growing pressure from environmental groups, who say it is cruel and violates a 1986 global moratorium on commercial whaling.

Japan, which considers whaling to be a cultural tradition, says it only undertakes whaling for scientific research.

Protests last year against the whaling fleet outraged Japan, which called the activities ''piratical, terrorist acts''. Activists had poured acid on the deck of a whaling ship, slightly injuring two crew members.

Clashes took place again earlier this year, setting off a spate of diplomatic complaints between Japan and Australia, although the two countries agreed not to let the issue hurt ties.

Meat from the hunts, which under rules set by the International Whaling Commission must be sold for consumption, is available in Japanese supermarkets and restaurants, though appetite for what is now a delicacy is fading.(AGENCIES)

UK bank B&B gets 28 pct takeup for rights issue

LONDON, Aug 18: British bank Bradford & Bingley said shareholders subscribed to buy 27.8 percent of shares in its 400 million pound ($761 million) rights issue.

Its underwriters Citi and UBS, which had said they would stand by the plan, will now have to place the remaining 597 million new shares by Friday's close, it said on Monday.

The two investment banks are supported by four major shareholders and six clearing banks that have agreed to back the underwriters.

B&B offered its shares at 55p each in the issue and its shares were trading just above that level as subscriptions closed on Friday.

The bank said separately that there had been ''no material change in the current trading and outlook'' since its trading statement published in June. B&B is due to release first-half results on August 29.(AGENCIES)

Bangladesh forms police unit to monitor political parties

DHAKA, Aug 18: Emergency-ruled Bangladesh has constituted a new police intelligence unit to moniter political activities, drawing flak from major parties who termed the move as an attempt to make the country a "police state."

Officials said Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) recently launched the new wing to be called Political Intelligence Office (PIO) to gather information in advance about the activities of different political parties and their front organisations.

Both the political parties the Awami League (AL) and Bangladesh National Party (BNP) has severely criticised the constitution of intelligence unit by the Bangladesh’s military backed regime to monitor political activities.

"The Government is trying to establish a police state before the national elections," AL presidium member Motia Chowdhury said adding "It is not the job of the police to keep track of the activities of political parties."

BNP chairperson’s adviser retired brigadier general ASM Hannan Shah called the initiative "illogical" and said "the police department should open a new wing to improve the deteriorating law and order instead of snooping on political parties. No civilised society has such practices," he said.

"Covert surveillance by the police on political parties and political activities is against democratic principles and practices," said left leaning Workers’ Party President Rahsed Khan Menon adding "I see no reason to launch it."

DMP Commissioner, Naim Ahmed, clarifying on the issue said the unit was constituted under the Dhaka Metropolitan Police Rules, 2006, which was enacted during the rule of past Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)-led four party coalition Government of now detained former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia.

"It is not aimed at harassing anybody but to collect information about any incident quickly so that the police can take preventive measures before it escalates into something bigger which may become difficult to handle," he said.

Police sources said PIO was tasked to collect details of leaders and activists of different political parties and their front organisations and make a database with the collected data and prepare analytical reports on important political matters.

They said unit was set up with a specialised team of officials from the Detective Branch (DB) of Police to be headed by a deputy commissioner of DMP. (PTI)

Booming cosmetics sector luring industry giants

DUBAI, Aug 18: The phenomenal growth rate of 12 per cent over the past three witnessed by the cosmetic and personal care sector in the Gulf region has prompted ten global cosmetic majors to set up branch offices here at Dubai Airport Free Zone in recent months.

Cosmetics and personal care sector in the Middle East is witnessing a boom with a registered sales value of AED 7.7 billion (USD 2.1 billion) during 2007 and this is due to people becoming appearance conscious, said Director General of Dubai Airport Free Zone, Mohammed Al Zarouni.

"Cosmetics and fragrance companies are being lured by the tax free and 100 per cent ownership incentives being offered by the Dubai Airport Free Zone. A new trend we are seeing is that quite a number of these companies are coming and setting up Middle East regional offices in Dubai’s Airport Free Zone," said Dr. Al Zarouni.

"Research indicates that residents of the UAE and GCC countries are increasingly appearance conscious with over 30,000 salons in GCC spurring demands for beauty products" remarked Zarouni.

"In fact, the consumption of cosmetics and perfumes in the region is ranked among the highest per capita worldwide, with an average purchase per head of around AED 1,226.

Some of the top names in the world of cosmetics and fragrance are increasingly targeting the prosperous economies of the UAE and the Gulf countries.

Prominent among those that have chosen the free zone as a base include Chanel, Clarins Groupe (Middle East), Estee Lauder Middle East, P&G Cosmopolitan Cosmetics, Perfumes Loewe Middle East, Guerlain Middle East, Revlon Middle East, Parfums Givenchy Middle East, Parfums Christian Dior SA, and Elizabeth Arden Middle East.

Estee Lauder’s decision to open a branch office initially, and more recently, a Free Zone company, was a "well thought one," said Didier Picard, Vice President and General Manager of Estee Lauder ME.

"Dubai Airport Free Zone was the ideal place to grow a team of professionals from all over the world to promote our selective cosmetic brands across the Middle East and further," he said.

Picard further said over the last few years "Dubai and the GCC in general has become visible at headquarters level. This is due to the impressive growth experienced in the region but also more importantly, due to top world class standards achieved in terms of logistics infrastructure, and of course in our industry, retailing environment."

He added that services and facilities at the Free Zone "have grown rapidly over the past years, resulting in an improvement of the support to companies like ours."

According to Bruno Tissot, General Manager of Elizabeth Arden Middle East, opening an entity abroad, independently of its size or its mother company structure "is always an exercise that starts with a blank sheet."

"The priority of course is based on the reliability of the project but we all have this first tendency to always take into account existing business ties and links together with resources and or costs related to them."

On the importance of the Dubai and GCC market to Elizabeth Arden, Tissot said, "as for the actors present in this industry, the GCC is not only a booming market but also a profitable region. Dubai definitely acts as a trend setter and influences its neighbouring countries both in consumption and distribution network infrastructure."

Osama Rinno, the Managing Director of Clarins Groupe, underlined that the advantages Dubai Airport Free Zone offers are immense and being a tax free haven is its strongest USPs. (PTI)