Kitty Carlisle Hart, an actress and singer who earned a niche in movie history by singing in the Marx Brothers' "A Night at the Opera" but who achieved her greatest fame as a panelist on TV's "To Tell the Truth," has died. She was 96. Hart, the widow of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Moss Hart and former longtime chair of the New York State Council on the Arts, died of congestive heart failure Tuesday night at her New York apartment, her son, Christopher Hart, said Wednesday. She had been in poor health since contracting pneumonia in December. Kitty Carlisle, as she was known professionally, was a regular panelist on “To Tell The Truth” from 1956 to 1977 on both CBS and a syndicated version of the popular quiz show.
Iraq may hold twice as much oil http://www.ft.com/cms/s/23bedd7e-edd8-11db-8584-000b5df10621.html
Iraq could hold almost twice as much oil in its reserves as had been thought, according to the most comprehensive independent study of its resources since the US-led invasion in 2003. The potential presence of a further 100bn barrels in the western desert highlights the opportunity for Iraq to be one of the world’s biggest oil suppliers, and its attractions for international oil companies – if the conflict in the country can be resolved. If confirmed, it would raise Iraq from the world’s third largest source of oil reserves with 116bn barrels to second place, behind Saudi Arabia and overtaking Iran. The study from IHS, a consultancy, also estimates that Iraq’s production could be increased from its current rate of less than 2m barrels a day to 4m b/d within five years, if international investment begins to flow. That would put Iraq in the top five oil-producing countries in the world, at current rates. The IHS study is based on data collected in Iraq both before and after the invasion, showing the oilfields’ reserves and production history. Its estimate is based on analysis of geological surveys. Production costs in Iraq are low, particularly compared to the more complex offshore developments. IHS estimates that they are less than $2 a barrel. f confirmed, it would raise Iraq from the world’s third largest source of oil reserves with 116bn barrels to second place, behind Saudi Arabia and overtaking Iran. The study from IHS, a consultancy, also estimates that Iraq’s production could be increased from its current rate of less than 2m barrels a day to 4m b/d within five years, if international investment begins to flow. Of Iraq’s 78 oilfields identified as commercial by the government, only 27 are currently producing. A further 25 are not yet developed but close to production, and 26 are not yet developed and far from production. Almost all the leading international oil companies and many smaller ones have expressed an interest in working in Iraq. So far the only new contracts for developments by foreign companies are the five signed by the Kurdistan regional government in the relatively peaceful north of Iraq. Iraq’s cabinet plans to present its proposed oil law to parliament next week.
Taiwan MPs stun students with mock college attack http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/TP9838.htm
Two Taiwan legislators stunned students and drew sharp criticism for staging a mock attack on the island's top university to test its response after the deadly shootings on a U.S. college campus in Virginia.Lee Chen-nan and Lin Kuo-ching, both lawmakers of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, on Wednesday entered a building where students were taking exams and faked an attack to see how police would react, said National Taiwan University campus spokesman Fu Li-chen. Campus police quickly called for back-up, drawing more than 50 officers to the scene, local media reported.
Fu said students were annoyed by the stunt, which followed Monday's shooting spree by a student at Virginia Tech university who killed 32 people. An assistant to one of the lawmakers, Wu Hou-yi, said: "We saw that incident in the United States and were afraid someone here would try to imitate it". He said only 12 police officers showed up at the campus after the incident, which several local journalists had gone along to witness. Taiwan's lawmakers often push the limits, routinely shouting at one another, brawling or bringing live animals into legislative sessions to make points. An attack such as the Virginia Tech massacre would be more difficult to stage in Taiwan, where guns are tightly controlled and ownership of guns is illegal for the vast majority of people. Taiwan's cabinet condemned the mock attack, saying the lawmakers and others involved had broken laws, and ordered an investigation.
Yahoo sued by wife of Chinese activist
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/04/19/BUGU9PB4SG1.DTL&type=printable
The wife of an imprisoned Chinese dissident sued Yahoo Inc. under human-rights laws Wednesday, saying the Internet company voluntarily revealed her husband's identity to the Chinese government and is responsible for his arrest and torture. The suit, filed in federal court in San Francisco, also seeks to hold the Sunnyvale company responsible for the imprisonment of other, unidentified Chinese citizens whose Internet communications were allegedly disclosed to the government by Yahoo. "If Yahoo did not give out this information, then the Chinese government would not be able to sentence him,'' Yu Ling said through an interpreter, referring to her husband, Wang Xiaoning, who has been in custody since September 2002. She said Yahoo's name appeared numerous times on the verdict form for Wang, who was convicted of subversion charges in 2003 and sentenced to 10 years in prison. Yahoo spokesman Jim Cullinan said the company turns over information to the Chinese government only under "threat of civil and criminal penalties.'' "It's a part of doing business in China,'' Cullinan said. He said Chinese authorities who demand the identities of Internet users don't specify what they're investigating, and Yahoo has no way of knowing whether any information it provides has led to repression. But Yu's attorney, Morton Sklar, said Yahoo was never given a subpoena or court order for the information and instead turned it over voluntarily.
Chinese make first artificial snowfall
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/04/19/wchina19.xml
China claimed yesterday to have caused a snowfall for the first time as part of its increasingly ambitious attempts to control the weather. Officials in the meteorological bureau in Tibet said they had used "rain-seeding" techniques to trigger a snowfall over the city of Nagqu last week. China is the world's largest practitioner of rain-seeding, a controversial procedure that involves releasing silver iodide as a catalyst into clouds either by aircraft or by firing cannon shells into them. It employs 37,000 people on the programme, which it uses to trigger rainfall principally to maximise water supply in the drought-prone north of the country, although in Beijing it is often said to be part of attempts to ensure a blue sky for major events. Authorities have already promised to use rain-seeding before the Olympics to clear the often gloomy August skies for the opening ceremony.
No reasons for Russian-U.S. cooperation on missile defense - Sergei Ivanov
http://www.interfax.ru/e/B/0/28.html?id_issue=11716960
Moscow does not see any grounds for Russian-U.S. cooperation in strategic anti-missile defense, First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov announced on Monday. “As for possible cooperation in strategic anti-missile defense, honestly speaking, I see no reasons for that," Ivanov told reporters in Yekaterinburg. "We believe this strategic anti-missile defense system is somewhat chimerical, to put it mildly," he said. "One can find a much cheaper response to any such system," Ivanov said.
Iran will not make an atomic bomb - former president Khatami http://www.interfax.ru/e/B/politics/28.html?menu=1&id_issue=11716616
Iran has the right to peaceful uses of atomic energy, former President Mohammad Khatami said at the sixth Eurasian Media Forum in Almaty on Thursday. "However, Iran has no desire to possess nuclear weapons. We want to use atomic energy for peaceful purposes only," he said. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is overseeing Iran's activity in this sphere and Iran is also a member of the Nuclear Non- Proliferation Treaty, he said. "Why do other countries have a right to atomic energy, and why do we not?" he said. "Pressure should be applied to Middle East states that already have nuclear weapons," he said.
Solar-powered barbecue http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/technology/technology.html?in_article_id=449500&in_page_id=1965
The Solar-Grill catches sunlight with mirrors and beams it into its oven to cook food in a matter of minutes without smoke or flames. To get grilling all a householder has to do is lift the lid on the shiny silver barbie, aim it at the sun and place the food inside. You can then roast everything from steaks to vegetables and seafood without electricity, gas or coals and with no impact on the environment. Just in case the weather clouds over or you get caught out by the typical British summer downpour, you can continue cooking with the Solar-Grill using special odourless fuel tablets. The alcohol based fuel burns without affecting the flavour of the food. The eco-friendly contraption also boasts telescopic legs, which allow more adventurous alfresco chefs to set up and cook on uneven terrain. It is available online priced £125.
Climate change skeptics say it's hard to get heard http://www.reuters.com/articlePrint?articleId=USL1829984220070418
Scientists who doubt the scope and cause of climate change have trouble getting funding and academic posts unless they conform to an "alarmist scenario," said Roger Helmer, a British member of the European Parliament, at a panel discussion on appropriate responses to rising global temperatures. "If global warming is happening, we can then ask: is it accelerating and is it likely to be catastrophic?" he said. "Many people think not." David Henderson, an economist at the Westminster Business School in London and former head of the Economics and Statistics Department at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the OECD, said governments had given the IPCC a monopoly on climate advice."The very idea of creating a single would-be authoritative fount of wisdom is itself dubious," he said, urging countries to seek a more balanced approach than the IPCC and to stop pursuing programs to urgently reduce carbon emissions. Benny Peiser, a professor at Liverpool John Moores University, questioned the methods used by climate scientists. He said many were recognizing that using computer modeling to predict an "inherently unpredictable future" was illogical.
Bee crisis hits Canada http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20070419.BEES19/TPStory/TPNational/Ontario/
Agriculture Minister Leona Dombrowsky said the government is teaming up with the University of Guelph to study what was behind the unexplained hit to the industry, which is estimated to total more than $5-million for lost bees alone. The growing losses are doubly troublesome because the bee population also has an effect on many businesses across different industries in the province, Ms. Dombrowsky continued. The Ontario Beekeepers' Association wrote to the government last week asking for financial assistance to compensate for lost bees -- and hasn't heard back yet -- but welcomed news about the study. "We're pleased if anyone will help us take a look at this," said association president Brent Halsall. He said beekeepers first started recognizing there was something very wrong with their bees about three weeks ago, and soon realized it was worse than anything they had ever seen before. Conservative critic Tim Hudak, who represents the Erie-Lincoln riding where many beekeepers are affected, called on the government to offset some of the losses and consult with industry about the best way to help. "We had up to 90 per cent hive loss in Niagara and these are important not only for the honey industry but for the pollination impact in the tender fruit sector," Mr. Hudak said.
Changing to diets low in fat or carbohydrates may induce stress
http://www.zeenews.com/znnew/articles.asp?aid=366651&ssid=28&sid=ENV
A study of mice has shown that changing to diets low in fat or carbohydrates may cause anxiety and increase stress levels. The researchers acclimated mice to either high-fat (HF) or high-carbohydrate (HC) diets by using a variety of standard measures of mouse behaviour, and observed behavioural changes in the animal. They also examined the brains of the mice for increases in corticotrophin releasing factor (CRF) levels that can indicate high stress levels. The study, published in Biological Psychiatry, shows that once deprived of their preferred diet, the mice would overcome their natural aversion to bright environments to obtain the high-fat foods, even when standard food was available. "These results strongly support the hypothesis that an elevated emotional state produced after preferred-diet reduction provides sufficient drive to obtain a more preferred food in the face of aversive conditions, despite availability of alternative calories in the safer environment," write authors. “Our results may suggest that, similar to the case of an individual who is in withdrawal from a rewarding substance, these mice effectively are displaying risk-taking behavior to obtain a highly desirable substance, supporting the powerful rewarding aspects of the HF food," they add. The new findings may be important for researchers who have been studying factors that contribute to dieting failures in most of the people who switch over to food less in fat or carbohydrates in order to reduce their weight.
Sellafield kept workers’ body parts for research
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article1668686.ece
The Sellafield nuclear site secretly stored and tested the hearts, lungs and other organs of some of its former workers over a period of 30 years, The Times has learnt. From the 1960s to the 1990s, body parts from at least 65 employees who worked at Britain’s biggest nuclear plant were taken to the site after postmortem examinations for radiation and were kept in freezers. British Nuclear Group (BNG), which now runs Sellafield, claimed yesterday that in 61 cases the removal was done on the authority of a coroner. However, The Times understands that the families of the deceased were never informed and their consent not obtained. In four cases BNG has no record of any mandate at all. The body parts were destroyed by the testing process although some were kept for several months. The revelation has striking parallels with the Alder Hey hospital scandal, where body parts from more than 850 infants were stored in more than 2,000 containers on the secret orders of doctor.
Knut receives death threat http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=oddlyEnoughNews&storyid=2007-04-19T153104Z_01_KUA944455_RTRUKOC_0_US-GERMANY-POLARBEAR-ODD.xml&src=rss&rpc=22
Top-selling Bild newspaper said the zoo had received a hand-written fax from a suspected animal hater with the words: "Knut is dead! Thursday midday."But that deadline came and went safely for media star Knut, who has been on newspaper front pages around Germany and the world for weeks. "He is safe and in good spirits," said zoo official Ragnar Kuehne after the time had passed.
More than 600 business executives and experts began meeting in Singapore on Thursday to discuss how the corporate world can help tackle the threat of climate change. The two-day Global Business Summit for the Environment is the first major international conference focusing on business and the environment in Asia, according to the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). UNEP organised the event with the United Nations Global Compact, an initiative that brings companies together with UN and other agencies to support environmental and social principles. Delegates in Singapore plan to examine how the private sector, governments and non-government organisations (NGOs) can cooperate to ensure development that balances economic, social and environmental factors, organisers said. A key UN report released this month warned that billions would face a higher risk of water scarcity and millions more would likely go hungry as damage to the Earth's weather systems from greenhouse gases changed rainfall patterns, powered up storms and boosted the risk of drought, flooding and water stress. More than 1.2 billion people, or about one-fifth of the world's population, lack access to drinking water, the organisers said, warning that without any action this could rise to 2.3 billion people by 2023. A special session on Friday will be devoted to discussing solutions to the forest-fire haze that blankets parts of Southeast Asia each year. Scheduled speakers include Kirsi Sormunen, Nokia's vice president of environmental affairs, Diana Bell, a senior vice president at Hewlett-Packard, Greenpeace International director Steve Sawyer and actress and environmental activist Daryl Hannah.
(Organisers did not say if Daryl Hannah was even slightly fucking interested in tackling contemporaneous water issues for the 1.2 billion.)
UN sanctions have no effect on Iran: Ahmadinejad
http://www.bangladeshobserveronline.com/Foreignl%20News.html
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Wednesday that UN sanctions slapped on his nation over its nuclear program had no effect on Iran’s armed forces, claiming that his military was self-sufficient, reports AP. Since 1992, it has produced its own tanks, armored personnel carriers, missiles and a fighter plane. It announced in 2005 that it had begun production of torpedoes. Iran’s military had a defensive and deterrent role, Ahmadinejad said in his Wednesday address, but it “will counter any invader and cut off its hand.” He delivered his address standing under a large banner declaring: “Peaceful nuclear technology is an essential need of our country.” A military parade that followed his speech included the display for the first time of a locally manufactured air defense system said by the announcer to have the capability of simultaneously launching two surface-to-air missiles. The UN Security Council has set a deadline of late May for Iran to halt its uranium enrichment program, warning it will gradually ratchet up its sanctions after imposing limited ones in December and strengthening them slightly last month. The latest sanctions ban Iranian arms exports and freeze the assets of 28 individuals and companies involved in Iran’s nuclear or ballistic missile programs. Iran denies charges by the US and some of its allies that it is secretly developing nuclear weapons and Ahmadinejad warned Monday that Iran would respond to additional UN sanctions with new nuclear advances. He did not specify how Iran planned to do that.
Sunni-Shiite relations in Saudi Arabia improve http://www.gulfnews.com/region/Saudi_Arabia/10119257.html
As an indications of this improvement, Shaikh Hassan Al Saffar, a senior Saudi Shiite leader, made a visit to Onaiza in the Qasim region, considered a stronghold of fundamentalist Sunnis in Saudi Arabia. In a press statement yesterday, Shaikh Al Saffar said his visit to Onaiza, the first by a Shiite scholar, is an extension of the goodwill between the people of Saudi Arabia. He said the visit reflects the awareness of the people to the political situation in the region, adding that the domestic conflicts and lack of harmony among people in countries like Iraq and Lebanon made these countries live in turmoil. "A visit like this is looked upon by citizens with optimism and they hope that it will be a starting point for other visits. We shall be in contact with each other and that the moderate voice should always be high," Shaikh Al Saffar said.
People employing illegal workers to be imprisoned http://www.gulfnews.com/nation/Employment/10119339.html
Dubai: The labour law will include an article stipulating imprisonment for those employing illegal workers, the Minister of Labour told Gulf News. Dr Ali Bin Abdullah Al Ka'abi, Minister of Labour, said tackling the issue of illegal workers is a main priority for the Ministry of Labour in the next three years, he said. There are some 300,000 illegal workers in the country, according to the Ministry of Labour statistics.
Philippine politico’s ploy: change name to Osama bin Laden http://www.gulfnews.com/world/Philippines/10119197.html
Philippine elections are largely a battle of name recall, so Agakhan Sharief has chosen a moniker that will surely capture the attention of voters well beyond his backwater southern province - Osama Bin Laden. Unlike the world's most-wanted terror suspect, Sharief is known by many in Lanao del Sur province as a peacemaker who has helped broker truces when sporadic clashes have erupted between government troops and Islamist insurgents. Sporting a half-metre-long beard, turban and a neck scarf similar to that worn by Bin Laden in TV images, the 35-year-old Sharief has been campaigning in a frenzied manner for a seat in Lanao's legislative council in May 14 elections. Sporting a half-metre-long beard, turban and a neck scarf similar to that worn by Bin Laden in TV images, the 35-year-old Sharief has been campaigning in a frenzied manner for a seat in Lanao's legislative council in May 14 elections.
Vietnam welcomes back Zen Master Hanh http://www.nhandan.com.vn/english/news/180407/domestic_g.htm
Nguyen Huu Oanh, Vice Head of the Government's Committee for Religious Affairs, made the comment during his working session with Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh and his French based entourage in Hanoi, on April 17. Oanh relayed key movements in the country's renovation process, particularly policies regarding the freedom of religion, to his guests at the session. The Government official highlighted the construction and restoration of pagodas across the country, and the participation of thousands in Zen Master Hanh's co-organised chanting ceremonies during this visit as proof of the government's commitment to an open policy on religious freedom. Head of the Buddhist Department of the Government's Committee for Religious Affairs Bui Huu Duoc spoke of the religious unity that existed within the Committee. At the working session, Monk Phap An, a disciple of Zen Master Hanh, said that the delegation was provided with favourable conditions to conduct their working plan during the visit, especially the organisation of chanting ceremonies in Ho Chi Minh City and the central city of Hue. On the morning of April 17, Zen Master Hanh and his entourage visited the Quan Su pagoda, which is also the headquarters of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha's Central Committee. The delegation is slated to visit the Vietnam Buddhism Institute in Hanoi's outlying district of Soc Son, where they will hold a two-day chanting ceremony in co-ordination with the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha, from April 20-22. Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh and 150 monks and followers from the Mai village have been in Vietnam since February 20 at the invitation of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha’s International Buddhism Board. They will leave the country on May 9.
Impoverished highlanders benefit from free medical treatment http://www.nhandan.com.vn/english/life/180407/life_im.htm
Almost 165,000 poor people in Vietnam's Central Highlands provinces were provided with free medical check-ups and treatment in 2006 at a total cost of VND 5.7 billion. The information was released at a conference held in Da Lat city, Central Highlands Lam Dong province, on April 14-15, with the aim of speeding up the implementation of the improved healthcare for the local poor. Participants discussed measures to hasten the progress and efficiency of healthcare assistance for underprivileged groups in the region for now and the future.
Russia seeks to expand health cooperation with Vietnam http://www.nhandan.com.vn/english/life/160407/life_russia.htm
Russian Deputy Health Minister Stardubov V. Ivanovich said he expected that cooperation between Russia and Vietnam in health care would be expanded from the ministerial level to include businesses and hospitals. The visiting Russian deputy minister made the statement at a reception held by Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung, in Hanoi, on April 13. The Russian health official stressed that his visit was aimed at scouring the two countries for cooperation opportunities, focusing on epidemic relief, health telecommunication services, preventive medicine, pharmaceuticals and training. He noted that Russia is adept at providing treatment for patients in remote areas through telecommunications services, as well as supplying standard medicines. Deputy PM Hung spoke highly of the cooperative roadmap between the two countries. He said he hoped that Russia would speed up assistance in technology transfering, as well as hold training courses for Vietnamese health care workers. The two sides should also further their pharmaceutical production relationship so as to supply their respective markets, Hung said. He expressed his hope that by working together in areas such as health, the traditional friendship between Vietnam and Russia would be enhanced.
Apparel association fights for removal of US's supervision mechanism http://www.nhandan.com.vn/english/business/180407/business_a.htm
The Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS) will continue their fight for the US's removal of its supervision mechanism on Vietnam's apparel products, said the association's chairman Le Quoc An. Vietnamese garment businesses do not dump their exports on the US market nor obstruct the US garment enterprises, the chairman affirmed. US Trade Representatives will hold the first hearing on the imposition of a supervision mechanism to be applied to Vietnamese garment products on April 22.
Vietnam to step into the world financial limelight http://www.nhandan.com.vn/english/business/170407/business_v.htm
The Vietnamese financial market will become the focal point of regional and international investors within the next 5-10 years, said Adhha Abdullah, Head of a Malaysian stock exchange’s strategy division in Hanoi on April 16. Speaking with a Vietnam News Agency reporter on the sidelines of a Memorandum of Understanding signing between the Bursa Malaysia Berhad and the Hanoi Stock Trading Centre (HaSTC), Adhha said the potential for the Vietnamese market is tremendous. The Malaysian financier referred to Malaysia having 1,000 companies listed over the last 30 years to highlight how he sees the market's potential, at present, more than 1,000 Vietnamese state-owned enterprises have been equitised and are ready to be listed. Yet, the queue of companies wishing to join the trading floor will be much longer if thousands of non-state companies that have not been equitised are taken into account, he added. Observers believe that with agreements such as this and frequent exchanges of experiences, joint education and training programmes with the Bursa Malaysia Berhad, Vietnam will be able to better meet accounting, auditing and corporate governance standards. Also present at the conference, Chairman Vu Duong Hien of the Haiphong Securities Joint Stock Company said he found Malaysia’s requirements for Vietnamese firms to be listed on its stock exchange quite favourable. Meanwhile, Bursan Executive Director Mohammed Yusoff confirmed with reporters that there would not be any unfair or biased treatment against foreign companies listed on his exchange. Bursa Malaysia Berhad had earlier signed a similar MoU with the Ho Chi Minh Stock Trading Centre (HoSTC).
National band festival praises young rock music http://www.nhandan.com.vn/english/culture/180407/culture_na.htm
The Vietnamese National Band Festival 2007 wrapped up Tuesday night as the rock groups Unlimited and Dong Doi (Comrade) were named the best bands in the competition. Southern Vietnam’s six-year-old rock band Unlimited and the northern Dong Doi - a famous group that usually plays for Vietnamese Television VTV3 channel’s music game - shared first prize. The top two bands will perform at the International Band Festival on May 13 in Ho Chi Minh City, a charity even bringing together performers from Singapore, France, Italy, and Romania. Of the festival’s 19 bands, only 4 were not considered rock bands. They played pop, jazz, and flamenco. The youngest band, a student group called Prophecy, was awarded second prize. Tia sang (Light) from the central city of Danang and the oldest band, Mat Xich (Link), known for their fancy guitar work, took third prize. The Hanoi heavy metal rock band Thuy Trieu Do (Red Tide) and the three-member Khoai Lang Tay (Western Sweet Potato) won forth prize. Other prizes were awarded to Quan Khu 4 (Military Zone 4) from Nghe An Province, the well-known Hai Dang (Lighthouse) from Khanh Hoa Province and the Ho Chi Minh City-based Lazee Dolls - the only female rock group. The festival, organized by the Ministry of Culture and Information, Ho Chi Minh City Television, and Cat Tien Sa Event Company, ran from April 12 to 17 and was judged by 11 jurors.
India State takes steps on to prevent child marriages http://www.gulfnews.com/world/India/10119308.html
Rajasthan is taking necessary steps to prevent child marriages on Akshaya Tritiya falling on Thursday/Friday, this year. It is considered to be one of the most auspicious days for marriages by Hindus. The police headquarters has issued directions to the district level officers to prevent child marriages on the day. Every year, large-scale child marriages take place on Akshaya Tritiya in the state's rural areas, especially among the tribals. According to estimates, in some districts of Rajasthan, more than 60 per cent of the girls are married off before they turn 18. Rajasthan is taking necessary steps to prevent child marriages on Akshaya Tritiya falling on Thursday/Friday, this year. It is considered to be one of the most auspicious days for marriages by Hindus. The police headquarters has issued directions to the district level officers to prevent child marriages on the day. Every year, large-scale child marriages take place on Akshaya Tritiya in the state's rural areas, especially among the tribals. According to estimates, in some districts of Rajasthan, more than 60 per cent of the girls are married off before they turn 18.
10 hurt in clashes with police at Khalishpur http://www.newagebd.com/busi.html#1
Khalishpur, Bangla Desh on Wednesday 10 were injured in police-labour clashes after a series of clashes Tuesday evening in which at least 50, including 4 policemen, were hurt. About 2,000 labourers at about 6:45am Wednesday converged on Natun Rasta Mor for a roadblock, but the police stopped them from putting barricades on the road. The labourers are going out on demonstration demanding their wages. The labourers threw stones at the policemen and the police charged at them with truncheons. At least 10 labourers, including Mansur Ali, Amena Begum, Mahmud, Hemayet, Rustam Ali, Abu Taher and Abu Naser, were injured in clashes. They were treated in the medical centre of the Platinum Jute Mills. The police said the labourers of four mills located in the belt — Platinum Jubilee Jute Mills, Star Jute Mills, People’s Jute Mills and Crescent Jute Mills — later gathered at five points near the Crescent, Platinum and People’s mill gates, Power House point and the Daulatpur Jute Mills. They said the labourers went out on demonstrations in small processions and started fire with tyres. The labourers at about 11:00am broke a railway sleeper near the Platinum mill gate and the police dispersed them. The labourers and police then started chasing each other. At around 6:00pm, the labourers brought out a procession from the Platinum mill gate and reached Natun Rasta Mor at around 6:30pm when the police attacked them, charging at them with truncheons, witnesses said. The labourers and the police clashed at the place and as the policemen entered the Natun Rasta police box, the labourers set it on fire. The police lobbed tear gas canisters to contain the agitation. The labourers said the policemen had fire rubber bullets and blank shots during repeated the clashes. The police, however, denied opening fire. The labourers said at least 36 labourers were injured during the clashes in the evening while the police said four of their personnel were injured in the incidents. The labourers said they could not send the injured to Khulna Medical College Hospital in fear of being arrested. They were treated in the medical centre of the mills.
Drug tests exonerate punk rocker http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-soap17apr17,1,4827749.story
Don Bolles, arrested in Newport Beach on suspicion of possessing a date-rape drug, is freed after analysis shows it was only soap. Police ran a field test on the yellowish goop after stopping Bolles for a broken taillight on April 4. But a more sophisticated analysis by the Orange County Sheriff's Department crime lab detected no GHB in the soap, officials said Monday. As a result, all charges against Bolles will be dismissed, a spokeswoman for the Orange County district attorney's office said. Meanwhile, the makers of Dr. Bronner's announced that other liquid soaps, including Neutrogena and Tom's of Maine, also can mistakenly register positive for GHB with the field test kit used by Newport Beach police. Bronner's officials said they experimented with the ODV-brand NarcoPouch 928 test kit and various soaps over the weekend and would post a video of the results on their website next week. "Police departments nationwide should immediately stop using the ODV field test for GHB," Bronner's president David Bronner said. Bolles rose to fame in the late 1970s when he joined the pioneering L.A. punk band the Germs, a group credited with influencing generations of musicians and popularizing Mohawk haircuts. The Germs dissolved in 1980 after 22-year-old singer Darby Crash committed suicide. Surviving members reunited in 2005 and plan to tour this summer.
Sparks of unity arise 13 years after Rwanda genocide http://www.buanews.gov.za/view.php?ID=07041810451002&coll=buanew07
Last week, Rwandese nationals gathered at the All Saints Cathedral in Nairobi, Kenya, in honour of their fallen friends and family members. It is estimated that the 100 day Rwanda genocide resulted in more than one million deaths during the violent clashes between the Hutu and Tutsi tribes. In the present day however, many including current President Paul Kagame, no longer talk of ethnicity, choosing instead to speak of themselves as "Rwandese." Tens of thousands of people accused of participating in the massacres are in prisons across Rwanda with most of them still awaiting trial. About 500 people have been sentenced to death, and another 100 000 are still in prison.
Central African Republic: UN Food Agency Appeals For Help http://allafrica.com/stories/200704180804.html
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) Tuesday appealed to international donors to help avert a deepening humanitarian crisis in the Central African Republic (CAR). The CAR, with a population of approximately 4 million, has had many of its citizens displaced by war and civil conflicts. These vulnerable citizens are in urgent need of food and other aid. The humanitarian situation in CAR is serious and getting worse as a result of the violence and conflict spilling over from Darfur," said WFP Executive Director Josette Sheeran. "We need to increase our operations to cover the food needs of 230 000 people in this growing emergency." The WFP is doubling its budget and scaling up its aid operations nearly six-fold to reach the 230 000 people in the CAR whose lives have been affected by the ongoing violence. Another 20 000 Central Africans who have fled west into Cameroon are being earmarked for aid through a new WFP operation. Camps in southern Chad with approximately 50 000 refugees are already receiving WFP assistance. The former French colony of Ubangi-Shari became the Central African Republic upon independence in 1960. After three tumultuous decades of misrule, mostly by military governments, civilian rule was established in 1993 and lasted for one decade. In 2005 many candidates contested the municipal, legislative, and presidential elections in which General Francois Bozize became president. The government still does not fully control the countryside as lawlessness persists.
Huge strides made to treat HIV in Sub-Saharan Africa http://www.buanews.gov.za/view.php?ID=07041811451002&coll=buanew07
A United Nations report, "Towards universal access - scaling up priority HIV and AIDS interventions in the health sector" is a joint effort from the World Health Organisation (WHO), the Joint UN Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) and the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF). It found that in sub-Saharan Africa, the region worst affected by HIV and AIDS, about 28 percent of people received HIV treatment, a huge improvement compared to 2 percent three years earlier. According to the report released Tuesday, more than two million people living with HIV and AIDS in low and middle income countries received antiretroviral (ARV) therapy in 2006. This is a 54 percent increase over the 1.3 million people on treatment, a year earlier in those countries. Progress was also being made in other regions, such as North Africa, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, said the report. However, the report noted that unless the pace of growth rose rapidly, the goal of achieving universal access by 2010 would remain out of reach.
Indian children: Victims of open sewers, poor nutrition http://www.app.com.pk/en/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7868&Itemid=2
A re-analysis of the latest National Family Health Survey data by the India's Urban Health Resource Centre shows that: One out of 10 children living in urban slums does not live to see his tenth birthday 56.8 per cent of children in urban slums less than three-years-old are malnourished Over 56 per cent of the deliveries take place without a skilled attendant Only two out of every five urban poor children receive all recommended vaccinations. There is very limited information on the health status of urban poor in India, said Siddharth Agarwal, Executive Director, UHRC. This is an invisible half of the capital - a half where the provision of basic health facilities would be a luxury. The indifference towards slums has left the government on brink of a health emergency and turning a blind eye to the lakhs migrating into cities will spell irreversible damage.
Anti-gays misread Bible: church head http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/antigays-misread-bible-church-head/2007/04/18/1176696914662.html
THE spiritual leader of the world's 77 million Anglicans has said conservative Christians who cite the Bible to condemn homosexuality are misreading a key passage written by St Paul almost 2000 years ago. Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, addressing theology students in Toronto, said an oft-quoted passage in Paul's Epistle to the Romans meant to warn Christians not to be self-righteous when they see others fall into sin. In the passage of Romans that Dr Williams referred to in Monday's speech, Paul said people who forgot God's words fell into sin. "Men committed indecent acts with other men and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion," Paul wrote. Dr Williams said these lines were "for the majority of modern readers the most important single text in Scripture on the subject of homosexuality." But right after that passage, Paul warns readers not to condemn those who ignore God's word. "At whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself," wrote Paul, the first-century apostle whose epistles, or letters, to early Christian communities elaborated many church teachings. Dr Williams said reinterpreting Paul's epistle as a warning against smug self-righteousness rather than homosexuality favoured neither side of the gay debate. It would not help pro-gay liberals, he said, because Paul and his readers clearly agreed that homosexuality was "as obviously immoral as idol worship or disobedience to parents". This reading would also upset anti-gay conservatives and challenge them to ask whether they were right to judge others, he said. "This does nothing to settle the … questions fiercely debated at the moment." The worldwide Anglican Communion is near breaking point over homosexuality, with conservative clerics insisting the Bible forbids gay bishops or blessings for same-sex unions. Its US Episcopal Church named a gay bishop in 2003.
British diplomat sparks row in Australia over Iraq war http://www.todayonline.com/articles/184044.asp
A row erupted in Australia Thursday after Britain's high commissioner said her government did not view the US-led invasion of Iraq as part of the "war on terrorism". The opposition Labor Party seized on the comments, saying they exposed the government's argument for keeping Australian troops in Iraq as a lie. Australian Prime Minister John Howard denied the charge. Helen Liddell, the High Commissioner or ambassador, said in a speech to the National Press Club in Canberra on Wednesday that Britain's invovlement in Iraq was not prompted by terrorism. "We have never seen Iraq as part of the war on terror," said Liddell, who was in Prime Minister Tony Blair's cabinet when the decision to invade was made in 2003. "Certainly we are engaged in a war on the streets in Iraq against terrorism, but our raison d'etre for our involvement in Iraq has not been about terrorism," she said. Howard shares the view of his close ally, US President George W. Bush, that Iraq is the frontline in the so-called war on terrorism and said he believed Blair did too.
"The British government believes Iraq is very much part of the war against terrorism," Howard told a news conference. "There can be no doubt in the mind of the head of the British government that Iraq is part of the battleground against terrorism, and our view and the view of the British government is identical," he said. Howard said his office had been informed by the British High Commission that the diplomat's remarks had been taken out of context. But Labor's defence spokesman Joel Fitzgibbon said the government had been embarrassed. Labor, which is leading Howard's Liberal-National coalition in opinion polls ahead of elections due by the end of this year, has pledged to pull Australia's 1,400 troops out of Iraq if it comes to power.
Dead alligator found clogging drain in Adams http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/journalgazette/news/17095820.htm
An investigation into a plugged drainage tile led to the discovery of a dead 7-foot alligator inside a catch basin in southern Adams County. The alligator, believed to have been dead for at least a week, was found Monday afternoon by employees with the Adams County Surveyor’s Office. It is believed the gator caused the plugged drain, sheriff’s deputy Larry Butler said. Alligators can be legally purchased in Indiana. When animals like alligators or venomous snakes grow longer than 5 feet, however, owners are required to apply for a permit with his office, McCollam said. The permits are to notify law enforcement of an animal’s presence. There are no valid permits to maintain an alligator in Adams County. Frank Mazzotti, a wildlife scientist at the University of Florida questioned why anyone would keep such a large reptile as a pet, describing it as an animal that could bite one’s hand off, not to mention it defecates copiously.
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