Forest loss makes lemurs world's most endangered primates

Forest loss makes lemurs world's most endangered primates: WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The lemurs of Madagascar - known for their haunting cries and reflective eyes - are the most endangered primate group on Earth, because they are losing their forest habitat, the International Union for Conservation of Nature said on Friday.

The $98,000,000 Contract Inked on an iPad

The $98,000,000 Contract Inked on an iPad: There are few things that create as much of a buzz kill in 2012 as the phrase, "What's your fax number?" The hassle that follows that question is so last century.

Reflexology 'improves heart efficiency'

Reflexology 'improves heart efficiency': Reflexology can make the heart pump more efficiently, say researchers who think they have found the first scientifically robust evidence that it does have a physical effect.

Life in Sweden: Defining 'Swedishness'

Life in Sweden: Defining 'Swedishness': Qaisar Mahmood rode his motorcycle all over Sweden to find out what it means to be Swedish and what he discovered could be described as a new take on modern life in Sweden."We often perceive these national identities, Swedish or British, French, as something that has a core, something that doesn’t change over time," says Mahmood. "That’s not a true image. There is something that is Swedishness, a way of being, but that is constantly changing."

Over 21,000 plain text passwords stolen from Billabong

Over 21,000 plain text passwords stolen from Billabong: Hackers have released what they claim are the details of over 21,000 user accounts belonging to Billabong customers.

Russia high on new Swedish defence agenda

Russia high on new Swedish defence agenda: Russia will be high on Sweden's defence agenda, if a new committee looking at geopolitical priorities for Sweden's armed forces has its way. The committee now has the support of a key opposition politician in making Sweden's Baltic sea neighbour a priority.

EUA alertam para a proteção das armas químicas

EUA alertam para a proteção das armas químicas: Os Estados Unidos alertaram hoje a Síria para a responsabilidade de proteger as suas armas químicas, depois da publicação de um artigo que sugere a retirada de algum material do local onde está armazenado.

NASA satellites show extent of power outages after the "derecho"

NASA satellites show extent of power outages after the "derecho":
NASA’s Earth Observatory has posted before and after satellite images of the mid-Atlantic region showing the extent of the power outages after the June 29th storm. The land hurricane – technically called a “derecho”, or “long-lived wind storm that is associated with a band of rapidly moving showers or thunderstorms” – left over 4 million people without power for several days. The images are from the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership satellite, which takes measurements using visible and infrared spectra.
June 28 (before the storm): [More]

Nestle's "Mr Water" more worried about H2O than CO2

Nestle's "Mr Water" more worried about H2O than CO2: VEVEY, Switzerland (Reuters) - Nestle Chairman Peter Brabeck has a new mountain to climb. The 67-year-old is trying to goad world leaders into action to avert a looming water crisis.

Women, Bones and Alcohol

Women, Bones and Alcohol: Drinking alcohol has often been debated in terms of its potential health effects. There is no black and white answer. Drinking a moderate amount of alcohol as part of a healthy lifestyle may benefit women’s bone health, lowering their risk of developing osteoporosis. A new study assessed the effects of alcohol withdrawal on bone turnover in postmenopausal women who drank one or two drinks per day several times a week. Researchers at Oregon State University measured a significant increase in blood markers of bone turnover in women after they stopped drinking for just two weeks.

France sends emergency anti-locust aid

France sends emergency anti-locust aid: Paris (UPI) Jul 12, 2012



France said this week it is mobilizing emergency efforts to stop locust swarms in Africa's Sahel from spreading farther into drought-stricken Niger and Mali.
The French Foreign Ministry said Tuesday it had released $1 million in emergency funding targeted to Niger - the country currently most affected - through a contribution to National Center for Locust Control in Mauritania.

Ions, not particles, make silver toxic to bacteria

Ions, not particles, make silver toxic to bacteria: Houston TX (SPX) Jul 13, 2012



Rice University researchers have settled a long-standing controversy over the mechanism by which silver nanoparticles, the most widely used nanomaterial in the world, kill bacteria. Their work comes with a Nietzsche-esque warning: Use enough. If you don't kill them, you make them stronger.

Scientists have long known that silver ions, which flow from nanoparticles when oxidized, are deadly

Widespread exposure to BPA substitute is occurring from cash register receipts, other paper

Widespread exposure to BPA substitute is occurring from cash register receipts, other paper: Washington DC (SPX) Jul 13, 2012



People are being exposed to higher levels of the substitute for BPA in cash register thermal paper receipts and many of the other products that engendered concerns about the health effects of bisphenol A, according to a new study. Believed to be the first analysis of occurrence of bisphenol S (BPS) in thermal and recycled paper and paper currency, the report appears in ACS' journal Environmental

Italian debt downgraded by two notches

Italian debt downgraded by two notches: Ratings agency Moody's has lowered Italian government debt to two notches above junk status. The downgrade comes as Italy seeks to raise new funds on the bond market.

Solar plane completes intercontinental test flight

Solar plane completes intercontinental test flight: Solar Impulse lands in Morocco after two-leg journey from Switzerland, highlighting the latter country's solar ambitions.

IBM cools supercomputer with hot water

IBM cools supercomputer with hot water: The system, deployed at the Leibniz Supercomputing Center in Munich, operates using 40 percent less energy than comparable air-cooled systems.

Worker suspended over loss of data on all English prisoners

Worker suspended over loss of data on all English prisoners: An employee at Home Office contractor PA Consulting has been suspended after the loss of a memory stick holding the unencrypted details of every prisoner in England and Wales.

'Extreme' solar storm speeding straight towards Earth

'Extreme' solar storm speeding straight towards Earth:

Things could get interesting on Saturday

On Thursday at 5:53pm in London – 12:53pm in New York – the sun let loose with a hefty solar flare, resulting in a coronal mass ejection (CME) headed straight towards Earth that will likely arrive on Saturday at 10:20 UT, give or take about seven hours.…

Drought disaster in 1,000 counties

Drought disaster in 1,000 counties: A severe drought is spreading across the Midwest this summer, resulting in some of the worst conditions in decades and leaving more than a thousand counties designated as natural disaster areas, authorities said.

Euroscience Open Forum 2012: DNA gene testing 'will screen out lovers'

Euroscience Open Forum 2012: DNA gene testing 'will screen out lovers': Couples will soon be able to choose their life partner solely based on the compatibility of their genes instead of through love, a scientific conference has heard.

Amazon Tribes End Protest Over Mega-Dam Project

Amazon Tribes End Protest Over Mega-Dam Project:

Part of the construction site at the Belo Monte Dam complex in the Amazon basin is seen on June 15. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Indigenous communities in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest ended a three-weeklong occupation of a swath of the Xingu River after a mega-dam construction company offered gifts, a few promises, but no solutions to local livelihood issues.
Norte Energia—a consortium controlled by state power company Eletrobras—met with representatives of the nine tribes over two days to discuss the standoff, which had halted construction at the Belo Monte Dam’s main cofferdam for 21 days.

The Belo Monte mega-dam project is slated to become the third largest in the world. Crews went back to work Thursday after the deal was reached.
Advocacy group Amazon Watch says the talks failed to produce the desired results.
“During the talks with each ethnic group, Norte Energia offered each community a package of ‘trinkets’ such as TVs, boats, cameras, and computers while refusing to commit to a timetable for meeting the legally required social and environmental conditions,” the group said in a statement.
However, real concerns—such as losing access to fishing spots, land, and health and education programs—were not addressed.
Construction of the Belo Monte project began in March 2011 in Para State and will cost approximately $10.6 billion.
Norte Energia said the natives agreed to end the occupation after accepting their proposals, including one that assures that the company will monitor the downstream water flow.
“We have a responsibility to fulfill the development of the terms of the negotiations in respecting the culture of these peoples,” Carlos Nascimento, the president of the company, said in a statement.
Earlier this week, native communities sent a message to Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, calling on her to take away Norte Energia’s permit to build the dam.
According to the EFE news agency, Norte Energia will provide vehicles and construct seven security posts around the villages and will implement environmental protection measures.
But statements from indigenous tribal leaders published by Amazon Watch suggest that the protest movement is far from over.
“I am disillusioned with the outcome of the negotiations. They want to buy us off cheaply. This is not anything, what we want is guarantees of our rights and the conditions that are not being complied with,” Leiliane Jacinto Pereira Juruna of the Miratu community said.
Other leaders said the issue has not yet been resolved.

India village 'bans love matches'

India village 'bans love matches': A village in India's Uttar Pradesh state bans love marriages amid a series of restrictions on women, reports say.

Flight diverted due to suspicious wires

Flight diverted due to suspicious wires: A Delta flight going to Madrid from New York returned back to John F. Kennedy International Airport Thursday after suspicious wires were found in the bathroom of the plane, officials said.

China offers bounty for piranhas, dead or alive

China offers bounty for piranhas, dead or alive: News that piranhas, which are native to the South American waters of the Amazon, have come to the Chinese city of Liuzhou, has compelled local authorities to offer a $150 reward to anyone who can land one of the fish, any way they can.

Russian Ship With Syrian Helicopters Embarks on Renewed Voyage

Russian Ship With Syrian Helicopters Embarks on Renewed Voyage: The Alaed, which has emerged as a barometer of Russia’s intentions toward the government of President Bashar al-Assad, was reported heading south off Norway’s northern coast.

Piden en EU mil mdd contra las drogas en México

Piden en EU mil mdd contra las drogas en México: El informe del Comité de Relaciones Exteriores del Senado señala que la ayuda bajo la Iniciativa Mérida debe prolongarse al menos cuatro años y buscar agilizar el establecimiento de un sistema judicial acusatorio a nivel federal y estatal

Nine Population Strategies to Stop Short of 9 Billion

Nine Population Strategies to Stop Short of 9 Billion: Although most analysts assume that the world’s population will rise from today’s 7 billion to 9 billion by 2050, it is quite possible that humanity will never reach this population size, Worldwatch Institute President Robert Engelman argues in the book State of the World 2012: Moving Toward Sustainable Prosperity. In the chapter "Nine Population Strategies to Stop Short of 9 Billion," Engelman outlines a series of steps and initiatives that would all but guarantee declines in birthrates—based purely on the intention of women around the world to have small families or no children at all—that would end population growth before mid-century at fewer than 9 billion people. "Unsustainable population growth can only be effectively and ethically addressed by empowering women to become pregnant only when they themselves choose to do so," Engelman writes. Examples from around the world demonstrate effective policies that not only reduce birth rates, but also respect the reproductive aspirations of parents and support an educated and economically active society that promotes the health of women and girls. Most of these reproduction policies are relatively inexpensive to implement, yet in many places they are opposed on the basis of cultural resistance and political infeasibility.

Global fight for natural resources 'has only just begun'

Academics and business figures gave a grim warning at the Resource 2012 conference, but defended the Rio+20 outcomes

The global battle for natural resources – from food and water to energy and precious metals – is only beginning, and will intensify to proportions that could mean enormous upheavals for every country, leading academics and business figures told a conference in Oxford on Thursday.

Sir David King, former chief scientific adviser to the UK government, who convened the two-day Resource 2012 conference, told the Guardian: "We are nowhere near realising the full impact of this yet. We have seen the first indications – rising food prices, pressure on water supplies, a land grab by some countries for mining rights and fertile agricultural land, and rising prices for energy and for key resources [such as] metals. But we need to do far more to deal with these problems before they become even more acute, and we are not doing enough yet."

Countries that are not prepared for this rapid change will soon – perhaps irrevocably – lose out, with serious damage to their economies and way of life, the conference was told.

Amartya Sen, a Nobel prize-winning economist, said that the free market would not necessarily provide the best solution to sharing out the world's resources. Governments would need to step in, he said, to ensure that people had access to the basics of life, and that the interests of businesses and the financial markets did not win out over more fundamental human needs.

Sen has played a key role as an academic in showing how the way resources are distributed can impact famine and surplus more than the actual amount of resources, that are available, particularly food.

David Nabarro, special representative for food security and nutrition at the United Nations Special, defended the outcomes of last month's Rio+20 conference – a global summit that was intended to address resource issues and other environmental problems, including pollution, climate change and the loss of biodiversity, all of which are likely to have knock-on effects that will exacerbate resource shortages.

Many observers criticised the governments represented at Rio+20 for failing to adopt any clear targets and initiatives on key environmental problems, saying it was a wasted opportunity.


But Nabarro said there had been important successes – that governments had agreed to strive for the elimination of hunger and more sustainable agriculture, including an emphasis on small farmers, improvements in nutrition (in both developed and developing countries), and cutting the harmful waste of resources that is currently plaguing economies.

Several speakers joined him in highlighting the problems of waste and inefficiency – the developed world tends to be profligate in its use of natural resources, because most western companies have in the last century experienced few limits on their ability to access raw materials in peacetime, thanks to the opening up of global trade.

But this is rapidly changing. One of the first indications has been the soaring price of fossil fuel energy in the past decade, which has had severe economic impacts but which could easily be lessened if countries and companies took simple measures to be more energy-efficient. The failure of businesses, individuals and governments to improve their efficiency, even by relatively small amounts, has been one of the conundrums for resource economists in recent years. According to standard economic thinking, rising prices should prompt more efficiency, but this has happened at a much slower rate than should have been the case.

If price signals are not enough to change behaviour, then other methods such as government intervention may be needed.

Paul Kagame, the president of Rwanda, urged rich countries to work together with poor developing nations to ensure that the best was made of the natural resources, and to remedy situations where scarcity leads to human suffering.

Businesses also joined in to discuss their efforts to use resources more sustainably. Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, the chairman of Nestlé, outlined his company's programme to use water more efficiently. He said water was often overlooked, and considered as a free resource, but that this was a mistake – he reminded listeners that the increasing availability of clean drinking water, accompanied by better sanitation and hygiene, had been the biggest single factor behind the enormous increases in longevity of people in developed countries in the past 150 years, and the GDP growth that followed.

Camilla Toulmin, of the International Institute for Economy and Development, said the conference should act as a primer to policymakers and politicians who have been insufficiently aware of the real issues surrounding resource constraints and the economics of waste and distribution. "This is like an Open University course that is educating people on the problems here. I hope the financiers and businesspeople go home with a clearer understanding of how important this is, and of the role they can play."

Asteroid miners to strap 'scopes to new Virgin Galactic rocket

Asteroid miners to strap 'scopes to new Virgin Galactic rocket:

Rock diggers want to cash in on SPAAAACE

Washington-based Planetary Resources is pursuing the dream of mining near-Earth asteroids, signing a deal with the UK's Virgin Galactic for payload services.…

Damasco confirma deserção de embaixador sírio em Bagdá

Damasco confirma deserção de embaixador sírio em Bagdá:
BAGDÁ, GENEBRA e NOVA YORK - Um dia após a deserção do embaixador sírio em Bagdá, o Ministério do Exterior em Damasco anunciou que Nawaf Fares “foi liberado de suas funções” e não tem mais nenhum vínculo nem com a embaixada nem com o governo, informou a agência estatal síria Sana. Fares é o primeiro diplomata de alto escalão a abandonar o regime de Bashar al-Assad. Na ONU, países ocidentais vão tentar aprovar um texto que prevê duras sanções se o cessar-fogo continuar sendo desrespeitado.
No comunicado desta quinta-feira, Damasco diz que o embaixador “fez afirmações para mídia que contradizem os deveres de defender o país” e acusa Fares de deixar a embaixada no Iraque sem consentimento prévio. Em seu anúncio de deserção, o diplomata fez um apelo para que todos os “membros honestos” do Ba’ath e das forças armadas abandonem o regime que, segundo Fares, se transformou em “um instrumento para matar o povo e suas aspirações de liberdade”.
- Peço aos membros do Exército que se unam à revolução e que defendam o país e os cidadãos. Voltem suas armas contra os criminosos do regime - disse Fares, que estaria no Qatar, segundo a Reuters.
Os Estados Unidos ainda não confirmaram a deserção de Fares, mas o porta-voz da Casa Branca, Jay Carney, lembrou que os últimos dias foram de importantes perdas para Assad. Na última quinta-feira, o amigo de longa data do ditador sírio e general Manaf Tlass fugiu para Paris depois de supostas divergências sobre a repressão contra os levantes antigovernistas, que se espalham pelo país há 16 meses.
Para especialistas, as pessoas estão perdendo a confiança no regime sírio. Mohamed Sermini, um membro do opositor Conselho Nacional Síria (CNS) descreveu a deserção do embaixador como o começo.
- É o começo de uma série de deserções no nível diplomático. Estamos falando com vários embaixadores - disse o rebelde.
Fares, um sunita que teria laços estreitos com a segurança síria, é o segundo diplomata de alto escalão a abandonar o regime Assad. O primeiro foi Bassam Imadi, que até dezembro foi embaixador na Suécia. Em entrevista à al-Jazeera, Imadi - que agora participa do CNS - disse que a saída de Fares e Tlas do governo são um indício de que as pessoas estão começando a reparar que o regime Assad está chegando ao fim.
Ameaça de novas sanções
EUA, Reino Unido, França e Alemanha propuseram nesta quinta-feira uma nova resolução que dá dez dias para que Assad implemente o plano de cessar-fogo do enviado especial Kofi Annan ou deverá ser submetido a novas duras sanções. O texto ainda precisa ser aprovado no Conselho de Segurança.
A resolução condena autoridades sírias pelo uso crescente de armas pesadas, incluindo tanques e helicópteros. Negociações para aprovar o texto - o que implica no apoio da Rússia - devem começar ainda nesta tarde na ONU.
Além de pedir o cessar-fogo imediato e pedir a retirada de tropas do governo das ruas, a resolução renova o mandato da missão de paz da ONU na Síria por mais 45 dias.
Annan afirma que Assad já discute transição
Dias depois de se encontrar com o presidente Bashar al-Assad, Annan contou que o ditador já discute a possibilidade de formar um governo de transição na Síria. Segundo o ex-secretário-geral da ONU, durante a conversa em Damasco, Assad propôs um interlocutor para o regime enquanto explora maneiras para formar um governo de transição com a oposição.
Segundo cálculos dos ativistas, cerca de 17 mil pessoas morreram na ofensiva do regime de Assad contra a revolta popular que começou em março de 2011. Como o conflito se arrasta, a oposição cada vez mais armada tornou-se mais radical e violenta, o que complica o objetivo de uma solução pacífica ou uma transferência de poder.
Annan falou aos jornalistas em Genebra após uma teleconferência privada com o Conselho de Segurança da ONU em Nova York. O enviado não revelou quem poderia ser o interlocutor, mas adiantou que o presidente ofereceu um nome.
- Disse que queria saber sobre um indivíduo. Estamos nessa etapa - afirmou.

Saudi women to compete in Games

Saudi women to compete in Games: Saudi Arabia is sending two female athletes to complete in the London 2012 Games, the International Olympic Committee says.

Facebook Announces Online-Banking Test

Facebook Announces Online-Banking Test: Facebook announced that it is testing an online-banking service with Australia's Commonwealth Bank expected to debut this year. The new system lets people make payments to other Facebook users, and will become a test of how well Facebook can handle the deep-science realities of financial privacy and security.

Instagram bug 'exposed' hipsters' private photos to strangers

Instagram bug 'exposed' hipsters' private photos to strangers:
Privacy flap at Facebook-acquired firm shocker

A just-patched vulnerability in Instagram potentially exposed hipsters' private photos and more to strangers.…

Texas drought, British heat linked to climate change

Texas drought, British heat linked to climate change: WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Climate change increased the odds for the kind of extreme weather that prevailed in 2011, a year that saw severe drought in Texas, unusual heat in England and was one of the 15 warmest years on record, scientists reported on Tuesday.

Alarming Decline in Sockeye Salmon

Alarming Decline in Sockeye Salmon: Every year, millions of adult salmon return from the ocean to their home streams, where they lay eggs and produce the next generation of fish. But far fewer sockeye salmon are making it back to their freshwater mating grounds compared to a few decades ago, and that’s seriously affecting population sizes of the species throughout the Northwest, from Alaska to Washington State.

The discovery suggests that changing ocean conditions may be making life harder for some groups of wild salmon -- possibly by reducing their food supply or increasing populations of predators.

Climate Change May Lead to Fewer - But More Violent - Thunderstorms

Climate Change May Lead to Fewer - But More Violent - Thunderstorms: Tel Aviv, Israel (SPX) Jul 12, 2012



Researchers are working to identify exactly how a changing climate will impact specific elements of weather, such as clouds, rainfall, and lightning. A Tel Aviv University researcher has predicted that for every one degree Celsius of warming, there will be approximately a 10 percent increase in lightning activity. This could have negative consequences in the form of flash floods, wild fires, or

Vaccine and antibiotics stabilized so refrigeration is not needed

Vaccine and antibiotics stabilized so refrigeration is not needed: Washington DC (SPX) Jul 12, 2012



Researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health have developed a new silk-based stabilizer that, in the laboratory, kept some vaccines and antibiotics stable up to temperatures of 140 degrees Fahrenheit. This provides a new avenue toward eliminating the need to keep some vaccines and antibiotics refrigerated, which could save billions of dollars every year and increase accessibility to.....

Hamid Karzai says Taliban chief Mullah Omar can run for Afghan presidency

Hamid Karzai says Taliban chief Mullah Omar can run for Afghan presidency: Afghan President Hamid Karzai called on Thursday on Taliban supreme leader Mullah Omar to give up fighting his US-backed government in return for the chance to run for president of the war-torn nation.

Missed flight insurance introduced for easyJet passengers

Policyholders can claim for any reason and the No Exclusions scheme may become available for other airlines

An insurance policy that offers a payout if you miss your flight has gone on sale to passengers using easyJet.

Missed flight cover is being offered by a company called No Exclusions in association with insurer Mondial Assistance. Trials have been taking place with easyJet since mid-May and discussions are taking place with other airlines that could lead to the scheme being more widely available.

The policy enables an airline passenger who misses a flight to continue their journey, with an immediate option (at the airport) of a new ticket on the next available flight at no additional cost, or the choice of a full flight refund.

Policyholders can claim for a delay for any reason – alarm clock failure, bad weather, traffic jams or delays through security for example – with no proof required. You will not be covered if you simply did not leave enough time to get to the airport, however.

This type of cover is not a substitute for travel insurance, which can offer passengers medical, personal effects and other important trip protection.

Although there are some types of cover already on the market, they are quite limited in scope.

Missed departure cover pays your extra expenses if you miss your plane and have to make other arrangements to get to your holiday destination that cost you extra. But it is less common to be covered because your own mode of transport breaks down or because you are involved in an accident.

The company says its new policy "challenges the traditional culture of insurance and uniquely contains no exclusions or excesses. As our name implies, we don't believe in small print."

Instead, it has just three terms and conditions: the passenger must: (1) arrive at the airport to register the claim no more than four hours after the flight's scheduled departure; (2) be fit to fly – as in the airline's conditions; (3) register the claim at the sales desk before they leave the airport.

The policy also covers the cost of any flight-related services such as reserved seating, speedy boarding, hold luggage, credit card and booking fees. Missed flight cover costs £7.50 per single flight or £9.50 return, alongside a flight booking on easyJet.com.

Andrew Lothian, chief executive officer of No Exclusions, said: "We believe it provides an innovative and effective solution to a proven passenger concern and are confident that uptake will prove popular."

Bob Atkinson of the comparison website Travel Supermarket said the policy was interesting but warned holidaymakers to be careful not to duplicate their cover.

"If you've got a travel insurance policy you should check that before you buy this policy as most decent policies – the silver and gold type ones – do include missed flight cover," he said.

Atkinson said someone holidaying for a weekend would probably be able to buy full travel insurance, including this cover for less than £10, which would make that a better buy.
Reported by guardian.co.uk 51 minutes ago.

Filho de Romney faz campanha num espanhol perfeito

Filho de Romney faz campanha num espanhol perfeito: A campanha de Mitt Romney, candidato republicano à Casa Branca, lançou ontem um novo vídeo. O seu filho, Craig, num espanhol perfeito, convida os eleitores hispânicos a conhecerem um político de convicções...

Nigerian Delta fuel tanker fire kills 92: witness

Nigerian Delta fuel tanker fire kills 92: witness: NIGER DELTA (Reuters) - A gasoline tanker crashed on the east-west road in Nigeria's oil-producing Niger Delta on Thursday and as people tried to scoop up the fuel it caught fire, killing at least 92 people, a Reuters witness said.

Mating with the wrong species: plastics make it possible

Mating with the wrong species: plastics make it possible:
Despite only being around for the past century or so, plastics have become ubiquitous in modern life and for good reason: the final product is incredibly versatile. From grocery bags to IV bags to the teflon on non-stick pans, plastics really do make almost everything possible.
But, such a useful product comes at a cost. One of the chemicals used in making certain plastics, BPA, has been linked to a suite of ecological and human health problems. Now, scientists have discovered that the effects of BPA are so strong, certain species of fish lose their ability to tell their own species apart from another.
[More]

7-year-olds diagnosed with T2 diabetes

7-year-olds diagnosed with T2 diabetes: Children as young as seven are being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, which is usually associated with the middle-aged and elderly, because of increasingly unhealthy lifestyles, specialists warn today.

Australia Accepts Another Distressed Migrant Boat

Australia Accepts Another Distressed Migrant Boat:

In this handout photo provided by Australian Maritime Safety Authority, a boat carrying 150 suspected asylum seekers is spotted by crew onboard MV Bison, prior to the vessel sinking, 107 nautical miles north of Christmas Island, on June 27. (MV Bison/Australian Maritime Safety Authority via Getty Images)

Australian authorities assisted another distressed boat of asylum seekers on July 11, while the ruling Labor Party and opposition Liberal Party deliberate over Australia’s future refugee policy.
The boat had 65 people, according to initial reports from the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA). All were transferred onto Australian vessels and taken to Christmas Island, the usual detainment destination for refugees. The maximum length of detainment in Australia has been seven years, according to Amnesty International.

Another boat with 81 people underwent the same procedure also on Tuesday, although AMSA surveillance aircraft reported seeing “no visible signs of distress,” according to another media statement.
Just two weeks ago, two boats of asylum seekers fatally capsized. The first was carrying as many as 200 passengers and up to 90 drowned; at least four people died on the second boat believed to be carrying 134 people.
Liberal Party leader Tony Abbott remains firm on his tough controversial stance on the treatment of asylum seekers despite the recent tragedies. He says he would do things differently if he were prime minister.
“I appreciate that naval personnel have a difficult job to do, often under highly distressing circumstances. But the fact is the navy has turned boats around before, it’s done it with great professionalism and it can do so again with the right support from government and that’s what I’d be giving them,” he said on Wednesday, according to an interview transcript posted on his website.
Abbott added that the Liberals would keep pushing for “rigorous offshore processing at Nauru [small island near Australia], temporary protection visas to deny the people-smugglers a product to sell, and the option of turning boats around where it is safe to do so.”
Current Immigration Minister Chris Bowen said that officials were going to have to work out a better solution.
“The turn backs policy is dangerous and unworkable,” he said in a statement Monday. He believes that asking Australian maritime personnel to sail refugees back to their countries endangers the personnel’s lives.
In a recent article for The Conversation, a news source for academic analysis and research, criminology professor Sharon Pickering from Monash University in Victoria, writes that several issues are missing from the current debate, including the fate of those denied entry into Australia, and the fact that of 5,732 asylum seekers from Indonesia to Australia, only 24 of them were resettled.
“Preventing or deterring people from coming to Australia does not mean persecution stops. Instead, those being persecuted become some other country’s problem,” she writes.

Peugeot Citroen to cut 8,000 jobs

Peugeot Citroen to cut 8,000 jobs: French carmaker Peugeot Citroen sets out plans to cut 8,000 jobs and close an assembly plant outside Paris as losses mount.

The Hubble Telescope Finds A Fifth Moon Around Pluto

The Hubble Telescope Finds A Fifth Moon Around Pluto: NASA announced yesterday that the Hubble Space Telescope has discovered yet another moon circling around the dwarf planet Pluto, bringing the total known number up to five.

Hackers Spill More Than 450,000 Email Addresses And Passwords, Blame A Yahoo! Database Vulnerability

Hackers Spill More Than 450,000 Email Addresses And Passwords, Blame A Yahoo! Database Vulnerability: To repurpose an ancient advertising slogan: Do you Yahoo? Then you may want to change your account's password, along with that of any other services that use the same one, following a public breach of more than 450,000 users' details from one of Yahoo!'s databases late Wednesday night.

Five signs that predict Alzheimer's disease 25 years before memory fails: study

Five signs that predict Alzheimer's disease 25 years before memory fails: study: Five key signs of Alzheimer's disease can be detected up to 25 years before patients begin to suffer memory problems, leading to hopes of preventive treatments, researchers have said.

Weak outlook hits Infosys shares

Weak outlook hits Infosys shares: Infosys shares fall after the software exporter reports weaker-than-expected earnings and cuts its sales forecast for the year.

Grécia sufoca com temperaturas acima dos 40 graus

Grécia sufoca com temperaturas acima dos 40 graus: Sufocada pelos mercados financeiros, a Grécia tem agora de lidar com um desafio de outra natureza: o calor. Na região do Peloponeso, as temperaturas deverão chegar hoje aos 42 graus, segundo os serviços...

Neo-Nazis turning to social networks

Neo-Nazis turning to social networks: Neo-Nazis are increasingly using social networks to recruit young people, spreading often skillfully disguised right-wing extremist propaganda via Facebook and YouTube.

Bolivie : le Canada inquiet de la possible nationalisation d'une de ses mines

Bolivie : le Canada inquiet de la possible nationalisation d'une de ses mines: Le Canada a exprimé sa «profonde inquiétude» quant aux rumeurs voulant que la Bolivie souhaite procéder à la nationalisation d'une mine exploitée par la filiale canadienne de la compagnie minière South American Silver, où de violentes manifestations ont éclaté à la mi-juin.

ECB zero rate slashes banks' overnight deposits

ECB zero rate slashes banks' overnight deposits: FRANKFURT/CASABLANCA, Morocco (Reuters) - The European Central Bank's new zero deposit rate had an instant impact as it came into force, with banks more than halving the amount of cash parked there overnight and one ECB policymaker saying he expected the move to increase banks' lending.

Factory closure a result of overcapacity

Factory closure a result of overcapacity: Peugeot, like other Western European carmakers, is burdened with the legacy of an industrial base centred largely in its shrinking home market

KENYA - Cri d'alarme pour le camp de réfugiés de Dadaab

KENYA - Cri d'alarme pour le camp de réfugiés de Dadaab: Le camp de réfugiés le plus vaste au monde à Dadaab dans le nord-est du Kenya, proche de la frontière avec la Somalie, pourrait fermer en raison d'un manque de soutien financier, ont annoncé huit ONG qui y travaillent, rapporte le quotidien kényan. Le camp, qui était originellement prévu pour accueillir 90 000 personnes, en héberge plus de 465 000. L'insécurité grandissante y rend le travail de plus en plus difficile. Fin juin, quatre humanitaires travaillant à Dadaab avaient été enlevés. Ils ont été libérés dans le sud de la Somalie.

Pleasure, pain or indifference? What animals feel during sex

Pleasure, pain or indifference? What animals feel during sex: Have you actually ever wondered what animals perceive during sex: pleasure, or pain, or just instinctual reaction? DW went in search of an answer.

Clinton steps into China Sea dispute

Clinton steps into China Sea dispute: The US secretary of state has urged claimants to the South China Sea to collaborate to resolve tension over the potentially oil-rich waters

EURO $1.22

EURO $1.22:
The euro just dipped to $1.22 for the first time since July 2010, reports Bloomberg's Josh Lipton.
Markets are selling off as concerns about a global economic slowdown are compounding.
Overnight, South Korea and Brazil both slashed their benchmark interest rates.  Japan expanded its easy monetary policy.  And moments ago, we learned Greece's unemployment rate continues to climb.
Meanwhile, Italy had a debt auction this morning that went better than it did a month ago.  Nevertheless, Italian borrowing costs have been on the ris this morning.
Here's an intraday look at the euro courtesy of Bloomberg:

Spain cuts spending in $79B austerity plan

Spain cuts spending in $79B austerity plan:
Spain announced a $79.85 billion austerity package that includes tax hikes and spending cuts on Wednesday, a day after it won approval from its euro partners for a huge bailout.

Universe's dark galaxies believed found

Universe's dark galaxies believed found:
A telescope in South America has found tantalizing evidence of primitive galaxies born in the early universe, a find that, if confirmed, would mark the first-ever view of the so-called "dark galaxies."

Russia seals Cuba deal over Gulf of Mexico oil

Russia seals Cuba deal over Gulf of Mexico oil

Russia and Cuba signed agreements to search for oil in the Gulf of Mexico, and Moscow extended the island $150 million in credit for construction materials and farm machinery, state media said Wednesday.

The credit will give Cuba more time to pay for Russian equipment shipped to areas most affected by three hurricanes that caused more than $10 billion in damage last summer.

Colombia air force plane missing

Colombia air force plane missing: The Colombian air force is searching for one of its planes that was supporting troops fighting rebels in Cauca, a region that has seen an upsurge in clashes.

Female crickets eat virgin males

Female crickets eat virgin males: Two cricket-like species are interbreeding, scientists say, because females of one species “sexually cannibalise” males of the other.

Infosys shares hit by cut in outlook

Infosys shares hit by cut in outlook: India software group is expecting only a 5% sales growth in the coming year, less than half the average rate projected for its peers

Chile fishermen angry at new law

Chile fishermen angry at new law: Chilean fishermen clash with police as they protest in several coastal towns against a new law they say favours industrial fishing over them.

Australia declares huge reserve

Australia declares huge reserve: Australia declares more than 10 million hectares of Aboriginal land in its central desert its largest protected area.

Visite historique d'Hillary Clinton au Laos

Visite historique d'Hillary Clinton au Laos: Hillary Clinton est le premier chef de la diplomatie américaine à se rendre au Laos depuis 50 ans, dans le cadre d'une visite dans ce pays d'Asie du Sud-Est qui avait été lourdement bombardé par les États-Unis pendant la guerre du Vietnam.

Gaping 'open data' loophole could leave your privates on display

Gaping 'open data' loophole could leave your privates on display:

Gov's white paper calls open season on enforced subject access

The government has just published its ideas for allowing general access to data (which includes the intention to allow individuals online access to their own personal data). In general, I support this measure but sadly, the Open Data White Paper (PDF) has not even considered that it has widened the privacy problems associated with “enforced subject access”*.…

Eurozone 'risks losing 4.5m jobs'

Eurozone 'risks losing 4.5m jobs': The eurozone could lose 4.5 million more jobs unless the region shifts away from austerity, the International Labour Organisation warns.

Cameron and Hollande clash on tax

Cameron and Hollande clash on tax: The prime minister and French president have argued over the effect of Mr Hollande’s plans to set a 75 per cent top rate of income tax

Google 'faces $22.5m fine over iPhone and iPad privacy breach'

Tech giant close to agreeing deal with FTC after cookie rejection settings in Safari browser were bypassed, according to reports

Google faces a $22.5m fine (£14.5m) for breaching the privacy of iPhone and iPad users after bypassing cookie rejection settings on the devices, according to reports.

If confirmed, the fine would be the largest ever imposed by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) against a single company – and would be the second time this year that the search giant has fallen foul of regulators in the US.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the FTC and Google are close to agreeing a settlement over the privacy breach, in which Google circumvented Apple's protections on the iPhone and iPad against the setting of third-party "cookies" – small text files stored on the user's device – for tracking where users went on the web.

While the users had to press a link to ask for Google cookies to be set, the circumvention meant that cookies from Google's DoubleClick ad network were also set on the their device – so that they would be tracked without their explicit consent. Apple's browser settings would otherwise reject cookies from third-party sites such as DoubleClick.

The discovery of the circumvention, by Jonathan Mayer of Stanford University, was first revealed in February. Millions of users of Apple's iOS software on iPhones and iPads could have been affected, said Mayer. Google declined a request from the Guardian to specify when it began the tracking.

Google's likely payout comes amid increasing focus on both sides of the Atlantic on what some see as monopolistic and aggressive behaviour. Although it the penalty would be a tiny part of Google's $40bn annual revenues and $10bn annual profits, it comes as the FTC is also investigating Google over whether it favours its own properties, such as YouTube and its Shopping service, over rivals.

However, Google may have escaped further prosecution for breaching an FTC consent decree over privacy that it signed in March 2011 because although the breach seems to have started in or before December 2011, the documentation in which Google explained what it would do dates back to 2009, before the decree, which covered privacy breaches caused by the Google Buzz social network, since closed.

Whether or not the FCC fines Google over the cookie infraction, it will also publish a report which would detail how it reached the decision, probably with documentation from Google about how many people were affected and for how long.

The revelation of the unauthorised cookies led to widespread condemnation of Google's moves in February by groups including the Electronic Privacy Information Center in the US. Cory Doctorow, a columnist for the Guardian, said at the time that he thought pressure being put on staff inside Google to integrated "social" elements into its products was being done "at the expense of the quality of its other services".

Google insisted at the time that the ad tracking was inadvertent and that the workaround to plant the Google cookie was feasible within Apple's system. It said then: "The Safari browser contained functionality that then enabled other Google advertising cookies to be set on the browser [by other advertising companies using the DoubleClick network]. We didn't anticipate that this would happen, and we have now started removing these advertising cookies from Safari browsers. It's important to stress that, just as on other browsers, these advertising cookies do not collect personal information."

Asked whether a fine was imminent, Google responded: "We cannot comment on any specifics. However we do set the highest standards of privacy and security for our users. The FTC is focused on a 2009 help centre page published more than two years before our consent decree, and a year before Apple changed its cookie-handling policy. We have now changed that page and taken steps to remove the ad cookies, which collected no personal information, from Apple's browsers."

Apple said at the time that "We are aware that some third parties are circumventing Safari's privacy features and we are working to put a stop to it."

In April the FTC fined Google $25,000 for impeding its investigation into whether the company broke the law in grabbing data from open Wi-Fi networks while collecting its Street View data. The FTC's report, published at the same time as the fine was levied, revealed that managers and staff had been told that the Street View system would also collect data from open Wi-Fi networks as it passed.

Meanwhile the European Commission is considering a set of proposals from Google over concerns that it is using its monopoly in search – which is far greater in Europe than the US – to edge out rivals in "vertical" search for shopping. Google submitted its suggestions for ameliorating the EC's concerns earlier this month, and the EC is expected to publish them for rivals to comment on if it finds them initially acceptable.

The FTC declined to comment ahead of the expected ruling.

Vacas bebem vinho para terem carne mais saborosa

Vacas bebem vinho para terem carne mais saborosa: Criadores de gado de Lunel-viel (França) desenvolveram uma nova técnica que consiste em dar vinhos às vacas para além da sua alimentação tradicional. A carne chama-se 'Vibovin' e promete fazer sucesso...

Russia Sends Warships on Maneuvers Near Syria

Russia Sends Warships on Maneuvers Near Syria: Russia announced that a flotilla of navy vessels had sailed to the Mediterranean Sea and some would dock in the Syrian port of Tartus, moves seemed designed to convey that Russia would protect their interests in Syria.

Anglo American says water issue solved in Peru

Anglo American says water issue solved in Peru: LIMA (Reuters) - Anglo American hopes to begin construction of its $3 billion Quellaveco copper project in Peru soon and has won crucial community support for its water plan, the global mining company said on Monday.

What's cooking? The UK's potential food crisis

What's cooking? The UK's potential food crisis: Manchester, UK (SPX) Jul 10, 2012


The Sustainable Consumption Institute research claims food which families now take for granted, such as meat and fresh vegetables, could become too expensive for many if global temperatures rise in line with the current trends and reach 4C within the lifetime of many people. Even if families continue to take steps to lower their carbon emissions from energy use, global farming emissions will continue to rise because of our growing appetite for energy-intensive foods and a rising demand to meet just basic living standards across the world.

Japan agency says high chance El Nino to emerge this summer

Japan agency says high chance El Nino to emerge this summer: TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's weather bureau said on Tuesday its climate models indicate there is a strong possibility the El Nino weather pattern, which is often linked to heavy rainfall and droughts, will emerge this summer.

Emilia strengthens to 'major hurricane'

Emilia strengthens to 'major hurricane': Hurricane Emilia became a "major hurricane" in the Pacific Ocean late Monday and could intensify to a Category 4 storm on Tuesday, forecasters said.

Amérique latine - La présidentielle mexicaine sera contestée devant les tribunaux

Amérique latine - La présidentielle mexicaine sera contestée devant les tribunaux: Le candidat de gauche à la présidentielle mexicaine Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador a déclaré lundi qu'il déposerait des recours en justice contre les résultats de l'élection du 1er juillet, alléguant des pratiques d'achat des votes et de dépenses de campagnes trop élevées par le vainqueur du décompte officiel des voix, Enrique Pena Nieto.

Meeting Contraception Needs Could Sink Maternal Death Rate

Meeting Contraception Needs Could Sink Maternal Death Rate: A study published in The Lancet, a British science journal, suggests the maternal mortality rate could drop by a full third if all needs for family planning were met.

Singapore to change death penalty

Singapore to change death penalty: Singapore is proposing changes to the mandatory death penalty for drug trafficking and murder in some cases, senior ministers say.

IFE, sin facultad para resolver sobre compra de voto

IFE, sin facultad para resolver sobre compra de voto: Sostiene el Instituto Federal Electoral que tampoco tiene atribuciones para calificar o juzgar la decisión del voto de los electores

Spain to get 30bn euros for banks

Spain to get 30bn euros for banks: Eurozone finance ministers agree to offer Spain 30bn euros (£24bn; $37bn) this month to help its banks, following talks in Brussels.

From Desperation to Destitution

From Desperation to Destitution:

Bhubneshvari at work in a home in the Indian city of Puducherry. (Venus Upadhayaya/The Epoch Times)

PUDUCHERRY, India—Despite the scenic beauty and safety of village life in India, when there is no income, no money to buy food for famished children, and a debt-laden alcoholic or ill husband, many rural women have no choice but to migrate to cities.
Unskilled and vulnerable, most of these migrant women land in domestic work or the construction sector, joining millions of other migrants in India’s sprawling urban slums—a sign of India’s rapidly growing informal economy over the past several decades.
Forty-year-old Bhubneshvari migrated some 30 miles from her village of Tirukovilur in Tamil Nadu State to Puducherry city more than a decade ago due to poverty.
“My father was the only one looking after me and my son. My husband never looked after us. He married again three years after he married me. He also took to drinking alcohol and started to beat both me and his other wife. When my father died, I had no option but to move to the city and look for work,” Bhubneshvari says.
Work doesn’t come easily in cities for women like Bhubneshvari as they lack the skills to sustain themselves in a formal market, and are not mentally prepared or supported to seek education to start a career.
Socio-cultural norms still hold that women in India only get social status after they are married. The notion of marriage as life security lurks in the psyche of many parents as they bring up their daughters in rural India. Rather than educating them to be able to be independent, poverty-ridden parents tend to marry their girls off as soon as they find a proper suitor.
This keeps women in many communities economically very ill prepared for the life ahead since they were taught to expect that either their fathers or husbands would take care of them, even if that situation turns out to be mostly antagonistic.
“I studied till 10 standard [10th grade] but my father never let me work. He picked out a groom for me. Before we married, my husband said he worked in a garment export company so my father thought that he would have enough money to look after me. However, I later came to know that he works as a tailor from home and is an alcoholic. I often wonder why I married!” says Bhubneshvari.
Most of these ill-prepared women who migrate to the cities end up in unorganized sectors like domestic work, construction, or as rag pickers and scavengers.
“The only work I could do in the city was domestic work. I started to work in three homes. My work involved washing dishes and clothes and cleaning for which I earned 1,500 rupees ($27) a month,” says Bhubneshvari.
Although cities initially look like the land of opportunity, they soon turn out to be a difficult struggle for survival.
“I live in a mud hut with a tarpaulin sheet roof for which I pay 500 rupees ($9) rent. We have a common open area to have a bath and wash dishes. We use the nearby community toilets for which we have to pay 1 rupee per usage,” explains Bhubneshvari, who often has to struggle to get paid for the extra work she does in the rich households. She sometimes feels that richer people don’t want to pay adequately.
Along with these destitute women, their children also migrate. With poverty persistent, pressure to add to income to the family looms large, so many children dropout of school to work.
“My son doesn’t feel inclined to go to school. He makes 2,000 rupees ($37) loading and unloading snacks and carbonated drinks for shops,” said Bhubneshvari.
The hard life of cities often propels thoughts of saving to return to the village. “My son saved 500 rupees ($9) every month in a money saving scheme and saved about 50,000 ($917) rupees. With another 20,000 rupees ($367) I got by selling my gold necklace, we built a home in the village. However we have to accommodate everyone in it—my husband, his other wife, her son, and my mother-in-law,” Bhubneshvari said.
In Bhubneshvari’s case, she migrated only a short distance so can easily go back to her village at anytime. There are other destitute women who migrate much greater distances in search of work.
Reena, 29, left her village in the Parganas region of West Bengal in eastern India to find work in Jammu in the far north of India, a distance which takes her two nights and three days to cover by train.
Born into abject poverty and never having been to school, Reena says she’s worked her whole life.
“I worked since I remember myself as a child. My parents were very poor and they labored from morning to evening and there was no one to look after me.”
Unlike Bhubneshvari, Reena married by her own choice at the age of 17. A year later, she had to leave in search of work because her husband was contributing nothing toward his wife and new baby.
She migrated 11 years ago to where a few others from her village were already living and got work as a maid because that’s all she knew how to do.
“I’m tired of working and want to settle down back in my village, but I have nothing—no home, no land. I’m working extra hours to save money so that I can buy some land and build a home. I work in eight homes every day and earn 6,000–7,000 rupees ($120–$140) a month. Prices are skyrocketing, I hope I can save enough and buy some land soon,” Reena adds.
Reena’s 12-year-old elder son stopped going to school and there’s nothing much that she can do about it. She doesn’t know about the whereabouts of her husband either.
“I don’t know if he’s alive or dead; I haven’t seen him for the past two years. He used to drink a lot,” she says.
Children who drop out of school under such circumstances are deprived of an education and thus continue the same vicious cycle. And while their mothers work hard from morning to evening, the children are also deprived of the family care every child is entitled to. Moreover, living as a migrant and part of the underclass, also makes them vulnerable to many other harsh conditions both physically and psychologically.
Reena is happy that at least her youngest child is attending school and she counts herself fortunate for other reasons.

Texas fights for voter ID law

Texas fights for voter ID law: Texas state officials went to federal court Monday to defend a controversial new voter identification law, dismissing suggestions the requirement would deny hundreds of thousands of people -- many of them minorities -- access to the ballot.

World Briefing | Asia: Cambodia: Child Deaths Linked to Virus

World Briefing | Asia: Cambodia: Child Deaths Linked to Virus: A deadly form of a common childhood illness has been linked to many of the mysterious child deaths that have occurred in Cambodia, health officials said Monday.

Norwegian government steps in to stop oil strike

Norwegian government steps in to stop oil strike: Norway's government has reluctantly intervened at the final hour to end a strike by offshore oil workers. Oslo used powers to end the walkout after firms said they would be otherwise forced into a complete shutdown.

Mercosul testa a doutrina de Hugo Chávez

Mercosul testa a doutrina de Hugo Chávez:
RIO e CARACAS — O receituário econômico de Hugo Chávez está prestes a ser colocado à prova. Com a entrada oficial da Venezuela no Mercosul marcada para o dia 31 deste mês, especialistas questionam como será possível conciliar as regras de um bloco de livre comércio com o cenário de câmbio fixo, preços controlados e participação escassa de empresas privadas na economia.
- A política econômica de Chávez está fundamentada em três elementos contrários aos princípios do Mercosul: uma economia ancorada em compras governamentais, controle de preços e sem muito espaço para empresas privadas — disse ao GLOBO o analista venezuelano Carlos Romero.
No Tratado de Assunção, documento que marcou a criação do Mercosul, os sócios se comprometeram com “a livre circulação de bens, serviços e fatores produtivos entre os países por meio da eliminação dos direitos aduaneiros e das restrições relativas à circulação de mercadorias e de qualquer outra medida equivalente”.
- O Mercosul já estava em uma situação complicada antes, com a Venezuela deve ficar ainda mais difícil. Todo esse protecionismo de Chávez só tornou o país mais dependente do petróleo. No médio e no longo prazo representa uma política de atraso para o país - disse Nora Zygel, professora da FGV Management.
As vendas da indústria petrolífera para outros países representam 95% da receita de exportações venezuelanas. Nas transações comerciais com o Brasil, por exemplo, o nafta (derivado de petróleo) para a petroquímica representou, de janeiro a junho deste ano, mais da metade das vendas.
Mas o principal entrave para as negociações não é a concentração da pauta de exportações, mas os desafios impostos pelo câmbio fixo, que limita a entrada de divisas e restringe as importações. Somente neste ano, o bolívar já sofreu a maior desvalorização desde 2010, quando Chávez resolveu extinguir o mercado paralelo de dólares para combater a inflação em alta e o uso potencial para lavagem de dinheiro. A cotação para compras essenciais foi fixada em 4,3 bolívares.
Diversificação para combater escassez de produtos
Mas o fato de o mercado paralelo ter sido extinto pelo presidente não quer dizer que os venezuelanos tenham parado de adquirir dólares. E estão comprando cada vez mais, o que eleva a cotação e pressiona a inflação. Segundo o blog Lechuga Verde, que apresenta a cotação negociada por doleiros, o dólar custava ontem 9,28 bolívares. Já o euro era negociado por 11,41 bolívares. As informações aparecem também nas redes sociais.
De outro lado, a inflação continua em alta. O Fundo Monetário Internacional (FMI) prevê que a Venezuela encerrará o ano com uma taxa de até 31,6%. No ano passado, o país registrou uma variação de quase 28%. Na prática, com câmbio fixo, os importados saem mais em conta, o que prejudica a indústria local.
Segundo Romero, as atividades que podem sofrer mais com as mudanças incluem a área de alimentos processados, indústria química e materiais de construção, afetados pelos preços artificiais e pela taxa de câmbio imposta pelo governo.
Para o analista, o objetivo de Chávez é aumentar a capacidade de compras de bens finais do Brasil e da Argentina. A escassez de alimentos e de bens de consumo já é uma realidade crônica no país, onde já foi registrada neste ano falta de carne, azeite e de outros produtos da cesta de consumo. E apesar das divergências no campo diplomático, os Estados Unidos ainda são o principal parceiro comercial da Venezuela em importações, seguidos por Colômbia, Brasil e China, com base em estimativas de 2009.
- O governo quer diversificar a origem dos produtos e reduzir a dependência dos EUA.
A lista de produtos comprados do Brasil de janeiro a junho deste ano confirma essa expectativa, com ampla presença de alimentos como carne bovina desossada, frango, milho e soja.
Apesar deste cenário, o país deve fechar o ano com um crescimento da economia de 4,7%, segundo o FMI, impulsionado pelo aumento de compras do governo, no ano em que Chávez lançou sua quarta candidatura à Presidência.

Turtle eggs crushed in Trinidad

Turtle eggs crushed in Trinidad: Government work crews in Trinidad have accidentally crushed thousands of endangered turtle eggs and hatchlings at a beach resort, conservationists say.

Rechazan productores importación de tons de huevo

Rechazan productores importación de tons de huevo: Los dirigentes de Mercados Mayoristas y Productores Agrícolas de Maíz de México aseguran que la medida anunciada por la SE contraerá la demanda de este alimento y de la carne de pollo nacionales

Pide Iglesia Católica aceptar resultados electorales

Pide Iglesia Católica aceptar resultados electorales: Destaca la Conferencia del Episcopado Mexicano que la democracia en México tiene limitaciones, pues en toda actividad humana hay posibilidad para errores, fallas, engaños y hasta para delitos

Germany sets gold standard for training

Germany sets gold standard for training: The apprenticeship system is widely regarded as the secret behind the country’s relatively low youth unemployment rate, which in May was two-thirds less than the EU average

Single Genetic Variant Is Linked to Multiple Sclerosis Risk

Single Genetic Variant Is Linked to Multiple Sclerosis Risk:
Like diabetes, most forms of cancer and other common diseases, there is no single gene that causes the autoimmune condition multiple sclerosis (MS). Dozens of genetic variations act in concert with environmental factors to cause the debilitating neurological disease.
Yet a single genetic variant may explain why drugs that treat other autoimmune diseases tend to make MS symptoms worse, and could identify other MS patients who might benefit from the therapies.

Egypt’s High Court Overrules President’s Decree

Egypt’s High Court Overrules President’s Decree:

Egyptian military police stand guard outside the Supreme Constitutional Court in Cairo on June 14, as the court examines a controversial law. (Khaled Desouki/AFP/GettyImages)

The high court of Egypt on Monday said that President Mohamed Mursi does not have the right to reinstate the lower house of Parliament after the body was dissolved last month.
“The scope of its sacred mission remains to protect the provisions of the constitution and to prevent any aggression against or violation of them,” reads a statement from the court in explaining its decision not to go along with Mursi’s decree, reported state-run the Al-Ahram publication.

The high court asserted that its decisions “are final and not subject to appeal, and that its provisions in cases of constitutional interpretation and decisions are binding on all state authorities,” the newspaper reported. It added that it is not part of any political struggle in the country.
The interim government of the Supreme Council of Armed Forces last month dissolved Parliament and said it would assume legislative authority before fresh elections after the court handed down its decision.
Following the court’s statement, Mursi’s Muslim Brotherhood called for a “million-man march” to support the president’s decisions, according to a Twitter statement posted by the Brotherhood’s Ikhwanweb website.
The Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party won close to half the seats in the lower house of Parliament.

Obama quer subir os impostos dos 2% mais ricos

Obama quer subir os impostos dos 2% mais ricos: Presidente americano propõe extensão dos cortes nos impostos implementados pela administração Bush, mas só para os que ganham menos de 250 mil dólares por ano. Republicanos contestam.

Israeli Panel Says West Bank Presence Is Not Occupation

Israeli Panel Says West Bank Presence Is Not Occupation: A government-appointed commission recommended Monday that the state grant approval for scores of unauthorized Jewish settlements.

Festival first to use microchips

Festival first to use microchips: Wristbands fitted with microchips are used at a UK festival for the first time with designers claiming they are the future for gig ticketing.

CHINE - Pékin se montre ferme avant le sommet de l'Asean

CHINE - Pékin se montre ferme avant le sommet de l'Asean: "Souveraineté : pour une ligne plus dure en mer de Chine méridionale", titre le quotidien. Les plus hauts experts chinois en matière de politique étrangère et de défense ont prôné une approche plus ferme de Pékin face à la montée des tensions en mer de Chine méridionale, à la veille de l'ouverture des discussions de l'Association des nations du sud-est asiatique (Asean) qui tient son 19e forum régional cette semaine à Phnom Penh, au Cambodge. Les disputes territoriales devraient de fait occuper une large place dans les débats.

Donan países y bancos 16 mil millones de dólares a Afganistán

Donan países y bancos 16 mil millones de dólares a Afganistán: Tokio, 8 de julio. Donantes internacionales reunidos en Tokio se comprometieron a entregar 16 mil millones de dólares a Afganistán entre 2012 y 2015 para programas de ayuda civil, pero supeditados a la aplicación de reformas que permitan el desarrollo económico, político y social del país, inmerso en la violencia, que este domingo cobró la vida de unas 40 personas

Annan, al-Assad begin talks in Syria

Annan, al-Assad begin talks in Syria: Former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan was in Syria for talks Monday with embattled President Bashar al-Assad, the first meeting between the two since the collapse of a peace plan to end nearly 16 months of bloodshed that has left thousands dead.

Aung San Suu Kyi estreia-se no Parlamento

Aung San Suu Kyi estreia-se no Parlamento: A líder da oposição birmanesa, Aung San Suu Kyi, sentou-se hoje pela primeira vez no Parlamento na qualidade de deputada, feito histórico que traduz a consagração da sua entrada na vida política.

German trade defies eurozone debt

German trade defies eurozone debt: German exports and imports have seen huge gains despite a protracted recession in much of the eurozone area. Fresh statistical data indicate that the German economy will continue to thrive on increasing domestic demand.

Misunderstanding America's 'Pacific pivot'

Misunderstanding America's 'Pacific pivot': Barack Obama's announcement late last year that the US was turning its attention "back to the Asia-Pacific" sent many in the region, particularly China, into a tizzy. Others scratched their heads, noting that the US had in fact never left. But this announcement was not just a recognition that global economic power is shifting to Asia; it was a political gambit that disarmed Republican foreign and defense policy. - Benjamin A Shobert (Jul 9, '12)

Spanish borrowing costs rising

Spanish borrowing costs rising: Spanish 10-year bond yields rise above 7% ahead of a summit of eurozone finance ministers, which is due to start later on Monday.

Global warming triggers boom in numbers of toxic blue-green algae

Global warming triggers boom in numbers of toxic blue-green algae: Human health could be adversely affected by a recent population explosion of water-borne micro-organisms that can release toxins into the environment, according to a new study.

Els termes del rescat espanyol no es concretaran fins l'agost

Els termes del rescat espanyol no es concretaran fins l'agost:
L'Eurogrup es limitarà demà a intentar tancar un “acord polític” però caldran més reunions aquest mes abans de signar la lletra petita
L'ajut directe a la banca haurà d'esperar fins al 2014, quan la reforma del BCE es faci efectiva

Vídeo revela treino de terroristas da al-Qaeda com roupas ‘ninja’

Vídeo revela treino de terroristas da al-Qaeda com roupas ‘ninja’:
LONDRES - Um vídeo publicado em sites extremistas ligados à Al-Qaeda mostra cenas de terroristas praticando uma série de exercícios de tiro, o que comprovaria a recente advertência feita pelo chefe do serviço secreto britânico (MI5) Jonathan Evans de que fanáticos da Al-Qaeda continuam a representar uma ameaça. A informação foi publicada no site do jornal “The Sun”.
Segundo a reportagem, acredita-se que os treinamentos foram registrados em um acampamento na fronteira do Afeganistão e do Paquistão. No filme, os extremistas adotam a posição clássica de tiro, segurando pistolas com ambas as mãos e braços estendidos. Na sequência, há simulações de manobras defensivas e manuseio de rifles de assalto AK-47 - apelidados de "Widowmaker". Dois dos recrutas vestidos de preto são mostrados manuseando uma metralhadora pesada. Outros terroristas são filmados ensaiando tiroteios a bordo de uma caminhonete e de uma motocicleta. Seu arsenal inclui também lança-granadas.
Um dos sites onde o vídeo foi publicado tem 66 mil usuários cadastrados. Teme-se que a rede de terror - cujo líder Osama bin Laden foi morto por os EUA em 2011 - esteja planejando atentados na Grã-Bretanha ou na Europa — como os ataques de 2008, em Mumbai, na Índia, que deixaram 164 mortos.
— Al-Qaeda está mostrando que, apesar da surra que tomaram no ano passado, eles ainda são uma força — afirma Chris Dobson, repsitado especialista em terrorismo.

Open source incest: GPL forked by its coauthor

Open source incest: GPL forked by its coauthor:

Will licensing licentiousness rile Free Softies?

One of the principal authors of version 3 of the Gnu General Public License (GPL) has spun off his own version of the license without the participation of the Free Software Foundation (FSF), in a move that could ruffle feathers in the often-cantankerous free software community.…

Jekyll and Hyde bacteria aids or kills, depending on chance

Jekyll and Hyde bacteria aids or kills, depending on chance: East Lansing MI (SPX) Jul 06, 2012



Living in the guts of worms are seemingly innocuous bacteria that contribute to their survival. With a flip of a switch, however, these same bacteria transform from harmless microbes into deadly insecticides. In the current issue of Science, Michigan State University researchers led a study that revealed how a bacteria flips a DNA switch to go from an upstanding community member in the gut micro

Rising heat at the beach threatens largest sea turtles

Rising heat at the beach threatens largest sea turtles: Philadelphia PA (SPX) Jul 06, 2012



For eastern Pacific populations of leatherback turtles, the 21st century could be the last. New research suggests that climate change could exacerbate existing threats and nearly wipe out the population. Deaths of turtle eggs and hatchlings in nests buried at hotter, drier beaches are the leading projected cause of the potential climate-related decline, according to a new study in the journal

Israelis protest against military draft exemptions

Israelis protest against military draft exemptions: Israeli citizens have demonstrated against military draft exemptions for Orthodox Jews and Arabs. The exemptions have created a rift within Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition government.

UBS note deepens UK political row over rate-fixing

UBS note deepens UK political row over rate-fixing: LONDON (Reuters) - A political row in Britain over fixing of interbank lending rates deepened on Saturday after the publication of confidential advice from UBS to the previous Labour government on how to reduce the key Libor rate at the height of the financial crisis in 2008.

Donors Offer $16 Billion Afghan Aid at Tokyo Conference

Donors Offer $16 Billion Afghan Aid at Tokyo Conference: Major donors pledged on Sunday to give Afghanistan $16 billion in development aid over the next four years as they seek to prevent it from sliding back into chaos.

China dismisses Japan plan to buy disputed islands

China dismisses Japan plan to buy disputed islands: BEIJING (Reuters) - China's Foreign Ministry said it would continue to take "necessary measures" to safeguard its sovereignty over a number of disputed islands in the East China Sea after Japan said it was considering a plan to "buy" them from private landowners.

Mais de 140 pessoas morrem por causa de chuvas no sul da Rússia

Mais de 140 pessoas morrem por causa de chuvas no sul da Rússia:
MOSCOU - Mais de 140 pessoas morreram e milhares de casas foram destruídas por causa de fortes chuvas, nas últimas 24 horas, na região de Krasnodar, no sul da Rússia, informou a polícia neste sábado. A região ficou alagada depois de uma tempestade que pegou os moradores de surpresa, durante a madrugada. Imagens da TV russa mostram casas completamente submersas.
A exportação de petróleo do Mar Negro, no porto de Novorossiysk - o maior da região - foi suspensa. Em Krimsk, a área mais afetada pelas enchentes, ao menos 92 pessoas morreram, incluindo um menino de 10 anos. Na televisão russa, imagens mostram pessoas em cima do telhado de prédios e casas para tentar escapar da água. As fortes chuvas são previstas para continuar na cidade.
- A enchente começou de noite, enquanto moradores estavam dormindo. Muitas pessoas foram atingidas por choques elétricos e outros foram levados pela água para o mar - disse o porta-voz da polícia Igor Zhelyabin.
No distrito de Gelendzhik, onde mais de 22 mil pessoas ficaram sem eletricidade e duas pessoas morreram, a situação se estabilizou nas últimas horas. Em um dia, o equivalente a dois meses de chuva caiu em Krimski, a poucas horas de onde será celebrada as Olimpíadas de inverno de 2014. Nas redes sociais, pessoas dizem que Krimski parece ter sido tomada por uma tsunami. Alguns moradores acusam autoridades de não revelar a real dimensão do desastre. Nove pessoas ainda morreram em Novorossiysk. Mais de mil trabalhadores estão envolvidos no resgate aos moradores.
- Pessoas estão nas ruas, elas estão perdidas, não sabem o que fazer. Helicópteros sobrevoam a região para retirar moradores de áreas alagadas. As enchentes são muito, muito grandes - disse Vladimir Anosov, morador de Novoukrainsky.
O governador da região de Krasnodar, Alexander Tkachov, fez um apelo para que os moradores não entrem em pânico. O sistema de transporte na região entrou em colapso. Segundo autoridades, pelo menos 13 mil pessoas foram afetadas pelas enchentes.
- Ninguém consegue se lembrar de enchentes como esta em nossa história. Nos últimos 70 anos, nada do tipo aconteceu - disse o prefeito, pela manhã.

Second RBS computer glitch hits bank¿s savers as 100,000 customers' balances are not updated

The hitch came a fortnight after the RBS computer breakdown left millions of customers of NatWest, owned by RBS, unable to access their cash.

Reported by MailOnline 2 hours ago.

Eleven hospital staff suspended after man dies on hospital doorstep

Eleven hospital staff suspended after man dies on hospital doorstep: Eleven medics have been suspended from a hospital after a man collapsed and died on the doorstep of a hospital.