Comic duo Cheech and Chong reform
July 31, 2008
Comedy duo Cheech and Chong, who made a series of films and albums in the 1970s and 80s, are set to tour again more than 20 years after they split.
The pair, whose routines were based on the hippie era and its associated free love and drug culture, will kick off the Light Up America tour in September.
The US comedians said they decided to reform because neither of them “are getting any younger”.
Cheech, 62, and Chong, 70, won a Grammy award for best comedy album in 1973.
Drug-addled hippie
They starred in eight comedy films, invariably playing a pair of bumbling “potheads”.
The pair, who split in 1987 due to creative differences, told reporters in Los Angeles that they had “kind of resolved” their “veiled hatred”.
They decided that reuniting for a comedy tour would be “the most fun” and “the least hassle”.
After their split, the two comedians embarked on solo careers, with Cheech Marin performing voice work for a number of films including The Lion King.
Tommy Chong became best known for playing drug-addled hippie Leo in sitcom That 70s Show.
In 2003 he was jailed for nine months for selling drug paraphernalia over the internet.
During the trial he admitted to having a marijuana problem.
Source: bbc.co.uk/
Chemical clue to baby blues found
July 31, 2008
American scientists say they are closer to understanding why some mothers suffer post-natal depression.
They found mice lacking a chemical receptor in their brains developed similar symptoms.
The study suggests the receptor helps stop brain cells firing too often in response to changes in hormone levels during pregnancy and birth.
A British specialist said the research, published in Neuron, could lead to better treatments for the disorder.
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 It is fascinating to see something like this coming out after we have speculated about it for all this time 
Dr Delia Belelli
Dundee University |
Between 5% and 25% of all new mothers are thought to suffer some form of post-natal depression, and can find it hard to cope with the demands of the baby, or even to form a bond with it.
The precise reasons why some women develop it and some do not are uncertain, but the team at the University of California in Los Angeles say they may have some more answers.
They focused their work on a chemical messaging system in the brain already known to play a key part in the regulation of mood and anxiety.
A chemical called GABA can decrease the activity of certain nerve cells after coming into contact with receptors on that cell’s surface.
The Californian team noticed that a particular type of this receptor appeared to be highly active during pregnancy and the period after birth in mice.
Their theory is that this variety of receptor might help, in normal circumstances, to keep control over the brain’s response to huge hormonal changes during and immediately after pregnancy.
Failure to do this effectively may be the root of some post-natal mood problems, they said.
Shunning newborns
To test this, they bred mice to have fewer of these receptors.
These genetically-altered mice behaved like mothers with post-natal depression, being more lethargic, and shunning their newborn pups.
When they were then given a drug known to boost the function of these receptors, the symptoms eased and pup deaths fell.
Dr Jamie Maguire, one of the researchers involved, said: “Targeting this subunit (receptor type) might be a promising strategy in developing new treatments for post-natal depression.”
Dr Delia Belelli, from the University of Dundee, has studied the role of GABA in mood disorders for more than two decades.
She said it was possible that the drug used to boost receptor function might have a role in treatment of women.
She said: “It is fascinating to see something like this coming out after we have speculated about it for all this time.
“What they are suggesting is not surprising, and could in theory be applied not only to post-natal depression but to other mood disorders, such as those during the menstrual cycle in women.”
Source: bbc.co.uk/
Dismay at collapse of trade talks
July 31, 2008
International trade negotiators have expressed their disappointment at the failure of the latest talks in Geneva aimed at liberalising global trade.
China said the collapse was a serious setback for the world economy, while the EU described it as “heartbreaking”.
The negotiations foundered because the United States could not agree with China and India on import rules.
But the World Trade Organization chief, Pascal Lamy, said he would not abandon his efforts to find an agreement.
The main stumbling block was farm import rules, which allow countries to protect poor farmers by imposing a tariff on certain goods in the event of a drop in prices or a surge in imports.
India, China and the US could not agree on the tariff threshold for such an event.
Washington said that the “safeguard clause” protecting developing nations from unrestricted imports had been set too low.
Recriminations
China said it blamed the “selfish and short-sighted behaviour” of wealthy nations for the failure of the trade talks.
It said that the talks collapsed ultimately because the US and EU were unwilling to scrap the huge subsidies they pay their farmers.
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Japan, meanwhile, was critical of China and India’s stance.
“Compared with seven years ago when the Doha round started, the economic weight of China and India has been increasing. At the same time they need to take more responsibility,” said Nobutaka Machimura, Japan’s chief cabinet secretary.
“I wonder if they were thinking about the world economy as a whole while pursuing their own national interests.”
Damage limitation
Ministers had struggled for more than a week to reach a consensus on a trade pact, with talks finally breaking down on Tuesday.
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It’s too early to say but the bottom line is we can’t give up - we have too much at stake
India’s envoy, Ujal Singh Bhatia
The end of Doha dreams
Q&A: Crunch trade talks
In quotes: Trade talks collapse
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The “Doha Round” was launched in 2001 with the aim of lifting millions out of poverty. But Mr Lamy said “members have simply not been able to bridge their differences”.
He said: “We will need to let the dust settle a bit… WTO members will need to have a sober look at if and how they bring the pieces back together.”
EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson described the result as a “collective failure”.
He said that it was now necessary to “make sure the damage is contained”, and to work “as hard as possible to restore that confidence” in the WTO.
US trade representative Susan Schwab said the US would “stand by our current offers” and that it hoped to return to a negotiations where there was “more ambition on the table”.
India’s envoy to the talks, Ujal Singh Bhatia, said the “bottom line is we can’t give up”, while China said WTO members should “learn a lesson” from the failure.
Brazil’s Foreign Minister Celso Amorim insisted that the negotiations were not dead.
“We have a good package, a package that would be positive for world trade,” he said.
Complications
Over the years, the talks have repeatedly collapsed as developed countries failed to agree with developing nations on terms of access to each others’ markets.
Meanwhile, developing countries want greater access for their agricultural products in Europe and the US.
Analysts have said that the collapse of the Doha talks could symbolise an end to multilateral trade agreements.
Instead, nations may pursue dual agreements with partner nations, preferring to focus on their own requirements rather than a more common negotiating goal.
The talks in Geneva were complicated by recent increases in the price of food and fuel.
Higher prices have prompted protests in both developed and developing nations, making it harder for negotiators to reach a compromise on opening up their markets to greater competition, analysts said.
What is your reaction to the collapse of the trade talks? Where do the negotiators go from here? Send us your comments using the form below.
Your comments:
Agriculture has been the oldest vocation in all countries since the Neolithic revolution. It is still the centre of gravity of livelihoods, culture, social values, and politics in many [developing] countries. You need a fair deal if you are to maintain the delicate socioeconomic equilibrium in your country.
Wijitapura Wimalaratana, Colombo, Sri Lanka
When it comes to security of food supplies we should remember that it is always the poorest countries that suffer most when there is volatility in the market. The benefits of free trade come with a heavy penalty of volatility. If we are really to take that great step forward to “globalisation” we need an agreement, a mechanism that supports ALL farmers everywhere in the world, and allows the poorest small-holder in the poorest nation a guaranteed income if he produces food for us all to eat.
John White, Deal UK
My view as a citizen of a developing country in Africa is that the collapse will not only affect the socioeconomics of developing countries but also destabilise international security in both developed and developing countries.
Leonard Kopela, South Africa
What we are seeing is typical separatism. In order to get what we want, the other guy has to lose. We are all ONE species no matter what country we live in, why do we spend billions on weapons, and space exploration but we can’t feed all of the people living on this lovely little planet? Our priority must be humanity.
Tony Walton, Australia
It is an excellent exercise in self-determination for developing countries. They are sending a clear message to developed countries that their markets are not to be sold off as auction items! It is a breakthrough, not a collapse!
Olave Basabose, Delft, Netherlands
There is no way that the US and certain EU countries will abandon farm subsidies. It would be political suicide. Farmers enjoy political clout that far outweighs their actual numbers and economic importance.
Joe Ryan, Nogent, France
Fear, greed and the narrow vision of special interests once again rule. If these folks can’t see the huge opportunity for a unity of purpose in sharing resources, it’s tragic. Seems we need some new negotiators.
Scott Washburn, Seattle USA
Watching the reports about the talks at the WTO conference, it looked positive and things sounded positive. There were many compromises from both developed and developing nations. Many countries were going to benefit. They must not just give up now. They must find a new format for discussions and agreement.
Godha, Limassol, Cyprus
I am a believer that the WTO is an organisation that is designed not to liberalise international trade but a means to colonise the poorest nations in a modern way. How could the US and EU tell us that it is a better deal for the world’s poorest people when Africa is not even represented in the talk? This is really the better outcome for the world’s poorest countries than the proposed failed deal.
Alef, Ethiopia
Populous developing countries like India and China have good reason to protect their farm product market. No one can help them if food crises occurs in these countries.
Guo, Beijing
It is most disheartening to note that the one truly global debate for development has been lost. I see this as the end of hope for development as an ideology, sacrificed at the altar of globalisation. The future looks very bleak indeed for farmers, for agriculture and food security.
Bhargavi Nagaraja, Bangalore, India
Deutsche writes down 2.7bn euros
July 31, 2008
Deutsche Bank has written down another 2.7bn euros ($3.6bn; £1.8bn) between April and June, taking its credit crunch bill to more than 7bn euros.
Unlike many of its global rivals, Deutsche Bank managed to make a profit in the quarter even after the problems.
Pre-tax profits came in at 642m euros, well down on the 2.7bn euros it made in the same period a year earlier.
Almost half of the write-downs were caused by investments in assets that were backed by residential mortgages.
Exposure to monoline insurers, which guarantee the repayment of a bond if its issuer is unable to do so, as well as under-performing investments in commercial property, made up much of the rest of the write-downs.
“The second quarter of 2008 proved to be another very challenging quarter for the banking industry,” said chief executive Josef Ackermann.
“We remain cautious for the remainder of 2008.”
The credit crunch began in the US where it was sparked by record defaults on sub-prime mortgages. Sub-prime lenders provide financing to people with poor or non-existent credit histories.
It later emerged that many European banks had bought repackaged bundles of debts which were linked to US residential mortgages.
Some of the European banks have now been hit as hard as their US counterparts in terms of losses from the credit crunch.
Source: bbc.co.uk/
Fierce fighting continues in Swat
July 31, 2008
Fierce fighting between government troops and militants is continuing in Pakistan’s north-western Swat region.
The army says 10 civilians, five soldiers and 25 militants have been killed so far. The militants say only five of their fighters have died.
Hundreds of people on the way to or leaving Swat valley are stranded because of a curfew in the area.
The violence has delivered a serious blow to a peace deal signed with the militants in Swat two months ago.
Seven members of a family, including four children, were killed when a shell hit their house in the Deolai area early on Thursday.
It is not clear whether the shell was fired by the security forces or the militants.
“We are now preparing for the burial [of the victims] but facing hardships due to the curfew,” a relative of the family, Jehanzeb Khan, told the AFP news agency.
Kidnap
Troops backed by helicopter gunships and artillery have been targeting militant positions in parts of the district.
There have been reports of some militant casualties, but they could not be independently verified.
In the neighbouring Kabal area, a deadline issued by the militants for security forces to abandon a police station has passed. Some fighting around the police station has been reported.
The Swat clashes come after three officials were killed and up to 25 security personnel kidnapped.
Correspondents say the security situation in Swat has been deteriorating despite a peace agreement between the government and pro-Taleban cleric Maulana Fazlullah.
Source: bbc.co.uk/
Israeli PM to quit within months
July 31, 2008
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has announced he will stand down within months, saying a corruption case involving him is hurting his family.
Vowing to prove his innocence, he said that he would quit as leader of his Kadima party as soon as it elects a new leader on 17 September.
He will remain caretaker prime minister until a new government is formed.
Mr Olmert had been under pressure to resign over a police inquiry into money he received from a businessman.
The corruption inquiry centres around allegations that a US citizen, Morris Talansky, made election donations in cash to Mr Olmert in 2006, which may have subsequently been used to buy luxury items.
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I am proud to be the prime minister of a country that investigates its prime ministers
Ehud Olmert
Israeli prime minister
Olmert to quit: Reaction in quotes
Israeli PM’s party leadership rivals
PM finally bows to pressure
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Mr Olmert has already denied all wrongdoing.
The prime minister had faced mounting pressure from within his own party to resign and it had become clear that he would have been humiliated had he stood in the September ballot, the BBC’s Wyre Davies reports from Jerusalem.
Many analysts say Mr Olmert’s weak political position has severely impaired chances for a peace deal with the Palestinians by the end of the year, our correspondent adds.
A spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the announcement was “an internal Israeli matter” and that Palestinian negotiators still hoped to reach a peace settlement before the end of this year.
The US state department said that peace negotiations would continue and that it looked forward to “working with all responsible Israeli leaders in the government”.
Syria’s UN ambassador said the resignation might affect indirect peace talks with Israel, which are being brokered by Turkey.
“It could do. I hope not,” said Bashar Ja’afari told Reuters news agency.
‘Public interest’
The scandal is one of six corruption investigations Mr Olmert has faced during his time in office.
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EHUD OLMERT’S POLITICAL LIFE
1993: Begins 10-year stint as mayor of Jerusalem
2005: Leaves right-wing Likud party with former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to form Kadima
2006: Takes over as leader when Ariel Sharon suffers a stroke
2007: Helps relaunch Israeli-Palestinian peace talks after seven-year hiatus
2008: Announces plans to resign
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Mr Olmert said he felt able to continue carrying out his duties despite the corruption investigation but he asked:
“What is more important, my personal justice or the public interest?”
Noting that the investigation was turning people against him, he said that “people hurting my family bothers me a lot”.
He complained of “relentless attacks from self-appointed ‘fighters for justice’ who sought to depose me from my position, when the ends sanctified all the means”.
The Israeli prime minister also seemed to direct veiled criticisms against the justice system, saying “the prime minister is not above the law but he is in no way below it”.
“I am proud to be the prime minister of a country that investigates its prime ministers,” he remarked.
Possible successors
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, one of Israel’s most popular politicians, is tipped to replace Mr Olmert in the party contest.
This is a good move and long overdue, Olmert is a weak PM in a country that cannot afford to have weak leaders.
A former protege of Ariel Sharon, she helped broker Israel’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.
She is viewed as one of the few centrists in the government not tainted by corruption, and champions a vision of Israel co-existing with a Palestinian state.
However, critics argue that she lacks the military and political experience to lead the country.
Shaul Mofaz, Avi Dichter and Meir Sheetrit are also seen as contenders for the party leadership.
Source: bbc.co.uk/
Karadzic due in war crimes court
July 31, 2008
The former Bosnian Serb leader, Radovan Karadzic, is due to be formally charged by the UN war crimes tribunal.
Mr Karadzic was indicted on 11 counts of war crimes in connection with the 1990s Bosnian conflict, but the exact charges will only be revealed in court.
He will be asked to enter a plea, but he is under no obligation to do so.
Mr Karadzic was arrested in Belgrade last week after 13 years on the run, and extradited to the Netherlands where he is being held at a detention centre.
Mr Karadzic will appear before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) at 1600 local time (1400 GMT) and then will have 30 days to enter a plea.
He was said by his lawyers to have been in a “relaxed and confident” mood on the eve of his extradition to the Netherlands in the early hours of Wednesday.
However, both prosecution and defence teams said they would need months to prepare for the trial.
In addition, Mr Karadzic has said that he does not recognise the court and plans to conduct his own defence.
As such, this first court appearance likely to be just the opening skirmish in a long legal battle, says the BBC’s Dominic Hughes in The Hague.
‘Appeal ruse’
Mr Karadzic left Belgrade on Wednesday hours after clashes at a rally attended by at least 10,000 supporters to protest about his arrest.
He then took a special flight to Rotterdam airport in the Netherlands, from where he was transferred to the UN’s detention unit.
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THE INDICTMENT
Eleven counts of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and other atrocities
Charged over shelling Sarajevo during the city’s siege, in which some 12,000 civilians died
Allegedly organised the massacre of up to 8,000 Bosniak men and youths in Srebrenica
Targeted Bosniak and Croat political leaders, intellectuals and professionals
Unlawfully deported and transferred civilians because of national or religious identity
Destroyed homes, businesses and sacred sites
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The 63-year-old had reportedly attempted to challenge the legality of his transfer, but a senior member of his legal team has now told the BBC that no appeal was ever lodged.
Goran Petronijevic, who joined the Karadzic legal team on Tuesday, admitted that reports of an appeal being sent by post to the authoritities in Serbia had been a ruse designed to delay Mr Karadzic’s extradition in order to allow time for his family to visit him in jail.
However, a travel ban on his family was lifted on Wednesday, to allow them to visit him in The Hague.
Their documents had been confiscated in January under suspicion that they were helping Mr Karadzic in hiding.
Mr Karadzic was arrested on 21 July in Belgrade. He had changed his appearance, having grown a long beard, and was working as an alternative therapist.
He is reported to have shaved his beard and had a haircut while he has been in custody.
EU pressure
Mr Karadzic led the formation of a separate Bosnian Serb assembly in 1991 - one of the sparks that ignited the 1992-1995 Bosnian war.
Mr Karadzic has reportedly shaved off the beard he grew while on the run
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He has been indicted for crimes against humanity and genocide over the massacre of up to 8,000 mainly Muslim Bosniaks at Srebrenica in 1995.
He has also been charged over the shelling of Sarajevo, and the use of 284 UN peacekeepers as human shields in May and June 1995.
On Tuesday, EU ambassadors meeting in Brussels decided to defer a decision on unfreezing trade benefits for Serbia until Mr Karadzic was transferred to The Hague.
The EU is also demanding the arrest of Mr Karadzic’s wartime military commander General Ratko Mladic, who remains at large.
Source: bbc.co.uk/
Brazil musician leaves government
July 31, 2008
The Brazilian musician and Minister of Culture, Gilberto Gil, says he is standing down from the government to concentrate on his music career.
Mr Gil, 66, has been in government since 2003, but said for some time that he was finding it difficult to pursue two demanding roles.
He said public speaking was affecting his singing ability.
As culture minister, he championed sometimes neglected forms of cultural expression such as indigenous painting.
However it was always clear that he hankered to return to his artistic career, and some critics questioned the level of commitment to his political role, says the BBC’s Gary Duffy in Sao Paulo.
But the outgoing minister said he not been worried about the criticism he faced over the overlap between his artistic and political roles.
Priority
Mr Gil said that the culture ministry’s executive secretary, Juca Ferreira, would take over from him.
He added he had tried to resign twice since late 2007, but President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva had refused to accept his resignation.
This time, the president agreed with Mr Gil’s request, saying the singer and composer was “going back to being a great artist, going back to giving priority to what is most important” to him.
His music-making had been limited by the demands of government, and he had to seek the president’s permission to tour abroad.
Period in exile
Alongside his long musical career, politics has played a prominent part in Gilberto Gil’s life, our correspondent says.
He first made his mark in the 1960’s along with the singer Caetano Veloso.
Their Tropicalismo movement with its mix of Western rock and Brazilian musical styles, and an emphasis on personal freedom, was considered subversive enough for both men to be briefly arrested in 1969 under Brazil’s military dictatorship.
They were freed on condition they leave the country, and Gilberto Gil went to live in London.
He returned to Brazil in 1972, and after concentrating on his music he later began his political career.
When selected by President Lula to be minister of culture, Mr Gil was only the second black person to serve in the country’s cabinet.
His resignation certainly removes one of the more intriguing figures from the Brazilian political stage, our correspondent notes.
Source: bbc.co.uk/
Zimbabwe to resume crisis talks
July 31, 2008
South African President Thabo Mbeki has said crisis talks between Zimbabwe’s government and opposition will resume on Sunday.
He was speaking after meeting Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe, who has said he wants the talks to succeed.
Mr Mbeki’s visit followed the halting last week of crisis talks between the ruling and opposition parties.
Meanwhile, Zimbabwe’s central bank has said it will revalue its currency on 1 August to fight hyperinflation.
Compromise ‘hard’
After an hour-long meeting with Mr Mugabe, Mr Mbeki, who has been mediating in the crisis talks, told reporters that they were “work in progress”.
“The negotiators are working hard and have committed themselves to the time-frame. They will resume on Sunday,” he said.
The negotiations began last week after Mr Mugabe and Mr Tsvangirai met for the first time in a decade.
The opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has accused Mr Mugabe of stealing the election earlier this year.
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We would like to see the speedy conclusion of the talks… so that we can focus in the future our attention around our economy President Robert Mugabe
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Mr Tsvangirai pushed Mr Mugabe into second place in the first round of voting on 29 March but he pulled out of a 27 June run-off election after a wave of deadly attacks against his supporters.
Mr Mugabe has said he wants the talks to succeed, but warned that “sometimes compromise is difficult”.
The BBC’s Peter Biles in Johannesburg says it has emerged that President Mbeki held a meeting in the South African capital, Pretoria, on Tuesday with the MDC’s Morgan Tsvangirai.
Mr Mbeki, the lead mediator on the Zimbabwe crisis, has said the two sides are determined to reach an agreement within a two-week time-frame at the talks in a secret location near Pretoria.
But opposition sources said the talks had reached deadlock.
Emergency threat
Meanwhile, the governor of Zimbabwe’s central bank, Gideon Gono, has announced than 10 zeros will be lopped off the Zimbabwe dollar, making 10bn dollars equal to one dollar.
Only last week, the government introduced the Z$100bn note.
After the currency announcement, Mr Mugabe warned the country’s businessmen in a televised address to stop profiteering or face “emergency measures”.
“If you drive us more than you have done we will impose emergency measures, and we don’t want to place our country in a situation of emergency rules, they can be tough rules you know,” Reuters news agency reports him as saying.
Mr Mugabe blames Zimbabwe’s economic problems on white businessmen and Western sanctions, rather than his own policies.
The latest currency announcement is another desperate attempt by Mr Gono to stabilise Zimbabwe’s collapsing economy, our correspondent says.
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ZIMBABWE TALKS
What MDC wants:
Mugabe to step down
“Transitional authority” to organise new elections
What Zanu-PF wants:
Mugabe to be accepted as president
MDC to take a few minor ministries
International community to drop sanctions and help kick-start economy
Full text of the Memorandum of Understanding[39KB]
Bitter hope in Harare
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“The Zimbabwe dollar will be redenominated by a factor of one to 10, which means we are removing 10 zeros from our monetary value. Ten billion dollars today will be reduced to Z$1… effective from 1 August,” Mr Gono said in a television broadcast.
The high rate constrained the operations of the country’s computer systems, with computers, calculators and banks’ cash machines not able to handle transactions in billions and trillions of dollars, he added.
The new Z$100bn (under $2, £1) note introduced last week is not enough to buy a loaf of bread.
Inflation is officially running at more than 2,000,000%, but many analysts believe the true inflation figure is at least 9,000,000%.
A BBC reporter in Harare said that on the day he recently went shopping, a tray of 24 eggs went up from Z$375bn to Z$600bn.
So far this year, Zimbabwe has been forced to print Z$100m, Z$250m and Z$500m notes in rapid succession, now mostly worthless.
Source: bbc.co.uk/
Ex-soldiers end Haiti stand-off
July 31, 2008
Ex-soldiers in Haiti who seized two former military buildings, have ended a tense 24-hour stand-off with police and UN peacekeepers, officials said.
The men were demanding 14 years of back pay and the reinstatement of the armed forces, which were disbanded in 1995 by ex-president Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
The soldiers say the move was illegal and they continue to demand back pay.
Their leader, Milot Laguerre, said they were surrendering voluntarily because of the danger to civilian supporters.
Tensions had mounted after ordinary Haitians supporting the ex-soldiers’ cause began throwing rocks at the international troops.
Mr Laguerre told local radio: “We military were ready to die instead of surrendering because we are quite within our rights, but we did not want to put the lives of the civilians accompanying us in danger.”
Negotiations
A police official told local media that the men had surrendered because “finally they understood we were serious”.
The peaceful denouement in the northern city of Cap-Haitien followed negotiations with government officials - although no details of the talks were released.
Those present included Interior Minister Paul Antonine Bien-Aime and former Army Col Jean-Claude Jeudi, who was not part of the demonstration.
UN officials said a second protest in a former army barracks in Ouanaminthe, a town on the border with the Dominican Republic, had also ended.
A 9,000-strong UN peacekeeping force has been Haiti’s only real security force since the army was dissolved.
Source: bbc.co.uk/