Timorese President leaves hospital after treatment

SYDNEY, Mar 19: A spokesman says East Timorese President Jose Ramos-Horta has been discharged from a hospital five weeks after he was wounded in an assassination attempt.

Joel Pereira says the president will remain in Australia for an unspecified period of time for follow-up treatment at the Royal Darwin Hospital.

Ramos-Horta thanked doctors and staff before leaving the hospital yesterday.

The Nobel Peace Prize laureate has been treated there since he was shot by rebel troops outside his home in East Timor's capital, Dili.

Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao escaped unharmed from an ambush on his motorcade the same day. (AGENCIES)

McCain corrects himself on which group Iran backs

WASHINGTON, Mar 19: Republican Presidential candidate John McCain, who is touting his foreign policy credentials, got tangled up briefly on which Islamic extremist group Iran is accused of supporting.

McCain, at a news conference in the Jordanian capital of Amman, accused Iran of supporting the Sunni extremist group al Qaeda in Iraq.

US Officials believe Iran has been backing Shi'ite extremists in Iraq, not a Sunni group like Al-Qaeda.

''Well, it's common knowledge and has been reported in the media that Al- Qaeda is going back into Iran and is receiving training and are coming back into Iraq from Iran. That's well known and it's unfortunate,'' McCain said yesterday.

Connecticut Independent Sen. Joe Lieberman, traveling with McCain on a swing through the Middle East and Europe, whispered in his ear and McCain quickly corrected himself.

''I'm sorry; the Iranians are training the extremists, not al Qaeda. Not Al Qaeda. I'm sorry,'' McCain said.

Democrats quickly jumped on McCain, a strong backer of President George W Bush's troop build-up in Iraq.

''After eight years of the Bush administration's incompetence in Iraq, McCain's comments don't give the American people a reason to believe that he can be trusted to offer a clear way forward,'' said Democratic National Committee Communications Director Karen Finney.

McCain spokesman Brian Rogers said McCain ''misspoke and immediately corrected himself.''

''Democrats have launched political attacks today because they know the American people have deep concerns about their candidates' judgment and readiness to lead as commander in chief,'' Rogers said.

McCain's next stop was Europe on Wednesday where Bush has been heavily criticized for a perceived ''go it alone'' approach on a wide range of international issues.

Before his arrival in London, McCain wrote in the Financial Times that the United States must be a ''model country'' and work with others to tackle challenges such as terrorism and global warming.

The newspaper said McCain distanced himself from what allies see as the unilateralism of the Bush administration, promising to ''listen to the views and respect the collective will of our democratic allies.''

In a column in the newspaper, McCain promised to renew the ''mutual respect and trust'' between the United States and Europe and vowed to put America at the forefront of international efforts to tackle climate change.

''When we believe that international action is necessary, whether military, economic or diplomatic, we will try to persuade our friends that we are right. But we, in return, must also be willing to be persuaded by them,'' McCain wrote.

(AGENCIES)

In Tikrit, Saddam's memory lives on in watches

TIKRIT, IRAQ, Mar 19: Five years after the fall of Saddam Hussein, his memory lives on through wrist watches as people in his home town and birth village seek reminders of a time of safety, jobs and cheap living.

In Saddam's home town of Tikrit, north of Baghdad, watches featuring an image of the former Iraqi leader on the dial sell like hot cakes to a mostly older crowd, while younger shoppers just like to try them on and pose, watch seller Hamad Younes said.

''People love these Saddam watches,'' said Younes of the timepieces, which have a starting price of 100 dollars and feature a smiling Saddam in military or Arab dress.

''They never stay in stock more than two or three days. The people of Tikrit love Saddam,'' he said.

Saddam drew many of his most trusted officials from the Sunni strongholds of Tikrit and the neighbouring village of Awja, where he was born in 1937, relying on tribal loyalty to ensure his absolute grip on power.

Loyalty was rewarded with the finest imported goods and lavish state support.

Nostalgia for Saddam's rule and a longing for a time when many Sunnis revelled in preferential treatment has driven the trade in the watches and other reminders of the Iraqi leader.

''People have started to ask for pictures of Saddam. Saddam mosque asked for a picture to hang above their door, that was the last one I did,'' said Shayban al-Aloosi, a painter and printer in Tikrit.

Another picture of the fallen leader hangs in the reception of a children's welfare centre. ''Saddam died a martyr, and will remain a hero of Tikrit,'' the centre's administrator Fatin Mohammed said.

Saddam was hanged in December 2006 for crimes against humanity.

''What did the Americans bring? Hunger, arrests and killing. I wish Saddam was back. We cry for the time of Saddam,'' said Khodaeiyar Salah, an old man dressed in traditional Arab robes in Tikrit's central marketplace.

BUSTLING TIKRIT

Tikrit, capital of Salahuddin province, is a bustling city of 900,000 people, and shows little outward sign of still mourning its most famous son. Traffic clogs its streets, people crowd its shops and officials say the city is safe and open for investors.

''We have achieved security in Tikrit, and ... Because of the security, stability and reconstruction, it is open to anyone who wants to invest,'' police major Raad Subhi said.

A sign above an entrance to the city welcomes visitors.

Tikrit has plans to convert the grounds of Saddam Hussein's old palace, now in state of disrepair and covered in graffiti left by Iraqi and U.S. Soldiers, to open it to the public.

''Whether Saddam's here or not here, it doesn't matter to us. We just want to live and move on,'' said taxi driver Bassam Razuk.

But in Awja, the village where Saddam was born and laid to rest, a neglected appearance mirrors the mood of its people. Crude graffiti covers its walls, the roads are empty and dead trees are all that remain of its once-proud gardens.

''The worst day of my life was when Iraq fell. Today Awja is empty, there are not many people left. All my aunts and uncles have gone, or were arrested,'' said Suleiman al-Nasseri, 25.

Not everyone in Tikrit was close to Saddam, but almost everyone in Awja was related to him in some way. This meant many were targeted by laws meant to punish Saddam's cronies.

Otherwise, like other Iraqis with money, many in Awja fled the violence that engulfed Iraq since Saddam's fall. Tens of thousands of Iraqis have been killed since the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003.

Bombings and shootings remain a part of daily life in Iraq despite an overall drop in violence since Sunni Arab tribes turned on Sunni Islamist al Qaeda and 30,000 extra US troops were fully deployed last June.

''Americans say Saddam was a killer and oppressor. Now there's more killing and oppression than in Saddam's time. Every day there is killing, gunfire ... Only when the Americans came did we hear about racism and sectarianism,'' said Awja grocer Yassen al-Omar, who said he was related to Saddam's cousins.

Shi'ites, Iraq's majority Muslim sect, and Kurds suffered terribly under Saddam, whose Sunni Arab-dominated government crushed dissent through brutal military campaigns, torture and executions.

At Saddam's marble tomb, covered in a riot of flowers and surrounded by pictures of the former leader, a group of men said prayers. The graves of Saddam's sons Uday and Qusay, who died fighting US troops, are nearby.

''Saddam was a candle of the tribe and its light today and forever. We miss him when we see him in pictures or on the news, and I swear we cry when we visit his grave and those of his sons, God rest them,'' Saddam relative Yaseen al-Majid said. (AGENCIES)

Ovarian cancer risk seen in DES grand-daughters

NEW YORK, Mar 19: Women whose mothers were exposed to diethylstilbestrol (DES) in the womb appear to be at increased risk of developing ovarian cancer, researchers report in the journal Epidemiology.

DES, a synthetic form of estrogen, was introduced in 1941 as a drug that prevented miscarriage. An estimated 6 million women worldwide took the drug before its use during pregnancy was banned in 1971 when it was linked to cancer in the reproductive organs of females exposed to DES before birth.

Subsequently, other problems were seen in sons and daughters of women who took DES, and now it seems that the hazard may have been passed to grand-daughters.

However, Dr. Linda Titus-Ernstoff told Reuters Health, ''Because our findings are based on only three cases, they must be considered preliminary.''

Titus-Ernstoff, of Dartmouth Medical School, Lebanon, New Hampshire, and colleagues studied data on the children of women who had verified DES exposure or no DES exposure before birth.

The data included mothers' reports of cancers occurring in 8216 children, along with confirmed cancers and benign diagnoses self-reported by a subset of 793 daughters.

Statistically, the findings are not very strong, say the investigators, but ''our data are consistent with no overall increase of cancer in the sons or daughters of women exposed in utero to DES.''

However, although there was no overall increase in cancer, there were three cases of ovarian cancer in daughters of women exposed prenatally to DES -- a figure higher than would normally be expected.

Titus-Ernsdoff concludes that the findings, ''considered together with the results of animal studies, raise the possibility that environmental contaminants may influence the health of future generations.''

(AGENCIES)

Indo-Bhutan border to be sealed for polls

THIMPHU, Mar 19: The Indo-Bhutan border will be sealed for 36 hours during the Himalayan country's general elections on March 24.

"The border along Bhutan and Assam will be sealed from 6 pm on March 23 to 6 am on March 25," the ministry of home and cultural affairs said in statement here.

The move is being taken to ensure safety and security during the National Assembly elections.

All travelers required to transit through Assam must reach their respective destinations in Bhutan before 6 pm on March 23, it said.

The Bhutan-West Bengal border will also be sealed from 8 pm on March 22 till 6 am on March 25.

Return journeys through Assam as well as West Bengal will be permitted only after 6 am on March 25, the ministry said.

It also cautioned people to avoid traveling through Assam in view of terrorist activities in the northeastern state.

The Bhutanese government will deploy additional troops along sensitive areas to check the movement of northeast rebels.

Sources said India has deployed additional police forces along border areas, identified by both the governments, to check infiltration of rebel groups and anti-social elements into Bhutan.

Bhutanese will vote on March 24 to elect 75 representatives of the National Assembly or lower house of Parliament. (PTI)

Japan's 'perfect' lover celebrates 1000th birthday

KYOTO, JAPAN, Mar 19: A serial seducer who enchants aristocratic women with poems on scented paper and gifts of luxurious kimono, Genji turns 1000 this year, his appeal to readers undiminished.

The Casanova hero of one of Japan's earliest novels, which was recognised as a masterpiece not long after it was written by an obscure lady of the 11th century Imperial court, Genji has inspired everything from scroll paintings to films, cartoons and even a 1980s roller-skating pop group.

Schoolchildren still study parts of the work and three major English translations have brought international acclaim for the author known as Murasaki Shikibu, her real name is unknown.

''If you boiled Japan's cultural heritage down to one book, it would have to be 'The Tale of Genji','' said Jakucho Setouchi, an 85-year-old writer and Buddhist nun who devoted a decade of her life to a modern Japanese translation of the work, which has sold close to three million copies.

''The book may appear in different forms, but its genius remains,'' she said in a lecture in February in Kyoto, one of dozens of events planned to mark the work's anniversary.

Japanese men dream of being like the prince whose looks, intelligence, exquisite taste and talent for everything from music and dance to poetry have led some literary commentators to dub him the ''perfect'' hero.

Born the son of an Emperor and a concubine, the boy known as ''Shining Genji'' for his beauty, is barred from the throne because of his mother's lowly status, but by crafty plotting later becomes one of the most powerful men in the land.

FRUSTRATED WOMEN

Female readers tend to sympathise with his conquests, whose fate offers a vivid picture of the status of women in the Heian period, which ran from 794 to 1185.

Young noblewomen were held virtual prisoner in their quarters, and constantly guarded by servants to avoid scandal.

That said, a mixture of bravado and bribery allows Genji illicit access to many bedrooms under cover of darkness, where on one occasion he bumps into a rival and on another finds himself in bed with the wrong woman, his intended target having slipped quietly away.

Most of his lovers are left weeping elegantly into their silken sleeves at daybreak as he returns to his political machinations. As they age, or their patience with his philandering wears out, many of them become Buddhist nuns.

''The position of women was extremely unhappy,'' said Setouchi, who says she is grateful to have been born in freer times.

''They were just used to make political marriages, they couldn't choose for themselves. A man could have as many women as he wanted, so women were constantly frustrated.''

The author, Murasaki, is thought to have been born in 973, but little else is known about her, including the date of her death.

Her father was a minor court official and renowned scholar, who provided his daughter with an education in Chinese -- a privilege at the time usually reserved for men in the heavily Chinese-influenced Japanese court.

Royall Tyler, an Australian-based academic and the most recent translator of the book into English says Genji's fascination goes far beyond his complicated love life, even though Heian women like the author were allowed little knowledge of political life.

''What's astounding is that despite being restricted in this way she had such a strong conception of the total world in which her hero moved,'' he said of the author. ''I think she was an absolutely astonishing genius.''

Though love and sex are the constant themes of the book, it is far from raunchy, hinting in only the vaguest terms at what happens behind the paper screens.

''Some silly people say they don't want their children to read it because of the content, but there's no actual sex in Genji,'' said Setouchi. ''Even primary school students can read it.''

Whatever the attraction, those who have attempted it agree ''Genji'', which comes to more than two thousand pages in one English version, is hell to translate.

''Stamina,'' said Setouchi when asked what was the biggest rest, a neglected appearance mirrors the mood of its people. Crude graffiti covers its walls, the roads are empty and dead trees are all that remain of its once-proud gardens.

''The worst day of my life was when Iraq fell. Today Awja is empty, there are not many people left. All my aunts and uncles have gone, or were arrested,'' said Suleiman al-Nasseri, 25.

Not everyone in Tikrit was close to Saddam, but almost everyone in Awja was related to him in some way. This meant many were targeted by laws meant to punish Saddam's cronies.

Otherwise, like other Iraqis with money, many in Awja fled the violence that engulfed Iraq since Saddam's fall. Tens of thousands of Iraqis have been killed since the US-led invasion in March 2003.

Bombings and shootings remain a part of daily life in Iraq despite an overall drop in violence since Sunni Arab tribes turned on Sunni Islamist al Qaeda and 30,000 extra US troops were fully deployed last June.

''Americans say Saddam was a killer and oppressor. Now there's more killing and oppression than in Saddam's time. Every day there is killing, gunfire ... Only when the Americans came did we hear about racism and sectarianism,'' said Awja grocer Yassen al-Omar, who said he was related to Saddam's cousins.

Shi'ites, Iraq's majority Muslim sect, and Kurds suffered terribly under Saddam, whose Sunni Arab-dominated government crushed dissent through brutal military campaigns, torture and executions.

At Saddam's marble tomb, covered in a riot of flowers and surrounded by pictures of the former leader, a group of men said prayers. The graves of Saddam's sons Uday and Qusay, who died fighting U.S. Troops, are nearby.

''Saddam was a candle of the tribe and its light today and forever. We miss him when we see him in pictures or on the news, and I swear we cry when we visit his grave and those of his sons, God rest them,'' Saddam relative Yaseen al-Majid said. (AGENCIES)

Fruit flies ‘more like humans in response to sweet tastes

NEW YORK, Mar 19: That fruit fly hovering over your kitchen counter may be attracted to more than crust and crumbs-it may also want a sip of soft drinks just like you.

Researchers at the Monell Centre in the United States have carried out a study and found that fruit flies are more like humans in their responses to many sweet tastes than any other species.

"Humans and flies have similar taste responses because they share similar environments and ecological niches, not because their sweet receptors are similar genetically," according to lead researcher Paul Breslin.

In their study, the researchers compared how molecular structure is related to sweet taste perception in humans and flies by evaluating how fruit flies respond to 21 nutritive and nonnutritive compounds of varying molecular structure, all of which taste sweet to humans.

They used two behavioural tests to evaluate the flies’ responses to the various sweeteners and found that fruit flies and humans both respond positively to the same broad range of sweet-tasting molecules.

"The similarity between human and fly responses to sweeteners is astounding, especially in light of the differences in their taste receptors," co-researcher Beth Gordesky-Gold was quoted by the ‘ScienceDaily’ as saying.

According to the researchers, sweet receptors belong to a large family of receptors known as G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs), which are involved in biological processes throughout the body.

Human and fly sweet taste GPCRs are presumed to have markedly different structures, an assumption that is based on differences in the genes that code for them. "That genes could be so divergent in sequence and so similar in physiology and function is truly striking.

"This is a wonderful example of convergent evolution in perceptual behaviour, where evolution has taken two different routes to address pressures imposed by shared environment and nutrition," Breslin said. (PTI)

US wants FDA inspectors stationed in India

WASHINGTON, Mar 19: The Bush administration has said it wants officials from its Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to be stationed in India to check the safety of food products bound for the US, and has started initiating talks with New Delhi on the issue.

The regulatory body’s presence in India was necessary given the fact that more FDA approvals are coming out of India than any other country in the world other than the US, Secretary of Health and Human Services Mike Leavitt said here, adding "It won’t happen overnite. But it is a high priority."

Speaking at a meeting hosted the United States India Business Council, Leavitt, who was recently on a five-day visit to India, announced that the FDA is to begin carrying out checks on Chinese food products.

He said the FDA will create eight new positions at US diplomatic missions throughout China over the next two years which will be contingent upon final approval from Beijing.

"We have also initiated conversations with the Indian Government on the need to have similar kinds of officers in India," Leavitt said.

"We did not reach agreement; we did not seek an agreement; we are not actively negotiating. But we did make clear that part of our plan in the future would be to work toward that..." the senior administration official said.

He said product-safety problem is the natural consequence of a maturing of the global marketplace and a direct reflection of the profound growth in the amount of trade between nations. (PTI)

For Indians, opportunity knocks in far-flung Uruguay

MONTEVIDEO, URUGUAY, Mar 19: Bhavana, a 24-year-old computer engineer, has like many Indians found opportunity overseas, but she came to Uruguay, far from familiar crowds and the tastes of home.

"I like Uruguay," said the young Bangalore native, flashing a brilliant smile in the cafeteria of Tata Consultancy Services's modern facility at its Latin American regional base in Montevideo.

The culture clash between India and Uruguay might seem potentially daunting.

This smallish country sandwiched between Brazil and Argentina has a population of just 3.4 million people, most descended from immigrants from Italy and Spain.

Its open rural areas are home to ranches and cowboy culture. It is fabled for serving up beef, beef and more beef. Spanish is the language, and not too many locals speak English.

But "my husband lives here, and works in Tata, too," added Bhavana.

And it's a good thing she has someone to remind her of home.

In the 11 months she has been in South America, Bhavana acknowledged she had not tasted any local-style food. She and her compatriots have had a very tough time finding the spices they need for home cooking, she said.

Still, she says, she is happy.

Certainly her workplace is impressive: dubbed the Jamsetji Tata building in honour of the father of modern Indian industry, it is a 2,630 sq m facility in a trade zone known as Zonamerica, just north of the capital, which was built for about USD 3 million. (AGENCIES)

Brown to set out security strategy

LONDON, Mar 19: Prime Minister Gordon Brown will today outline the security threats facing Britain and his government's plans to tackle them.

Brown will identify pandemics, climate change, failed states and access to energy supplies as potential threats as he unveils a national security strategy, aides said yesterday.

Britain is also at risk from global terrorism, nuclear weapons falling into the wrong hands and regional tensions in areas such as Afghanistan or the West Asia, the aides added.

The strategy will set out how spy agencies, government departments, the police, the military and global institutions are collaborating to protect Britain, as well as detailing what else is needed to support them.

''We face a new terrorism threat of a different scale and nature,'' Brown's spokesman said.

''We continue to face the threat of nuclear weapons but we face now new forms of attack such as electronic attacks and increasing risks such as pandemics and also a deeper understanding of how issues like climate change and energy demand affect our national security,'' he added.

Brown will set out the security strategy in a statement to parliament at 12:30 pm (1800 IST).

The strategy, intended to be published annually to update the country on the nature of the risks, will also highlight the growing complexity of the terrorism threat facing Britain.

''Now we face a loose affiliation of terrorist groups and networks spanning the globe and we also see how failed states such as Afghanistan and regional tensions such as those in the Middle East affect our national security,'' the spokesman said.

Britain has been the target of Islamist extremists in recent years while tensions with Russia have raised concerns over the security of energy supplies.

Brown set up a National Security Committee in July last year, with a remit to discuss all issues relating to defence and counterterrorism and to oversee the national security strategy. (AGENCIES)

Rich nations must help Bangladesh to tackle price rise: UN official

UNITED NATIONS, Mar 19: Bangladesh needs more support from the international community, including oil-rich countries, to cope with the sharp global rise in prices for food and energy, the head of the United Nations Development Agency (UNDP) has said.

The real issue is protecting the vulnerable from these shocks, UNDP Administrator Kemal Dervis, who just completed a three-day visit to the South Asian country, said yesterday.

UNDP said roughly 40 per cent of Bangladeshis live below the poverty line and poor households spend nearly 70 per cent of their income on food items, the cost of which rose 16 per cent in 2007, with the price of staples such as rice and oil climbing even sharper.

In addition to the global spike in prices, the situation in Bangladesh was exacerbated by two devastating floods and Cyclone Sidr, which decimated crops last year, UNDP said.

Another factor that made assistance to Bangladesh crucial was the political climate, Mr Dervis maintained. It is determined to build stronger democratic institutions and deeper practices of democracy, he said.

A successful democratic Bangladesh that can overcome political and economic difficulties is an example to other lower income countries, to the Muslim world, and many other countries facing similar problems, he added.

(UNI)

Excess worrying 'can harm' parent-adult child relationship

NEW YORK, Mar 19: Parents, please note -- concern for your grownup child may solidify your bond with your adult kid but too much fretting can harm the relationship.

Researchers in the United States have carried out a study and found that the amount of worry shared by parents and their grownup children can feel either like a warm comforter or wet blanket.

"If someone knows you worry about them, they may see it as an expression of love and caring, but at the same time they can feel irritated and annoyed by it.

"They (grownup children) feel like you (parents) are undermining their autonomy, and maintaining autonomy is important in parent-adult child ties," according to lead researcher Prof Elizabeth Hay of the University of Florida.

The researchers reached the conclusion after surveying 213 adult children -- 110 daughters and 103 sons -- all aged between 22 and 49 and each of their parents, whose ages ranged from 40 to 84. The participants were interviewed from fall 2002 through fall 2003.

Seventy per cent of the adult children said their parents' health was their biggest worry, while their mothers and fathers expressed a wide range of worries relating to their adult children.

"Very few adults or their parents said they didn't worry about each other. Almost everyone could identify a major worry that they could clearly explain, and they reported thinking about it somewhat to a lot of the time.

"The interesting thing is that many of the children in our study were in their 20s and their parents were not of advanced age or experiencing any health problems," Prof Hay was quoted by the 'ScienceDaily' as saying.

The study found that daughters fretted slightly more about their mothers than fathers, while sons worried equally about both parents. "There were no differences in how much mothers and fathers worried about their daughters and sons," she said. (PTI)

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