Asia / All Themes
TATA considering spin-off of international steel assets
05.09.2008 02:36
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The TATA Group is reportedly looking to spin off its international steel assets, including Corus, in an overseas listing that could raise billions of dollars to help bankroll the steel unit’s expansion. The Financial Times quoted group insiders as saying that TATA is exploring ways to raise capital, and a listing of its overseas steel assets is among the options being seriously considered. “TATA has smart and diligent people kicking the tyres on this. They are aware that bundling together non-Indian steel assets would help to crystallise their value. No decisions have been made but the willingness to press ahead is rising,” one insider said. TATA Steel owns domestic assets as well as overseas companies. These include Corus, the Anglo-Dutch steel maker bought last year for 6.7 billion pounds; steel operations in Thailand and Singapore; and further assets across the Asia-Pacific region. TATA Sons, the group’s holding company, is the controlling shareholder in TATA Steel, the world’s sixth-largest steel maker, with a 34 per cent stake. A TATA Steel executive said the group had no immediate plans for a listing, particularly given the adverse market conditions, and no urgent need for capital. One option being considered by executives is to list between 10 and 20 per cent of all, or some, of the assets held in TATA Global, which has an estimated enterprise book value of more than 13 billion pounds, in London or Singapore, as early as next year. London-based investors are keen for exposure to the asset class and are familiar with the Corus business, while a Singapore-listed entity could benefit from being a regional steel champion. Insiders said TATA executives may eventually decide against a spin-off because of volatile equity markets and instead seek to raise capital via extra bank financing, a private placement, or by further selling down its holding in TATA Consultancy Services. (ANI)
India
Economics & Finance
Inflation slips to 12.34 per cent
05.09.2008 02:36
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Continuing its downward journey inflation further moderated to 12.34 per cent on Thursday for the week ending August 23 compared to 12.40 per cent recorded a week earlier. The country’s annual inflation rate, however, was expected to have inched up in the third week of August to 12.44 per cent, driven by higher prices of some commodities and demand pressures in economy, a poll showed earlier. Last week the decline in inflation was largely on account of the drop in the global crude prices and marginal drop in prices of essentials such as fruits, vegetables, eggs, meat and fish. (ANI)
India
Economics & Finance
Poor design led to schools collapse in quake-hit South West China
05.09.2008 02:35
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Poor design, the use of substandard materials and other defects are being blamed for the collapse of several school buildings during the May 12 earthquake in China’s south-west Sichuan Province. Both Xinhua and The China Daily quoted Ma Zongjin, the director of the National Wenchuan Earthquake Expert Committee, as telling a press conference in Beijing that substandard materials were used to build the schools that collapsed. It may be recalled that the 8.0 magnitude Wenchuan earthquake killed about 70,000 people, including thousands of students. The Ministry of Construction has sent more than 2,000 experts to the quake-hit areas to investigate the cause of the collapse, Ma said, and the results would provide guidelines for reconstruction of schools and hospitals. China''s worst natural disaster in three decades has left about 18,300 people missing and five million homeless, Shi Peijun, vice-director of the Wenchuan Earthquake Expert Committee, said. The quake has caused a direct economic loss of 841.5 billion Yuan (122.7 billion dollars), with Sichuan province accounting for about 91 percent of that, Shi said. Its neighboring provinces of Gansu and Shaanxi accounted for 5.8 and 2.9 percent of the loss. Ma warned that strong aftershocks could continue, but there is little possibility of any of them being 6.5 magnitude or stronger. Up to 27,000 aftershocks had been recorded till noon on Monday, 112 days after the quake. Eight of them were stronger than magnitude-6, and 39 above 5, he said. The strongest aftershock, measuring 6.4 magnitude, struck Qingchuan county, one of the worst-hit areas in Sichuan, on May 25. The Wenchuan quake has caused about 12,000 geological disasters, and 8,700 sites are still vulnerable to more damage. The quake caused many landslides and mud-rock flows, and 30 lakes could still break their banks and overflow downhill into villages and towns. According to government estimates, rebuilding structures and restoring jobs and services in the quake-hit areas could take up to three years.(ANI)
India
Social Life
W. Bengal Governor defers Singur talks till Friday evening
05.09.2008 02:35
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The crucial meeting, which was to be chaired by West Bengal Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi this morning to find a solution to the Singur deadlock, was postponed till late this afternoon. The representatives of the State Government and the Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee met the Governor at Raj Bhavan for few minutes during which the State Government requested the Governor to postpone the talks by a few hours. Accordingly, the Governor requested the Trinamool Congress to reassemble at 4:00 p.m. The Government delegation is led by the State’s Industries Minister Nirupam Sen while the oppostion Trinamool Congress is led by leader of the opposition in the State Assembly Partha Chattopadhyaya. According to sources, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has decided to arrange an alternative plan for the unwilling farmers. With not much alternate land available, today’s meeting may deliberate on a better compensation package for farmers whose land was acquired for the TATA Motors'' car plant in Singur. Earlier on Thursday evening, the Governor held separate meetings with delegations from both sides and representatives of farmers who are protesting the acquisition of some 400 acres of farmland. Embroiled in controversy over land acquisition that led to suspension of work at the plant, its chairman Ratan Tata met Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh in New Delhi on the same day. Ratan Tata said he was hopeful of launching the Nano as he had planned and the company was doing “everything possible” to meet the deadline. The prospect of the talks has raised hopes that the Rs one lakh car could roll out on time in October this year. According to reports, Ratan Tata, in his reply to the Governor''s letter sent on Wednesday, said he had no problem in participating in any talks on Singur as suggested but was against any change in the land pattern. The possibility of Tatas pulling out has sparked anger among supporters of the project, many of them farmers who had got compensation or jobs at the factory. The Nano project has been billed as key to the rejuvenation of industries in West Bengal. The controversy over the factory has hurt the state''s image as an investment destination. In view that the stalemate was exacting social costs of a high magnitude apart from the investment costs and the implications on the polity, Gandhi wrote a letter on Wednesday to Ratan Tata informing him about the initiative taken to resolve the deadlock at Singur. (ANI)
India
Social Life
Paswan promises all possible aid to Bihar flood victims
05.09.2008 02:35
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Union Minister and Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) president Ram Vilas Paswan has said that he along with his party members would provide as much relief as possible to flood victims in Bihar. Paswan conducted an aerial survey of flood-affected Purnia district and distributed clothes and food among flood victims on Thursday. "Our solo aim is to provide as much as possible relief material to the flood victims through our party and our ministry. We provide support to them," said Paswan. According to aid agencies, millions are now living on embankments, roads and in overcrowded camps in filthy conditions. "I stayed on a raised place for four days," said Mohammad Mustaque, a flood victim. The army has so far deployed 37 columns for flood relief operations in the state. According to officials, three million people have been displaced from their homes and at least 90 killed by floods in Bihar after the Kosi River burst a dam in Nepal, swamping hundreds of villages in Bihar. About 650,000 people have been evacuated so far. (ANI)
India
Social Life
President Patil launches national teachers'' portal
05.09.2008 02:35
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President Pratibha Patil launched a national portal for teachers (www.teachersofindia.org) here today on the occasion of Teachers'' Day. Launching the portal, Patil said it is definitely a medium to improve the quality of education in schools and will also improve the teacher-student interaction in class. The Azim Premji Foundation has developed the portal, with support from the National Knowledge Commission, which has been working for the creation of web, based portals on key issues for aggregating and disseminating knowledge. The portal for teachers will offer a platform for sharing best practices and generating discussion in the teaching community. Over the next few months the portal will offer content in several languages as well as provide access to other communities such as students, parents and teacher educators. The initial phase of the portal envisages a space for teachers to express their ideas and share their thoughts on any subject that touches their professional lives. Phase one involves the uploading of material created by and for teachers in five languages (Hindi, English, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada). These will be short articles written by teachers on subjects of their choice including classroom practice, their experiences in school and ideas that they tried to experiment on. This Phase also envisages the beginnings of a district-wise directory of resource organizations working in education - this will help teachers gain access to material and people in their own geographic area. During the subsequent phases of the portal, teachers will continue to contribute their thoughts. Links will be provided to websites of other organizations, institutions and people to provide access for teachers. Resource material (articles, policy documents, manuals, tools and modules) by experts in the field will be made available on the portal either directly or through links. Teachers will be able to interact with each other and post questions and opinions. The number of languages offered by the portal will gradually increase until all Indian languages are covered. The Home Page will also feature a "Teacher of the Month" in recognition of special efforts. This portal will offer resources related to education perspectives (Philosophy, Psychology, Sociology, Economics), classroom practice (Principles of Pedagogy, Pedagogy of Language, Science, Mathematics, History, Geography, Political Science, Economics, EVS, Art, Music, Dance, Sports) including manuals, activities, modules, tools etc. Subject Content (Language, Science, Mathematics, History, Geography, Political Science, Economics, EVS, Art, Music, Dance, Sports) Stories, Songs, Games that teachers can use in class, reading resources (including links to other websites/portals/on line library), research information and specific case studies. (ANI)
India
Social Life
Bollywood actor Salman Khan celebrates ''Ganesh Chaturthi''
05.09.2008 02:35
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Bollywood actor Salam Khan celebrated ''Ganesh Chaturthi'', the birthday of Lord Ganesha, with gaiety and fanfare here on Thursday. Salman performed rituals connected with the festival at his residence. "In my family, we have people of different faiths. There might be problems otherwise, but religion has never been a cause of a problem in our family," Khan said. The transgender community in the city also joined in the celebrations. "I wish that my work prospers. I have offered my prayers to the Lord. I do it every year," said Manisha, a transgender. The ten-day long festival began on Wednesday. Ganesh Chaturthi for years was a personal and private affair. But at the turn of the century, freedom fighter Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak started using it as a platform for political propaganda against British colonial rule. The festival is hugely popular in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Gujarat and Maharashtra. Legend has it that Hindu Goddess Parvati had created Ganesh from a perfumed putty-like substance, used to remove dirt from her body in an ancient self-cleansing ritual, the equivalent of a modern bath. Parvati''''s husband Lord Shiva, one of the three most powerful Gods in the Hindu pantheon, flew into rage and beheaded the young lad and barred his entry into Kailash, Shiva''''s snow-clad mountain abode. When he later realised that the boy was created by his wife Parvati during his absence, Shiva brought him back to life by slaying an elephant and giving him the animal''''s head. Thus was created Ganesh, one of the best-loved of Indian gods. (ANI)
India
Social Life
Scientists identify gene that may hold key to neutralize HIV
05.09.2008 00:28
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A team of researchers at the Gladstone Institute of Virology and Immunology (GIVI) and the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) has discovered a new gene that may influence the production of antibodies that neutralize HIV. According to the researhcers, the new finding will likely spur a new approach for making an HIV vaccine that elicits neutralizing antibodies. In 1978, researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) studying a similar retrovirus in mice discovered a gene called Rfv3 that influenced the production of neutralizing antibodies that allowed the animals to recover. By 1999, they had narrowed the location of Rfv3 to a relatively small region on mouse chromosome 15, but that region contained more than 60 genes. The laboratory of GIVI Director Warner C. Greene and a team of scientists from NIAID now demonstrate that Rfv3 is Apobec3, an innate immunity gene with antiretroviral activity. "This newfound link between Apobec3 and the production of neutralizing antibodies came as a complete surprise," said Dr. Greene, senior author of the study. HIV uses one of its genes, Vif, to specifically disable human Apobec3 proteins and HIV-infected patients rarely make broadly neutralizing antibodies against this virus. This new study raises the possibility that drugs or vaccines that interfere with Vif might allow humans to naturally make better neutralizing antibody responses against HIV. Gladstone scientist Mario Santiago, PhD, said: "We now have a host factor needed for the production of neutralizing antibodies that HIV targets and destroys. This offers a fresh perspective on how to strengthen this arm of the immune response against HIV, with direct implications for immunotherapy and vaccine development." The researhcers conducted a series of genetic experiments by mating mice with different Rfv3 and Apobec3 profiles. The researchers demonstrated that Apobec3, like Rfv3, contributes to the early control of retroviral infection in mice, and also influences specific retroviral antibody responses. Also, they discovered that Rfv3 susceptible mouse strains that fail to make antibody responses have a natural defect in Apobec3. These results provide convincing evidence that Rfv3 and Apobec3 are the same gene. "We set out to solve a 30-year old mystery in retrovirus biology and in the process made a discovery that might impact future development of HIV vaccines," said Dr. Greene. The study is published in the September 5 issue of Science. (ANI)
India
Health & Beauty
Women who binge drink indulge more in unsafe sexual practices
05.09.2008 00:27
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Women, who binge drink are more likely to indulge in unsafe sexual practices, and so are at an increased risk of having sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), according to a new study. The researchers found that women, who drink more than five alcoholic beverages at one time, are likely to unsafe sexual practices – such as multiple partners and anal sex. "Binge drinking results in a decreased ability to make clear decisions and can enable individuals to engage in behaviours that they would not if sober,” said Geetanjali Chander, assistant professor of medicine in the division of general internal medicine at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. “Initially, some individuals may drink with the expectation of decreasing inhibitions, or some may drink because they are anxious, or depressed, and they expect alcohol to alleviate their symptoms. “Regardless of why they choose to drink, many people do not perceive the potential risk or harm that may result from binge drinking," she added. During the study, between July 2000 and August 2001, researchers approached 795 STD-clinic patients being evaluated or treated for STDs. Of those approached, 671, 322 males, 349 females agreed to answer questions about their recent alcohol/drug use and risky sexual behaviours using audio computer-assisted-self interview technology. "We found that binge drinking among women STD-clinic patients is associated with certain risky sexual behaviours," said Heidi E. Hutton, assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioural sciences at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine as well as corresponding author for the study. "Across gender, women binge drinkers are more likely to have anal sex than men binge drinkers. Within gender, women binge drinkers are three times as likely to have anal sex, and twice as likely to have multiple sex partners compared to women who do not drink alcohol. “Compared to non-drinking women, women binge drinkers are also five times as likely to have gonorrhea," she added. Hutton said that both binge drinking and risky sexual behaviours are more hazardous to women than men. "Gonorrhea is a sexually transmitted disease which reflects unsafe sexual practices," Chander said. "This association between binge drinking and high-risk sexual behaviours is especially important as risky behaviours are associated with HIV acquisition and transmission,” she added. The study is published in the November issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research. (ANI)
India
Health & Beauty
‘Antibiotic cycling’ lowers MRSA infections in hospital ICUs
05.09.2008 00:27
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Doctors at the University of Virginia Health System have successfully used a method called antibiotic cycling, wherein medications are rotated at regular intervals, to significantly reduce MRSA infections among surgical intensive care patients. The researchers said that the MRSA infection rate decreased from 1.9 to 1.4 patients per 100 admissions in the surgical ICU when they switched between two antibiotics, linezolid and vancomycin, every three months. In their study report, published in the journal Surgical Infections, the researchers have also revealed that in-hospital mortality from surgical ICU-acquired MRSA infections fell from 3.8 patients per year to none. The report suggests that study data spanned six years, including the period before cycling began (1997 to 2001) and the period after it was instituted (2002 to 2003). It also reveals that the study’s key focus was resistant gram-positive cocci, a subgroup defined as MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) and VRE (vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus). "Before we began cycling, 67 percent of the Staphylococcus aureus infections in our surgical ICU were caused by MRSA. Cycling reduced MRSA cases to 36 percent of that total," says the lead author of the study, Dr. Robert Sawyer, a professor of surgery and co-director of UVA''s Surgical Trauma Intensive Care Unit. The researchers claim that their study is the first to assess the impact of antibiotic cycling on a group of bacteria known as gram-positive cocci. Dr. Sawyer says that though the findings are important, they need to be confirmed by similar studies in other ICU''s. "If cycling proves effective at other centers, we might be able to turn the tide on antibiotic resistance, at least for MRSA. In the long run, reducing MRSA should decrease the number of deaths among critically ill patients. However, the problem is very complex and will almost certainly need a variety of interventions to achieve the best outcomes," he says. While MRSA infection rates fell during cycling, the prevalence of VRE remained virtually unaltered. According to the researchers, VRE infection rates rose slightly, from .76 to .98 patients per 100 admissions. In-hospital mortality from VRE dropped from 2.8 to 2.5 patients per year. Cycling reduced the surgical ICU''s overall gram-positive infection rate from 19.6 to 11.8 patients per 100 admissions, and lowered the rate of infections from resistant gram-positive cocci from 4.6 to 1.7 patients per 100 admissions. (ANI)
India
Health & Beauty
Roman conquered area people more prone to AIDS
05.09.2008 00:27
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People living in countries that were once conquered by the Roman army may be more vulnerable to AIDS as compared to others, according to a study. Researchers at Provence University in France have discovered that a gene that reduces susceptibility to HIV occurs in greater frequency in areas of Europe that the Roman Empire did not stretch to. The researchers have revealed that the gene lacks certain DNA elements due to which HIV cannot bind to it easily, and thus the virus’ ability to infect cells diminishes. According to them, people possessing the mutation have some resistance to HIV infection, and also take longer to develop AIDS. Studying about 19,000 DNA samples from across Europe, the researchers found that the gene variant seemed to dwindle in regions conquered by the Romans. The gene, which generally only people in Europe and western Asia carry, seemed to become much less frequent as the researchers moved south. In their study report, the researchers have revealed that over 15 per cent of people in some areas of northern Europe carried the gene, compared with fewer than four per cent of Greeks. Study leader Dr Eric Faure rules out the possiblitity that the Romans spread the regular version of the gene into their colonies by breeding with indigenous people. "Gene flow between the two was extremely low," the Telegraph quoted him as telling New Scientist. The researcher instead believes that the Romans introduced a disease to which people carrying the gene variant were particularly susceptible. According to him, as the Romans moved north, the disease killed off people with the variant gene that now protects against HIV. The findings of the study have been published in the journal Infection, Genetics and Evolution. (ANI)
India
Health & Beauty
New method to delay evolution of drug resistance in malaria parasite
05.09.2008 00:27
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Researchers at the University of Florida have devised a new method that effectively delays the evolution of drug resistance in malaria parasites. David Smith, associate director of disease ecology at UF''s Emerging Pathogens Institute and study''s co-author, said that the new research would help scientists and policy makers in extending the longevity of current artemisinin-based malaria drugs combined with partner drugs. Smith and colleagues created mathematical models assessing the strategic effectiveness and clinical outcomes of using one, two and three first-line drug therapies to treat malaria within a population over a 20-year period. They found that using two or three drugs simultaneously reduced the total clinical cases and number of failed treatments, and slowed the rate at which drug-resistant genes spread within the parasites that cause malaria: Plasmodium falciparum, P. vivax, P. malariae and P. ovale. "The models indicate that we can slow the evolution of resistance to current artemisinin-based therapies if nations use them in combination with two or more partner drugs," Smith said. Smith said that artemisinin-combined therapies, or ACTs, are currently not widely implemented due to operational challenges and expense. However, he said that the study offers compelling evidence for global leaders to collaborate and overcome these issues. "This is not to say that implementing multiple first-line therapies solves all of our malaria problems. Anti-malarial drug development needs to continue so that we have novel and highly effective anti-malarials that can be plugged into the recommended strategy of deploying multiple therapies," Boni said. Artemesinin drugs, derived from the herb Artemisia annua, are relatively new and the malaria parasite does not yet appear to have a resistance to it. They work by triggering chemical reactions, which damage the Plasmodium parasite. "We don''t have anything in the pipeline after ACTs, and it''s basically just a matter of time until drug resistance evolves and artemisinin also fails. So the question becomes how do we keep ACTs in our arsenal for as long as effectively possible?" Smith said. The researchers'' models also show that cycling through single drugs accelerated the rate at which malaria parasites evolved drug resistance. Smith said this occurred because cycling a single drug degraded the parasite''s average fitness, which made it easier for drug-resistant genes to spread throughout the parasite population. The cycling models predicted a declining therapeutic value of a single drug within 3.54 years, versus a longer effective therapeutic value of 9.95 years when three drugs were used in equal proportions within a population. "Using multiple first-line drugs reduces the selection pressure for resistance to a single drug. This is one way to make the ACTs last longer and benefit more people," Smith said. The study is scheduled to publish online this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and in print on Sept. 16. (ANI)
India
Health & Beauty
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