Indonesia reluctantly quits OPEC
May 31, 2008
The Indonesian government plans to quit membership in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) because of years of declining in production and investment and the fact of becoming a net oil importer.
Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Purnomo Yusgiantoro on Wednesday said that the government would sign a declaration confirming the departure very soon. He also expressed dissatisfaction on surging oil prices these years.
Oil production in Indonesia in 2008 was revised down from 1,034,000 barrels to 926,000 barrels per day, far below the quota of 1.3million barrels set by OPEC, which forced Indonesia to quit.
Although quitting OPEC can save Indonesia 3.1 million U.S. dollars every year in membership fee, the quit means that Indonesia will lose its vote at OPEC to influence global oil prices when in crucial times.
So, Yusgiantoro also said that if one day Indonesia come back as a net oil exporter again, it will rejoin OPEC. But Indonesia has to boost its oil production at first.
Indonesian government raised oil prices by 28.7 percent on May 24 with the pressure of soaring international oil price, which has triggered demonstrations from university students and invited critics from political and religious elites.
If the problem of energy could not be solved in time, it will be difficult to keep political stability in Indonesia.
As domestic consumption rises and international prices are kept at high level, Indonesia has no choice but to re-discover its abundant oil and gas riches.
To quit OPEC may be a wake-up call for Indonesia to improve investment, upgrade poor infrastructure and reform its weak legal system and red tape to absorb more foreign investors.
Vice President Jusuf Kalla said here Thursday that his country is determined to become a major oil exporter again in five years by means of properly explore in oil fields and save domestic fuel consumption.
On the same day, the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources kicked off the tender for 25 onshore and offshore oil and gas production areas dispersed from the western island of Sumatra to easternmost Papua in its efforts to lure more private investment.
It can be seen as the first stage of a series of tenders in the energy sector by Indonesia. The remaining question is, will the only member of OPEC in Asia-Pacific region turn back in just 5 years?
US slowdown spooks SMEs in Asia
May 31, 2008
A possible economic recession in the United States is creating anxiety among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Asia, a survey by UPS showed Wednesday.
While 38 percent of the SMEs surveyed on the mainland are worried about the negative impact of an economic slowdown in the US, more than half of SMEs in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and Indonesia are concerned their businesses will be hampered, the survey found.
US courier UPS yesterday released its Asia Business Monitor 2008, an annual survey conducted on competitiveness of and issues facing SMEs in Asia. UPS surveyed 1,201 decision-makers of SMEs between Dec 18, 2007 and Jan 24, 2008.
Since its launch in 2005, the survey has been conducted annually to deliver the latest insight into the changing business needs of SMEs, defined as companies with fewer than 250 employees.
SMEs make up 60 percent of China’s GDP and generate more than half of the country’s tax revenues. They also provide 75 percent of the employment in urban areas.
The survey found most SMEs expect trade with North America to decrease significantly in the current economic climate. Only 39 percent expect trade with the US to grow, compared with 51 percent in 2007. But 71 percent of the SMEs believe intra-Asia trade will remain robust.
“SMEs would be increasingly aware of the importance of lowering risk by diversifying trade partners. They should look at trade within Asia and with the Middle East,” said Sebastian Chan, UPS China’s vice-president for supply chain operations.
The survey found a sentiment of caution pervading Asian SME leaders. Fewer SMEs are projecting regional economic growth compared with last year. But they expect China and India will still see robust economic growth.
Chinese SMEs said inflation and overheating are the biggest threats to the country’s sustainable growth.
Many SMEs are anxious about their own business outlook, competitiveness and workforce growth. More than half of the SMEs polled do not plan to hire or are considering reducing their headcount, indicating they may be bracing for a tougher business environment.
While last year’s survey indicated product and service quality was what SMEs in Asia cared most about, this year they are most concerned about retaining qualified staff.
Lack of qualified employees and innovation are the biggest challenges for Chinese SMEs to improve their competitiveness, the survey said.
SMEs in China were regarded as the most competitive in Asia for the fourth consecutive year, as recognized by the majority, or 62 percent, of the SMEs polled.
Almost two-thirds of Taiwan SMEs believe the island’s companies should maximize opportunities on the mainland, and 74 percent of SMEs in Hong Kong feel the special administrative region should continue to integrate economically with the mainland, the survey showed.
Protesters besiege India capital over job quotas
May 31, 2008
Thousands of protesters from an ethnic Indian group burned tires and blocked roads leading to New Delhi on Thursday, bringing a battle for college and government job quotas in which dozens have died closer to the capital.
Huge traffic jams formed on highways leading into the capital. Some train services to towns outside Delhi, including several tourist destinations, were also suspended.
Thousands of stick-wielding ethnic Gujjars shouted slogans and squatted on main roads on the borders of east and north Delhi. They threw stones at police and at places broke windshields of cars and buses.
The Gujjars, already considered a disadvantaged group, want to be reclassified further down the complex Hindu caste and status system so they qualify for government jobs and university seats reserved for such groups.
Demonstrations turned violent last week after protesters lynched a policeman and police fired on protesters, killing 36 of them in only a few days.
Protesters turned away vehicles from the neighboring towns of Noida and Gurgaon, home to scores of outsourcing and computer software firms. Many offices were closed.
The government reserves about half of all seats in state colleges and universities for lower castes and tribal groups to flatten centuries-old social hierarchies, in what has been called the world’s biggest affirmative action scheme.
But the scheme has been criticized for accentuating caste identities in India, where discrimination on caste is banned in the constitution.
Some critics say the quota system masks India’s failure to provide good universal education and social equality.
EXPLOSIVE CUL DE SAC?
“The truth is that our politics is driving us into an explosive cul de sac,” wrote Pratap Bhanu Mehta, head of the Centre for Policy Research, in The Indian Express.
“The recent, terrible violence is a reminder of what happens to societies when they can neither endure their current social condition, nor the means to overcome it.”
In Rajasthan’s towns of Bayana and Sikandra, where Gujjars are a majority, protesters blocked roads with bodies of some of those killed in the police firing a week ago, saying the bodies would not be cremated until the government relented.
The army and federal police forces surrounded the two towns.
“The Rajasthan government must realize the mood of the people and not delay the implementation of quotas for Gujjars,” Avatar Singh Bhadana, a top Gujjar leader, said.
A year ago, Gujjars in Rajasthan fought police and members of another caste that already qualifies for job quotas. At least 26 people were killed in that violence.
After these protests, a state government committee said it would spend 2.8 billion rupees ($67 million) improving schools, clinics, roads and other infrastructure in Gujjar areas. But Gujjars rejected this option.
Torture trial airs family horror stories
May 31, 2008
For weeks, the three wives of Mansa Musa Muhummed and most of their 19 children have been telling a jury countless stories of torture and starvation that they kept to themselves for years.
Mansa Musa Muhummed faces up to seven life sentences if convicted of torturing his family for years.
“It is the worst case we’ve ever heard of,” prosecutor Julie Baldwin said last week.
The alleged atrocities went undetected by social service agencies, and police now have Muhummed, 55, facing up to seven life sentences if convicted of a raft of abuse charges.
Muhummed, whose given name was Richard Boddie, is on trial at Riverside County Superior Court after more than nine years of legal wrangling in which he changed lawyers four times and represented himself for more than two years.
He has pleaded not guilty to charges of torturing seven of the children, abusing 12 of them and falsely imprisoning two wives.
The trial delays may have hurt his case because his children — once reluctant to talk to authorities — are now telling strangers of extreme deprivation, physical abuse and starvation.
Standing just 4-foot-6 and weighing about 98 pounds, Sharon Boddie, 27, told jurors last week that she had grown and gained weight since her father was arrested nine years ago and the children were sent to foster or group homes.
But she still has scars from beatings and burns. She said she was taken out of school in second grade because she kept running away and teachers no longer wanted her there because she stole other children’s lunches.
“I’d go like a week without eating, not even water,” she said in a flat, unemotional voice. She said she would be beaten when she tried to steal food from the refrigerator.
One son caught sneaking food testified that he was forced to eat what he took until he regurgitated. Then he was forced to eat his vomit. Another daughter said she was ordered to hand feed her father while she was denied food.
Doctors said the children were extremely malnourished. A 19-year-old daughter was 4-foot-1 and weighed 56 pounds.
After moving to rural Riverside County, they lived for about three years in a van at a Muslim campground, Sharon Boddie testified. The van had no running water or gas for cooking. Baldwin said Muhummed had no known occupation.
The now-adult children have testified that Muhummed forced them to beat each other when he wasn’t doing the hitting.
His lawyer has suggested some of the children abused each other and he is challenging testimony as exaggerations. Baldwin said she expects the defense to accuse the wives of being responsible for abuse.
Muhummed has told authorities he believed his Muslim religion allowed him to have multiple wives.
Marva Lewis Barfield, 53, the first of Muhummed’s three wives and mother of 14 of his children, testified that she beat some of her children with a boat oar at his instructions because she feared he would kill her if she disobeyed.
Barfield said she married Boddie when she was 18 and that she was repeatedly beaten and threatened with death during 26 years of marriage.
Barfield was jailed for 17 months in the case and pleaded guilty to one count of child endangerment as part of a plea bargain to testify against Muhummed.
Another wife, Laura Cowan, said that he took control of her bank accounts and finances. She and other members of the family also collected public assistance.
It was Cowan who finally got the attention of authorities when Muhummed took her with him to a post office and she slipped a 13-page letter about the abuse to a postal clerk.
The letter was sent to the county social services agency and to sheriff’s deputies, who found the family living in a filthy garage in a gated community. Cowan presented authorities with tapes she secretly recorded of some beatings.
Sharon Boddie said social workers had checked on their welfare before, but her father put food boxes in cupboards before they arrived and the children were taught to lie.
“I told them everything was OK because my dad had coached us what to say,” she recalled. “I’d say my dad treated us really good — that he was the best parent in the world.”
When they were removed from his Muhummed’s home, most of the children said they could not read or write and had not been to school.
The brothers and sisters have said they were denied use of a bathroom and could not bathe for weeks at a time or wash their clothes. Sometimes, Boddie took them in the yard and hosed them down.
Sharon Boddie said she was strung upside down by her feet and left in a dark basement for hours at a time.
Baldwin said many of the children were unwilling to talk to authorities when their father was first arrested in 1999.
Even when her father was handcuffed to a car outside their home, Sharon Boddie wouldn’t speak because she feared he wouldn’t go to jail. She said he once waved a gun around and said, “I can kill all of you and nobody will ever know.”
She said she decided to tell her story when her father was behind bars and she realized she was “finally going to have a life.”
Portugal: Bridging the past and future
May 31, 2008
With its membership in the European Union, many things are changing in Portugal. Day after day the roads here were messing up my itinerary — I’d arrive in town hours before I thought I would. I remember a time when there were absolutely no freeways in Portugal. Now, the country has plenty. They build them so fast, even my Michelin map is missing new ones.
The shrine to Our Lady of Fatima near Nazare, Portugal is one of Europe’s top pilgrimage destinations.
There are other signs that Portugal is well into its EU upgrade. In the past, open fish stalls lined the streets; now they’ve been moved into “more hygienic” covered shops. Widows no longer wear black. Rather than crusty old locals doing the hard work, you see lots of immigrant laborers.Yet, in spite of the EU, Portugal is still a humble and relatively isolated place. Driving into Nazare, you’ll still see women squatting on the curb as you enter the town. Their hope: to waylay tourists from reserved hotel rooms with signs saying, “Quartos!” — meaning rooms for rent … cheap. (By the way, simple hotels all over Portugal rent decent double rooms for $60. And, even with the weak U.S. dollar, passable dives can be had for $40 per double.)
Service is friendly in the hole-in-the-wall restaurants where menus come with two columns: half “dose” and full “dose” (4 and 6 euros respectively — full “dose” designed to be split by two, which means traveling couples can dine for less than $5 each).
I’ve noticed all over Europe that monks are famous for brewing beer and distilling liquors. But in Portugal, menus are rounded out by a fun selection of nun-inspired pastries called “convent sweets.”
Portugal once had access to more sugar than any other European country. Even so, sugar was so expensive that only the aristocracy could afford to enjoy it routinely. Historically, daughters of aristocrats who were unable to marry into noble families ended up in high-class convents. Life there was comfortable, yet carefully controlled. Rather than romance, they could covet and treat themselves with sweets. Over time, the convents became famous as keepers of secret recipes for exquisite pastries generally made from sugar and egg yolks (which were leftovers from egg whites used to starch their habits). “Barrigas de Freiras” (Nuns’ Tummies) and “Papos de Ango” (Angel’s Breasts) are two such fancies. For a good sampling, I’ve taken to asking for “mixta dulce” and waiters are happy to bring a nibble of several of their top “sobremesas” (desserts).
Nearby, Fatima is one of Europe’s top pilgrimage destinations. In 1917, three kids encountered the Virgin Mary near the village of Fatima and were asked to return on the 13th of each month for six months. The final apparition was witnessed by thousands of locals. Ever since, Fatima is on the pilgrimage trail — mobbed on the 13th of each month through the spring and summer.
On my visit, the vast esplanade leading to the basilica and site of the mystical appearance was quiet. A few, solitary pilgrims shuffled on knees slowly down the long, smooth approach. Inside the church, I found a forest of candles dripping their wax into a fiery trench that funnels the hot liquid into a bin to be “resurrected” as new candles.
Huge letters spelling “Queen of the Holy Rosary of Fatima Pray for Us” in Latin ring the ceiling of the basilica. Pope John Paul II loved Fatima and visited it three times. (After the attempted assassination of John Paul, the Vatican revealed that the incident was predicted by Our Lady of Fatima in 1917.)
Wandering around modern Fatima and its commercial zone, I’m impressed by how it mirrors my image of a medieval pilgrim zone: oodles of picnic benches, endless parking, and desolate toilets for the masses. Just beyond the church, 30 stalls lining a mall await the monthly onslaught on the 13th. Even without any business, old ladies still watch over their booths, surrounded by trinkets for pilgrims — including gaudy, wax body parts and rosaries that will be blessed after Mass and taken home to remember Our Lady of Fatima.
Vivid memories of Portugal — whether heavenly sweets or slick new freeways — are abundant in this country with one foot in the past and one in the future. Next week, I’ll cover more on Portugal: Evora, the lively capital of the traditional Alentejo region.
Actor Murray’s wife seeks divorce
May 31, 2008
The wife of actor Bill Murray has filed for divorce after almost 11 years of marriage, alleging he abused her and is addicted to marijuana and alcohol.
Jennifer Butler Murray’s complaint also alleges frequent abandonment by the US film actor, best known for his roles in Lost in Translation and Ghostbusters.
Murray’s attorney said the 57-year-old was “deeply saddened by the break-up of his marriage”.
However, he refused to comment on Ms Murray’s allegations.
The complaint, filed on 12 May in Charleston County, South Carolina, alleges the actor would often leave home without telling his wife, travelling overseas to engage in “public and private altercations and sexual liaisons”.
It also alleges Murray physically abused his wife, citing one incident in November 1997 when he “hit her in the face”.
Ms Murray claims the actor’s “violent, abusive and erratic behaviour… destroyed the marital relationship between the parties”.
The couple separated more than a year ago when Ms Murray moved with their four sons to Sullivan’s Islands, South Carolina.
‘Loving parents’
Murray, who has been wed once before, married Butler, a costume designer and wardrobe supervisor, in 1997.
The couple had worked together on the films Scrooged, Groundhog Day, What About Bob and Ghostbusters II.
Murray’s attorney said the pair had been “loving parents” and were “committed to the best interests of their children”.
The couple signed a prenuptial agreement before they married in which they waived their right to alimony or support in the event of divorce.
However, Murray did agree to pay $7 million (£3.5 million) to his ex-wife within 60 days of a final divorce decree.
Facebook ‘violates privacy laws’
May 31, 2008
A Canadian privacy group has filed a complaint against the social networking site Facebook accusing it of violating privacy laws.
The Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic has listed 22 separate breaches of privacy law in its country.
Clinic Director Phillipa Lawson told the BBC that, with over 7 million users in Canada, “Facebook needs to be held publicly accountable”.
Facebook rejects the charge, claiming some of the highest standards around.
The basis of the complaint, filed with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner, states that Facebook collects sensitive information about its users and shares it without their permission.
It goes on to say that the company does not alert users about how that information is being used and does not adequately destroy user data after accounts are closed.
Minefield
“Social networking online is a growing phenomenon,” said Ms Lawson.
“It is proving to be a tremendous tool for community-building and social change, but at the same time, a minefield of privacy invasion.
“We chose to focus on Facebook because it is the most popular social networking site in Canada and because it appeals to young teens who may not appreciate the risks involved in exposing their personal details online.”
The 35-page action was lodged after students at the clinic analysed the company’s policies and practices as part of a course this past winter and identified specific practices that appear to violate the Canadian Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (Pipeda).
Harley Finkelstein, 24 and a Facebook user for the last three years, told the BBC:
“A great percentage of Canadians using Facebook are aged between 14 and 25 and that raises vulnerability issues.
“Some 14-year-old kid might not know that privacy settings exist or how to take advantage of them or appreciate the ramifications of having their private information disclosed to third parties.”
Industry leading controls
In a statement, Facebook said:
“We pride ourselves on the industry leading controls we offer users over their private information. We believe that this is an important reason that nearly 40% of Canadians on the internet use our service.
“We’ve reviewed the complaint and found it has serious factual errors, most notably its neglect of the fact that almost all Facebook data is willingly shared by users.”
But Mr Finkelstein disagrees:
“Our investigation found that this is not entirely true - for example, even if you select the strongest privacy settings, your information may be shared more widely if your Facebook Friends have lower privacy settings.
“As well, if you add a third-party application offered on Facebook, you have no choice but to let the application developer access all your information even if they don’t need it.”
“We’re concerned that Facebook is deceiving its users,” said newly signed up Facebook user Lisa Feinberg, another law student behind the complaint.
“Facebook promotes itself as a social utility, but it’s also involved in commercial activities like targeted advertising. Facebook users need to know that when they’re signing up to Facebook, they’re signing up to share their information with advertisers.”
Publicly accountable
The Canadian Privacy Commissioner, Jennifer Stoddart, has a year to act on the CIPPC’s complaint. The commissioner’s office focuses on negotiation to resolve privacy disputes, but it can seek court injunctions if they fail to resolve the issues.
Ms Lawson told the BBC the clinic’s reasons for going after Facebook publicly were because past issues they have tried to discuss with the company went nowhere:
“We don’t see the point in going down that route again.
“Our experience is it gets dragged out and they might make a few changes but they are making representations about their privacy controls and they need to be held accountable. That would be difficult if we did it through private conversations.”
Facebook said:
“We look forward to working with Commissioner Stoddart to set the record straight and will continue our ongoing efforts to educate users and the public around privacy controls on Facebook, including a brochure and video project we have completed with Ontario Information and Privacy Commissioner Ann Cavoukian.”
All suspect
Facebook has been accused of crossing the line over privacy issues in the past.
Earlier this year, however, the Silicon Valley start-up introduced new tools it said would let users have greater control over their privacy, such as letting only certain groups of friends see their photos and other personal information.
The director of the CIPPC sees their complaint as a shot across the bows of all social networking sites.
Ms Lawson told the BBC the only reason they are focusing on Facebook at the moment is because they did not have the time or resources to look at others:
“They are all suspect. Facebook is the most popular site in Canada and so that is why we looked at it particular but I am hoping to be able to do an analysis of MySpace later this year.”
Japanese hopes ride on Discovery
May 31, 2008
The Discovery orbiter is set for launch from the Kennedy Space Center on a 14-day mission to the International Space Station (ISS).
The shuttle and its crew of seven will deliver the main section of Japan’s science lab known as Kibo, or “Hope”.
Discovery’s flight is the third orbiter mission of 2008 and the first to fly the “in-line” external fuel tank.
The mission will take up a new pump to repair the station’s toilet that has failed in the Zvezda service module.
The toilet failed last week, and the ISS crew have had to flush the unit manually - an operation which takes two people 10 minutes to do.
A replacement pump was rushed from Russia to be loaded onto Discovery for delivery to the ISS.
Lift-off is timed for 1702 local time in Florida (2102 GMT).
Orbital juggling
The new fuel tank has been built from the ground up with the upgrades demanded after the Columbia disaster.
The improvements are designed to minimise the shedding of insulation foam on launch - the problem that doomed Columbia and her crew in 2003.
All missions prior to Discovery’s have had the upgrades retrofitted on to tanks that were already constructed.
The US space agency Nasa is describing the latest shuttle venture as one of the most complex yet undertaken.
The primary task will be to install the Japanese Pressurised Module (JPM).
ISS astronauts will be relieved to get their toilet working properly again
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This 11.2m-long (36.7ft), 14.8-tonne (32,600lbs) cylinder is the third science laboratory intended for the orbiting platform, after the US Destiny and European Columbus segments.
The JPM is so big all its experimental equipment was sent up on the previous shuttle flight in a unit called the Japanese Logistics Module (JLM).
Once the main Kibo section is attached to the ISS’s Harmony connecting node, the JLM can be moved from its temporary berth and slotted directly on to the larger Japanese unit.
All of the pressurised module’s internal systems and payload racks can then be transferred across to it.
A 10m-long (33ft) robotic arm is also travelling up with the Discovery for use on Kibo. This arm will play a key role when the third and final section of the scientific complex is taken up in 2009.
This is a “terrace” exposed to outer space. The arm will be used to position and retrieve experiments placed on this platform.
‘To infinity…’
Three spacewalks, of some 6.5 hours each, are currently planned for Discovery’s mission, mainly for setting up the Kibo equipment.
Astronauts will also deliver a nitrogen gas tank and inspect damage to a key joint that helps the station’s power-generating solar arrays to follow the Sun.
Buzz Lightyear in front of Kennedy’s giant Vehicle Assembly Building
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Discovery is carrying a special guest on the flight - the famous space ranger Buzz Lightyear. The 30cm-tall (12in) action figure, made famous in the Disney/Pixar Toy Story movies, is going into orbit as part of an educational programme aimed at encouraging children to pursue science studies.
Nasa hopes to get two more shuttle flights in before the end of the year.
Following Discovery’s mission, the next outing will be for Atlantis which is scheduled to go to the Hubble space telescope to repair and upgrade its systems.
Nine further shuttle flights are required to complete the ISS before the orbiter fleet is retired in 2010.
Infection cot death link probed
May 31, 2008
Common bacterial infections could be linked to some cases of unexplained cot death, research suggests.
The study, published in the Lancet, found samples from babies who had died for no apparent reason were more likely to carry potentially harmful bacteria.
Some scientists think bacterial toxins may affect breathing or nerve signals.
But the Great Ormond Street team which carried out the work said the findings did not alter current safety advice given to new parents.
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 This research does reinforce the need for parents to follow existing advice on minimising the risk of cot death 
Professor Nigel Klein
Great Ormond Street Hospital |
There are around 250 sudden infant deaths a year in the UK, and although some can be proved to be due to an infection or other medical condition, the majority are never fully explained.
Scientists know that there are certain things that parents can do to cut the risk of cot death - such as not smoking during or after pregnancy, and putting babies to sleep on their backs, but the precise reasons why this helps are not completely understood.
The latest research does not prove that bacteria are responsible for any of these unexplained deaths, although it does, according to its authors, suggest a connection between the two.
‘Other risks’
The researchers took samples from 470 babies who had died suddenly, and tested them for the presence of bacteria, particularly those capable of causing illness, such as Staphylococcus aureus or E. coli.
In some cases, the cause of death was known to be a bacterial infection, or completely unrelated to infection, for example a heart defect or accident. The rest were entirely unexplained.
Among those known to have died from a bacterial infection, 24% of the bacteria found were potentially harmful, compared with only 11% of those found in the non-infection group.
However, among the “unexplained” group, the figure was 19%, with 16% of bacteria found in this group identified as Staphylococcus, compared with 9% in the non-infection group.
Professor Nigel Klein, one of the study authors, said there were three possible explanations for the difference - pure coincidence, a role for bacteria in causing the death, and the presence of bacteria being due to an unrelated factor which increased the risk of cot death.
He said: “We don’t know which one of these is the case, and we certainly can’t say at the moment that these bacteria are causing sudden infant death.
“However, it is possible that these bacteria may be more likely to be present in children who are exposed to other risk factors, such as smoking, so this research does reinforce the need for parents to follow existing advice on minimising the risk of cot death.”
Bacterial poisons
In a separate commentary in The Lancet, Dr James Morris and Dr Linda Harrison from Lancaster Royal Infirmary said that the study supported the idea that bacteria could be directly contributing to sudden death, perhaps as the poisons they produce interfere with breathing or nerve control.
Professor George Haycock, from the Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths, said that while bacteria could kill by causing overwhelming infections, such as meningococcal septicaemia, there were studies which suggested that some babies were better suited to dealing with less obvious infections.
“Several studies, some of them funded by us, suggest that small genetic variations in the chemicals that control the inflammatory response to infections and to exposure to toxins may cause some infants to have an exaggerated, possibly overwhelming, inflammatory reaction whereas others might experience little or no disturbance.”
World Bank offers $1.2bn food aid
May 31, 2008
The World Bank is to offer immediate financial help to countries worst hit by sharp rises in food prices as part of a $1.2bn (£608m) assistance package.
Grants worth a total of $200m are being set aside for “high priority” countries most at risk from acute hunger.
Haiti and Liberia will get $10m each to feed their most vulnerable people while Djibouti will receive $5m.
The World Bank says 100 million people could be impoverished by the rising cost and scarcer availability of food.
It has also identified Togo, Yemen and Tajikistan as being in need of immediate assistance following recent needs assessments.
‘Immediate danger’
“It is crucial that we focus on specific action,” said World Bank president Robert Zoellick.
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 We just have to make sure we get the resources and coordinate the operations around the world
Robert Zoellick
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“These initiatives will help address the immediate danger of hunger and malnutrition for the two billion people struggling to survive in the face of rising food prices.”
Countries will be able to access money to provide food for schools and other core services as well as to buy essential items such as seeds and fertilizer.
The BBC’s Kim Ghattas in Washington says the money is part of a fast track programme to address immediate requirements in the global food crisis.
Some of it will be used to handle immediate humanitarian needs, for example for pregnant woman and young children.
The World Bank will also devote an additional $2bn next year to funding agricultural projects, including crop insurance schemes.
Mr Zoellick said: “This is not an issue like HIV/Aids where you need some research breakthrough. People know what to do.
“We just have to make sure we get the resources and coordinate the operations around the world.”
A United Nations report published on Thursday warned that prices for key staples such as wheat and beef could remain inflated for many years.
A world food summit is scheduled to be held in Rome from 3-5 June.
On Friday, representatives from 26 Latin American and Caribbean countries will also meet in Caracas, Venezuela, to discuss concerns over the rising cost of food.