Pledges to Fight Global Warming Inadequate, U.S. Off Track: Study

Pledges to Fight Global Warming Inadequate, U.S. Off Track: Study:
By Alister Doyle and Marton Kruppa
DOHA (Reuters) - Major nations' policies are inadequate to limit global warming and the United States is off track even in carrying out its weak pledge to limit greenhouse gas emissions, a scientific scorecard showed on Friday.
The Climate Action Tracker report, issued on the sidelines of talks among almost 200 countries in Doha about climate change, said a toughening of policies was still possible to avert damaging floods, heat waves and rising seas.
Major emitters China, the United States, the European Union and Russia all got "inadequate" ratings for their plans to help limit global warming to an agreed U.N. [More]

Dispersant makes oil 52 times more toxic

Dispersant makes oil 52 times more toxic:
For microscopic animals living in the Gulf, even worse than the toxic oil released during the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster may be the very oil dispersants used to clean it up, a new study finds.

66 coral species proposed for US protection

66 coral species proposed for US protection:
In its most sweeping use of the Endangered Species Act, the nation's oceans agency proposed listing 66 species of coral as endangered or threatened -- and cited climate change as driving three key threats.

Fracking extent report dismissed

Fracking extent report dismissed: The energy department has dismissed a report that "60% of the UK countryside could be exploited" for fracking, the controversial gas extraction method.

Confrontos marcam tomada de posse de Enrique Nieto

Confrontos marcam tomada de posse de Enrique Nieto: Centenas de manifestantes no México entraram hoje em conflito com a polícia em frente ao Palácio do Congresso, onde o novo presidente do México, Enrique Pena Nieto, toma posse.

Dilma veta redistribuição de royalties do petróleo em contratos vigentes

Dilma veta redistribuição de royalties do petróleo em contratos vigentes: Presidente brasileira define que estados e municípios não produtores só receberão maior fatia dos tributos a partir dos novos contratos. Governo também confirma repasse de todos os royalties do petróleo para a educação.

Fructose and Type 2 Diabetes

Fructose and Type 2 Diabetes: High-fructose corn syrup comprises any of a group of corn syrups that has undergone enzymatic processing to convert some of its glucose into fructose to produce a desired sweetness. Pure, dry fructose is a very sweet, white, odorless, crystalline solid and is the most water-soluble of all the sugars. The primary reason that fructose is used commercially in foods and beverages, besides its low cost, is its high relative sweetness (almost twice the sweetness of sucrose). A new study indicates that large amounts of high fructose corn syrup, a sweetener found in national food supplies across the world, may be a contributory factor to the rising global epidemic of type 2 diabetes.

Israel 'to build 3,000 new settler homes in wake of Palestinian UN bid'

Israel 'to build 3,000 new settler homes in wake of Palestinian UN bid': Israel is to build 3,000 new settler homes in east Jerusalem and the West Bank after the Palestinians won recognition as a non-member state at the United Nations, according to reports.

Girl, 9, accused of music piracy

Girl, 9, accused of music piracy: A nine-year-old in Finland has her laptop confiscated after being accused of downloading music from The Pirate Bay.

'1,000 dogs trafficked each week'

'1,000 dogs trafficked each week': Up to 1,000 dogs a week are being illegally imported into the UK from unlicensed puppy farms in Ireland, animal welfare charities say.

United Nations votes to recognise Palestinian state

United Nations votes to recognise Palestinian state:
The United Nations voted overwhelmingly yesterday to recognise a Palestinian state, a long-sought victory for the Palestinians but an embarrassing diplomatic defeat for the United States.

Muslims Face Expulsion From Western Myanmar

Muslims Face Expulsion From Western Myanmar: In western Myanmar, clashes have left at least 167 people dead and 100,000 people homeless, most of them Muslims.

Whooping cough kills three more babies

Whooping cough kills three more babies:

Health Protection Agency says disease has now led to 13 infant deaths this year
Whooping cough claimed three more babies' lives in October, the Health Protection Agency has said, bringing the total number of deaths of infants under the age of one this year to 13.
It is not yet clear what impact the immunisation programme for pregnant women launched by the government in September will have, although there appears to be a reduction in cases among newborns.
Babies are routinely immunised against whooping cough – also known as pertussis – along with diptheria, tetanus and polio from the age of two months, but many of the deaths have occurred while babies are unprotected in the first weeks of life.
According to the Health Protection Agency, there were 1,614 cases of whooping cough in England and Wales in October, bringing the total this year to 7,728, nearly 10 times higher than the same period in 2008, the previous "peak".
There tend to be cyclical outbreaks of whooping cough, but it is not clear why they occur. There has not been a crisis of confidence in the vaccination – as there was with the MMR vaccine, leading to a surge of measles cases. Neither has there been a shortage of vaccine or reports of increased waiting times at GP surgeries.
Dr Gayatri Amirthalingam, consultant epidemiologist for immunisation at the HPA, said: "The October figures show a continuing rise in the overall number of whooping cough cases. While there has been a decline in the number of infant cases it's important to emphasise that it's too early to see any impact from the pregnancy vaccination programme. Working with the Department of Health we are continuing to carefully monitor whooping cough activity to evaluate the success of the programme.
"We strongly recommend all pregnant women take up the offer of vaccination. Parents should also ensure their children are vaccinated against whooping cough on time, even babies of women who have had the vaccine in pregnancy – this is to continue their baby's protection through childhood.
"Parents should also be alert to the signs and symptoms of whooping cough – which include severe coughing fits accompanied by the characteristic "whoop" sound in young children but as a prolonged cough in older children or adults. It is also advisable to keep babies away from older siblings or adults who have the infection."

Plus d'infections au VIH en Grèce depuis la récession

Plus d'infections au VIH en Grèce depuis la récession: La crise financière frappe de plein fouet la Grèce depuis 2009 et les effets qu'elle entraîne sont parfois insoupçonnés. À mesure que les services aux citoyens diminuent, certains problèmes émergent. Parmi eux, une progression rapide du nombre d'infections au virus du sida.

Microsoft prices Pro version of Surface at $899

Microsoft prices Pro version of Surface at $899: Microsoft says its Surface tablet running a full version of Windows 8 will start selling in January for $899 and up. The current Surface uses the slimmed down Windows RT operating system.

Twitter in legal spat over data clampdown

Twitter in legal spat over data clampdown: Twitter steadily tightening grip over the 140-character messages on its network has set off a spirited debate in Silicon Valley over whether a social media company should or should not lay claim over its user-generated content. That debate has now landed in court.

Heavy snow in Moscow, and the first snowfall of the season in Europe

Heavy snow in Moscow, and the first snowfall of the season in Europe: Heavy snow in Moscow, and the first snowfall of the season in Europe.

The Inuit sitting on billions of barrels of oil

The Inuit sitting on billions of barrels of oil: What the Inuit think about the giant oil find beneath their feet.
Oomituk shares the fear of many in the small community - population 800 - that offshore drilling by Shell could destroy the food chain that they rely on for survival. Over 80% of the food eaten in Point Hope is caught by the people themselves.

They worry that it will disrupt the migration routes of the marine mammals, driving them away from the coastal waters where they can be reached by hunters.

America planned to NUKE THE MOON

America planned to NUKE THE MOON:
Carl Sagan worked on plan to demonstrate military might, says CNN report

America once hatched a plan to nuke the moon, according to a report from CNN.…

Scientists develop new approach to support future climate projections

Scientists develop new approach to support future climate projections: Southampton UK (SPX) Nov 29, 2012



Scientists have developed a new approach for evaluating past climate sensitivity data to help improve comparison with estimates of long-term climate projections developed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The sensitivity of global temperature to changes in the Earth's radiation balance (climate sensitivity) is a key factor for understanding past natural climate changes as

Seas rising 60 percent faster than UN forecast: study

Seas rising 60 percent faster than UN forecast: study: Paris (AFP) Nov 28, 2012



Sea levels are rising 60-percent faster than the UN's climate panel forecast in its most recent assessment, scientists reported on Wednesday.

At present, sea levels are increasing at an average 3.2 millimetres (0.125 inches) per year, a trio of specialists reported in the journal Environmental Research Letters.

Sequencing the Wheat Genome in a Breakthrough for Global Food Security

Sequencing the Wheat Genome in a Breakthrough for Global Food Security: Albany, CA (SPX) Nov 29, 2012



U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists working as part of an international team have completed a "shotgun sequencing" of the wheat genome, a paper published in the journal Nature reported Wednesday. The achievement is expected to increase wheat yields, help feed the world and speed up development of wheat varieties with enhanced nutritional value.

New study shows how climate change could affect entire forest ecosystems

New study shows how climate change could affect entire forest ecosystems: Santa Barbara CA (SPX) Nov 29, 2012



The fog comes in, and a drop of water forms on a pine needle, rolls down the needle, and falls to the forest floor. The process is repeated over and over, on each pine needle of every tree in a forest of Bishop pines on Santa Cruz Island, off the coast of Santa Barbara. That fog drip helps the entire forest ecosystem stay alive.

Blind patient reads words stimulated directly onto the retina

Blind patient reads words stimulated directly onto the retina: Sylmar CA (SPX) Nov 29, 2012



For the very first time researchers have streamed braille patterns directly into a blind patient's retina, allowing him to read four-letter words accurately and quickly with an ocular neuroprosthetic device.

The device, the Argus II, has been implanted in over 50 patients, many of who can now see color, movement and objects. It uses a small camera mounted on a pair of glasses,

Human transformation of land threatens future sustainability?

Human transformation of land threatens future sustainability?: Boulder CO (SPX) Nov 29, 2012



Social and physical scientists have long been concerned about the effects of humans on Earth's surface - in part through deforestation, encroachment of urban areas onto traditionally agricultural lands, and erosion of soils - and the implications these changes have on Earth's ability to provide for an ever-growing population.

The December 2012 GSA Today science article presents examples of

New method for diagnosing malaria

New method for diagnosing malaria: Aarhus, Denmark (SPX) Nov 29, 2012



Malaria is a life-threatening disease that strikes more than 200 million people every year - mainly in Africa, Asia and Latin America. The disease is caused by the Plasmodium parasite, which is spread by infected mosquito bites. Today, malaria can be prevented and successfully treated, but more than half a million people nevertheless die every year from the disease.

Brazil Corruption Trial Ends After Convictions

Brazil Corruption Trial Ends After Convictions: The Supreme Court has sentenced the last 3 of 25 defendants convicted on charges involving a congressional cash-for-votes scheme.

Bing bites Google on holiday shoppers

Bing bites Google on holiday shoppers: If Black Friday lines and stories of violence, vehicular assault and child abandonment taught us anything, it's that the holiday shopping season is a dark, competitive time.

TSA chief will be a 'no show' at hearing

TSA chief will be a 'no show' at hearing: A congressional hearing on aviation security on Thursday will be missing its chief witness, who declined to testify.

Dalai Lama visa delay 'unlawful'

Dalai Lama visa delay 'unlawful': South Africa's government acted unlawfully in failing to give the Dalai Lama a visa in time for a planned visit last year, a court rules.

BP banned from new US contracts

BP banned from new US contracts: The Environmental Protection Agency temporarily suspends BP from new contracts with the US government due to a "lack of integrity" over the 2010 oil spill.

Science under pressure as pesticide makers face MPs over bee threat

Science under pressure as pesticide makers face MPs over bee threat:

The debate over neonicotinoid insecticides has reached a crucial point, with MPs grilling chemical firms, out-of-date rules failing to protect nature and a row over scientific research
Fifty years ago, Rachel Carson published Silent Spring, a stunning revelation of the death of swaths of birds and insects that had been poisoned by pesticides in farmers' fields. Half a century on, a fast-growing group of scientists, politicians and campaigners fear a second, more subtle silent spring is killing the bees and other insects that pollinate one-third of everything we eat.
On Wednesday, executives from the agrochemical giants that make insecticides face a public grilling from MPs over accusations of secrecy and out-of-date rules that are failing to protect nature. They are certain to fight back, saying that the crop protection offered by the multibillion dollar industry is vital in producing cheap, plentiful food and that the science remains uncertain. Both sides accuse the other of scaremongering, but with the European authorities accepting that current "simplistic" regulations contain "major weaknesses" and the UK government being forced to accelerate its deliberations, the debate has reached a crucial point.
"The government claims it is adopting a precautionary approach to protect bees and other pollinators, while at the same time demanding 'unequivocal' evidence before taking action," said Joan Walley, chair of the environmental audit committee, which is conducting the inquiry. "We will explore this contradiction, because up until now ministers appeared to have taken the pesticide companies' word for it that their products are not that bad for bees."
The stakes are high and the issue is complex. The neonicitinoid insecticides being investigated by MPs are used in scores of countries across the world, including more than 1m hectares in the UK.
"But wild bees and other pollinating insects are known to be declining in the UK and elsewhere," said Lynn Dicks, at the University of Cambridge, with up to three-quarters of species declining by more than one-third each decade. The total loss of pollinators would cost the UK hundreds of millions of pounds a year, according to parliamentary research. The insects also suffer from starvation as meadows and other habitats are ploughed up, and from diseases and parasites, such as the varroa mite.
A flurry of peer-reviewed studies in 2012 have singled out the harmful effects of neonicitinoids, from making bees lose their way home to failing to produce enough queens. But a scientific row has blown up, with the chemical companies and UK government questioning whether the studies were realistic.
"The response is focused on trying to pick small holes and then using them as a justification for inaction," said Prof David Goulson, at the University of Stirling, who published one of the key studies. "But in practice it is impossible to carry out the ideal study: there are no areas without neonicotinoids in Europe. If the government is waiting for the perfect experiment, they will be waiting a very long time."
Criticism that laboratory-based studies are unrealistic is wrong, according to Christopher Connolly, a molecular biologist at the University of Dundee: "I consider this claim totally unprofessional and lacking all scientific credibility. Laboratory studies … identify real and quantified threats."
The chemical companies say they have data to show the safety of their products, but it remains secret. "There is a lack of transparency," said Dicks.
James Cresswell, a scientist at the University of Exeter and part-funded by pesticide maker Syngenta, argues that there is not enough evidence currently to change neonicitinoid rules, but agrees transparency is a problem. He was only permitted to see some regulatory data under supervision and was not allowed to make any copies.
Syngenta said the problem is "very limited protection" to prevent data being exploited for commercial gain by competitors, although it admitted the data does not contain secret chemical formulas. Bayer told MPs that a study of 1,200 hives in Germany demonstrated the safety of neonicitinoids, but Goulson pointed out that only 215 of these were screened for pesticides and that the study was industry-funded.
"The potential inadequacy of the regulatory process is the thing that worries me the most," said Tim Lovett, director of public affairs and former president of the British Bee Keepers Association (BBKA). "I think all the regulators have been remarkably silent."
The BBKA has been attacked for not taking a stance on neonicitnoids, but Lovett said: "We adopt a very difficult position in truth – sitting on the fence - and it is very uncomfortable. But we don't have the scientific expertise. We just want the regulators to do their job. They are paid to do this and we are trying to keep them honest."
Evidence submitted to parliament cites a long list of failings in current regulations. Perhaps most serious is that it is only the effects on honeybees that are considered, despite 90% of pollination being performed by different species, such as solitary or bumblebees, hoverflies, butterflies, moths and others. Another is that the regime was set up for pesticide sprays, not systemic chemicals like neonicitinoids that are used to treat seeds.
Even the National Farmers Union (NFU), which argues that there is no need for change, admitted: "It is very well known that the current pesticide risk assessment systems for bees were not developed to assess systemic pesticides."
Nigel Raine, at Royal Holloway, University of London, highlighted other failings in a recent study. First, insecticides are tested singly, despite the European regulator reporting that "pesticides are often applied in tank mixes (two to nine active ingredients at the same time)".
Tests also wrongly focus on individual insects, according to Connolly: "For social insects, it is the colony that is the breeding unit and the most important."
Goulson said as little as 2% of the neonicitinoids applied to the seeds actually ends up in the plants. "There is an urgent need to establish the fate of the other 98% and to find out what impacts they might be having on the environment," he said.
However, if the government was persuaded to suspend the use of some neonicitinoids, as has happened in France, Italy, Germany and Slovenia, the question is raised of what should take its place in protecting crops. In Bayer's submission, the company praises the promise of genetically modified plants, while the NFU raises the prospect of a return to more damaging sprays.
Nick Mole, at Pesticide Action Network, said that the Italian ban "has not led to any pest problems or any loss of yield or profit. It is alarmist scaremongering from the people profiting from treated seeds."
There is rare agreement from all sides that natural predators of pest insects should be encouraged by growing flower-rich margins around fields.
The most recent assessment from the UK government concluded in September that the new studies do not give "unequivocal evidence that sub-lethal effects with serious implications for colonies are likely to arise from current uses of neonicotinoids".
But now the environment secretary, Owen Paterson, has asked his experts to "speed up" the field studies being conducted. "The health of our bees is a real concern," he said. "Once we have the full picture in the new year I will ask independent experts to give us an up-to-date view on the safety of neonicotinoids."
Cresswell said the problem is far greater than a single study: "There is a dearth of fundamental knowledge. Strong lab knowledge can inform, but we don't even have that. There is a virtual total lack of data on [neonicitinoid] residues in pollen and nectar."
For Lovett, this is the silence that needs to end: "For god's sake, let's have some proper studies."

Overhaul of Spain banks approved

Overhaul of Spain banks approved: The European Commission gives the go-ahead to the planned restructuring of four troubled nationalised Spanish banks, including Bankia.

Poland outlaws ritual slaughter

Poland outlaws ritual slaughter: The top court in Poland outlaws the ritual slaughter of animals weeks before the EU is due to allow the practice on religious grounds.

Euro zone central banks may roll over their Greek bonds: document

Euro zone central banks may roll over their Greek bonds: document: BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Euro zone central banks may decide to roll over their holdings of Greek debt to reduce by 5.6 billion euros the amount governments will need to provide Athens by 2016, according to an document obtained by Reuters.

Nobel peace laureates call for Israel military boycott over Gaza assault

Nobel peace laureates call for Israel military boycott over Gaza assault:

Letter with 52 signatories including artists and activists also denounces US and EU 'complicity' through weapons sales
A group of Nobel peace prize-winners, prominent artists and activists have issued a call for an international military boycott of Israel following its assault on the Gaza Strip this month.
The letter also denounces the US, EU and several developing countries for what it describes as their "complicity" through weapons sales and other military support in the attack that killed 160 Palestinians, many of them civilians, including about 35 children.
The 52 signatories include the Nobel peace laureates Mairead Maguire and Adolfo Pérez Esquivel; the film directors Mike Leigh and Ken Loach; the author Alice Walker; the US academic Noam Chomsky; Roger Waters of Pink Floyd; and Stéphane Hessel, a former French diplomat and Holocaust survivor who was co-author of the universal declaration of human rights.
"Horrified at the latest round of Israeli aggression against the 1.5 million Palestinians in the besieged and occupied Gaza Strip and conscious of the impunity that has enabled this new chapter in Israel's decades-old violations of international law and Palestinian rights, we believe there is an urgent need for international action towards a mandatory, comprehensive military embargo against Israel," the letter says.
"Such a measure has been subject to several UN resolutions and is similar to the arms embargo imposed against apartheid South Africa in the past."
The letter accuses several countries of providing important military support that facilitated the assault on Gaza. "While the United States has been the largest sponsor of Israel, supplying billions of dollars of advanced military hardware every year, the role of the European Union must not go unnoticed, in particular its hefty subsidies to Israel's military complex through its research programmes.
"Similarly, the growing military ties between Israel and the emerging economies of Brazil, India and South Korea are unconscionable given their nominal support for Palestinian freedom," it says.
The letter opens with a quote from Nelson Mandela: "For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others."
The other signatories include John Dugard, a South African jurist and former UN special rapporteur in the occupied territories; Luisa Morgantini, former president of the European parliament; Cynthia McKinney, a former member of the US Congress; Ronnie Kasrils, a South African former cabinet minister; and the dramatist Caryl Churchill.

Passing Holocaust tattoos on

Passing Holocaust tattoos on: Soon, there will no longer be any living Holocaust survivors. But in Israel, some of their grandchildren are choosing to have themselves tattooed with the concentration camp ID numbers on their grandparents' arms.

Nestlé health unit seeks Chinese remedy

Nestlé health unit seeks Chinese remedy: Swiss food group enters joint venture with traditional Chinese medicine company to develop nutritional ways of dealing with illnesses

Acusa Contraloría despilfarro del IFE

Acusa Contraloría despilfarro del IFE: La Contraloría General del IFE detectó que la estructura laboral del organismo electoral tiene un bajo nivel de desempeño y varias irregularidades.

The Fate Of Argentina Could Come Down To The Soybean

The Fate Of Argentina Could Come Down To The Soybean:

Let's assume that Argentina absolutely will not pay the "vulture" hedge funds that just successfully (for now) sued the country for $1.3 billion in sovereign bonds.
That could mean that the country would be considered in default, and that could result in calamity.
We'll know by December 15th, because that is when a  New York Court ruled that Argentina must pay all parties that hold its sovereign debt dating back to 2001. For the past decade, it has only been paying those that restructured their debt in 2005 and 2010.
This ruling is the culmination of a decade-long legal battle spearheaded by billionaire Paul Singer, and if Argentina defies it, it could mean "game over."
And the terms that the Court has laid down for payment leave little room for funny stuff, though Argentina maintains that it will not pay.
So the worst could happen. But if it does, there is something that could ensure that the Argentina carries on.
The country's former Central Bank Chief, Martin Redrado, was ousted from his post in 2010 for not setting aside funds from the bank's reserves for President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner to use to pay off debts.
He told the Financial Times a few days ago, that the country could get through default, but it would depend on the its soy crop.

“There’s a very simple answer,” says Martín Redrado, a former central bank chief. “It depends on the [soya] crop. Given that international prices are strong and will continue to be . . . you can muddle along. But with low growth and high inflation.”

So how is the soy crop?
This summer Argentina suffered a debilitating drought that had its grain exchange trimming its forecast for 2011/2012 soy output by 4 million pounds.
Bad luck struck again this fall, as excessive rain showers (about 4x the normal amount) delayed planting.
From Bloomberg:

“The planting delays in Argentina are a growing concern and leading to consumers buying ahead in case the situation continues to deteriorate,” Mark Schultz, the chief analyst for Northstar Commodity Investment Co. in Minneapolis, said in a telephone interview. “The Chinese economy is showing signs of improvement and should increase soybean imports.”

Now soybean stocks are very tight, according to the USDA. To make sure global demand is met, farmers in both North and South America need to ramp up production. Those that don't, could miss a serious opportunity while prices are highest.
The USDA also believes that production will recover in the next ten months and recover global stores of the commodity. That, of course, means lower prices.
From a Raymond James note:

Finally, the projected figure for global soybean production in 2012/13 was rather surprisingly increased by the USDA, to 268 million tons from 264 million in October, with the forecast of demand also revised upward to 261 million tons from 259 million tons a month ago. As initial stocks were also raised, ending inventories were revised up, and are now expected to recover 7% over the next 10 months. With these estimates, the global stock-to-use ratio for soybean should recover from 16% to 17% next year, although we are skeptical about this projection, and expect the USDA to revise its soybean production figures downward for the Southern Hemisphere in its next report in December.

That downward revision for South America, of course in part, depends on Argentina. And for its part, the country's ability to rebound depends entirely on the the weather.
Morgan Stanley has a good rundown of El Nino and La Nina activity and how it impacts Brazil and Argentina, and they think things should have calmed down now:

• The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released its monthly report on the status of the El NiñoSouthern Oscillation (ENSO) pattern on November 8, 2012, which produces El Niño and La Niña weather anomalies. In the report, the climate prediction center forecasts that the El Niño anomaly experienced over the past four months has dissipated, and the El Niño and La Niña weather phenomenon remains neutral for the moment.
  
• El Niño’s Southern Oscillation is a weather pattern that originates when sea surface temperatures in the equatorial Pacific Ocean diverge from historical averages. Basically, if sea surface temperatures in this specific region of the Pacific Ocean are above historical averages, this produces an El Niño weather pattern, and there is a La Niña effect if the opposite occurs. And these divergences produce above or below average rainfall, respectively, in the Southern Hemisphere during its summer (from November through March).
  
• Although recent excessive rains have delayed planting activities in the Southern Hemisphere, which should have an impact on potential and final crop production, rainfalls are expected to be stable in the upcoming months, although there is a forecast for a recovery in El Niño and above-average rains during March and April 2013, which may once again affect harvesting activities in the 2012/13 crop season in South America.

Hugo Chávez regressa a Cuba para novos tratamentos

Hugo Chávez regressa a Cuba para novos tratamentos: O Presidente venezuelano, Hugo Chávez, anunciou que viajará ainda hoje para Cuba para um novo tratamento relacionado com o cancro que lhe foi diagnosticado em junho de 2011.

Report: Maps Chief Ousted at Apple

Report: Maps Chief Ousted at Apple: It’s looking like Apple knows when something has gone wrong. According to a report from Bloomberg news,the tech giant has fired Richard Williamson, the head of the mapping team. The company is reportedly looking to outside consultants from companies like TomTom to help improve it’s much maligned native maps app.

Autism 'linked' to heavy traffic

Autism 'linked' to heavy traffic: The possibility that autism is linked to traffic pollution has been raised by researchers in California.
Their study of more than 500 children said those exposed to high levels of pollution were three times more likely to have autism than children who grew up with cleaner air.

El jutge admet a tràmit la querella de Mas contra 'El Mundo'

Imputa els dos autors de la notícia per injúries i calúmnies
Reclama al Ministeri de l'Interior que informi abans de deu dies sobre l'existència de l'informe policial

BP eyes UK extension to gas route

BP holds talks with the Russian government and stakeholders in the Nordstream pipeline about extending the line to deliver gas to the UK.
The pipeline currently runs under the Baltic Sea, delivering Russia's huge reserves of gas into Germany.

BP said any potential extension to the pipeline was unlikely to be agreed before next summer.

As North Sea production falls away, the UK has begun to import more gas from overseas, mainly from Norway and Qatar.

French right on verge of collapse as talks fail

UMP officials loyal to Jean-François Copé deny bailiff access to election papers after breakdown in talks with rival François Fillon
France's centre-right opposition party is close to total collapse after a bailiff sent to its headquarters to seize contested election papers was turned away.
The move followed a breakdown in talks between the former prime minister François Fillon and rival Jean-François Copé, who have been engaged in a bitter war of words since a leadership election more than a week ago.
The bailiff, sent with a court order, arrived on Monday at the offices of the UMP in Paris's 15th arrondissement to remove voting papers and documentation relating to the ballot after Fillon supporters suggested there was a risk of "manipulation and alteration".
However, shortly after midday, he left empty-handed after party officials loyal to Copé were reported to have refused him access to the documents.
"The [UMP] leaders have deliberately refused to execute a judicial order … in politics, contempt for the justice system is a pretty bad augur for the quality of leaders," said François Sureau, Fillon's lawyer.
The Fillon camp said it had been forced to act after Copé refused to give it access to the documents. It claimed the move was aimed at "conserving" the documents
"The electoral documents cannot be considered to be safe from manipulations or alterations," said one of the former prime minister's supporters.
Copé, 48, was declared winner by a narrow margin after the ballot of party members. Shortly afterwards, Fillon, 58, claimed votes from three overseas districts had been "forgotten" and gave him victory. In the mud-slinging that followed, both sides accused the other of cheating and election fraud.
For the past week, the two sides have ripped apart the UMP as party heavyweights called for calm and attempted to referee the dispute.
In a final attempt to reconcile the rival camps, the party grandee Alain Juppé was brought in to mediate. He threw in the towel on Sunday evening after his peace efforts failed.
On Monday, there were calls for Nicolas Sarkozy to step in and "use his authority" to calm everyone down. The former president was due to have lunch with Fillon, apparently to dissuade him from taking legal action over the contested vote.
"It's clear that he is the only one who today has sufficient authority to finally propose a solution, that, as far as I'm concerned, is difficult to see. Can Nicolas Sarkozy calm things down and persuade the two parties back around the table to discuss a solution? That's for him to decide," said Juppé on Monday.
The former UMP cabinet minister Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet launched a petition calling for a fresh ballot among the party's 300,000 members, saying the political legitimacy of the first election on 18 November was compromised. "It is too doubtful, too contested," she told Europe 1 radio.
As political analysts warned the row would fuel support for the far-right Front National, Marine Le Pen, the FN president, declared the UMP was finished.
"The UMP no longer exists. The UMP is finished," she told French television. "It's finished. Whoever runs the UMP will have no legitimacy. Either they re-run the election, which would be reasonable, or the UMP announces its death and at that moment becomes two structures."
In the vacuum left by the implosion of the official opposition party, the FN has been quick to vaunt itself as the only party able to take on President François Hollande's Socialist government.
"We will welcome [UMP members] with open arms, because the real battle against the left must be fought and today, tomorrow and in the months to come. The UMP is clearly not in a state to fight it."

Apple Crushed Microsoft In This Analysis Of Black Friday Shopping (AAPL, MSFT)

Every year during Black Friday, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster's team goes to the Mall of America, and compares shopping at the Apple Store versus the Microsoft Store.
Fortune's Philip Elmer-Dewitt got his hands on the report, and relayed three major findings:

• "There was 47% less foot traffic at the Microsoft outlet than the Apple store."
• "Shoppers bought 17.2 items per hour at the Apple Store and only 3.5 items per hour at the Microsoft Store. All but two of the Microsoft  purchases were X-Box games."
• "Shoppers at the Apple Store bought an average of 11 iPads per hour. Despite heavy TV, print and billboard advertising for the new Microsoft Surface, not one was sold sold during the two hours team Piper Jaffray spent monitoring that store."

UK fines Swiss UBS over trading fraud scandal

Financial regulators in the UK have slapped a hefty fine on Swiss banking giant UBS. It's meant as a punishment for the lender's failure to prevent a rogue trader from losing billions in high-risk deals.

Barak surprises Israel by quitting politics

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak has announced that he is quitting politics. His surprise move precedes Israel's January election. Barak had been a lead figure in Israel's eight-day offensive against Gaza militants.

Cleaning toilets is a fair way to punish students, Cambridge college insists

Cleaning toilets is a fair way to punish students, Cambridge college insists:

Fines mean less to wealthy students so we've opted for community service, says St John's college
Community service tasks such as cleaning toilets and digging trenches are the fairest way to punish misbehaving students, says a Cambridge University college.
St John's college Cambridge has defended its decision to make students carry out manual labour for bad behaviour – as reported by the Cambridge Student – saying such tasks are more evenhanded than the financial penalties imposed by other Cambridge colleges and UK universities.
"The dean's policy is to make such an order in preference to imposing a fine. The college recognises that the effect of a fine varies according to students' ability to pay it," St John's says.
Other colleges at Cambridge University have collected a total of £38,209 in student fines since October 2011 for offences ranging from missed tutorials (a £15 offence at Girton cllege) to "noise violation" (£180 at Pembroke college).
It is common practice for universities to fine students for wrongdoing – students at Leeds University can be charged up to £100 for littering in student halls, while Keele warns students they could be fined £125-£500 for offences such as smoking cigarettes indoors and making vexatious complaints.
There are no national statistics to indicate how much students are fined in disciplinary charges each year, but freedom of information requests show university libraries accrued around £50m from students with overdue books for the six academic years from 2004-05.
Jamie Stern-Weiner, who graduated from Cambridge University this summer and was often hit with library fines, admits that there is sometimes a need to punish students. "Libraries need to have books returned so others can borrow them, and you need some incentive to get them returned. While I don't love paying fines, I hate not being able to find a book in the library that should be there."
But Pete Mercer, NUS vice-president, warns that university punishments should come only after adequate warnings.
"That institutions are racking up such huge sums in fines suggests that they are gratuitous, and are treating students as cash cows. It's vital that universities considering levying fines take student hardship into account."
"If money is collected through fines, it must be put back into helping students through things like hardship funds and library resources."
Rosalyn Old, president of Cambridge University's student union, says community service punishments must be also be proportionate: "We support efforts to ensure that the effect of punishments doesn't depend on students' different financial backgrounds. But university staff should respect the fact that students are adults and should be treated as such."

Forests worldwide near tipping-point from drought

Forests worldwide near tipping-point from drought: Forests worldwide are at "equally high risk" to die-off from drought conditions, warns a new study published this week in the journal Nature.

The study, conducted by an international team of scientists, assessed the specific physiological effects of drought on 226 tree species at 81 sites in different biomes around the world. It found that 70 percent of the species sampled are particularly vulnerable to reduction in water availability. With drought conditions increasing around the globe due to climate change and deforestation, the research suggests large swathes of the world's forests — and the services they afford — may be approaching a tipping point.

Killer blueberries: Inside the reality of paranoia

Killer blueberries: Inside the reality of paranoia:
Think blueberries are your super-oxidizing, super-healthy friend? Think again. Unless you're consuming the organic variety, you're probably better off skipping them altogether--unless you want to be hit with so much pesticide it would make maggots and bagworms squirm and wilt. Not only are blueberries on the Environmental Working Group's "Dirty Dozen" list --named exactly for what it is, the dozen dirtiest fruits and vegetables--but even if you buy organic ones, you can't be sure what you're getting. After all, organic farmers can continue to use a number of chemicals in their crops and still be certified as following all guidelines. The whole organic food industry, in fact, might just be one big money-sucking scam.


[More]

Climate shift 'evident in Europe'

Climate shift 'evident in Europe': The effects of climate change are already evident across Europe and the situation is projected to get worse, warns the European Environment Agency.
The European Commission is expected to publish its European Adaptation Strategy in 2013, outlining measures it think will help the 27-nation bloc deal with future climate shifts.

On Monday, the World Bank published a report that warned that the world was "on track to a 4C [increase by the end of the century] marked by extreme heatwaves and life-threatening sea-level rise".

"Lack of action on climate change threatens to make the world our children inherit a completely different world than we are living in today."

Autism Symptoms Reversed in Mice

Autism Symptoms Reversed in Mice:

By Dan Jones

As diagnoses of autism spectrum disorder rise, the need for effective therapies has increased in urgency.

They began by genetically engineering mice so that they lacked the gene Eif4ebp2. The 4E-BP2 protein that this produces suppresses the translation of certain messenger RNAs, so knocking out Eif4ebp2 allows the proteins that these mRNAs produce to be synthesized at above normal levels.


[More]

Doha set to host UN climate talks

Doha set to host UN climate talks: Some 17,000 participants are due to attend the latest round of UN climate talks, with the controversial issue of "hot air" high on the agenda.
Negotiators attending the 18th Conference of the Parties (COP18) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change have been piecing together a new approach since the failure of talks in Copenhagen in 2009.

Black Friday 2012 -- Shoppers Fight Over Cheap Deals

Black Friday 2012 -- Shoppers Fight Over Cheap Deals: A video has been uploaded to YouTube allegedly showing hysterical shoppers fighting in a Walmart, but not over food or other essentials, but over cheap smartphones and other deals.
The footage clearly shows shoppers — including several children — being manhandling, crushed, and even possibly assaulted in the name of cheap deals.

Is a New SARS-like Virus Spreading in the Middle East?

Is a New SARS-like Virus Spreading in the Middle East?: As with most emerging epidemics, we usually ignore them until people start dying. If the same logic applies here, it's time to begin paying attention to the new SARS-like virus found in Saudi Arabia and Qatar. While only six cases have been identified so far, two of the patients died, suggesting that the survival rate isn't stellar.

Australia’s new AUD$5m golden visa

Australia’s new AUD$5m golden visa:

Open door policy for millionaires, just not via boat

Australia’s yen to morph into an entrepreneurial hub for the Asia Pacific region has led to the creation of a new visa category designed to lure the world’s brightest and richest business elite.
The visa allows you to apply for residency if you have at least $NZ10m to invest in the New Zealand economy.

Acid oceans DISSOLVING sea life

Acid oceans DISSOLVING sea life:

British Antarctic Survey says CO₂ the villain behind bad news for tiny snails

The shells of tiny sea snails called pteropods, or “sea butterflies”, are dissolving thanks to the acidification of sea water brought about to increasing levels of CO₂ in the ocean, according to researchers from the British Antarctic Survey BAS).
The paper and BAS go on to point the finger at anthropogenic CO2 as the reason for the extra acidity at 200 metres down.

Driverless trucks roam Australian mines

Driverless trucks roam Australian mines:

210 tonne monsters haul 300 tonnes of dirt with GPS guidance

Mining company Rio Tinto has turned to driverless trucks to operate mines in Western Australia.
Nammuldi and Tom Price's climates are unrelentingly unpleasant. Workers are hard to come by and the cost of living is high. Even those hardy folk that do work on site often do so on a 'fly-in, fly-out' basis that sees them spend a fortnight or so on site before retreating to a more pleasant locale.

Desfile Macy com confetis de documentos confidenciais

Desfile Macy com confetis de documentos confidenciais: O desfile Macy que é realizado anualmente no dia de ação de graças, em Nova Iorque, teve este ano confetis feitos de documentos confidenciais da polícia, segundo um relatório dos Media norte-americanos.

Judge Orders Argentina To Pay Every Cent It Owes To Hedge Funds

Judge Orders Argentina To Pay Every Cent It Owes To Hedge Funds:

Judge Thomas Griese didn't give Argentina an inch.
In a ruling earlier this week, the New York Judge ordered Argentina to pay out every cent it owes Paul Singer's hedge fund Elliot Management, and other bond holders suing for $1.3 billion dollars in sovereign debt.
The suit has been going on for around a decade. The plaintiffs bought Argentine debt in 2001 and refused to restructure in 2005 and 2010. Argentina has maintained that it needn't pay these holdouts, and has been favoring bond holders that restructured instead.
But the holdouts have dauntlessly pursued their money in Court, and on the high seas — like when Singer had Argentine naval vessel, the ARA Libertad impounded in Ghana.
Now, according to Griese, the country has until December 15th to pay up. And that, he says, is his final word.
From Griese's decision (via Shearman Sterling):

The amount that is currently due is the amount of the unpaid principal, the due date of which has been accelerated, and accrued interest. The total of these amounts due to plaintiffs is approximately $1.33 billion. Thus, as some time in December 2012, when Argentina makes the interest payments on the Exchange Bonds, amounting to a total of about $3.14 billion, Argentina will be required to pay plaintiffs approximately $1.33 billion. . . In order to comply with the terms of the Injunctions, Argentina must pay plaintiffs 100% of that $1.33 billion concurrently with or in advance of the payments on the Exchange Bonds. . .These provisions [of the Injunctions] properly start with the fact that if 100% of what is currently due to the exchange bondholders is paid, then 100% of what is currently due to plaintiffs must also be paid. . . But the fact is that the amount owed to plaintiffs by Argentina is the accelerated principal plus accrued interest. Argentina owes this and owes it now.

Judge Griese also ruled that the Bank of New York, Argentina's trustee, is also subject to the terms of his order, which is his way of saying: 'don't even try any banking funny stuff, Argentina.'

The court believes that the Order regarding Ratable Payments should be put into effect at the earliest possible time. The less time Argentina is given to devise means for evasion, the more assurance there is against such evasion. . . This means that the [Injunctions] will be applicable to the interest payments made to exchange bondholders in December 2012. In order to avoid confusion and to give some reasonable time to arrange mechanics, the court specifies that the precise interest payment involved will be that of December 15, 2012. . . Since the Court of Appeals has not finally spoken on the subject of the calculation of the payment to plaintiffs, such payment is to be made into an escrow account, so that any adjustments required by the final Court of Appeals’ ruling can be made.

And all this needs to start happening yesterday.
The Judge lifted the stay on an injunction forcing Argentina to pay while it also proceeded with an Appeals Court process. His reason for lifting it was Argentina's fiery rhetoric about refusing to pay bond holders.
Not that they've changed their tune. 
Here's what Finance Minister Hernan Lorenzino had to say about the latest decision (via MercoPress):

“Judge Griesa doesn't have the power to define this current situation... Who is going to accept a debt restructuring, with significant cuts and 30 years long term if with time, patience, good lawyers and a permeable judge they can collect the full face value of the bonds?”, asked Lorenzini.

“We are going to maintain Argentina's position in every available way, as we have been doing so far,” Lorenzino said, as he reminded that the government will face “every decision that is against Argentina's interests before the US Supreme Court and international tribunals” and insisted will pay restructured bond holders on 2 December as originally programmed.

The country will request a review of the Judge's decision on Monday. But as Business Insider has said before, the likelihood that the country will be allowed to continue with its appeals process is very low.
Your move, Argentina.

China lands first jet on aircraft carrier

China lands first jet on aircraft carrier: China announced Sunday that it had landed a fighter jet on the deck of an aircraft carrier for the first time, but it may be years before the ship is fully operational.

Naked statue man charged with possessing offensive weapon

Naked statue man charged with possessing offensive weapon: A man who is accused of stripping naked on top of a statue in central London has been charged with possession of an offensive weapon in a public place

Drug recalled over glass concerns

Drug recalled over glass concerns: A manufacturer of a popular cholesterol-reducing medication has recalled more than 40 batches of the product after warning that they may contain small particles of glass.

UK floods: Dramatic moment three elderly people are rescued from their car after it is swept down swollen river as rain continues to batter Britain

UK floods: Dramatic moment three elderly people are rescued from their car after it is swept down swollen river as rain continues to batter Britain:
The car (pictured) had been carried for more than 500 yards in a fast-flowing Warwickshire ford before a farmer managed to anchor it to the water's edge.
A 21-year-old woman has died and two others were seriously injured after a tree fell on them as floods and high winds battered the South West.
The three were injured when a large spruce collapsed in Exeter at 11.50pm.
The woman was trapped under the tree and taken to hospital where she later died, Devon and Cornwall Police said.

Immigrants and youth drive Catalan independence movement

Immigrants and youth drive Catalan independence movement: BARCELONA, Spain (Reuters) - Independence for Catalonia may seem like romantic folly to outsiders. The Spanish region must reach back to the Middle Ages to find historic grounds for a separate territory.

How much it costs train companies to carry their passengers (and the results may surprise you!)

How much it costs train companies to carry their passengers (and the results may surprise you!): For the first time, the Office of Rail Regulation has officially disclosed how much it costs each of the 19 companies to carry a passenger one kilometre.
For London services, the highest was Southeastern trains at 11.06p per passenger km, with the cheapest Stagecoach South Western at 8.14p.

Abortion refusal death

Abortion refusal death: Praveen Halappanavar lost his wife and the couple's longed-for baby in a case that shocked Ireland. Now the grieving widower wants answers as to why she was denied an abortion.

Arsenal in £150m Emirates deal

Arsenal in £150m Emirates deal: Arsenal football club signs a new £150m deal with Emirates airline, extending its shirt sponsorship to 2019.

China puts Himalayan claims on passport map, India maps its own

China puts Himalayan claims on passport map, India maps its own: NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India is stamping its own map on visas it issues to holders of new Chinese passports that contain a map depicting disputed territory within China's borders, the latest twist in tension in Asia over China's territorial claims.

Thousands of Italian students rally against austerity in Rome

Thousands of Italian students rally against austerity in Rome: ROME (Reuters) - Several thousand students and teachers marched through central Rome on Saturday to protest against austerity measures imposed by Prime Minister Mario Monti's government that have cut into education spending.

Arafat's tomb

Arafat's tomb: The body of former Palestine Liberation Organization leader Yasser Arafat will be exhumed Tuesday and samples taken to be tested for poisoning as part of an inquiry into his 2004 death, an official said Saturday.

Walmart strikes result in arrests as store claims Black Friday sales success

Walmart strikes result in arrests as store claims Black Friday sales success:


Nine protesters detained in California as protest group co-ordinates action across US on busiest shopping day
Police arrested nine people outside a California Walmart late on Friday, at a protest that was part of a nationwide series of walk-outs and demonstrations against labour conditions at the retail giant. The protests were held to mark Black Friday, the busiest shopping day in the American calendar. Organisers claimed that at least 1,000 actions took place across 46 states.
The biggest protest seemed to be in Paramount, California, where more than 1,500 people gathered in the streets to chant protest songs in opposition to what they say are low wages that keep Walmart workers in poverty. Organisers have also complained of retaliation by the company against people who speak out.
The nine people arrested refused to leave the street and were peacefully detained, said Captain Mike Parker of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Three of those arrested were striking Walmart workers, said OUR Walmart, which is organising the protests and is backed by the United Food and Commercial Workers' Union. The others were local community supporters.
Protests were staged all over the country and attracted some high-profile supporters. In Florida, congressman Alan Grayson joined a picket line, as did congressman George Miller in California. Demonstrations hit Walmart outlets in major cities across America.
In recent months the company has also been hit by strikes and protests in its US-based supply chain in Southern California and Illinois, where much work is outsourced to third parties which are accused of paying low wages and operating in unsafe conditions.
Despite the unrest, Walmart said it had experienced its best Black Friday ever and that the majority of protesters were not Walmart workers. Certainly the protests did not disrupt trade at the nation's Walmart stores when they controversially opened late on the Thanksgiving holiday itself, or in the early hours of Friday morning. There were the usual scenes of long lines, crowded checkouts and shoving and pushing as shoppers battled to snap up bargain buys.
"We had very safe and successful Black Friday events at our stores across the country and heard overwhelmingly positive feedback from our customers," said Bill Simon, Walmart's US president and chief executive officer.
Protesters vowed to keep the protests going into the holiday season. Dan Schlademan, director at lobby group Making Change at Walmart, said: "This has been an amazing moment but we are just at the starting point of what we are doing."
Mary Pat Tifft, an OUR Walmart member and 24-year associate who led a protest on Thursday evening in Kenosha, Wisconsin, said: "For Walmart associates this has been the best Black Friday ever. We stood together for respect across the country."
Others agreed. "Our voices are being heard," said Colby Harris, an OUR Walmart member and three-year associate who walked off the job in Lancaster, Texas, on Thursday evening. "And thousands of people in our cities and towns and all across the country are joining our calls for change at Walmart. We are overwhelmed by the support and proud of what we've achieved so quickly and about where we are headed."

New corruption scandal rocks Brazilian government

New corruption scandal rocks Brazilian government: BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, moving quickly to nip a new scandal in the bud, ordered the dismissal on Saturday of government officials allegedly involved in a bribery ring, including the country's deputy attorney general.

Encontrados 19 corpos no México

Encontrados 19 corpos no México: As autoridades mexicanas encontram, no sábado, em dois pontos distintos no norte do país, os cadáveres de 19 pessoas, algumas das quais assassinadas há cerca de dois anos, informaram fontes oficiais.

Lure of jobs and money threatens one of Spain's last wild beaches with destruction

Lure of jobs and money threatens one of Spain's last wild beaches with destruction:

Valdevaqueros is a surfers' paradise and a haven for rare wildlife, but the council has approved a huge new tourist complex in an attempt to bring jobs to the crisis-hit area
Valdevaqueros is one of the last remaining unspoiled beaches in southern Spain, where kites hauling surfers along the waves dot the sky over golden sands buttressed by one of the country's few shifting sand dunes.
Currently the beach has little more than an access road lined with camper vans from Germany, France, Italy and Britain, which disgorge windsurfers and kitesurfers lured by the area's strong winds.
For decades it has been a world apart from the concrete-lined beaches of Torremolinos and Marbella along the coast, yet on 29 May the local council in Tarifa approved plans to build a tourist complex right next to the beach, with 1,400 hotel rooms and 350 flats.
Environmental and conservation groups have protested that the project will harm the habitats of protected species, but for most councillors here the issue is simple: jobs. In this town of 18,000 inhabitants, 2,600 are out of work as Spain faces its worst economic crisis in at least half a century, and one that has cast doubt on the future of the euro.
"Traditional sources of income such as fishing are dying out, now that fleets are being dismantled and fish stocks are depleted, so tourism is the only way out, as long as it is sustainable," said Sebastián Galindo, a councillor from the Socialist party, which is in opposition in Tarifa but voted with the governing People's party to give the project the green light.
Tarifa's mayor, Juan Andrés Gil, declined to comment on the project, but Galindo said it complies with environmental standards. The complex would be 800 metres from the coast, comfortably beyond the minimum of 200 metres stipulated in the landmark 1988 Coastal Law, drawn up to prevent more ugly developments springing up of the sort that blighted much of Spain's coastline when mass tourism first descended on its shores in the 1960s and 1970s.
The site is also sandwiched between the Estrecho and Alcornocales national parks but encroaches on neither, Galindo said. He vowed to check developments closely, but admitted that the project may not get off the drawing board "in the current economic climate".
Just yards from the corner cafe where Galindo spoke, idle cranes loom over blocks of flats that have lain unfinished or empty since a property bubble burst in 2008, swiftly turning Spain from the eurozone's fastest-growing economy into one that may soon need a European bailout to help rescue its parlous public finances.
Opponents of the complex say the last thing anyone needs is more housing in a country that already has a million empty homes, although the central government last week proposed a sell-off by granting non-Spaniards residency permits in return for buying property worth at least €160,000 (£129,460).
The Socialist opposition in Madrid slammed the proposal, and Galindo said it discriminated against migrant workers who flocked to Spain during the boom years, many of them from Morocco, whose coastline is just 14km away and can be seen from Tarifa. "It favours moneyed classes rather than those who came here to help Spain get ahead," he said.
Surfers such as Henning Mayer fear that new buildings in Valdevaqueros would sap the strength of the famous local Levant wind but fail to lure traditional package holidaymakers. "It's not really a family spot. Just wait until they see what a Levant is like," said Mayer, who has regularly made the journey from Augsburg in Germany for 20 years. "Ten years ago they said they would build a new highway here. It didn't happen, so I think it will be impossible to build new hotels."
Perched on the southernmost tip of Spain, Tarifa is at the strategic crossroads between Africa and Europe, where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic. Campaigners say it also has a vital role in the animal world as a crossroads for migrating species.
Salvemos Valdevaqueros (Let's Save Valdevaqueros) became a trending topic on Twitter 12 hours after the Tarifa council voted for the project. The campaign also has a Facebook page and is supported by groups including Greenpeace, the World Wide Fund for Nature and the Spanish branch of conservation network Birdlife, as well as Spain's indignado movement, which arose last year to protest against a political system that they say denies people a voice in deciding how to face the crisis.
"It's the environmental equivalent of putting a shopping centre right in the middle of the Alhambra," said Noelia Jurado, 38, who uses the multimedia expertise she gained while running an advertising agency in nearby Algeciras to campaign against the complex. She also noted that the resort would be near the ancient Roman town of Baelo Claudia. "They could be building on top of more Roman ruins here. Nobody knows."
Also joining the charge against the planned resort has been the Andalusian College of Geographers, which in a preliminary study charted on its website concluded that "free areas", including car parks if not actual buildings, will overlap part of the Alcornocales national park.
The geographers also estimate that the site intrudes on two areas designated by the European Environmental Agency as part of its Natura 2000 network of conservation zones to protect wildlife across the EU. One of the areas in Valdevaqueros is home to the lesser mouse-eared bat and the greater horseshoe bat, both species whose survival is threatened.
Environmental group Ecologistas en Acción (Ecologists in Action) asked the EU in June to take legal action against the Valdevaqueros project because of the conservation risks.
"Money is once again being put before urban laws and European environmental directives," said Raúl Romeva, a member of the European Parliament who is vice-president of the Greens group. "European public interest in the Natura 2000 network is neither being applied nor safeguarded."
In Romeva's view, the project is also at fault because the proposed site has too little water in a town that already suffers from shortages in the summer weather that scorches the southern Spanish region of Andalusía.
Lack of water led the Andalusía supreme court last month to uphold an appeal filed by Ecologistas en Acción in 2005 against plans to build a complex called Merinos Norte elsewhere in the region which would have included golf courses, hotels and luxury homes.
Many locals are also wondering why a resort should be built 10km away, rather than on wasteland near Tarifa's picturesque old centre, with its typically Andalusian whitewashed walls and winding streets, dominated by a 10th-century Moorish castle.
"My opinion and that of catering workers is that we agree [with the complex] as long as it creates jobs in the town, which is what is needed, but we are against it being for the benefit of a few," said Cristóbal Lobato, 45, who has waited on tables at the same beachside bar in Tarifa for 30 years.
"If they put it in the centre of Tarifa, where there is space, then clients could visit shops, tapas bars and restaurants."
Overlooking the green fields earmarked for building, biologist Aitor Galán, 41, who conducts environmental impact studies for a living, pointed at one of only two seaside breeding grounds for vultures in Europe.
"Anywhere else in Europe, this place would have the utmost protection, but here they want to get rid of it all and cover it with buildings," he said, while peering through binoculars. "What they want to do is turn this into Benidorm, but what draws people here is wildlife and the wind.
"But by taking advantage of the current crisis and unemployment, builders and mayors who agree with them can justify any amount of destruction."

Mulheres sauditas controladas por dispositivo

Mulheres sauditas controladas por dispositivo: Proibidas de conduzir e de viajar sem autorização, as mulheres da Arábia Saudita estão agora sujeitas a novas medidas de controlo, graças a um dispositivo eletrónico criado pelas autoridades que alerta...

Big Deal: Big Deal: Selling a ‘Hot Spot’ to the Beau Monde

Big Deal: Big Deal: Selling a ‘Hot Spot’ to the Beau Monde: A billionaire developer is building a luxury resort town-within-a-town at Andermatt, Switzerland, an ambitious project that allows foreigners to buy property without restrictions.

EU-Banned Phosphates Flood Ukrainian Market

EU-Banned Phosphates Flood Ukrainian Market:

About 98 percent of washing powder sold in Ukraine contain phosphates, dangerous chemicals that the European Union has passed legislation to phase out. (Volodymyr Borodin/The Epoch Times)

KYIV, Ukraine—Soon, the European Union will phase out the sale of detergents containing phosphates—chemicals known to be harmful to human and environmental health. Laundry detergent is first, off the shelves by June 30, 2013, followed by dishwasher detergent in January 2017.

However, just on the outskirts of Europe, big international manufacturers are still finding markets for the banned chemicals in countries like Ukraine.
According to Kyiv-based ecological non-governmental organization MAMA-86, about 98 percent detergents sold in Ukraine contain high levels of phosphates, surfactants, and other dangerous chemicals.
In the 1980s and 1990s, many European countries started passing regulations to limit or prohibit the use of phosphates in detergents. In Italy, Austria, the Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, and Germany they are already prohibited. Great Britain, France, and Spain restricted phosphates to 12 percent of detergent ingredients.
Once the new law comes into effect, the amount of phosphates in detergents sold in the EU will be limited to 0.5 percent.
However, the major manufacturers have not reduced the amount of phosphates in their products sold to countries that have no restrictions.
“As businesses, they have an interest in not discarding their technologies, so they want to find a good market for them—and they’ve found it in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus,” says Denys Pavlovsky, an expert on chemicals with Mama-86.
 “In the past, when legislatures abroad allowed it, their machinery produced phosphate-containing products. Accordingly, when they installed non-phosphate producing equipment, in order to keep the old machines, they transferred them to countries where laws don’t prohibit it,” adds Pavlovsky.
Procter & Gamble’s Tide washing powder sold in Ukraine, for example, contains more than 12 percent phosphates, according to a 2006 report prepared for the United Nations Development Program.

As businesses, they have an interest in not discarding their technologies, so they want to find a good market for [phosphate detergents]—and they’ve found it in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus.

—Denys Pavlovsky, Mama-86

The Epoch Times sent a request to P&G asking why there was a difference in ingredients sold in Ukraine compared to the EU, and whether the company plans to stop using phosphates in its washing powders sold in Ukraine. P&G did not respond to the request.
Ecologist and activist Anastasia Kostenko is working to increase awareness among Ukrainians about these issues and why they should avoid phosphates.
She says phosphates and surfactants cause allergic reactions. In particular, phosphor compounds that come into contact with skin can penetrate into the blood stream and change the percentage of hemoglobin and protein. In the environment, a buildup of phosphates in water leads to the growth of microorganisms, specifically blue-green algae—a phenomenon called eutrophication or green scum that kills other plant and animal life.
“I live in Obolon [prestigious district in Kyiv near Dnipro River] and for three years it has been impossible to swim here. The water is so bad, that it’s disgusting even to dip your foot in it,” says Kostenko.
The local waterworks also reported seeing an impact from phosphates. Viktoria Yakovleva, a representative of Kyiv-Waterchannel, the company responsible for treating and supplying the capital’s drinking water, says that previously, they were seeing only 8 mg of phosphates per liter of discharged water, whereas now there are seeing 25-27 mg.
She says that phosphates kill microorganisms that naturally clean the water. To compensate for the loss, they must pump in oxygen.
“It has huge costs in terms of energy—60 percent of the total electricity we use, goes towards pumping oxygen,” says Yakovleva.
Ukrainian authorities have pledged to solve the problem. Starting in 2013, technical regulations will come into effect that will oblige manufacturers to indicate the percentage of phosphates in their detergents, which is currently optional.
Also, a law was drafted to gradually limit the use of phosphates: by 2013 phosphates will be limited to 17 percent of detergent ingredients; then down to 10 percent by 2015, 5 percent by 2018, and finally 0 percent by 2020.