Jairam Ramesh says no to Vedanta project in Orissa

The Environment Ministry on Tuesday rejected a plan by India-focused mining group Vedanta Resources Plc to mine bauxite in an eastern state, saying it violated forest laws.

The decision pertains to one mining site in Orissa where it runs an alumina refinery on bauxite imported from elsewhere in India which keeps the firm's operation costs high. Vedanta is among many top firms such as South Korea's POSCO whose projects are delayed as a proactive environment ministry tightens rules that often brings it in conflict with other ministries pushing for rapid industrialisation.

"There have been serious violations of environment protection acts," Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh told reporters, while rejecting Vedanta's mining plans that could destroy heavily forested hills sacred to local tribal populations.

"There is no emotion, no politics, no prejudice ... I have taken the decision in a purely legal approach. That these laws are being violated."

The environment ministry's decision comes after a government panel said last week giving permission to Vedanta would violate green guidelines and may have a serious impact on security, referring to a worsening Maoist insurgency that feeds partly off the resentment of people displaced by large industrial projects.

Vedanta is already facing regulatory hurdles in its bid for control of Cairn India, a potential deal valued at $9.6 billion that can give the group led by UK-based billionaire Anil Agarwal a slice of India's oil reserves.

Vedanta says no one will be displaced as the mining site is located in an uninhabited area and the project will help lift the poor district out of poverty.

Source http://www.hindustantimes.com/Jairam-Ramesh-says-no-to-Vedanta-project-in-Orissa/H1-Article1-591035.aspx

Dismissed cop holds tourist bus hostage in Manila, 9 freed

A dismissed policeman armed with an automatic rifle seized a bus in the Philippine capital on Monday with 24 passengers, most of them Hong Kong tourists, in a bid to demand his reinstatement, police said. Nine hostages have been released so far. There are still 16 hostages, mostly foreigners, inside the tourist bus. Ninth hostage, a Filipino man, was released from a tourist bus in central Manila being held by a heavily armed policeman dismissed from the service, television images showed on Monday.

A senior Chinese diplomat who was monitoring the negotiations to free the remaining hostages said they were "calm and peaceful."

"We want everything taken to secure the safety and security of our Chinese nationals," Bai Tian, deputy mission chief at the Chinese Embassy, told reporters.

Police sharpshooters took positions around the white-blue-red bus, which was parked near a downtown Manila park, as the talks progressed.

"He has released children, the elderly and the sick. He is showing signs of kindness and I think this will be resolved peacefully," said Fidel Posadas, police deputy director for operations.

The hostage-taker, identified as former Senior Inspector Rolando Mendoza, 55, was armed with an M16 rifle. He demanded that he be given back his job on the police force a year after he was fired, Manila police chief Rodolfo Magtibay said.

Two of the Hong Kong tourists, both women, were the first to be released, followed by a girl, two boys and their mother as well as their Hong Kong guide, Magtibay said. A seventh hostage freed was suffering from diabetes, police said.

Hong Thai Travel Services Ltd. General Manager Susanna Lau told Hong Kong's Cable TV that the bus was carrying a Hong Kong tour guide and 20 tourists, three children and 17 adults and a local tour guide.

She said the group left the Chinese territory of Hong Kong on Aug. 20 for a visit to Manila and was scheduled to fly back to Hong Kong on Monday.

Magtibay said that three Filipinos, a driver, a guide and a photographer, also were on the bus.

Police brought in food for the hostages and prepared to provide fuel so that the air conditioning unit can keep running as the outside temperature reached about 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 degrees Celsius).

Mendoza hitched a ride on the bus from the historic walled city of Intramuros and then "declared he is taking the passengers hostage" when the bus reached Jose Rizal Park alongside Manila Bay, Magtibay said.

The area also includes the seaside US Embassy and a number of hotels.

The curtains on the bus windows were drawn and live TV footage showed two police negotiators walking to and from the bus and communicating with Mendoza from the window near the driver's seat. Magtibay said they were also using the driver's cell phone to talk to Mendoza. A brother of Mendoza was helping police in the negotiations, Magtibay said.

"We should really resolve this quickly so that it will not have a wider effect," Tourism Secretary Alberto Lim said. According to newspapers reports from 2008, Mendoza was among five police officers who had been charged with robbery, extortion and grave threats after a Manila hotel chef filed a complaint alleging the policemen falsely accused him of using drugs to extort money. Mendoza's younger brother, Gregorio, also a policeman, said that his brother felt that "injustice was done on him." "He was disappointed that he did well in police service but was dismissed for a crime he did not do," he said.

In March 2007, not far from Monday's hostage taking, a man took a busload of children and teachers hostage from his day-care center in Manila to denounce corruption. They were freed after a 10-hour standoff.

Source http://www.hindustantimes.com/rssfeed/restofasia/Dismissed-cop-holds-tourist-bus-hostage-in-Manila-9-freed/Article1-590538.aspx

Pak accepts India's five million dollar aid package for flood victims

A day after the US asked Pakistan to accept India's five million dollar flood assistance package, Islamabad has accepted New Delhi's offer.

Talking to reporters on the sidelines of the special session of the General Assembly on Pakistan at the United Nations (UN) headquarters, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi appreciated India's gesture and said his government has agreed to accept the aid from the neighbouring country.

"I can share with you that the Government of Pakistan has agreed to accept the Indian offer," Qureshi said.

Qureshi rejected the notion that Pakistan was playing politics with the issues.

On Thursday, Islamabad said it is yet to decide on the five million dollars aid pledged by India last week to help the victims of the deluge.

Speaking during a regular briefing, foreign office spokesman Abdul Basit, said : "The Pakistan government
is considering the proposal and no decision has been made in this regard."

"We appreciate the gesture by India. Their offer has been conveyed to relevant authorities and the matter is under consideration," Basit added.

On August 13, External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna had conveyed deep sympathies on behalf of the Government of India and the people of the country on the devastation caused by floods while offering the fund. (ANI)

Source http://news.oneindia.in/2010/08/20/pakaccepts-indias-five-million-dollar-aid-package-forfloo.html

Illegal mining serious menace in number of states: Sonia

Congress President Sonia Gandhi today said illegal mining has emerged as the "most serious menace" in a number of states affected by tribal deprivation and Left wing extremist violence.

She maintained that dealing with the Naxalite challenge will call for fundamental innovations in the manner in which the mineral resources are exploited and forests are managed.

Addressing the meeting of the CPP, she said, Lok Sabha debated illegal mining and "this has emerged as a most serious menace in a number of states with profound political, economic and social implications".

She said the government was taking a number of initiatives like setting up of a Commission of enquiry and a mining regulatory authority.

"What is most worrying is the high degree of convergence between areas that are mineral and forest-rich and areas that are the arenas of tribal deprivation and for Left-wing extremist violence," she said, adding, "protecting the rights of tribals and ensuring their livelihood are central to bringing about an end to their exploitation and sense of alienation".

Referring to the Prime Minister terming the problem of Naxalism as a serious challenge, Gandhi said dealing with them "will call for fundamental innovations in the manner in which our mineral resources are exploited and our forests managed".

On the Bhopal gas tragedy, Gandhi acknowledged that there have been inadequacies in how successive governments have dealt with the calamity. "But we cannot remain prisoners of the past. We must look ahead and answer the question - what can we do now? Rather than what could we have done in the past?" she said.

Gandhi said the GoM has prepared a detailed agenda for action, compensation has been increased, medical facilities are being strengthened, judicial decisions are being reopened, waste disposal, decontamination and remediation activities are being finalised.

"Not a single victim should be denied justice. Equally important is the necessity to put systems in place that will ensure than no Bhopal-type man made catastrophe repeats itself," she said.

Referring to price rise in her speech and the adoption of a resolution to contain inflation in both the Houses of Parliament, Gandhi said controlling it remains the top priority.

"Sometimes, there is no simply no option as in the case of petroleum products some weeks ago. Even so, a constant vigil has to be maintained. The cooperation of the state governments is essential," she said.

Gandhi said the prime minister has spoken of the need to bring about reforms in the management of our food economy and the National Advisory Council has taken up the subject and steps are being taken to fulfill the part's manifesto pledge on food security.

Source http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/nation/Illegal-mining-serious-menace-in-number-of-states-Sonia/articleshow/6336826.cms

Australia triples Pak flood aid to 35 million dollars

Australian has decided to raise its aid to flood-ravaged Pakistan by 24 million dollars to bring its total commitment to 35 million dollars.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced that the money would support emergency humanitarian relief efforts in the country.

It is estimated that the floods have affected up to 20 million people, while over 750,000 homes have been damaged or destroyed.

"Today, in response to the United Nations and the Pakistan Government's appeal for further assistance, Australia will provide an additional 24 million dollars to support emergency humanitarian relief efforts," The Herald Sun quoted Gillard, as saying in a statement.

"Australians remain deeply concerned as the flood disaster in Pakistan continues to worsen. Despite the ongoing international assistance effort, people affected by the floods are facing new difficulties."

"Without safe drinking water, food and shelter the risk of waterborne disease, dehydration and malnutrition is escalating," she added.

She further said that the funding would be channeled through the Red Cross, Red Crescent Societies and non-government organizations.

The floods, triggered by torrential monsoon downpours just over two weeks ago, have claimed the lives of over 1,600 people.

The "worst national disaster in Pakistan's history" is threatening greater damage as relief and rescue work have been hit badly by continuous rains, particularly in the north western region.

The Pakistan Army is leading the relief effort by evacuating people, distributing drinking water, food, medical aid and repairing bridges and roads.

The floods first struck the western province of Baluchistan on July 22 before inundating the worst-hit Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and then entering Punjab and Sindh. (ANI)

Source http://news.oneindia.in/2010/08/17/australiatriples-pak-flood-aid-to-35-milliondollars.html

National disease centre to meet today on superbug alert

Streptococcus pyrogens bacteria.

Government on Thursday expressed surprise at scientists in the United Kingdom linking a new superbug resistant to antibiotics to India and said that it was drafting a reply to an alert issued by Britain in this regard.

The National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), a nodal agency under the Health Ministry, is meeting on Thursday and “we would soon draft a reply to this,” Secretary, Health Research, V.M. Katoch told PTI.

He said the Ministry will examine the issue in detail but it was “unfortunate that this new bug, which is an environmental thing, has been attached to a particular country which is India in this case.”

“I am surprised,” he said, adding that, “this (the bug) is present in nature. It is a random event and cannot be transmitted.”

Mr. Katoch said that he was surprised that a research paper linked it with India as they should know it was a biological phenomenon.

According to a paper published in scientific journal Lancet, the new superbug, which is said to be resistant even to most powerful antibiotics, has entered U.K. hospitals and is travelling with patients who had gone to countries like India and Pakistan for surgical treatments.

Bacteria that make an enzyme called NDM-1 or New Delhi-Metallo-1, have travelled back with NHS patients who went abroad to countries like India and Pakistan for treatments such as cosmetic surgery, it said.

Although there have only been about 50 cases identified in the U.K. so far, scientists fear it will go global.

NDM-1 can exist inside different bacteria, like Ecoli, and it makes them resistant to one of the most powerful groups of antibiotics — carbapenems.

These are generally reserved for use in emergencies and to combat hard-to-treat infections caused by other multi-resistant bacteria.

At least one of the NDM-1 infections the researchers analysed was resistant to all known antibiotics.

Similar infections have been seen in the U.S., Canada, Australia and the Netherlands and international researchers say that NDM-1 could become a major global health problem.

Infections have already been passed from patient to patient in U.K. hospitals.

Dr David Livermore, one of the researchers and who works for the UK’s Health Protection Agency (HPA), said, “There have been a number of small clusters within the UK, but far and away the greater number of cases appear to be associated with travel and hospital treatment in the Indian subcontinent.”

The Department of Health has already put out an alert on the issue, he said.

Source http://www.thehindu.com/health/medicine-and-research/article566384.ece

Pakistanis set for Ramadan fast amid flood misery

They've been left homeless and hungry by the worst flooding in decades, but for many Pakistanis, their suffering is no reason to ignore the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

Muslims abstain from food and drink from dawn to dusk during Ramadan, which is due to begin on Thursday in Pakistan and which started on Wednesday in many other Muslim countries.

Floods triggered by heavy monsoon rain over much of Pakistan began nearly two weeks ago, and have killed about 1,600 people and disrupted the lives of about 14 million, including about two million who have been forced from their homes.

Many survivors from flooded villages have lost their stores of food as well as crops in the field and livestock, and are surviving on occasional handouts, living in the open.

But despite the hunger and hardship, for most people not observing the fast during the most sacred of months is unthinkable.

"We will fast but we don't know how will be break the fast, whether we will find any food or not. Only Allah knows," said Nusrat Shah, sitting beside a bridge in Sukkur, where she had laid out bedding for her family under the sky.

"Pray for us," said Shah, as she made tea over a smoky fire.

Fasting Ramadan is a requirement for all able-bodied Muslims, but Islam exempts, among others, those who are travelling, ill or not strong enough to abstain from food and drink.

Countless villages have been swallowed up in the floods and many people are still stranded, some on tiny, shrinking patches of water-logged land.

People traditionally break fast with a meal of fried food and sweets at dusk. The vast majority of Pakistan's 165 million people are Muslim.

While the country might have a reputation as a haven for hardline Islamist militants, most Pakistanis are moderate Muslims who are conservative and devoted to the rituals of their faith.

"What kind of a question is that?" laughed Fakhar Zaman, a businessman in the Swat valley, northwest of Islamabad, which has been cut off this week by floods and landslides, when asked if he would be fasting this year.

"You know the people of Swat, they would never skip fasting," he said.

POOR NUTRITION

A big international relief effort is gearing up to help the flood victims, and some aid workers fear that Ramadan could endanger the health of people already facing food shortages, and complicate efforts to deliver assistance. People only getting poor nutrition are not well placed to fast although abstaining from drinking water for much of the day could protect people from water-born diseases, said a doctor involved in the relief effort.

"Definitely, they are not in a good position to fast. The food they are taking is not enough," said the doctor, Ahmad Shadoul.

"On the other hand, fasting can be a preventive measure for diarrhoea as people are not drinking water for 14 to 15 hours."

Working hours in many Muslim countries are shortened during the month when people fasting often suffer from a lack of energy.

While aid agencies aim to continue working flat out, there are worries that the effort may flag.

"Traditionally people work 50 percent of their ability during Ramadan," said Ershad Karim, chief field officer for the U.N. Children's Fund based in northwest Pakistan.

"Of course, it will be a very challenging situation."

Naseer Somroo, who had just been evacuated on a navy boat from his flooded village in Sindh province, said he and his family were getting sick and had been hungry for days but his faith was unshakeable.

"We've already been fasting for four days ... We'll observe Ramadan but we don't know how our Eid will be," he said referring to Eid al-Fitr festival at the end of the month which is usually the most joyous holiday of the year.

Source http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSSGE6790FT._CH_.2400