Australia to seek Security Council seat in 2013-14

UNITED NATIONS, Mar 30: Australia will seek a place on the UN Security Council for 2013-14, even though two other countries are already in the field for the two seats available, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said.

There are 10 ''nonpermanent'' seats on the 15-nation council, five of which come up for election by the UN General Assembly each year. Each region has an allocation and Australia is part of a ''West European and others'' group, which has two seats.

''This will be a difficult candidature because there are already two states which have put their names forward and I imagine there will also be others,'' Rudd told reporters yesterday after telling UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon of Australia's plan.

Rudd said he understood the countries already bidding for election for 2013-14 were Finland and Luxembourg.

Australia has not been on the Security Council -- the powerhouse of the United Nations with the ability to dispatch peacekeeping forces and impose sanctions -- since 1986 despite earlier stints in the 1940s, 1950s and 1970s.

''It's been a long time between drinks,'' said Rudd, whose center-left Labor Party won power last November.

''The time has come to put our best foot forward and we believe that to be a fully effective member of the United Nations you need on a regular basis also to be an effective member of the Security Council as well.''

The council's five permanent members are the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China.

Rudd said that in response to a request by Ban for help with a joint UN/African Union peacekeeping force being deployed in Sudan's violence-torn Darfur region, he had pledged to send up to nine military officers.

Britain and Canada are sending a similar number.

The Sudanese government has insisted the force be primarily African and has opposed any substantial contingents from Western countries. ''I regard that as unfortunate but that is the reality,'' Rudd said.

The Australian leader said he had told Ban of his ''concern and frustration ... About the continued obstruction being provided by the government of Sudan'' to the deployment of the 26,000-strong force.

''Our government is of the view that these matters soon need to be brought back to the UN Security Council so that the government of Sudan can be held properly to account,'' he said.

Rudd said Australia was also providing a further 5 million dollar in aid to the people of Darfur, more than 2 million of whom have been made homeless by the 5-year-old conflict there, according to international experts.

(AGENCIES)

Mark Thatcher marries again in secret - report

LONDON, Mar 30: Mark Thatcher, the son of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher, has married again in a secret ceremony in Gibraltar, according to a London Sunday newspaper.

Thatcher, 54, married Sarah Russell, 42, after a three-year courtship, the Sunday Telegraph reported.

The wedding came amid media reports that Equatorial Guinea is to seek Thatcher's arrest on an international warrant, accusing him of being part of an attempted coup against the West African country.

Thatcher was quoted as saying that his mother was delighted at the news that he had remarried. He had not yet been able to reach his twin sister Carol, who was at sea on an ocean liner.

''Sarah and I knew from a very early stage that this was special and marriage had always seemed the inevitable outcome,'' Thatcher said.

''We are both absolutely delighted that it's now official. We were determined to keep the day for ourselves and only had three close friends at the ceremony and they kept it a secret for us.

''The last thing we had wanted to do was to have it turned into any kind of media event,'' he said

Thatcher was divorced from his first wife, Diane, an American and the mother of his two children, last year after 18 years of marriage.

Thatcher has shrugged off Equatorial Guinea's efforts to have him arrested.

''As far as I'm concerned the issue has already been dealt with,'' he told the Daily Telegraph newspaper.

''I've been charged and tried in a court in South Africa on exactly those charges so I don't see what more they can do.

''The term 'double jeopardy' springs to mind. I feel pretty relaxed about it.''

Thatcher has always denied plotting or knowingly financing the failed coup in 2004.

South African police arrested Thatcher that year on suspicion of bankrolling the scheme. He denied any links and eventually agreed a plea bargain deal with South African authorities.

Equatorial Guinea is holding Simon Mann, a 55-year-old British mercenary who has admitted that he plotted to oust President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo but the plan failed. He faces a possible life sentence.

(AGENCIES)

Lilly drug reduces stent clot risks, study finds

CHICAGO, Mar 30: Patients who got Eli Lilly and Co's anti-clotting drug prasugrel after a coronary stent procedure had fewer stent-related clots than those on standard drug therapy, an analysis released found.

For stent patients, use of Lilly and Daiichi Sankyo Co Ltd's prasugrel could offer better protection against heart attack, stroke and death from cardiovascular events than standard treatment with Plavix, researchers said yesterday in an article published in the journal Lancet's online edition.

The results of the sub-analysis of data from the TRITON-TIMI 38 trial were being presented Saturday at the American College of Cardiology meeting in Chicago.

Study investigators found that intensive anti-clotting therapy with prasugrel resulted in fewer serious complications, including stent-related blood clots known as stent thrombosis, than with standard Plavix, regardless of the type of stent used. A 58 per cent reduction in stent thrombosis was seen with prasugrel compared with Plavix.

''Stent thrombosis was reduced both early and late after stent placement in patients randomly assigned prasugrel,'' the researchers said.

Stents are small wire mesh tubes inserted into the coronary arteries that supply blood to the heart to help keep them from narrowing again after they have been cleared of blockages in an angioplasty procedure.

The researchers, led by Stephen Wiviott of Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, did a sub-analysis of the TRITON-TIMI data to assess the rate, outcomes and prevention of coronary events in 12,844 patients with different types of stents who were treated with prasugrel plus aspirin, or Plavix, also known as clopidogrel, plus aspirin.

Roughly half of the patients received bare metal stents and half received stents coated with a drug to prevent re-clogging. Drug-eluting stents reduce the need for repeat procedures but raise the risk of stent thrombosis. Efforts to reduce the risk of stent-related clots, stroke or heart attack have focused on anti-clotting therapy.

The original TRITON-TIMI study of heart patients, first unveiled in November, showed prasugrel was 19 per cent more effective than Plavix in preventing cardiovascular death, nonfatal heart attacks and strokes, but caused a significantly higher amount of serious bleeding.

Plavix, one of the world's best-selling drugs, is sold by Bristol-Myers Squibb Co and Sanofi-Aventis.

Lilly in December asked the US Food and Drug Administration to approval prasugrel, considered the most important experimental medicine in its pipeline. If approved, Lilly said the drug's brand name would be Effient.

(AGENCIES)

Hair follicles may soon help 'grow' new blood vessels

NEW YORK, Mar 30: Imagine physicians growing new blood vessels or skin tissue from the hair on their patients' heads. Well, it may soon be a reality.

A team of researchers at the University of Buffalo has carried out a study showing that stem cells isolated from sheep hair follicles contain the smooth muscle cells that grow new vasculature.

"We have demonstrated that engineered blood vessels prepared with smooth muscle progenitor cells from hair follicles are capable of dilating and constricting, critical properties that make them ideal for engineering cardiovascular tissue regeneration," said lead researcher Stelios Andreadis.

The researchers recently produced data showing that stem cells from human hair follicles also differentiate into contractile smooth muscle cells.

"Engineering blood vessels for bypass surgery, promoting the formation of new blood vessels or regenerating new skin tissue using stem cells obtained from the most accessible source -- hair follicles -- is a real possibility," the 'ScienceDaily' quoted Andreadis as saying.

In addition to growing new skin for burn victims, cells from hair follicles could potentially be used to engineer vascular grafts and possibly regenerate cardiac tissues for patients with heart problems, according to the researchers. (PTI)

Nepal royalists warn of civil war if king ousted

KATHMANDU, Mar 30: Allies of Nepal's embattled king have warned that the Himalayan nation could slide back into civil war if landmark elections next month lead to abolition of the monarchy.

Several prominent royalists insisted many people in the deeply traditional Hindu-majority nation wanted the 239-year-old institution to stay and were opposed to the rise of former Maoist rebels, in interviews.

The April 10 polls will be a culmination of a peace deal between the republican Maoists and mainstream secular parties that ended a decade-long insurgency aimed at toppling the monarchy that claimed 13,000 lives.

The ex-rebels and the parties have already agreed King Gyanendra will have to go after the polls to elect a body that will rewrite Nepal's constitution.

But Major General Bharat Keshwer Simha, a long-time royal aide who accompanied the royals on foreign visits for decades, forecast a violent backlash in the impoverished nation wedged between India and China.

"If the Maoists can take up arms and come to power, Hindus will also take up arms. It will be worse than the Maoists' war and many people will be killed," he said.

Kunda Dixit, editor of the English language weekly 'Nepali Times', agreed the king would not take the abolition of his dynasty lying down.

"Given the personality of the king, he's not the type that is going to step down quietly," Dixit said. (AGENCIES)

China imports 1.95 bn LCD panels in 2007

BEIJING, Mar 30: China imported 1.95 billion Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) panels, mostly large seven-generation products, during last year, a 9.5 per cent increase over the previous year, the Customs administration said.

The imports were valued at USD 40.75 billion, a 26.5 per cent increase, with foreign-funded enterprises buying 1.38 billion LCD panels, 70.8 per cent of the total imports.

China makes four and five-generation LCD panels.

The import price averaged USD 20.9 per unit, the General Administration of Customs said.

The increase in imports of LCD panels at a high price was partly due to its strong demand in international markets, the official Xinhua news agency said quoting sources. (PTI)

Pepsi, Cognizant among America's 50 best corporate performers

NEW YORK, Mar 30: Global beverage giant Pepsico and outsourcing major Cognizant, both headed by Indian-origin persons, figure on a list of '50 best corporate performers' by US financial magazine BusinessWeek.

However, both the companies -- Indra Nooyi-run Pepsico and Francisco D'Souza-headed Cognizant Technology -- have dropped from their previous year rankings.

While PepsiCo has managed to beat arch-rival Coca-Cola in the annual BusinessWeek 50 list, it has fallen one rung from its previous year's ranking. Cognizant has shed seven places from its 2007 rank.

PepsiCo, which has Chennai-born Nooyi at the top as its Chairman and CEO, has been ranked at 31st position in this year's list, where Cognizant has been placed at 19th.

D'Souza, who was part of Cognizant's founding members, had become its President and CEO with effect from January 1, 2007.

The list, based on metrics such as sales growth and investment return, has been topped by US-based retailer Coach, biotechnology major Gilead Sciences, speciality metals firm Allegheny Technologies, telecom giant Verizon and energy company Questar at the top five positions.

Apple, which makes digital music player iPods and Mac personal computers, has been placed at sixth place, while consumer goods giant Colgate-Palmolive is at seventh.

The companies were selected from among the constituents of S&P 500 index on two key metrics -- return on investment and sales growth over the past three years and return on equity and assets growth for financial service firms.

Other major firms on the list include Starbucks (16), Goldman Sachs (21), Amazon.Com (23), AT&T (27), Lehman Brothers (33), Google (34), Microsoft (41), Moody's (44), Coca-Cola (45) and ExxonMobil (50). (PTI)

India mulls contract farming in pulses in Namibia

WINDHOEK, NAMIBIA, Mar 30: Faced with a severe shortage of pulses, which have also seen a runaway rise in prices, India has proposed to Namibia taking up contract farming there to boost supplies in the domestic market.

"We will explore how we could try to do contract farming in Namibia. Namibian farmers would grow pulses on Namibian land, which could then be exported to India," Minister of State for Commerce Jairam Ramesh said after his meeting with Namibian Minister of Works, Transport and Communication Joel Kaapanda.

India produces on an average about 14 million tons of pulses and depends on imports to meet the increased demand.

With the rising population, it is expected that the country would import about 2-3 million tons of pulses for the next 25-30 years.

Contract farming of pulses would give an assured supply of pulses to India. While it would also help Namibia in reducing its trade deficit, Ramesh said.

"There would be a buy back guarantee of pulses by the Indian Government," he added.

India, the world's largest importer of pulses, has contracted to import total of 14.02 lakh tons of pulses for 2007-08. Out of which 10.7 lakh tons have arrived as on February 8. (PTI)

Hillary Clinton as New York Governor?

NEW YORK, Mar 30: Terrified that their bloody primary campaign will doom them in the November presidential elections in the US, some Democrats are floating a consolation prize for Hillary Clinton - Governor of New York State, according to a media report.

The travails of New York Governor David Paterson have opened up a new potential career path for Clinton, 'Newsweek' says quoting unidentified well-informed Democratic Party insiders.

They want Clinton, a New York Senator, to consider the option if she concludes after the April 22 Pennsylvania primary that she cannot overtake Barack Obama for the party's presidential nomination.

Hillary Clinton, while fully committed to continuing her presidential campaign, was said to be open to discussing the idea, while her husband and former President Bill Clinton rejected it out of hand, the magazine says in its upcoming issue.

With former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani now reported by the New York Post to be weighing a race for Governor, voters could see a Clinton-Giuliani matchup.

Peterson, a former state senator and lieutenant governor, succeeded Gov. Eliot Spitzer, who was forced to resign earlier this month when he was caught in a prostitution ring.

A legally blind African-American with plenty of friends in political circles, Paterson has admitted to drug use when he was young and to having had several extra-marital affairs, including one with a New York state employee.

The Governor has denied using taxpayer money for the affairs, but new rumours are swirling around the scandal-weary state capital, the report says. (PTI)

Large and small screen actors cut ties before upcoming talks

LOS ANGELES, Mar 30: Unions representing film and television actors will negotiate separately with producers in upcoming contract talks after board members of the TV actors union voted yesterday to sever a long-standing agreement between the two guilds, union officials said.

The vote by the board of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists came just a few hours before a planned meeting with the Screen Actors Guild and just three months before the expiration of the current contract covering movies and prime-time shows.

Despite a sometimes rocky 27-year relationship the unions had shown recent signs of peace as they prepared battle plans for the upcoming talks.

But instead of discussing strategies the sides were swapping accusations yesterday afternoon.

"For the past year SAG leadership in Hollywood has engaged in a relentless campaign of disinformation and disparagement," AFTRA president Roberta Reardon said in a written statement yesterday. "We find ourselves unable to have any confidence in their ability to live up to the principles of partnership and union solidarity."

SAG President Alan Rosenberg's written response: "AFTRA's refusal now to bargain together with us and their last-second abandonment of the joint process is calculated, cynical and may serve the interests of their institution, but not its members."

The AFTRA board said the vote to terminate the agreement, known as "Phase One", was "overwhelming". (AGENCIES)

Cities worldwide go dark to raise awareness of global warming

CHICAGO, Mar 30: From the Sydney Opera House to Rome's Colosseum to the Sears Tower's famous antennas in Chicago and San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge, floodlit icons of civilization went dark for Earth Hour, a worldwide campaign to highlight the threat of climate change.

The environmental group WWF urged governments, businesses and households to turn back to candle power for at least 60 minutes starting at 8 p.M. Yesterday wherever they were. The campaign began last year in Australia, and traveled this year from the South Pacific to Europe to North America in cadence with the setting of the sun.

"What's amazing is that it's transcending political boundaries and happening in places like China, Vietnam, Papua New Guinea," said Andy Ridley, executive director of Earth Hour. "It really seems to have resonated with anybody and everybody."

Earth Hour officials hoped 100 million people would turn off their nonessential lights and electronic goods for the hour. Electricity plants produce greenhouse gases that cause climate change.

In Chicago, lights on more than 200 downtown buildings were dimmed Yesterday night, including the stripe of white light around the top of the John Hancock Centre. The red-and-white marquee outside Wrigley Field also went dark.

"There's a widespread belief that somehow people in the United States don't understand that this is a problem that we're lazy and wedded to our lifestyles. (Earth Hour) demonstrates that that is wrong," Richard Moss, a member of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the climate change vice president for WWF, said in Chicago yesterday. (AGENCIES)

Men 'commonly mistake women's flirtation as friendly'

LONDON, Mar 30: Women flirt just as much, if not more than men -- sometimes by twisting a curl or by making eye contact while giving a sexy smile. But flirty females, please note -- it's of no avail, says a study.

Researchers have carried out the study and found that men are blind to the subtle seduction techniques of women and they commonly mistake the amorous intent of the opposite sex as just a sign of friendliness.

According to the researchers, short of pouncing on the object of her lust, a woman's non-verbal signals of sexual interest often prove sadly lost on the young male brain, 'The Sunday Telegraph' reported today.

"Rather than going through life thinking: 'She wants me', men often find themselves trying to navigate a foreign world of social signals without a phrasebook," the researchers of Indiana University said.

In their study, they used nearly 300 undergraduates of both sexes to test students' abilities to spot a come-on. The students were asked to view images of women and categorise them as friendly, sexually interested, sad or rejecting.

Each undergraduate reported on 280 photographs, which had been sorted into the four categories based on surveys by different groups of students.

Male students scored worse for accuracy than females -- and they were particularly confused by amiability and amorousness. The men commonly mistook women's sexual signals as merely friendly and were prone to see friendliness as a blatant advance, the researchers found.

But, not all flirting gets lost in translation. "These are average differences. Some men are very skilled in reading clues," lead researcher Coreen Ferris was quoted as saying.

Experts have welcomed the research, saying it's further evidence of women's superiority. "Women are fluent in body language, men just have the gift of the grab. It is really confusing for women.

"The average bloke either doesn't realise that we fancy them until we are giving birth to their children in the labour ward; or he presumes all women fancy him all the time. God was playing some kind of prank when he developed two sexes," Kathy Lette, the best-selling author, said. (PTI)