Global Economics:

Up to $110bn (£54bn) in loans will be made available to world money markets by central banks including the Bank of England and the US Federal Reserve.

In an interview with the Times newspaper, Mr Brown said there should be more focus on such co-operation.

Shopkeeper protest to sweep India

EU urges China to help US dollar vs euro

"Our food system is failing us all and is unsustainable. In a few years local will be as mainstream as organic and it will be thought ridiculous to purchase air-freighted goods that you could get from Scotland or your own region." <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/7152009.stm>

Compostela union leader gets death threats - militants

RP bananas moving forward to US entry - DA

BusinessWorld: Peso gains cost OFW families P24.3B

BusinessWorld: Peso gains cost OFW families P24.3B

Filipino families relying on remittances from relatives working abroad lost a total of P24.3 billion in earnings in the nine months to September due to the peso’s rapid rise, but the shortfall would have been greater had it not been for the strengthening of other currencies against the US dollar, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said.

The appreciation of other currencies against the greenback trimmed the losses by P2.4 billion, according to a central bank study.

"The loss would have been higher at P26.7 billion if not for the gains realized from the currency movements in some host economies vis-a-vis the US$," the "Impact of Currency Movements on Overseas Filipinos’ Remittances" study states.

A central bank official said the findings proved that many of the eight million overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are paid by their employers in the currency of the host economy.

"The findings show that our OFWs are not exactly worse off because of the peso appreciation against the US dollar," BSP deputy governor Diwa C. Guinigundo told BusinessWorld.

"The reason is that most of them are also paid in currencies of the host economy, most of which are appreciating against the US dollar."

Among the OFWs who gained from the greenback’s weakness were those deployed in Canada, Australia, Italy and Germany, whose currencies have continued to assert their strength.

Monetary officials said the net gains and losses were computed by converting the remittance data per country in 2006, all expressed in US dollars, to host country currency using the average exchange rate in 2006.

The gain or loss as a result of the peso appreciation against the US dollar was computed by "comparing the peso equivalent of the remittance in September 2007 with the peso equivalent in January 2007."

Economists, however, said OFWs continue to lose out as the bulk of their earnings remains denominated in US dollars as stipulated in their work contracts, regardless of the currency of the host country.

"The bulk of the OFWs’ remittance earnings is gauged in terms of US dollars. Even if you work in London, if your contract is in dollars you still lose," said Raul V. Fabella of the University of the Philippines’ School of Economics.

"You can say that there were a few gainers but only a few are paid in the local currency. A majority suffered," University of Asia and the Pacific economist Victor A. Abola said. <http://www.gmanews.tv/story/74128/BusinessWorld-Peso-gains-cost-OFW-families-P243B>

Oil prices rise near $97 a barrel after Bhutto assassination

12/28/2007 | 12:19 PM

SINGAPORE - Oil prices rose Friday after larger-than-expected declines in US crude inventories and on heightened geopolitical concerns following the assassination of Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto.

Pakistani opposition politician Nawaz Sharif vowed to boycott parliamentary elections on Jan. 8 and demanded that President Pervez Musharraf resign immediately.

Bhutto's assassination ''adds another level of uncertainty to the outlook for the region,'' said David Moore, a commodity strategist at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney. <http://www.gmanews.tv/story/74451/Oil-prices-rise-near-97-a-barrel-after-Bhutto-assassination>

Illegal immigrants freed to reoffend

By Phil Kemp
BBC Radio 5 Live Report

Record numbers of illegal immigrants convicted of the most serious crimes were deported from the UK last year but many arrested for minor offences are released to offend again.

Wang is in his thirties and lives in London but he shouldn't be.
His application for asylum was refused when he came to the UK six years ago from the Fujian Province in China.

Police seizures of pirate DVDs often number tens of thousands

Now that he has paid off his debt to the man who smuggled him here, any money he makes from selling counterfeit DVDs gets sent home to China.
"At the very beginning I could make £1,500 to £2,000 a week. Now it's getting worse. I could only get around £1,000 a week."
He might still be young but Wang is already thinking about retiring on the profits of his illegal trading.
"My family used the money to build a good house. I just want to make as much as possible, then I don't have to do anything when I go back to China."
The Home Office says there are no official estimates for the number of Chinese people like Wang, who are living in the UK illegally. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7183142.stm>

Vietnam zoo auctioned dead tigers

Tigers are used in traditional Asian medicines

A zoo in Vietnam has admitted it auctioned dead tigers to animal trafficking gangs.

The revelation by Hanoi Zoo came after police raided a gang in the city, uncovering two live tigers, four dead ones and seven live bears.
The zoo said the tigers died of natural causes and were sold for about 125m dong ($7,800; £4,000) to raise money to buy more animals.

Under international law the animals should have been cremated. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7181161.stm>

China's trade surplus jumps 48%

China has introduced measures to cool exports

China's trade surplus soared 48% in 2007 to a record high as its export-led economic boom continued, government figures have shown.

The gap between what China exports and imports expanded to $262.2bn (£134bn) last year.
The latest big annual rise in the surplus may increase pressure on China to allow the yuan to rise in value.
The US in particular accuses China of keeping the yuan undervalued to keep Chinese exports cheap.

The smaller December surplus is largely welcome, and it presents a modest argument for the Chinese government that their efforts to reduce the trade balance are beginning to work

Jun Ma, chief China economist at Deutsche Bank

China counters that it is moving towards allowing the yuan to trade more freely, but says it can only move slowly on the issue for fear of derailing its export-dominated economic growth.

The West has also called for China to move faster on opening up its domestic market to foreign investment. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7182497.stm>

The putrid problem of Italian politics

By David Willey
BBC News, Rome

There has been much public soul-searching and wringing of hands by politicians of all parties since the garbage men gave up collecting rubbish in Naples just before Christmas.

Rubbish collection problems have plagued Naples for over a decade

A lot of anger has been displayed by ordinary Neapolitans as well, after they read that according to the British medical journal The Lancet the incidence of liver cancer has risen alarmingly among those living near the bursting rubbish dumps in what used to be one of the great capitals of the Mediterranean.

Dangerous toxins are leaching into the soil - perhaps the water supply as well - from piles of rubbish which have littered the area for years.

The waste is compacted into what are euphemistically called "ecoballs". Small mountains of these balls are being stored on rented sites as all the existing official landfills around Naples are full.

The rental costs continue to build up, and so do the ecoballs.

Local organised crime, known as the Camorra, has created a multi-billion dollar industry of waste management

In pictures: Naples rubbish

A former national police chief and an army general have been despatched to Naples to try to sort out the mess.

They have been given four months by the prime minister, with help from army engineers, to get the garbage men back to work and to clean up the rubbish.

But no-one seems very confident that they will succeed where previous local and national administrations have failed.

Sabotage

The practical problems of rubbish collection in Naples are complicated by the fact that the local organised crime network, known as the Camorra, has created a multi-billion dollar industry of waste management in and around the city.

Many Italians living in other parts of the county cannot believe the pictures from Naples they see on TV every day

Can the EU clean up Naples?

The Camorra transports huge quantities of waste from northern Europe at cut prices and dumps it illegally around the Naples area. Not only that, but it also sabotages the municipal garbage trucks paid for by Neapolitan taxpayers in order to transport the local rubbish themselves, at a profit.

Local administrators whose job it is to deal with household and industrial waste are heavily infiltrated by the Camorra. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/7182979.stm>

Water-boarding 'would be torture'

Mr McConnell said the legal test for torture should be "pretty simple"

US national intelligence chief Mike McConnell has said the interrogation technique of water-boarding "would be torture" if he was subjected to it.

Mr McConnell said it would also be torture if water-boarding, which involves simulated drowning, resulted in water entering a detainee's lungs.
He told the New Yorker there would be a "huge penalty" for anyone using it if it was ever determined to be torture.
The US attorney-general has declined to rule on whether the method is torture.
However, Michael Mukasey said during his Senate confirmation hearing that water-boarding was "repugnant to me" and that he would institute a review.

Whether it's torture by anybody else's definition, for me it would be torture

Mike McConnell, US Director of National Intelligence

In December, the House of Representatives approved a bill that would ban the CIA from using harsh interrogation techniques such as water-boarding.
President George W Bush has threatened to veto the bill, which would require the agency to follow the rules adopted by the US Army and abide by the Geneva Conventions, if the Senate passes it. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7185648.stm>

Arms offer as Bush visits Saudis

Mr Bush's limousine was given a mounted escort in Riyadh

The Bush administration has notified the US Congress that it intends to go ahead with a major sale of sensitive military technology to Saudi Arabia.

It made the announcement just hours after US President George W Bush began his first visit to the kingdom, as part of a tour of Gulf Arab allies.
The laser-guided bomb technology sale is worth $123m (£63m).
Mr Bush is believed to have stayed up late on Monday for talks with King Abdullah at his palace in Riyadh.
What happens in Saudi Arabia happens for the most part behind closed doors so there has been little detail of Mr Bush's visit so far, says the BBC's Matthew Price who is travelling with him.

Israeli-Palestinian talks, democracy and oil prices all probably featured in the president's initial discussions with the king, but when tensions over Iran's nuclear activities came up, it was apparently not for long, our correspondent adds. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7188602.stm>

RP stocks tumble 2.77% on fears of weakening US economy

01/16/2008 | 12:39 PM

Philippine share prices declined for the third consecutive day on Wednesday, dragged by Wall Street's poor performance overnight and a string of bad local news, analysts said.

The 30-company Philippine Stock Exchange index tumbled 95.63 points or 2.77 percent to 3,351.66 while the all- share index slid 55.07 points or 2.5987 percent to 2,064.09.

Jose Vistan, AB Capital Securities research chief, said the drop in Wall Street coupled with the news that the US' Federation Aviation Administration downgraded the Philippines' aviation safety to Category 2 and the news about new destabilization attempts against the current administration, led to the market's fallout.

Dow Jones on Tuesday fell almost 280 points on concerns that the US economy is slipping into recession.

“It was a double whammy. Wall Street plus the destabilization and the FAA's action. The downgrade of the country's aviation safety is seen to have an impact to the economy because tourism, among others, will be affected," Vistan said.

Losers trounced gainers 125 to 17 while 28 stocks were unmoved.

Volume traded reached 2.12 billion valued at P3.56 billion.

Telecommunications giant Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. dropped P25 or 0.83 percent to P2,985.

Lopez-led power distributor Manila Electric Co. plunged P4 or 5.37 percent to P70.50.

Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co., the country's largest lender in terms of assets, lost P3.50 or 7.2917 percent at P44.50.

Ayala unit Bank of the Philippine Islands slipped P2 or 3.42 percent to P56.50.

Ayala Corp., the country's largest conglomerate, fell P32.50 or 6.25 percent to P487.50. - Cheryl Arcibal, GMANews.TV <http://www.gmanews.tv/story/76729/RP-stocks-tumble-277-on-fears-of-weakening-US-economy>

Somber Fed says US economy has lost momentum

01/17/2008 | 10:42 AM

WASHINGTON - Retailers, home builders and many manufacturers should brace for even more rough times ahead, a somber Federal Reserve suggests amid growing fears that the US might be sliding into recession.

The Fed's snapshot of business conditions showed a national economy losing momentum heading into the new year and a future riddled with uncertainty. The persistent housing slump and harder-to-get credit are making people and businesses ever more cautious, it said.

Separately on Wednesday, the Labor Department reported that US consumer prices rose in 2007 at the fastest pace in 17 years in 2007, by 4.1 percent, as motorists paid a lot more for gasoline and grocery shoppers paid higher food bills.

Also, more big banks reported losses and said people were having trouble making payments for everything from credit cards to cars. Stocks were mostly down Wednesday, the Dow Jones industrial average declining 34.95 points, or 0.28 percent.

The Fed report was the unwelcome icing on a recent batch of economic indicators, ranging from a plunge in retail sales to a big jump in unemployment, raising concern that the country is heading for its first recession since 2001.

At the beginning of last year, many economists put the chance of a recession at less than 1-in-3; now an increasing number say 50-50 or even worse. Goldman Sachs, the biggest investment bank on Wall Street, thinks a recession is inevitable this year.

The Fed report said the economy did grow during the survey period, from the middle of November through December, but more slowly than during the late fall. Credit problems intensified in December as did troubles in the housing market. That threw Wall Street into new turbulence.

The economy probably grew at a feeble pace of about 1.5 percent or less in the final three months of last year and will stay weak in the first quarter of this year as consumers, major shapers of the nation's economic health, tighten their belts.

After retailers suffered their worst sales season in five years in 2007, ''the outlook for 2008 among retail merchants was cautious,'' the Fed said in its report. And the outlook for housing remains gloomy: ''weak during the first part of 2008.''

Fallout from a meltdown in risky ''subprime'' mortgages continued to sock financial institutions. JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo Inc. both reported Wednesday that their earnings fell, raising fresh fears of a widespread lending crisis.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, in a speech last week, pledged to aggressively cut a key interest rate as needed to try to prevent all these problems from plunging the economy into a major recession. That may well mean a bold half-point cut at the end of a two-day meeting on Jan. 30. The Fed started cutting rates in September, but some critics on Wall Street and elsewhere say Bernanke should have acted sooner and more forcefully.

''Clearly there is a high level of caution,'' said Ken Mayland, president of ClearView Economics. ''Everyone's guard is up to protect and insulate one's businesses from the high degree of sluggishness that is expected to prevail in the months ahead.''

With voters expressing angst over the economy, the White House and the Democrat-controlled Congress are exploring ways, including the possibility of temporary tax rebates, to get money quickly into the hands of consumers and help stimulate spending. Presidential contenders also are floating their own ideas for rescue packages.

The chairman of Congress' Joint Economic Committee said he had spoken Monday with Bernanke and found him ''generally supportive'' of lawmakers and Bush approving a stimulus bill.

Bernanke, who has not supported any specific plan, testifies before the House Budget Committee Thursday.

The recent leap in the nation's unemployment rate, from 4.7 percent in November to 5 percent in December, rang one of the loudest warning bells. It raised concerns that consumers would clamp down, sending the economy into a tailspin.

On Wednesday, the Fed observed that ''holiday sales were generally disappointing'' and pointed to ''further weakness in auto sales.''

A day earlier, the government reported that shoppers cut back on their spending by 0.4 percent in December, wrapping up the weakest year for retailers since 2002.

Adding to worry about how consumers will hold up: Consumer confidence, as measured by the RBC Cash Index, fell in January to its lowest point in figures dating back to 2002.

The housing picture remains bleak, ''quite weak'' in all Fed regions, the survey said. Sales continued to be sluggish, and inventories of unsold homes ''persisted at historically high levels.''

Manufacturing activity varied around the country, but there was one common thread: Factories reported ''pronounced weakness'' in housing-related industries as well as the automobile business. The Fed, in a separate report Wednesday, said production by big industry was flat in December, fresh evidence of an economic slowdown. - AP <http://www.gmanews.tv/story/76862/Somber-Fed-says-US-economy-has-lost-momentum>

Sundance's Hollywood and indie mix

By Tom Brook
Park City, Utah

Hitman film In Bruges, starring Colin Farrell, launches the festival

While the Hollywood writers' strike has overshadowed many showbiz events, it may bring a lift to the Sundance Film Festival which kicks off on Thursday.

Some top distributors, anxious to maintain a roster of films should the strike drag on, are arriving in Park City, Utah in an acquisitive mood.
Hollywood's stockpile remains considerable, but buyers will be on the prowl looking for independent pictures with commercial potential.
It has become a sellers' market, which is good news for film-makers en route to the festival angling for distribution deals.

There are no precise figures, but it is estimated that some 50,000 festival-goers will be heading for this Utah ski resort. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7192198.stm>

Medical plants 'face extinction'

Magnolias are one of hundreds of plants under threat

Hundreds of medicinal plants are at risk of extinction, threatening the discovery of future cures for disease, according to experts.

Over 50% of prescription drugs are derived from chemicals first identified in plants.
But the Botanic Gardens Conservation International said many were at risk from over-collection and deforestation.
Researchers warned the cures for things such as cancer and HIV may become "extinct before they are ever found".
The group, which represents botanic gardens across 120 countries, surveyed over 600 of its members as well as leading university experts.

MIRACLE CURES MOST AT RISK

Yew tree - Cancer drug paclitaxel is derived from the bark, but it takes six trees to create a single dose so growers are struggling to keep up

Hoodia - Plant has sparked interest for its ability to suppress appetite, but vast quantities have already been "ripped from the wild" as the search for the miracle weight drug continues

Magnolia - Has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for 5,000 years as it is believed to help fight cancer, dementia and heart disease. Half the world's species threatened, mostly due to deforestation

Autumn crocus - Romans and Greeks used it as poison, but now one of the most effective treatments for gout. Under threat from horticulture trade

They identified 400 plants that were at risk of extinction.
These included yew trees, the bark of which forms the basis for one of the world's most widely used cancer drugs, paclitaxel.
Hoodia, which originally comes from Namibia and is attracting interest from drug firms looking into developing weight loss drugs, is on the verge of extinction, the report said.
And half of the world's species of magnolias are also under threat.
The plant contains the chemical honokiol, which has been used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat cancers and slow down the onset of heart disease.
The report also said autumn crocus, which is a natural treatment for gout and has been linked to helping fight leukaemia, is at risk of over-harvest as it is popular with the horticultural trade because of its stunning petals.
Many of the chemicals from the at-risk plants are now created in the lab.
But the report said as well as future breakthroughs being put at risk, the situation was likely to have a consequence in the developing world.
It said five billion people still rely on traditional plant-based medicine as their primary form of health care.
Report author Belinda Hawkins said: "The loss of the world's medicinal plants may not always be at the forefront of the public consciousness.
"However, it is not an overstatement to say that if the precipitous decline of these species is not halted, it could destabilise the future of global healthcare."
And Richard Ley, of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry, added: "Nature has provided us with many of our medicines.
"Scientists are always interested in what they can provide and so it is a worry that such plants may be at risk." <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7196702.stm>

Arroyo leaves for Switzerland Tuesday

01/20/2008 | 07:13 PM

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo leaves for Switzerland on January 22 to attend the World Economic Forum (WEF) and seek more investments for the Philippines.

Mrs Arroyo will leave the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Centennial Terminal at 12:30 p.m. after being accorded the usual military departure honors. She will go to Zurich first to talk to several international businessmen before proceeding to Davos.

After Davos, the President will go to the United Arab Emirates for an investment mission. She is expected to return to Manila on January 28.

Mrs Arroyo will leave Manila amid talks of a fresh destabilization attempt against her administration.

Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said the WEF is expected to draw 2,500 participants from 88 countries, including 27 heads of state or government, 113 Cabinet members, and business leaders, religious leaders, media leaders and heads of non-government organizations.

Bunye said Davos would be another opportunity for Mrs Arroyo to “share experiences and to collaborate more closely with new leaders and thinkers on a multitude of global challenges we face today."

He said the President has emphasized the importance of international relations in her government's political and economic reform agenda.

The WEF, which begins on January 23, would also host Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai, Israeli President Shimon Peres, Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, Nigeria'n President Umaru Yar'Adua, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will open the event.

Among the expected topics to be discussed are the world economy in the light of the US recession and the peace in the Middle East. - GMANews.TV <http://www.gmanews.tv/story/77260/Arroyo-leaves-for-Switzerland-Tuesday>

Global shares tumble on US fears

Investors remain worried about the state of the US economy

Global stock markets have tumbled, with European indexes heading for their worst day in four years, amid growing fears of a recession in the US.

London's FTSE 100 index fell 3.6% to 5685.2, in Paris the Cac-40 fell 6.7%, and Frankfurt's Dax dropped 5.4%.
Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index slid by 3.9% to its lowest close since October 2005, while India's Sensex shed 7.4%.
Investors have taken little comfort from emergency measures proposed by President George W Bush on Friday.
"It's another horrible day," said Francis Lun of Fulbright Securities in Hong Kong.
"Today it's because of disappointment that the US stimulus is too little, too late and investors feel it won't help the economy recover."
US markets have closed for a public holiday on Monday and will re-open on Tuesday. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7199552.stm>

Barroso faces business backlash

Shell's van der Veer warns against "destroying" shareholder value

European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso is under pressure to respond to fears that new proposals on climate change will harm industry.

Some of Europe's top business leaders warn the plans could hit the amount firms invest in the field and actually be worse for the environment.
Industrialists say changing the carbon emissions trading system is premature.
In a speech on Monday, Mr Barroso will urge business to pick up the baton and seize the opportunity with both hands.
He will tell a business audience in London that the EU's emissions trading system (ETS) has to be developed "with common rules to ensure a level playing field". <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7200033.stm>

Call to abandon biofuels targets

By Roger Harrabin
BBC Environment Analyst

Biofuels are increasing in popularity

The EU should abandon its biofuels targets because they are damaging the environment, a committee of MPs says.

The Environmental Audit Committee says biofuels are ineffective at cutting greenhouse gases and can be expensive.
It also says problematic emissions from cars can be cut more cheaply and with lower environmental risk.
The report comes in the week the EU launches a huge, over-arching climate change strategy which includes rules aimed at reducing damage from biofuels.
In a draft, the EU admits that the current target of 5.75% biofuels on the roads by 2010 is unlikely to be achieved. But it maintains its target of 10% road biofuel by 2020.
It states that in future biofuels should not be grown on forest land, wetland - including peat - or permanent grassland, a move that will please critics.

At present most biofuels have a detrimental impact on the environment overall

Tim Yeo MP

The EU will also stipulate that biofuels should achieve a minimum level of greenhouse gas savings.
But these figures have been contested, and it looks as though the calculation will exclude the carbon released by disturbing soil when the biofuels are planted. That would prove very controversial.
It is also unclear how the EU will ensure that its biofuels production on agricultural land does not push up food prices or displace food production, forcing peasants or other agri-businesses into felling other virgin forest to grow crops.
The committee of MPs says the targets are putting up food prices and threatening food supplies for the poor.

The EU and the UK government should concentrate on the use of "sustainable" biofuels such as waste vegetable oil and the development of more efficient biofuel technologies, it adds. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7199073.stm>

Children are Sweden's top priority

Asa and her family received high-quality care

BBC medical correspondent Fergus Walsh has been to Sweden which has the lowest level of child mortality in the world.

In delivery suite number 11 at the Karolinska University hospital, Asa Andersson is in the middle of labour, her husband Per at her side along with a highly trained midwife.
At quarter to midnight, Asa gives birth to a healthy baby boy. Everything went well.
But had there been complications doctors and a fully equipped operating theatre were just down the corridor.
This is childbirth in Sweden, the safest place in the world to be born - fewer children die here under the age of five than in any other country.
For Sweden, the figure is three deaths per 1,000 children, compared to six per 1,000 in the UK, and 270 per 1,000 in Sierra Leone, which has the highest child mortality rate in the world.
I was also present at a Caesarean delivery, just as I had been in Sierra Leone only days before.

Expert staff

In Sierra Leone the operating theatre was almost bare: there were no monitors to check the mother's vital signs and just one doctor.
In Stockholm there were two specialist obstetricians, a paediatrician on standby and an anaesthetist.

Facilities are comprehensive and clean

Add to that a wealth of monitoring equipment and it's easy to see why childbirth in Sweden is so much safer.
One in 17,400 mothers die in childbirth, compared to one in eight in Sierra Leone and one in 8,200 in the UK.
If an infant is premature then it can be taken to the neonatal care unit where there are two staff to every cot.
Sweden has one of the best staffed health services in the world.

It has 320 doctors per 100,000 people compared to two doctors per 100,000 people in Sierra Leone. The UK has 230 doctors per 100,000 population. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7202694.stm>

Kite to pull ship across Atlantic

The technology is aimed at cutting CO2 emissions

The world's first commercial cargo ship partially powered by a giant kite is setting sail from Germany to Venezuela.

The designers of the MS Beluga Skysails say the computer-controlled kite, measuring 160sq m (1,722sq ft), could cut fuel consumption by as much as 20%.
They also hope the state-of-the-art kite will help reduce carbon dioxide emissions, as it tugs the ship.
Fuel burnt by ships accounts for 4% of global CO2 emissions - twice as much as the aviation industry produces.
The MS Beluga SkySails' maiden transatlantic voyage is from the northern port of Bremerhaven to Guanta in Venezuela. The ship is expected to leave the German port at 1700 local time (1600 GMT).

It's kind of back to the future

Verena Frank, Beluga Shipping

The BBC's Steve Rosenberg, on board the vessel, says the computer will enable the kite to harness the full power of the wind.
"The maiden voyage marks the beginning of the practical testing during regular shipping operations of the SkySails System," says Stephan Wrage, managing director of SkySails GmbH.

"During the next few months we will finally be able to prove that our technology works in practice and significantly reduces fuel consumption and emissions," he said on the company's website. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7201887.stm>

Fed slashes rates in shock move

Fed chairman Ben Bernanke is aiming to shore up confidence

The US Federal Reserve has cut interest rates to 3.5%, a shock three-quarters of a percentage point reduction.
Aimed at staving off a US recession, the move failed to calm investors, with shares continuing to fall sharply as Wall Street opened for Tuesday trading.
The Fed, the US central bank, said latest figures indicated a deepening of the country's housing market slump and increased unemployment levels.
One analyst said the Fed was "obviously panicked" by the threat of recession.

"Unfortunately they have no power to reverse what in my opinion is the worst post-war recession," said Michael Metz, chief investment strategist at Oppenheimer in New York. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7202645.stm>

Tensions at the top in Iran

By Sadeq Saba
BBC Iran analyst

The recent rebuke by Iran's supreme leader to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad may indicate that the clerical establishment is beginning to lose patience with a president whose popularity has been plummeting in recent months amid a worsening economic situation.

There is a growing gap between president and supreme leader

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei publicly intervened on Monday to end a dispute between Mr Ahmadinejad and parliament by ordering the president to implement a gas-sector law.

This kind of intervention by the supreme leader is rare in Iranian politics.

The ayatollah could have opted for a private resolution of the dispute.

The fact that he decided to go public and send a letter to parliament to overrule Mr Ahmadinejad may suggest that he wants to convey a signal that he is not happy with the president.

Ayatollah Khamenei's previously effusive and often unconditional praise for Mr Ahmadinejad angered many people in the clerical establishment, who believe the president's domestic and foreign policies have harmed the interests of the Islamic Republic. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7204590.stm>

Kenya's poor at each other's throats

By Fergal Keane
BBC News, Kibera, Nairobi

More than half of Kibera's residents are unemployed

No phrase so commonly used about Africa can conceal quite so much.
I am talking about those two very familiar words "tribal violence".
They conjure up memories of the Congo and Biafra in the 1960s, Uganda and Burundi in the decade after that, all the way to the miseries of Central Africa in the 1990s.
Sadly the Western mind has been conditioned to accept a simplistic notion of what "tribal violence"' really means: people driven to kill each other by irrational atavistic hatreds.
Now the expression is being used again to describe the crisis here in Kenya.

Those who have nothing are looting those who have a little bit more

I wouldn't for a second try to deny that what happened in all the places described above involved some degree of ethnic motivation.
Having witnessed at first hand the hatred of Hutu militiamen for Tutsi civilians in Rwanda.
I understand only too well how real or imagined ethnic difference can be whipped up by unscrupulous leaders. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7205762.stm>

US shares make stunning recovery

US shares rebounded on Wednesday on fresh hopes that regulators will steer the US economy out of a recession.
All three stock market indexes erased deep losses to end strongly ahead. The Dow Jones rose 2.5% at 12,270.17, while the Nasdaq turned around a 4% decline.
The rally followed news of a plan to bail out bond insurers, which lie at the heart of the financial system. They guarantee about $2 trillion of assets.
Earlier, European stocks fell. The UK's FTSE 100 was down by 3.9% at one point.

Panic has swept through stock markets worldwide on fears that key global economies will enter recession. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7203966.stm>

Virgin unveils spaceship designs

Virgin Galactic has released the final design of the launch system that will take fare-paying passengers into space.
It is based on the X-Prize-winning SpaceShipOne concept - a rocket ship that is lifted initially by a carrier plane before blasting skywards.
The Virgin system is essentially a refinement, but has been increased in size to take eight people at a time on a sub-orbital trip, starting in 2010.
Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson said the space business had huge potential.
"I think it's very important that we make a genuine commercial success of this project," he told a news conference in New York.
"If we do, I believe we'll unlock a wall of private sector money into both space launch systems and space technology.
"This could rival the scale of investment in the mobile phone and internet technologies after they were unlocked from their military origins and thrown open to the private sector." <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7205445.stm>

MPs ready to decide pay increase

MPs may not have to make a decision on their own pay in future

MPs are due to decide whether to back Prime Minister Gordon Brown's call for a below-inflation pay increase.
The independent Senior Salaries Review Body (SSRB) has recommended a 2.56% salary rise from £60,277 to £61,820.
The government says the rise should mirror below-inflation public sector deals, and be awarded in two stages - making it effectively worth 1.9%.
The Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat front benches are all in agreement on the lower figure. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/7206137.stm>

RP stocks gain nearly 3% as players go bargain hunting

01/24/2008 | 11:01 AM

(Updated 12:54 p.m.) Philippine share prices closed sharply higher on Thursday, tracking the gains made by Wall Street, as investors went bargain-hunting for cheap blue chip stocks, analysts said.

The 30-company Philippine Stock Exchange index soared 89.16 points or 2.92 percent to 3,147.42, however the index reached a high of 3,170.48 during the session, before players decided to trim gains towards the end of the day. The broader all-shares index jumped 45.06 points or 2.38 percent to 1,939.18.

Gainers were whipping losers 101 to 24 while 40 were steady.

About 2.36 billion shares worth almost P5 billion changed hands.

Astro del Castillo, First Grade Holdings managing director, said bargain-hunters ruled the day because of consensus that the market is already oversold.

"Besides investors realizing that our fundamentals remain solid and the strong potentials of our listed companies, Wall Street was up last night and oil prices went down," he said.

Del Castillo added that the rate cut made by the US Federal Reserve is "boosting the market."

However, he warned that the market is not yet out of the woods and investors have yet to see the end of market volatility.

The Dow Jones industrial on Wednesday gained almost 300 points following the US Fed emergency rate cut to 3.5 percent on Tuesday.

Top telecom firm Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. led trading. It gained P85 or 3.29 percent at P2,670.

Ayala Corp., the country's largest business group, rose P5 or 1.11 percent to P455. Its property unit Ayala Land Inc. added P0.50 or 3.70 percent at P14.

Megaworld Corp. jumped P0.10 or 3.57 percent to P2.90.

Manila Electric Co., the country's largest power distributor, surged P3 or 4.23 percent to P74. - GMANews.TV <http://www.gmanews.tv/story/77800/RP-stocks-gain-nearly-3-as-players-go--bargain-hunting>

Group nixes 'generics-only' provision, but won't compel members to join strike

01/24/2008 | 01:37 PM

The of Health Alliance for Democracy (Head) on Thursday clarified its position on a provision on the proposed cheaper medicines bill that requires doctors to prescribe generic medicines, saying it will not compel its members to join the planned hospital holiday being pushed by the Philippine Medical Association (PMA).

In a telephone interview with GMANews.TV, Dr. Geneve Rivera, Head deputy secretary-general, said that while the group fully supports PMA's stand that the "generics-only prescription" provision in the proposed legislation should be scrapped, it does not compel its members for joining the planned holiday, nor sanction those who will join the action.

Rivera explained that the group, which is composed of individual health practitioners and medical organizations, cannot impose upon its 300-strong members a particular course of action on the issue.

"We are composed of individual members as well as health organizations. And when it comes down to the question of whether to join the hospital holiday, we cannot impose on our members to join it because some of our members are organizations that decide for themselves, and we respect whatever decisions they make," Rivera said.

In an earlier radio interview, Cruz said it will be unfair to patients if doctors try to make their point at the expense of their patients.

"Hindi okay ang hospital holiday kung apektado ang serbisyo sa pasyenteng kailangan ng tulong (We do not agree to a hospital holiday if this means affecting services to patients who need doctors)," Cruz said.

In the interview, Cruz, however, clarified that this was only her personal view, and not the group's stand on the matter.

In a separate press statement, Rivera said the group supports PMA's calls for the scrapping of the provision in House Bill 2844 that requires doctors to prescribe generic medicines to their patients.

"Categorically, we support the action of the doctors against the ill conceived 'generics only prescription' suggested by HB 2844... The 'generics only provision' does not give the immediate and effective solution of lowering drug prices," Rivera said.

Instead of putting in such measures, Rivera said the bill's proponents should look deeper into the reasons behind exorbitant prices of medicines in the country.

"The authors of HB 2844 should examine thoroughly the reasons why drug prices are exorbitantly unaffordable in the Philippines. One reason is that the drug industry is monopolized by transnational and multinational drug companies, another is that there is no regulation of drug prices," Rivera said.

"Also the government should not be let off the hook. The ill implementation of the Generics Act, the failure of Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD) to evaluate and monitor generic drug manufacture/production which led to the lack of confidence in generic drugs by the doctors and even patients... The issue should be redirected to dismantling the monopoly of the multinationals and transnationals over the drug industry and the lack of resolve of the government to control drug prices," she added. - GMANews.TV <http://www.gmanews.tv/story/77830/Group-nixes-generics-only-provision-but-wont-compel-members-to-join-strike>

Canal plan divides Korea

By John Sudworth
BBC News, Seoul

South Korea's incoming President Lee Myung-bak intends to build a canal stretching the length of the country - he believes it will be an engineering marvel, others say it is lunacy.

Kim Kyung-pyo is pretty much the only sign of life on this stretch of the icy Nakdong river.
Mr Kim owns a fish soup restaurant in the town of Mungyeong.
Many a catfish from these waters has ended up on his customers' plates.
He admits to being a little troubled about a plan that will transform this sleepy backwater beyond all recognition.
"If the canal affects my livelihood, then there's a problem," Mr Kim said.
"We catch fish, we make soup, and we need to eat." <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7202161.stm>

Economic plan is challenge to Sarkozy

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has welcomed a report from a commission of experts containing far reaching proposals for boosting economic growth in France. The BBC's Alasdair Sandford in Paris asks how far he is likely to go in implementing them.

Attali said the proposals could lead to the creation of two million jobs

Earlier in his presidency, French President Nicolas Sarkozy had been typically bullish when faced with a rather pessimistic economic forecast.
France, he said, would go in search of the missing growth "with its teeth".
But by the beginning of this year, the president appeared surprisingly toothless when challenged to explain why people's spending power remained stubbornly low.
"What do you expect of me?" he demanded. "That I raid the till when it's already empty?" That disarmingly honest assessment of the state of the nation's finances - not to mention the current global financial crisis - has put the commission's proposals on ways of achieving economic growth into sharp focus. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7206036.stm>

Controversial Baguio flyover now open to motorists

01/25/2008 | 12:39 PM

BAGUIO CITY – After several postponements, the controversial P172.2M flyover at the Baguio General Hospital rotunda was finally opened to all types of vehicles Friday morning.

Public Works Sec. Hermogenes E. Ebdane, who was present during the ribbon-cutting ceremony, said the flyover is expected to ease traffic in the area and address the growing population and motorists of the city.

Ebdane was accompanied by Baguio Rep. Mauricio Domogan, Vice Mayor Daniel Farinas, Undersecretary Ramon Aquino and DPWH-CAR Director Mariano Alquiza.

Apart from easing traffic, Ebdane said the multimillion flyover will add to the natural attraction of Baguio City for its grand design of log finished guardrails and modular blocks.

Baguio City is a popular destination of local and foreign tourists especially during the summer season.

The 271-meter flyover was designed in 2002 to cost P88.4 million, with initial funding coming from a P43M savings from the Marcos Highway rehabilitation.

Protesters had tried to stop the project because of environmental concerns such as tree-cutting, destruction of springs and water basins, and the threat of an earthquake.

Rep. Domogan said the delays had bloated the project’s cost to P172M.

“We suffered the consequences of delays," Domogan said.

Domogan said all the matured trees were not cut. - GMANews.TV <http://www.gmanews.tv/story/77973/Controversial-Baguio-flyover-now-open-to-motorists>

Oil prices rise to near $90 due to US economic stimulus plan

01/25/2008 | 12:31 PM

BANGKOK, Thailand - Oil futures rose Friday in Asia to extend an overnight gain of more than $2 a barrel after US leaders agreed to a stimulus plan in an effort to avert a major slowdown in the world's largest economy.

Light, sweet crude for March delivery rose 39 cents to $89.80 a barrel in Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midday in Singapore. The contract gained $2.42 to settle at $89.41 a barrel in the floor session.

Prices were also boosted Thursday after the US government reported a drop in heating oil supplies.

But the overnight gains really accelerated, with oil posting its largest rise in over three weeks, on word that President George W. Bush's administration and Congressional leaders had reached an agreement on an economic stimulus package.

Traders have bet that the tax refunds of $600 (€409) to $1,200 (€818) that are part of the package will boost oil demand.

Meanwhile, the weekly inventory report from the Energy Department's Energy Information Administration showed stocks of distillates, which include heating oil and diesel fuel, fell 1.3 million barrels last week. Analysts surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had said, on average, distillate supplies would remain unchanged.

That decline was countered by domestic gasoline inventories, which jumped 5 million barrels, more than triple the analysts' expectations. Crude inventories rose 2.3 million barrels, the EIA said, slightly more than expected.

Because the report was mixed, investors' attention has returned to the economy and rebounding global stock markets.

Oil prices fell in recent days, following equity markets that dropped earlier this week on U.S. recession worries. But with the Federal Reserve's emergency cut in its key interest rate Tuesday, stock markets worldwide have been rebounding, although extreme volatility continues to mark trade.

On Friday in Asia, Japan's benchmark Nikkei index was up 2.9 percent in afternoon trade, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng had gained as much as 5.9 percent in its morning session. On Thursday, the Dow Jones industrial average gained more than 100 points for its second straight positive finish.

Energy investors often view stocks as a proxy for economic growth, fearing that a slowdown would curtail demand for oil and petroleum products such as gasoline and heating oil.

In London, March Brent crude rose 33 cents to $89.40 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange in London.

Nymex heating oil futures rose 0.92 cent to $2.4855 a gallon (3.8 liters) while gasoline prices added 0.97 cent to $2.2925 a gallon. November natural gas futures rose 5.8 cents to $7.86 per 1,000 cubic feet. - AP <http://www.gmanews.tv/story/77972/Oil-prices-rise-to-near-90-due-to-US-economic-stimulus-plan>

RP stocks surge for 3rd day on bargain hunting

01/25/2008 | 12:24 PM

(Updated 12:45 p.m.) Philippine stocks rose sharply for the third straight day on Friday, due to follow through buying of bargain shares created by an "extremely oversold market", analysts said.

The Philippine Stock Exchange closed higher by 89.99 points, or 2.86 percent at 3,237.41.

"This technical rally is what we call a retracement. The market is extremely oversold right now. The pick up today is still bargain hunting and follow through buying," said Jose Vistan, research head of AB Capital Securities.

Vistan also said the local bourse's recovery tracks gains by Wall Street, which rose more than 100 points after the release of positive United States economic data. The Hang Seng index was also up by more than 5 percent in early trade, as was the Nikkei index, which had gained 2.8 percent in the morning session.

"It's hard to predict what will happen in the short to medium term. It looks bearish but our situation right now is exceptional because the recent rate cut is acting as a support. We're waiting for another rate cut so it's really just wait and see right now," Vistan said.

The US Federal reserve reduced its key interest rates by 75 basis points earlier this week to prevent the US economy from sliding into recession. There is wide consensus that the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas will follow suit and slash its rates aggressively in its next two policy meetings.

In local trade, gainers trumped losers, 79 to 30 while 61 shares were steady.

Volume traded reached 2.07 billion valued at P4.05 billion.

Trading was led by market heavyweight Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. which jumped P180 or 4.87 percent to P2,800.

Top power distributor Manila Electric Co., surged P5 or 6.76 percent to P79.

Ayala Corp., the country's oldest and largest conglomerate, rose P7.50 or 1.65 to P462.50. Its lending unit Bank of the Philippine Islands gained P1 or 1.68 percent at P60.50.

Megaworld Corp. was steady at P2.90. - GMANews.TV <http://www.gmanews.tv/story/77971/RP-stocks-surge-for-3rd-day-on-bargain-hunting>

Bill Gates gives $19.9-M grant to IRRI

01/25/2008 | 07:22 PM

MANILA - A foundation run by Microsoft founder Bill Gates and his wife will provide a $19.9 million (€13.6 million) grant to develop rice varieties that will benefit 400,000 small farmers in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, the Philippine-based International Rice Research Institute said Friday.

Gates announced the donation from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation as part of a package of agricultural development grants during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, IRRI said in a statement issued in Manila.

The money will be used to develop and distribute over three years rice varieties that can withstand drought, floods and salty water in rain-fed ecosystems where farmers have little or no access to irrigation. Such conditions reduce yields, harm livelihoods, and foster hunger and malnutrition, it said.

The grant is part of a $306 million (€208 million) package that nearly doubles the foundation's investments in agriculture since it launched its agricultural development initiative in mid-2006, the statement said.

''If we are serious about ending extreme hunger and poverty around the world, we must be serious about transforming agriculture for small farmers - most of whom are women,'' Gates was quoted as saying.

''These investments - from improving the quality of seeds, to developing healthier soil, to creating new markets - will pay off not only in children fed and lives saved. They can have a dramatic impact on poverty reduction as families generate additional income and improve their lives.''

Rice is the staple food of about 2.4 billion people and provides more than 20 percent of their daily calorie intake, and up to 70 percent for the poorest of the poor, IRRI said.

To meet the projected global demand, the world's annual rice production must increase by nearly 70 percent - from 520 million tons to nearly 880 million tons - by 2025. With nearly all irrigated rice-growing land already in production, there is considerable potential to increase rice yields on rain-fed land, IRRI said.

IRRI is the world's leading rice research and training center focused on improving the well-being of rice farmers and consumers, particularly the poor.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation supports health care and poverty reduction in poor countries and funds research on measures to deal with these problems.

Gates is relinquishing his daily duties at Microsoft later this year to focus full time on philanthropy. - AP <http://www.gmanews.tv/story/78021/Bill-Gates-gives-199-M-grant-to-IRRI>

Deal reached on US economic plan

US lawmakers are working on a $150bn plan to boost the economy

The White House and the Democrats in Congress have agreed a $150bn (£76bn) economic stimulus package that will offer tax rebates to boost growth.

House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Congress would act on the deal "at the earliest date, so those rebate cheques will be in the mail".
Some 117 million US homes will receive a rebate of up to $600 for individuals and up to $1,200 for married couples.
Washington is moving fast to try to avoid the US falling into a recession.

I can't say that I'm totally pleased with the package, but I do know that it will help stimulate the economy

Democrats' Nancy Pelosi

Couples with children will also get an extra $300 per child.
The tax rebates for households should total $100bn, while businesses will benefit from up to $50bn of tax cuts.

"Because the country needs this boost to the economy now, I urge the House and the Senate to enact this economic growth agreement into law as soon as possible," said President George W Bush. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7206412.stm>

Cambodia to get first skyscraper

Officials linked the building to Cambodia's economic success

Cambodian officials have attended the official sales launch of the first-ever skyscraper in the capital, Phnom Penh.

The twin towers are to be 42 storeys high - almost three times higher than the current tallest building.
It is the first of three skyscrapers planned in the capital, where the skyline has been kept low - in part to avoid overshadowing royal palaces.
But the government has encouraged the new buildings as symbols of Cambodia's development after decades of conflict.
Although Gold Tower 42 is some way from completion, the launch of its show apartment and sales office attracted government ministers and overseas ambassadors.
The BBC's Guy De Launey, in Phnom Penh, said the launch gave a taste of the shape of things to come.
He said the solid, imposing, gold-faced structure would stand out from its neighbours on Norodom Boulevard - an area of yellow-washed, wooden-shuttered French colonial-era buildings.
But Phnom Penh is in the middle of a real-estate boom - and some residents hope that building up will bring the price of homes down.
"It's more affordable for people wanting to stay in town, and I think it's good. It's secure and they have all the facilities," one resident said.
But other locals worry about the effect tall buildings will have on the city's character
"The original Phnom Penh city [was developed to] be horizontal, not vertical," one resident said.
South Korean companies are building Gold Tower 42 and another even taller skyscraper near the Mekong River. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7207030.stm>

Police search rogue trader's flat

Police have searched Mr Kerviel's apartment

Police have searched the flat of Jerome Kerviel, the man said to be the rogue trader who lost 4.9bn euros ($7.1bn; £3.7bn) at Societe Generale.
Officers spent two hours at the address in the Paris suburb of Neuilly before leaving with a number of briefcases.
While Mr Kerviel's exact whereabouts is now unknown, his family has leapt to his defence, insisting he is innocent.

"He is being made to carry the blame and is not the guilty one," one unnamed relative told the Reuters news agency. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7210293.stm>

Why companies need female managers

By Tim Weber
Business editor, BBC News website, in Davos

Ms Fisher says a good business needs both male and female staff

When Helen Fisher speaks, the politically correct members of her audience are likely to flinch.

Declaring that she's "definitely not a feminist," the American anthropologist from Rutgers University dissects the differences between men and women.
Men are more analytical; women are better long-term planners.
Each gender has a different way of falling in love.
And the invention of the plough did more to set back gender equality than anything else since.
What Ms Fisher says is not psychobabble. She bases her findings on archaeological evidence, MRI brain scans, genetics and large-scale surveys of how men and women behave.
And understanding that male and female brains develop and behave differently is important not just if you are in the dating game.

It also helps us to hire the right people, improve teamwork and can - to quote part of the title of her talk at the World Economic Forum in Davos - grow a company's bottomline. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7209353.stm>

Shares fall on more economy fears

All eyes are on the US again

European and Asian shares have fallen sharply as concerns continue about the threat of recession in the US and its impact on the world economy.

The UK's main FTSE 100 index was down 108 points or 1.8% in morning trading in London, while Germany's Dax had lost 1.6% and France's Cac was down 2.5%.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 had earlier finished the day's trading down 4%.
Analysts said dealers were cautious ahead of an expected interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve on Wednesday.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index closed Monday down 4.3%, while Mumbai's Sensex was down 3.5% in afternoon exchanges.

Monday's falls come after Friday's declines on Wall Street, with the Dow Jones index losing 171 points or 1.4%.<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7212465.stm>

NTC releases new rules on VOIP charges

01/28/2008 | 05:06 PM

The National Telecommunications Commission on Monday came out with new rules on Voice over Internet Protocol, a cheap alternative to traditional telephony which involves transmitting a person's voice over the Internet.

The new NTC rules decreases the access charges imposed by fixed line and cellular phone operators to promote fair competition in the telecommunications industry.

In a draft circular, the NTC said VoIP service providers requiring access to the public switched telephone network and cellular mobile telephone network shall enter into an interconnection or access arrangement with at least one of the duly enfranchised and authorized PSTN operator.

"Such carrier/s shall then be responsible for routing of the VoIP traffic to and from the networks of the other operators and shall see to it that VoIP traffic routed to other operators are properly identified," NTC said.

The NTC said VoIPSP should pay transit charges to PSTN not higher than P0.25 per minute.

The regulator added that access charge for VoIP calls originating from or terminating to the PSTN should not be higher than P1.50 per minute.

The regulator's additional guidelines for VoIP came on the heel after it received complaints from VoIP service providers (VoIPSP) and from Congress that the access charge imposed by the local telephone service operators and cell phone operators are very high.

For cellular phone, transit charges should not be higher than P0.25 per minute, while the access charge should not be higher than P1.50 per minute or for regular national long distance telephone calls.

"The offering of VoIP services by a VoIP service provider accessed through a broadband connection provided by another operator is allowed without need of a prior commercial arrangement with or permission from the said broadband operator," the NTC said. - GMANews.TV <http://www.gmanews.tv/story/78303/NTC-issues-releases-new-rules-on-VOIP-charges>

Microsoft wants to purchase Yahoo

Microsoft and Yahoo are both struggling to compete with Google

Microsoft has offered to buy the search engine company Yahoo for $44.6bn (£22.4bn) in cash and shares.

The offer, contained in a letter to Yahoo's board, is 62% above Yahoo's closing share price on Thursday.
Yahoo cut its revenue forecasts earlier this week and said it would have to spend an additional $300m this year trying to revive the company.
It has been struggling in recent years to compete with Google, which has also been a competitor to Microsoft.
In a conference call, Microsoft's Kevin Johnson said that the combination of the two companies would create an entity that could better compete with Google.

It is a shotgun marriage, but the person holding the shotgun is Google

Tim Weber, business editor, BBC News website

What's at stake, who will win?

"Today the market [for online search and advertising] is increasingly dominated by one player," he said. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7222114.stm>

An Epoch in the making

By Roland Pease
BBC Radio Science Unit

We may be witnessing a transformation of the Earth as profound as the end of the age of the dinosaurs, and entering a geological period as distinctive as the Jurassic - and the reason is that we are causing it.

Writing in the house journal of the Geological Society of America, GSA Today, Britain's leading stratigraphers (experts in marking geological time) say it is already possible to identify a host of geological indicators that will be recognisable millions of years into the future as marking the start of a new epoch - the Anthropocene.
Geologists have long divided the Earth's history into distinct epochs, periods and eras - with names as familiar as the Triassic or the Carboniferous.

It's extraordinary how a single species could have such an effect on the whole planet

Dr Jan Zalasiewicz, Leicester University

Transitions between them can be easily recognised, with sharp changes in the fossil record, or in the chemistry of the rocks of the time.
Sometimes the boundaries mark extreme violence.
The end of the Cretaceous Period 65 million years ago, and with it the dinosaurs, and the beginning of the Tertiary (the 'third' age of geology) came with the impact of a huge asteroid.
A force of nature
Sediments around the world from that time carry a tell-tale layer tinged with iridium, a metal more common in space than it is on the Earth's surface.
There can also be soot - the result of global wildfires that followed the catastrophe. The fossil record either side of the boundary is quite distinct.
Plate tectonics, the slow movement of the continents, has also created dramatic changes, as huge mountain ranges are built or ocean basins are cut off or opened up.
New periods are created as the Earth system passes through a new threshold.
But the new epoch has not been shaped by these relentless forces of the deep Earth or the violence of extraterrestrial impacts. Instead, say the scientists, it has been moulded by a single species - man - so that it should be called the Anthropocene, the time of man.
"It's extraordinary how a single species could have such an effect on the whole planet," says Leicester University's Dr Jan Zalasiewicz, who heads the Stratigraphic Commission of the Geological Society, the team that penned the new report.
"Human activity exceeds natural processes in many ways.
"For example, humans emit more CO2 than do volcanoes by quite a long way; humans move more material across the surface of the Earth than do rivers, landslides and floods."

'Blink of an eye'

Bringing an academic rigour to a concept that has been circulating since 2000 when it was first proposed by Nobel Laureate and ozone expert Paul Crutzen, the researchers ask whether there is a worldwide signature that could be recognised long into the future as marking the start of this new epoch.
"What we're asking is what the record in the rocks of the human species is going to look like," says co-author Dr Andy Gale, from the University of Portsmouth.
"It's fascinating thinking what record future geologists will see of human activity.
"For one thing, there will be a hell of a lot of concrete. And the disruption to the Earth's surface, stripped for farming and mining, causing a vast increase in the amount of mud and sand sediment going into the oceans."
"There are other signals," adds Dr Zalasiewicz. "The oceans are acidifying right now. If they acidify much further, coral reefs will stop growing. And so reef limestone will stop being produced. And that will be another very obvious sign in future strata."
Huge changes will occur in the fossil record. Not just because of the mass extinction we are causing, but because of the huge number of human remains that will become melded into future rock layers.
Many of these geological changes stretch out over generations of human history - frustrating attempts to pinpoint the kind of "golden spike" the geologists would like. But even a thousand human generations would be but the blink of an eye in the deep geological record.
"In many rock successions a thousand years can be a millimetre or two," explains Andy Gale.
"So geologically speaking, this series of events is proceeding very fast. I don't think the changes are going to be subtle at all - these signs would be very conspicuous" <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7223663.stm>

China freeze 'has cost billions'

Some trains are operating again but crowds remain at stations

Crowds at station

China's worst snow storms in half a century have caused 54bn yuan (£3.8bn) of damage, officials have announced.

Sixty people are now known to have died as a result of the severe weather, which began three weeks ago.
Millions of travellers remain stranded as they try to get home for next week's Lunar New Year holiday, with the army helping to clear railways and roads.
Meanwhile, the authorities have ordered coal production to be increased and imposed emergency price controls.
With millions reported to be without water and electricity, the government is working hard to convince people it is in control of the situation.

Misery of stranded millions

In pictures: Mayhem in Hunan

On Wednesday, President Hu Jintao visited a coal mine in Shanxi province.
"Disaster-hit areas need coal and the power plants need coal," he told miners, according to Xinhua news agency.

"I pay an early New Year call here to those miners who will not go back home to celebrate the Spring Festival for [the sake of] the coal production," he said. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7221456.stm>

Drivers rescued amid snow storms

Vehicles have been abandoned in northern England

Stranded cars

High winds and heavy snowfall have been affecting much of the UK, stranding some motorists and blacking out homes.
Some 200 people had to be rescued after being stranded by snow on the A66 in Co Durham. And 3,500 homes, mostly in North Yorks, are still without power.
A bid to airlift to safety a cargo ship captain, who was seriously injured off the Isles of Scilly in a gale, has been abandoned because it is too dangerous.
A second helicopter rescue attempt is to be made at first light.
Blizzards affected much of Scotland and northern England on Friday, with snow recorded as deep as 15cm (5.9in) in some parts. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7223150.stm>

New cable cut compounds net woes

The first cut caused widespread disruption to net services

A submarine cable in the Middle East has been snapped, adding to global net problems caused by breaks in two lines under the Mediterranean on Wednesday.
The Falcon cable, owned by a firm which operates another damaged cable, led to a "critical" telecom breakdown, according to one local official.
The cause of the latest break has not been confirmed but a repair ship has been deployed, said owner Flag Telecom.
The earlier break disrupted service in Egypt, the Middle East and India.
"The situation is critical for us in terms of congestion," Omar Sultan, chief executive of Dubai's ISP DU, told The Associated Press, following the most recent break.
Wednesday's incident caused disruption to 70% of the nationwide internet network in Egypt on Wednesday, while India suffered up to 60% disruption.
Flag Telecom said a repair ship was expected to arrive at the site of the first break - 8.3km from Alexandria in Egypt - on 5 February, with repair work expected to take a week.

A repair ship deployed to the second break - 56km from Dubai - was expected to arrive at the site in the "next few days", the firm said. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7222536.stm>

Fears of bias as BBC gets £141m in EU loans

Jonathan Oliver, Political Editor

THE BBC last night faced accusations of pro-Brussels bias as it was revealed that the corporation had taken out £141m in “soft” loans from the European Union.

The broadcaster has taken out three separate low interest loans from the EU-backed European Investment Bank (EIB) to fund the expansion of its growing commercial empire.

It also emerged that the BBC has received grants from the EU worth £1.4m over the past five years.

The Brussels deals raise awkward questions for the corporation about its coverage of European affairs and its burgeoning profit-making arm whose interests extend to property, publishing and the internet.

The details of the loans and grants stretching back six years emerged in a letter written by Zarin Patel, the BBC’s finance director, to Bob Spink, a Conservative MP.

The first £66m loan in 2003 was used to fund “the fit-out” of a new building in the BBC’s Media Village development in west London, which was later sold for a profit. The second loan for £25m and the third for £50m were made to BBC Worldwide, the corporation’s profit-making arm, to pay for the acquisition of overseas rights to programmes made by the BBC in the UK.

The EIB has described itself as “an autonomous body set up to finance capital investment furthering European integration by promoting EU policies”.

It specialises in providing low interest loans below the normal commercial rates. However, the BBC refused to disclose exactly what rates the EIB was charging.

The BBC letter, written in response to a parliamentary question, also discloses a series of grants to help to fund online educational programmes and preserve the BBC archive. <http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/tv_and_radio/article3257748.ece>

'Breakthrough' in writers' strike

Writers want better payment for TV shows and films sold online

A breakthrough has reportedly been reached during informal talks between striking Hollywood writers and production companies.

The two sides bridged the gap over the key issue of payment for projects distributed on the internet, the Associated Press news agency said.
A deal would end the three-month writers' strike that has crippled the US entertainment industry.
It could also resolve a deadlock over this month's Academy Awards ceremony.
Oscars organisers and producers have pledged to stage a show on 24 February, but only a deal with the Writers Guild of America would allow the ceremony to proceed as usual.
The strike, which began nearly three months ago, has hit film and TV production across the US and caused the cancellation of last month's Golden Globes awards ceremony.
But the guild has agreed to let writers work on the Grammys, to be held on 10 February, as a gesture of solidarity with musicians also facing challenges getting "compensation for the use of their work in new media". <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7224677.stm>

Frustration as China grinds to a halt

By Daniel Griffiths
BBC News, Guangzhou, China

Many passengers have been waiting at Guangzhou station for days

There have been chaotic scenes at Guangzhou railway station in southern China as hundreds of thousands of people delayed by the some of the worst snow storms in 50 years, try to get home to celebrate the Lunar New Year.
The government has drafted in nearly 20,000 extra police and soldiers to keep order, but at times they could not hold the crowds back.
The people surged forward, some falling to the ground, others fainting in the crush.

They were lifted out by police officers and given medical attention. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7223693.stm>

Snow-hit China has 'new priority'

By Michael Bristow
BBC News, Beijing

The weather has stopped coal supplies reaching the power stations

Snow storms that have left hundreds of thousands of people stranded are also affecting the wider Chinese economy.
Factories have cut production, winter crops have been devastated, and homes and firms have been left without power.
Keeping the economy moving is now more of a priority than helping the legions of frustrated and freezing travellers, according to Chinese officials.
But the government does not expect any long-term economic fall-out from the current crisis.
China is experiencing some of the worst snow storms in half a century, mostly in central and southern provinces.
They have caused havoc for millions of people trying to get home for Chinese New Year, the most important holiday of the year.
At one point, there were 800,000 people stranded at the railway station in the southern city of Guangzhou. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7222429.stm>

BusinessWorld: Energy summit proposals point to gains for industry

02/03/2008 | 11:26 PM

BY MARIA KRISTINA C. CONTI, BusinessWorld Reporter

THREE DAYS of "hearing and listening" at last week’s Energy Summit may have produced a hodgepodge of solutions, but among it is a concrete support system for the industrial sector.

This includes a power system loss differentiation program — lowering the sector’s electric bills at the expense of residential and other commercial customers — and the concept of an industry competitiveness fund, which will help the sector compete regionally.

For the long-term, two legislative measures will also likely be endorsed in the final report due to be presented to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo tomorrow. These bills, expected to encourage competition in their respective sectors, are the Renewable Energy measure and amendments to the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA).

Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) President Jesus P. Francisco, talking to reporters after Friday’s workshop on lowering power rates, said his firm was inclined to offer a system loss differentiation scheme.

"What we do is target specific segments — this may be an industry or corporation — and we separate their system loss level. It could be smaller, yes, meaning their power bills will be lower," he said.

That partiality, however, means system loss for other users, mainly residences, will increase. Mr. Francisco admitted that the scheme would mean higher power costs for some.

"It will still need regulatory approval so we will see. But to lower power rates it will largely be one sector’s gain [at the expense of another]," he said.

Mr. Francisco said further cuts in the distribution rate, or what Meralco charges for its own services, might be impossible. <http://www.gmanews.tv/story/79117/BusinessWorld-Energy-summit-proposals-point-to-gains-for-industry>

SocGen controls 'failed to work'

Ms Lagarde said some of the bank's controls failed to function

France's Finance Ministry has called for tighter banking controls after the Societe Generale trading scandal.

Christine Lagarde, France's economy minister, said some of the bank's internal controls failed to work.
She made the comments as she delivered a report on the bank's trading losses to the French government.
The bank blames junior trader Jerome Kerviel, 31, for a 4.9bn-euro ($7bn; £3.7bn) loss, though he has reportedly said it knew the risks he was taking.
"Very clearly, certain mechanisms of internal controls of Societe Generale did not function, and those that functioned were not always followed by appropriate modifications," Ms Lagarde said.

One cannot say that the unwinding of positions by Societe Generale provoked a market fall in Europe

Christine Lagarde, French Economy Minister

The report also said that inspections by the Bank of France's banking commission had previously found weaknesses in Societe Generale's control system.
"Inspections by the banking commission carried out in 2006-7 had led to recommendations seeking to strengthen the security of operations," a summary of the report said.
The report into the scandal also called for clearer divisions between the roles of government and regulators, and it recommended the banking commission be able to impose tougher penalties.
It also proposed talks with major trading partners on the scandal to ensure that international standards apply. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7225849.stm>

PLDT to cut interconnection with PT&T due to unpaid arrears

Top phone firm Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. will be cutting off all interconnection
trunks with Philippine Telegraph & Telephone Corp. (PT&T), which it said has failed to pay overdue accounts with PLDT.

Alfredo B. Carrera, PLDT first vice president for regulatory and telecom industry relations said that PLDT will temporarily disconnect all connections to PT&T starting February 10 until such time that the accounts have been fully paid.

"PT&T once again violated our Interim Interconnection Agreement, i.e., default in the settlement payment of long over due accounts with PLDT," Carrera said in a letter to the National Telecommunications Commission.

Carrera said PT&T failed to pay agreed interconnection charges for the period August to November 2007 amounting to P1.13 million.

He added that PT&T continues to disregard agreed payment schedule, and insists to use its own payment scheme.

"PT&T's payment which was due last December 31,2007 has not yet been made since the check payment to PLDT is post-dated January 15,2008," Carrera said.

To date, Carrera said, total amount due from PT&T ending May last year is P8.4 million which the company demand for immediate and full payment. - GMANews.TV <http://www.gmanews.tv/story/79209/PLDT-to-cut-interconnection-with-PT&T-due-to-unpaid-arrears>

Globe Telecom profit up 13% at P13.3B in '07

02/04/2008 | 04:12 PM

Globe Telecom, the country's second largest lender, on Monday reported that its net income for 2007 rose 13 percent to P13.3 billion as its subscriber base increased 20 percent.

Minus the impact of foreign exchange and mark-to-market gains and losses and the non-recurring costs related to its early redemption of $300 million in debt, the company's core net income jumped 27 percent to P13.7 billion.

In a statement, Globe said its mobile customer base broke past the 20 million mark at 20.3 million at the end of 2007.

“We are very pleased with our strong results for 2007 despite the consistently challenging and competitive market. We hope to sustain this growth into 2008 through continued focus on the needs of our subscribers and disciplined execution of our strategy blueprint," said Gerardo C. Ablaza Jr. president and chief executive officer of Globe.

The company disclosed that consolidated service revenues grew 11 percent to P63.2 billion, driven by growth of 11 percent and 7 percent from its wireless and wireline businesses, respectively. - GMANews.TV <http://www.gmanews.tv/story/79197/Globe-Telecom-profit-up-13-at-P133B-in-07>

Woman commits suicide inside DPWH compound

02/06/2008 | 05:58 PM

A woman unable to cope with poverty hanged herself inside the compound of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in Manila shortly after midnight Tuesday, radio reports said Wednesday afternoon.

The report said the woman, Criselda Rivera, had lived for two years inside the DPWH compound, and hanged herself at a fire escape near the lobby of the DPWH's Bureau of Maintenance in Port Area, Manila.

Rivera, 37, had eight children with her husband Giovanni. Radio dzBB reported that of the eight children, only four are staying with them while the others are in the care of a non-government organization.

Giovanni told police his wife had been "not herself" lately. When asked if he meant his wife was deranged, he said, "ganoon na nga (that's it)." - GMANews.TV <http://www.gmanews.tv/story/79519/Woman-commits-suicide-inside-DPWH-compound>

Oil drops to just above $88 as markets slide on recession fears

02/06/2008 | 01:09 PM

SINGAPORE - Oil prices fell Wednesday as global stock markets plunged on fears of a US recession, and ahead of a US petroleum supply report expected to show crude supplies rose last week.

Financial markets were surprised by data in the United States that indicated the traditionally strong service sector shrank dramatically last month, raising the prospect that demand for energy will weaken along with the economy.

The Institute for Supply Management said its index of activity in the US service sector, which makes up about two-thirds of the economy there, fell below 50, indicating contraction. Analysts had expected more growth in the sector, which had not contracted for nearly 5 years.

It was the latest in a series of reports that have stoked fears that the world's largest economy is nearing a recession.

Overnight, Wall Street declined sharply, pulling down major Asian stock markets Wednesday. In early trading, Hong Kong's benchmark index plunged more than 6 percent while Japan's Nikkei index fell more than 4 percent.

Energy investors often view stocks as a proxy for economic growth, and worry that if economies slow or shrink, demand for oil and gasoline will as well. <http://www.gmanews.tv/story/79474/Oil-drops-to-just-above-88-as-markets-slide-on-recession-fears>

Globalisation splits rich and poor

Analysis
By Steve Schifferes
Economics reporter, BBC News

Life has changed dramatically in urban areas like Shanghai

There is considerable unease about the pace of globalisation around the world, according to a new BBC global poll.

Half of all people polled across 34 countries say that the pace of globalisation is too fast, while 35% say globalisation is going too slowly.
But concern about globalisation is strongest among the world's richest countries, where it is closely correlated with a belief that the fruits of economic growth have been unfairly shared.

See the differences on globalisation and fairness

In many of the world's poorest countries, however, where large majorities say that the benefits and burdens of economic development have not been shared fairly, people are more likely to say that globalisation is proceeding too slowly.

BOOM IN SHANGHAI

Full report on globalisation

"People in some developing countries want to accelerate globalisation and appear to believe that this will help break down some of the inequities in their country," said Steven Kull of the University of Maryland's Program on International Policy Attitudes, a co-sponsor of the poll.

Among the countries where this correlation is strongest are the Philippines, Indonesia, Brazil, Kenya and Mexico.

Overall, 64% of the global public believes that the economic benefits of growth have been shared unfairly, with majorities favouring this view in 27 out of 34 countries. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7230202.stm>

Tajikistan 'facing catastrophe'

by Natalia Antelava
BBC News, Dushanbe

Tens of thousands in Tajikistan are already malnourished

Tajikistan is in the grip of emergency food shortages, the UN's World Food Programme is warning.

The deteriorating food situation is part of the energy crisis which hit the mountainous nation in the middle of its coldest winter for five decades.
The cost of food has tripled in recent months, partially because of rising world prices.
Some humanitarian agencies claim Central Asia's poorest nation is heading towards catastrophe.
It's well below zero in Tajikistan, but most people have no electricity, no heating and now, increasingly, many don't have enough food either.
One family in the village of Sagdyan, outside the capital Dushanbe, said their four children were surviving on milk and rice. Their next door neighbours could not afford even that. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7231528.stm>

WTO rules for US against EU on bananas

02/08/2008 | 07:52 PM

GENEVA - The World Trade Organization has ruled against the European Union on tariffs for bananas, officials said Friday, possibly opening the door to millions in US commercial sanctions.

The confidential decision — distributed earlier this week to the parties and confirmed by trade officials — is an important development in a decade-old WTO dispute pitting Latin American countries and the United States against the EU. The EU can still appeal.

The verdict will be closely followed by Chiquita Brands International Inc., whose shares climbed 9.2 percent in one day last year on early reports that the EU would lose a similar case against Ecuador. The tariff costs Chiquita $1 per share annually, according to Barry Sine, an Oppenheimer & Co. analyst.

The WTO has consistently ruled against how Brussels sets tariffs for bananas, forcing it to overhaul a system that grants preferential conditions for producers from African and Caribbean countries, mainly former British and French colonies.

Trade officials said the latest ruling closely follows the findings by a separate panel that found in Ecuador's favor in December. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity as both decisions remain confidential and are only expected to be released in the coming months.

Michael Mann, spokesman for EU Farm Commissioner Marian Fisher Boel, confirmed the loss, but criticized the WTO panel for a finding "against something that does not exist anymore" — a reference to new rules for European banana imports that came into effect this year.

The case centered on a banana tariff established by the EU in 2006 — 176 euros ($258) per ton — which the 27-nation bloc claimed was in line with WTO rulings. But the US rejected the argument. Ecuador, the world's largest banana producer, contended in its complaint that the new tariff took away some of its market share in Europe, hurting more than 1 million Ecuadoreans dependent on the banana industry.

Latin American bananas currently have around 60 percent of the EU banana market, while African and Caribbean producers have 20 percent, according to EU officials. Bananas grown in the EU — mostly on Spanish and French islands — account for another 20 percent.

The case was first brought to the Geneva-based trade referee in 1996, but has since spawned a series of disputes as trade lawyers wrangle over procedural intricacies and legislation that had previously never been tested.

The US, in 1999, and Ecuador a year later, both won the right to impose trade sanctions on European goods after the WTO found the EU's rules to be illegal.

A deal in 2001 gave the EU five years to comply with WTO rulings. - AP <http://www.gmanews.tv/story/79831/WTO-rules-for-US-against-EU-on-bananas>

Hopes raised for Hollywood strike deal

By Rajesh Mirchandani
BBC News, Los Angeles

After nearly three-and-a-half months and a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars to the entertainment industry and the local economy, could America's 12,000 screenwriters be about to reach a deal?

Writers want to work, but not at any price

Two big meetings are taking place over the weekend, one in New York, one in Los Angeles, where leaders of the striking union, the Writers Guild of America, will outline to members a tentative agreement hammered out with studio bosses.
If writers react favourably, union leaders may call for a vote on the deal and may ask members to return to work as soon as Monday.
The strike has been over the share of profits writers earn from DVD sales and programmes screened online. The latter is a market that may be of limited value at the moment, but that looks set to mushroom in the future.
There has been a news blackout on the negotiations but reports suggest the union may have secured for its members a percentage of profits from downloads of shows and films, rather than a fixed residual payment. This should mean, as online profits rise, so will writers' incomes.
Industry insiders say a deal is close. Off the record one union leader said: "If the language of the contract is locked down, it's the kind of deal I think our members will be proud of". <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7236188.stm>

Polaroid snaps out of making film

Polaroid is focussing on technology for the digital age.

Polaroid, the company behind the instant camera, is to stop making the film used in its iconic technology.

The firm is to close factories in Massachusetts in the US, Mexico and the Netherlands after the digital age left almost no market for the film.
Polaroid stopped making the instant cameras themselves about a year ago.
It now focuses on other ventures which include a portable printer for mobile phone images, and Polaroid-branded digital cameras.
"We're trying to reinvent Polaroid so it lives on for the next 30 to 40 years," the firm's president, Tom Beaudoin, told the Associated Press.

Enthusiasts

The firm was founded in 1937, making polarised lenses for the science world, introducing its first instant camera in 1948.
Polaroid peaked in popularity in 1991 when its sales - mainly instant cameras and film - hit close to $3bn.
However it failed to embrace the digital photography revolution and went bankrupt in 2001, before being bought, four years later by a Minnesota-based consumer products firm, Petters Group Worldwide.
It says there is enough film in stock to last until 2009, and it hopes to sell licensing rights to another firm to continue supplying enthusiasts who still use their Polaroid cameras. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7236106.stm>

Peru's potato passion goes global

By Dan Collyns
BBC News, Ayacucho, Peru

Peruvians are very proud of their potatoes

At harvest time in the highland village of Paucho, the first crop of potatoes are baked in a hole in the ground covered with hot rocks, in a ceremony called Watia - a homage to Pacha Mama, or Mother Earth.

For thousands of years, the potato has been the staple diet of the people of the Andes.

It was first cultivated on the

Altiplano of modern-day Peru and Bolivia, and Peru still has some 2,800 varieties of potato, more than any other country.

Like many people, I took the humble spud for granted, but after the launch of the UN Year of the Potato in Ayacucho in the Peruvian Andes, I am repentant at my lack of reverence for the third biggest food staple in the world.

Boost consumption

I have never seen a vegetable invoke such high passions and poetry.

It was the theme for a seamless succession of carnival floats, colourful costumes, and traditional dance and music. All this was punctuated by cries of "la papa es Peruana" - "the potato is Peruvian", just in case anyone forgot.

Despite this, consumption of the potato in Peru has dropped to half that of many European countries, with many Peruvians turning to rice or bread.

Many potato-producing communities are very poor

But internationally high food prices, especially wheat - 80% of which is imported in Peru - are causing hardship for the country's poor, who make up almost half the population.

Peru's agriculture minister, Ismael Benavides, says the native potato is the answer.

The government is trying to boost its consumption by encouraging more people to eat bread baked with potato flour, starting with schoolchildren and prisoners.

"When I went to the UN in October to launch the International Year of the Potato somebody from an Eastern European country, Ukraine I think, said to me 'I didn't realise that potatoes came from Peru'. That showed me that we had to claim our place," Mr Benavides said at the festival.

"The potato is very important in the diet worldwide and in this age of rising commodity prices... a number of countries, such as China and India, are looking to double or triple their production." <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7231148.stm>

Seaweed allows Smarties comeback

one of the sweets have artificial colours, according to Nestle

Blue Smarties are to make a comeback, after being dropped nearly two years ago, now made with a new colouring extracted from seaweed.

The blue sweets were first introduced in 1989 - and discontinued in 2006 as part of a drive to remove artificial ingredients in children's food.
Makers Nestle say the new colouring comes from a seaweed called spirulina.
The firm says the other seven colours in the packs also have no artificial colours and flavourings. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7238247.stm>

Venezuela threatens to cut US oil

r Chavez said Exxon's campaign was part of a wider US plot

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has threatened to cut off oil supplies to the US if it continues what he calls an economic war.

"Take note Mr Bush, Mr Danger," said Mr Chavez in his weekly televised address. "I will cut off oil supplies."
British and US courts froze assets belonging to Venezuela's state energy company last week.
The move followed an application by US oil giant Exxon Mobil for compensation from Venezuela's state oil company.
The Texas-based company claims the amount offered for the nationalisation of its oil installations in Venezuela was insufficient.
Mr Chavez has said the nationalisation plan would bring billions of dollars of resources back to the people, a key part of his socialist revolution.
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7238214.stm>

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Global Economics-02
Globalisation Index
News Index
Index Nation States
Index Cultural Systems
Some personal Reflections on the News
Theory Forming and Articulation
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Global Economics -1:

No such thing as a free lunch?

UK welcomes world cash injection

Bloomberg LP the target of many lawsuits

Wall Street mostly down after last week's run-up