Compliant | SilverScorpio.Com

Audit reveals underpaying security firms

April 8, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

There is a call for the security industry to dramatically improve its compliance with workplace relations laws after underpayments locally and nationally.

The Fair Work Ombudsman has recovered $17,000 for 36 workers at a Wagga Wagga security firm and $5,000 for three workers at a business in Deniliquin.

It follows a national audit of businesses providing alarm monitoring services and security at events and airports.

The Fair Work Ombudsman says more than $450,000 in back pay is being recovered in the national audit.

It was sparked by concerns about the high number of complaints and prosecutions the security industry was generating.

Of 83 New South Wales security companies audited, the Ombudsman says 55 of them, or 66 per cent, were non-compliant.

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: airports, Alarm Monitoring Services, compliance, compliant, Deniliquin, National Audit, New South Wales, ombudsman, Prosecutions, Security Companies, Security Firm, Security Firms, Security Industry, Wagga Wagga, Workplace Relations

Water thieves warned of crackdown

April 8, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

As water makes its way downstream to the Darling River, the New South Wales Office of Water says it is mindful of the possibility of water theft occurring.

Compliance director Russell Harrison says the office continuously monitors areas where non-compliant and unauthorised works might be occurring.

He says the office relies on reports from members of the public and then sends officers out to assess the situation.

“As well as undertaking proactive monitoring via random inspections of properties and targeted compliance operations, our officers utilise aerial surveillance,” Mr Harrison said.

“We also use spatial data to detect illegal structures. So the message is quite clear, if you are taking water illegally, whether it be by illegal pumping or diverting it by illegal structures, the chances of getting caught are high.”

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: aerial surveillance, Compliance Operations, compliant, crackdown, Darling River, Illegal Structures, members, Mr Harrison, New South Wales, New South Wales Office, Random Inspections, Russell Harrison, South Wales Office, Spatial Data, thieves, Unauthorised, Water Theft

Goldeye Options Claims to Creso Resources in Shining Tree Area

March 5, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

TORONTO, ONTARIO, Mar 03 (MARKET WIRE) —
Goldeye Explorations Limited (“Goldeye” or the “Company”) (TSX VENTURE:
GGY) is pleased to announce that it has optioned 23 claims in Tyrrell
Township in the Shining Tree area of northeastern Ontario to Creso
Resources (Creso). The three blocks of claims adjoin the Minto (Gordon
Lake) deposit on which a historic resource which is non-compliant with
National Instrument 43-101 (and should not be relied upon) was identified
to contain 225,000 tons grading 0.20 g Au/t to a depth of 750 feet, as
reported in the Ontario Ministry of Northern Development and Mines
Resident Geologist Annual Report for 2008. Creso has also acquired the
Minto deposit and other surrounding ground.

The option agreement enables Creso to acquire up to a 75% interest in the
optioned Goldeye claims. To earn an initial 50% direct working interest,
Creso must make payments of $250,000 ($100,000 received), issue 400,000
shares (100,000 received) and incur a minimum aggregate work expenditure
of $1,000,000 no later than three years from the agreement date. To
acquire an additional 10% interest, Creso must incur an additional
$500,000 of work costs within two years of earning its 50% interest. To
acquire an additional 15% interest, for a direct aggregate 75% working
interest, Creso shall assume all costs to bring the Goldeye claims to
production within three years after earning its initial 50% interest.
Annual advance net smelter return royalty payments of $75,000 commence at
the beginning of year four of the option. These royalty payments are to
be applied as advances against the actual Goldeye NSR payments should
Goldeye be diluted to a net smelter return royalty if a joint venture
were to be formed prior to Creso’s earning a 75% interest. As well, the
Company has a separate 2% NSR (half of which is purchasable for
$1,000,000) on two claims included in the option. Additionally, a lump
sum payment of $2,000,000 will be made to Goldeye upon reaching 50,000
ounces of production from the Company’s claims.

Tyrrell Drilling Program Start-Up

Goldeye has recently mobilized a diamond drill and commenced drilling a
minimum 4,000 metre program on its retained Tyrrell Township property,
located approximately three kilometres from the Creso properties. The
drilling will follow-up on the late 2009 drilling in which hole 41
intersected 4.97 g Au/t over 3.0 metres in the West Iron Formation Zone
and hole 42 intersected 6.12 g Au/t over 4.43 metres in the East
Extension Target. Both intersections occur within a mineralized strike
length of 700 metres in the Big Dome area. Drilling is also planned for
the Hydro Creek area, which is located approximately 900 metres to the
west. Here, the down plunge extension of the Lacarte North Zone will be
investigated, as well as additional mineralization associated with the
Tyrrell Shear Zone

About Goldeye

Goldeye is a Canadian gold-focused exploration company with properties in
mineral- rich, politically secure jurisdictions with long traditions of
mining (Canada and Chile). The main Canadian property interests in
Ontario (Tyrrell, Sandy Lake, McFaulds Lake, and Gold Rock) and British
Columbia (Todd Creek) encompass approximately 490 square kilometres, and
involve third party funding at McFaulds and Todd Creek. The 80 square
kilometre Sonia property in Chile is located approximately 180 kilometres
north of Santiago in a promising metallogenic setting.

Goldeye’s approach is to advance precious metal deposits to the
development stage, employing, in part, technologically advanced
geophysical techniques and occasionally joint venture funding.

Invitation

Goldeye will be exhibiting at the Prospectors and Developers Convention
in Toronto on March 7 and 8 (Sunday and Monday), and cordially invites
attendees to meet with us at booth 2405A.

The Qualified Person who has read and approved this press release is
Blaine R. Webster, P.Geo., President and C.E.O. of Goldeye Explorations
Limited.

The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept
responsibility for the adequacy and accuracy of this release.

Contacts:
Goldeye Explorations Limited
Blaine Webster
President and C.E.O.
(905) 731-9367 or (905) 886-2538
goldeye@goldeye.ca
www.goldeye.ca

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: annual report, compliant, Explorations, geologist, Ggy, joint venture, Lump Sum Payment, Ministry Of Northern Development, Ministry Of Northern Development And Mines, Minto, National Instrument, Northeastern Ontario, Northern Development And Mines, Ontario Ministry, Option Agreement, royalty payments, Shining Tree, smelter, Toronto Ontario, TSX

Now, computers become lawyers!

September 14, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, September 13 (ANI): European researchers have created a legal analysis query engine that combines artificial intelligence, game theory and semantics to offer advice, conflict prevention and dispute settlement for European law.

European law is complex, many layered and expanding. There are thousands of regulations, so many that compliance is difficult, time-consuming and expensive.

While harmonization is underway, the process itself demands that individuals, companies and law firms often have to relearn the system.

Meanwhile, areas like intellectual property rights (IPR) and digital rights regulation that seek to combat piracy are becoming evermore complex to understand and apply consistently across Europe.

Now, the ALIS Project has developed a computerized platform that uses artificial intelligence (AI), game theory and semantic technologies to ‘understand’ and track the regulations in a large, and expanding area of expertise – in this case IPR.

ALIS sought to develop a working system in IPR to tackle the fundamental technological challenges before expanding it to more areas later on.

The system is much more than a simple database of relevant legal regulations.

It uses insights from game theory to help contentious parties come to an amicable agreement, either through conflict prevention or dispute resolution, and it can assist lawmaking as well.

Game theory looks at how strategic interactions between rational people lead to outcomes reflecting real player preferences.

It can be used to develop algorithms that find equilibria in games, markets, computational auctions, peer-to-peer systems, security and information markets.

Now, with ALIS, it is available for legal systems too.

This concept of equilibria supports conflict prevention, dispute resolution and offers decision support for lawmaking.

A key factor in the system is its test for regulatory compliance.

This is very powerful. It can help citizens, companies and lawyers quickly scan the relevant legal corpus to discover if they are compliant. It is a key factor for the other roles in the ALIS system as well.

For conflict prevention, dispute resolution and lawmaking, the ALIS first establishes if the parties, or the proposed legislation, are compliant with current law.

Once compliance is established, the system can present a series of options based on an analysis of the potential conflict or dispute, or it can provide information to further assist lawmakers to formulate policy.

Similarly, the tool aims to rapidly speed up the work done by lawyers, helping to resolve relatively straightforward cases faster, so they can concentrate on more complex problems. (ANI)

Filed Under: Science News Tagged With: advice, agreement, Algorithms, ALIS, Analysis, ANI, area, Artificial Intelligence, case, compliance, compliant, computational, concept, conflict, Conflict Prevention, corpus, database, decision, Decision Support, dispute, Dispute Resolution, Dispute Settlement, engine, equilibria, Europe, European Researchers, evermore, expertise, factor, game, game theory, harmonization, information, Information Markets, Intellectual Property Rights, intelligence, ipr, law, Law Firms, lawmaking, legislation, piracy, platform, player, policy, prevention, process, project, property, query, Query Engine, Real Player, regulation, Regulatory Compliance, relearn, resolution, security, semantics, September, September 13, series, settlement, support, system, Systems Security, Technological Challenges, test, theory, tool, underway, Washington, work

Maruti sells nearly 85,000 vehicles in Aug.2009

September 1, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Sep.1 (ANI): Maruti Suzuki India Limited, India’s car market leader, sold a total of 84,808 vehicles in August 2009, growing 41.6 percent in the month. This includes exports of 14,847 units, the highest ever monthly export in the company’s history.

A company release said it had sold a total of 59,908 vehicles in August 2008.

Maruti Suzuki’s volume in the domestic A2 segment grew by 39.3 per cent. In the A3 segment the sales volume grew by 44.1 cent during the month as compared to sales in August 2008.

During the month the company crossed the milestone of 50,000 cumulative exports in this fiscal. A star is Maruti Suzuki’s flagship export model. A star, which was introduced internationally in January 2009, has been leading the export numbers since introduction. The major markets for this model in Europe include Germany, UK, France and Netherlands.

In the last week of August 2009, the company introduced the Estilo with a bolder new look and the latest, 1-litre, BS-IV compliant, K-series engine. (ANI)

Filed Under: Business News Tagged With: 1 Litre, a2, a3, ANI, Aug, August, BS-IV, car, Car Market, cent, company, compliant, engine, Estilo, Europe, export, Export Model, fiscal, flagship, France, Germany, history, India, india limited, introduction, January, K Series, leader, limited, litre, look, market, Market Leader, maruti, Maruti Suzuki India, milestone, model, month, Netherlands, New Delhi, percent, release, Sales Volume, segment, Sep, series, star, suzuki, total, U.K, uk france, volume, week

Oral asthma controllers more effective than inhalers

August 26, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, Aug 26 (ANI): Asthmatic patients are more likely to benefit from oral controllers than inhalers, say Mayo clinic researchers.

“Clinical superiority of the inhaled products has been well documented in clinical trials and the HealthCore study confirmed this for those who take their medication properly,” said Dr. Joseph Singer, vice president of clinical affairs for HealthCore, the outcomes research subsidiary for WellPoint, Inc.

“However, we were surprised to discover that in looking at all patients in real-world settings, oral controllers appeared to be a better choice of treatment because of better compliance.

“Patients with the best outcomes were those who were compliant with inhaled corticosteroids,” he added.

During the study, researchers looked at 55, 000 patients from eight health plans who had used at least one of six types of asthma controller medications between 2003 and 2005.

Both oral and inhaled treatments offered comparable impacts on patient-reported quality of life and productivity.

Among patients taking more than one drug to control their asthma, HealthCore found that a combination of inhaled corticosteroids and long-acting beta-agonists were the best course of treatment in terms of better clinical outcomes and better quality of life.

In the group of patients who adhered to their medication, those taking leukotriene modifiers-oral asthma controllers-were more likely to have an emergency room or inpatient physician visit, less likely to use six or more short-acting beta agonist canisters and incurred higher annual costs.

“It’s important for physicians and health plans alike to know that ‘one size fits all’ does not apply when treating asthma patients,” said Singer.

“These results speak to the power of comparative effectiveness research and its ability to give physicians the information they need to customize treatment for patients in the real world,” he added. (ANI)

Filed Under: Science News Tagged With: ability, agonist, ANI, asthma, Asthma Medications, asthma patients, asthmatic, Asthmatic Patients, Aug, beta, Beta Agonist, choice, clinic, clinical, Clinical Affairs, Clinical Outcomes, Clinical Superiority, combination, Comparative Effectiveness, compliance, compliant, controller, Controller Medications, course, customize, Dr. Joseph Singer, drug, effectiveness, Effectiveness Research, emergency, group, Health, HealthCore, inc, information, Inhaled Corticosteroids, inpatient, Joseph Singer, leukotriene, Leukotriene Modifiers, life, mayo, mayo clinic researchers, medication., oral, outcomes research, physician, power, president, productivity, quality, Research, room, size, study, study researchers, subsidiary, superiority, treatment, Types Of Asthma, use, vice, visit, Washington, WellPoint, Wellpoint Inc, world, world settings

Award-winning device to revolutionise treatment of hand injuries

July 8, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, July 8 (ANI): Bioengineering students at Rice University have invented a device to measure intrinsic hand muscle strength, called PRIME, which could revolutionise the diagnosis and treatment of hand injuries and neurological disorders, specifically carpal tunnel syndrome.

The OrthoIntrinsics team behind the patent-pending creation have won first place and 10,000 dollars at IShow, an innovation competition for graduate and undergraduate students.

Graduates Caterina Kaffes, Matthew Miller, Neel Shah and Shuai “Steve” Xu invented PRIME, or Peg Restrained Intrinsic Muscle Evaluator, for their senior project.

“Twenty percent of all ER admissions are hand-related. Neuromuscular disorders like spinal cord injuries, Lou Gehrig’s, diabetes, multiple sclerosis-all these diseases affect the intrinsic hand muscles,” said Xu.

For starters, the team is focusing on carpal tunnel syndrome.

“U.S. surgeons will perform over 500,000 procedures for carpal tunnel this year. We spend $2 billion per year treating this disease but up to 20 percent of all surgeries need to be redone. Our invention can be used across the spectrum of care from diagnosis to outcome measurements,” said Xu.

Xu said that previous devices lacked the repeatability to be useful and did not adjust for small hands or unusual morphologies.

PRIME has three elements: a pegboard restraint, a force transducer enclosure and a PDA custom-programmed to capture measurements.

In a five-minute test, a doctor uses pegs to isolate a patient’s individual fingers.

“You wouldn’t think it works as well as it does, but once you are pegged in, you can’t move anything but the finger we want you to,” said Miller.

A loop is fitted around the finger, and when the patient moves it, and the researchers measure the amount of force generated.

“PRIME gets the peak forceThen the doctor can create a patient-specific file with all your information, time-stamped, and record every single measurement,” said Xu.

PRIME integrates with existing systems in a manner compliant with the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act, better known as HIPAA, he said.

According to Xu, it will help hospitals and rehabilitation clinics compare the effectiveness of surgical interventions and diagnose neuromuscular degenerative diseases. (ANI)

Filed Under: Science News Tagged With: accountability, act, amount, ANI, anything, Award winning, Bioengineering, care, carpal, Caterina Kaffes, competition, compliant, cord, creation, device, diabetes, diagnose, diagnosis, disease, doctor, effectiveness, enclosure, Evaluator, file, finger, force, forceThen, graduate, hand, Health, HIPAA, information, innovation, Intrinsic, Invention, IShow, July, loop, Lou Gehrig, manner, Matthew Miller, measure, measurement, muscle, Neel Shah, neuromuscular, OrthoIntrinsics, outcome, patient, pda, peak, Peg Restrained, pegboard, percent, place, portability, prime, project, redone, rehabilitation, repeatability, restraint, revolutionise, Rice, shuai, spectrum, steve, strength, syndrome, team, test, transducer, treatment, tunnel, undergraduate, University, US, Washington, Xu, year

China installs censorship software in over 500,000 PCs

July 2, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Shanghai, July 2 (ANI): Under the controversial Green Dam computer program, China has already installed censorship software in over half-a-million computers.

According to a report in The Telegraph, the Green Dam program has been downloaded three million times since the end of March and has been installed on 518,000 computers. Almost 7,000 websites in China have also installed the software.

On Tuesday night, the Chinese ministry of Industry and Internet Technology issued a short statement, indefinitely delaying a plan to make Green Dam compulsory on all computers sold on the mainland. The regulation was due to come into force on Wednesday.

The government retreated from the plan after fierce opposition from computer manufacturers, the US government and Chinese Internet users.

Once Green Dam is installed on a home computer, it links to a central database and automatically filters out all pornography and some politically sensitive content.

A spokesman for the US embassy said they welcomed the decision by the government to shelve the project.

According to researchers at the University of Michigan, the installation of Green Dam leaves computers more vulnerable to hacking. It may also be able to report an individual’s web-use back to the Chinese authorities.

A number of major computer manufacturers have already started selling computers with the software.

Sony and Lenovo, the Chinese company which bought IBM’s PC division, have already sold Green Dam compliant machines, while Acer, the Taiwanese manufacturer, said yesterday it intended to comply with the regulation. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: Acer, ANI, censorship, Censorship Software, Central Database, China, chinese authorities, chinese company, Chinese Internet Users, chinese ministry, company, compliant, Computer, Computer Manufacturers, computer program, content, Dam, Dam Program, database, decision, division, embassy, end, force, Government, green, Green Dam, half a million, home, IBM, individual, industry, installation, internet, internet technology, July, Lenovo, mainland, Major Computer, manufacturer, March, michigan, Million Computers, million times, ministry, night, number, opposition, plan, pornography, program, project, regulation, report, Selling Computers, Sensitive Content, shanghai, shelve, software, Software Sony, sony, spokesman, statement, Taiwanese Manufacturer, Technology, Telegraph, Tuesday, University, US, Wednesday, yesterday

Standard and Poor’s launches Canadian sharia-compliant index

May 28, 2009 By admin 1 Comment

Ottawa (Canada), May 28 (ANI): Standard and Poor’s is launching a Canadian stock index to give investors who follow Islamic law a guide to the country’s equity market.

According to the Globe and Mail, the index can be used as a benchmark or model for funds created to invest in Canada in a manner that is compliant with Islamic law.

The S and P/TSX 60 Shariah TXSI-I includes the biggest stocks in Canada that Islamic investors are allowed to invest in, which means no banks, no pork producers, no entertainment companies and no gambling. It also means no investment-management companies.

As a result, almost 80 per cent of the index is comprised of energy and mining companies.

It’s the second such index in the country, following on the heels of the Dow Jones Islamic Market Canada Index. For S and P, it’s one of more than 50 Shariah indexes around the world. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: ANI, benchmark, Canada, Canada Index, Canadian stock, cent, compliant, country, dow, Dow Jones, energy, entertainment, entertainment companies, equity, gambling, globe, Globe And Mail, Globe Mail, guide, index, Investment Management Companies, Islamic, islamic law, Islamic Market, jones, law, mail, Mail Index, manner, market, May, mining, Mining Companies, model, Ottawa, Ottawa Canada, poor, pork, Pork Producers, result, sharia, Shariah, standard, standard and poor, stock, Stock Index, TSX, Tsx 60, TXSI-I, world

NHRIs of South Asian nations pass resolution to promote national capacity building

April 17, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Apr.17 (ANI): The National Human Rights Institutions of South Asian countries today passed a Resolution after a two day conference in New Delhi and agreed to work towards National Capacity Building through sharing of experience, information and best practices on human rights.

They also agreed to take steps to promote human rights awareness by holding conferences of NHRIs atleast once in two years in addition to exchanges of visits, training programmes and bilateral or regional cooperation between these Institutions.

The Conference on ‘Human Rights Awareness and National Capacity Building’ was organized by the National Human Rights Commission of India and attended by Chairpersons, Members and representatives of six National Human Rights Institutions from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka and India.

The Conference agreed that respective Governments will be appealed to support and provide necessary wherewithal to NHRIs to ensure that they become fully compliant with ‘Paris Principles’ which includes administrative and financial autonomy.

During the two days of deliberations spread in four sessions, the issues of legal framework for promotion and protection of human rights, institutional arrangements and measures undertaken for promotion and protection of human rights, building human rights awareness and international cooperation were discussed.

Earlier, inaugurating the conference on 16th April, 2009, the Chief Justice of India, Mr. Justice K.G. Balakrishnan said, public expectations from NHRIs have increased with awareness about Constitutional Rights.

He said, promotion of human rights faces considerable challenges in the South Asian Region given the frequent terrorist attacks, communal violence and pervasive exploitation on account of caste and gender differences.

Justice Balakrishnan said, despite most of the South Asian countries having established human rights institutions, there are persistent criticisms about their lack of independence, initiatives and effective powers.

He said, in real sense the realization of civil and political rights is impossible without enjoyment of economic and social rights. He said, there is a special responsibility upon human right bodies to actively confront social evils such as immoral trafficking and forced prostitution.

Institutions in South Asia need to be proactive in responding to instances of exploitation by private parties also. He highlighted the importance of educational institutions and non-governmental organizations in promotion of human rights.

Addressing the gathering, the NHRC of India Chairperson, Mr. Justice S. Rajendra Babu said, it is important for a State committed to human rights to establish a national infrastructure including relevant institutions which can promote and protect human rights.

He also advocated the need for an effective mechanism to keep a check on the activities of the existing human rights institutions to ensure their accountability.

Justice Rajendra Babu said, NHRIs have now evolved as a significant player on both the national and international fronts instead of just acting as liaison points for the United Nations. e said, the Paris conference Principles require that the National Human Rights Institutions be given a broad mandate to enforce human rights and enjoy absolute independence from overnments. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: 16th April, account, accountability, addition, Afghanistan, ANI, Apr, April, atleast, autonomy, awareness, babu, Bangladesh, building, capacity, caste, chairperson, Chairpersons, check, Chief Justice, chief justice of india, commission, communal violence, compliant, conference, constitutional, cooperation, day, enjoyment, experience, exploitation, Financial Autonomy, framework, gathering, gender, Gender Differences, human, Human Rights Awareness, human rights commission, Human Rights Institutions, importance, independence, India, information, Infrastructure, Institutional Arrangements, international cooperation, Justice Balakrishnan, k g balakrishnan, lack, liaison, maldives, mandate, mechanism, mr justice, Mr. Justice K.G. Balakrishnan, national, national human rights commission, need, Nepal Sri Lanka, Nepal., New Delhi, NHRC, NHRIs, Paris, Paris Principles, player, promotion, prostitution, protection, Public Expectations, rajendra, realization, region, regional cooperation, resolution, responsibility, rights, sense, sharing, South Asian, south asian countries, south asian nations, south-asia, South-Asian region, Sri Lanka, state, today, trafficking, training, united, Violence

Greenpeace releases Guide to Greener Electronics; Wipro is top Green Brand of India

April 8, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

The international non-governmental organization well known for its works of protection and conservation of the environment Greenpeace has released its Guide to Greener Electronics, foucusing on e-waste. According to the Guide to Greener Electronics of the Amsterdam, Netherlands based Greenpeace, Nokia and Samsung have been ranked at top positions, while Wipro Infotech has been named as top Green Brand of India.

Wipro Infotech has been ranked among the top five green brands in the world. Scoring 5.5 out of 10 to achieve the top rank among Indian IT brands, Wipro also climed up in the global ranking. In a statement yesterday, Wipro stated that it has been able to achieve its present ranking largely due to its comitted efforts towards energy efficiency and structured programme for effective e-waste management for customers.

According to Wipro, it has been rolling out energy star compliant products, launching ewaste management programmes, creating awareness among public, and using recycled plastics in its new productions. Wipro stated that it has been creating awareness among its customers on recycling collected e-waste rather than mere disposal. The company claimed that it has restricted the usage of pernicious substances in its products.

Greenpeaces Guide to Greener Electronics has named Sony as greenest console brands. Accordong to the Guide, Sony consoles are more friendly to environment than that of Microsoft and Nintendo Sony products are 40 percent environmentally-friendly than Microsofts, while 50 percent greener that Nintendos products. Sony has scored 5.5 out of 10, Microsoft has scored just 2.7, while Nintendo has scored worst 0.8 in the rankings.

In its Guide to Greener Electronics, Greenpeace has stated that Nintendo has done good job by banning the use of phthalates, and monitoring its use of antimony and beryllium. Certainly, the company is “endeavouring to eliminate the use of PVC, but it has not set a timeline for its phase out”. In its report, Greenpeace wrote, “The company has banned phthalates and is monitoring use of antimony and beryllium and although it is endeavoring to eliminate the use of PVC, it has not set a timeline for its phase out. Nintendo discloses carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from its own operations and commits to cutting CO2 emissions and other greenhouse gases by 2% over each previous year. However, Nintendo admits that an increase in business led to a 6% rise in CO2 emissions in 2006.”

Greenpeace has praised Apple for reducing the use of PVCs and BFRs in its products, but Philips, according to Greenpeace, has been very impressive in the war against e-waste.

According to Greenpeace, the Guide to Greener Electronics star has gone to Philips and the 47,000 people who sent emails to the company. In the report, Greenpeace wrote, The Dutch electronics giant (Philips) reacted to our e-waste campaign with a dramatic about-turn on recycling and take-back. They’ve jumped from 15th to 4th place in one go. Following public pressure, the company has significantly improved its position on taking financial responsibility for the recycling of its products when they become e-waste.

However, the companies, such as HP, Lenovo and Dell have been penalined in the Guide to Greener Electronics. According to Greenpeace, these companies have failed to keep up ther promises to eliminate vinyl plastic (PVC) and brominated flame retardants (BFRs) from their products by the end of the year. Greenpeace commended some of these companies products that are free from hazardous chemicals, yet these companies have been ranked worst for their negligence.

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: Accordong, Amsterdam, Amsterdam Netherlands, antimony, apple, awareness, beryllium, BFRs, brand, business, campaign, carbon, company, compliant, Compliant Products, conservation, Conservation Of The Environment, Dell, dioxide, disposal, efficiency, electronics, end, energy, energy efficiency, Energy Star Compliant, environment, ewaste, flame, giant, good job, green, greener, greenest, greenhouse, Greenpeace, guide, increase, India, infotech, International Non Governmental Organization, job, Lenovo, management, microsoft, negligence, Netherlands, Nintendo, Nokia, non governmental organization, organization, percent, phase, philips, place, plastic, position, pressure, programme, protection, PVC, PVCs, rank, ranking, Recycled Plastics, recycling, report, responsibility, rise, Samsung, scoring, sony, Sony Consoles, Sony Products, star, statement, ther, timeline, top rank, usage, use, vinyl, war, waste management, Wipro Infotech, Wipro., world, year, yesterday

Prince Charles’ detox food dubbed ‘outright quackery’ by scientist

March 11, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Mar 11 (ANI): Prince Charles has been accused of ‘financially exploiting the gullible’ with his herbal detox tincture of globe artichoke and dandelion produced by his company Duchy Originals.

Prof Ezard Ernst, from Peninsula Medical School, who has dismissed the herbal mixture as ‘quackery’, claims that the Prince of Wales is exploiting people at a time hardship, and dubbed the company as ‘Dodgy Originals’.

The scientific community has been criticising the method of detoxing as it lacked credible evidence, but Prince Charles on the other hand is a strong supporter of the complementary therapies and alternative medicine and has even called for wider access to the treatments on the NHS.

His brand, Duchy Originals, has produced a range of herbal preparations including the Detox Artichoke and Dandelion Tincture, which is sold for 10 pounds for 50ml in Boots and Waitrose.

“Prince Charles contributes to the ill health of the nation by pretending we can all overindulge, then take his tincture and be fine again,” the Telegraph quoted Prof Ernst, the first professor of complementary medicine in the UK, as saying.

“Under the banner of holistic and integrative health care he thus promotes a ‘quick fix’ and outright quackery,” he stated.

He said detox is based on the idea that toxins accumulate in the body until it becomes overloaded and that certain products can speed up the elimination of these substances.

“The body has a powerful mechanism to deal with itself and there’s no evidence that dandelion or artichoke will improve these functions,” he said.

“If a patient has a diseased kidney and cannot eliminate toxins via their kidney, then they need serious medical help.

“Products like this are a dangerous waste of money.

“Charles is exploiting people during hard times,” he added.

A spokesman for Duchy Originals has defended its product saying that it is safe.

“Duchy Herbals Detox Tincture is an excellent and safe product, traded as a food supplement and compliant with all of the relevant sections of both UK and European food laws,” he said.

“It is a natural aid to digestion and supports the body’s natural elimination processes. It is not – and has never been described as – a medicine, remedy or cure for any disease.

“There is no ‘quackery’, no ‘make believe’ and no ‘superstition’ in any of the Duchy Originals herbal tinctures. We find it unfortunate that Professor Ernst should chase sensationalist headlines in this way rather than concentrating on accuracy and objectivity,” he added. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: access, accuracy, aid, ANI, artichoke, banner, body, boots, brand, cannot, care, charles, community, company, Complementary Medicine, Complementary Therapies, compliant, credible evidence, dandelion, Dangerous Waste, detox, Detoxing, digestion, disease, dodgy, Duchy, Duchy Originals, elimination, ernst, evidence, Ezard, fine, fix, food, globe, Globe Artichoke, hand, hardship, Health, help, Help Products, Herbal Mixture, Herbal Preparations, Herbals, idea, ill health, Integrative Health Care, kidney, London, make, mar, mechanism, medical, medicine, method, mixture, MONEY, nation, NHS, objectivity, Originals, overindulge, patient, peninsula, peninsula medical school, Prince Charles, prince of wales, product, prof, professor, Professor Ernst, quackery, range, remedy, school, scientist, sensationalist, spokesman, superstition, supplement, supporter, Telegraph, time, tincture, U.K, Waitrose, wales, waste, waste of money, way

Sharif’s call for ‘revolution’ branded ‘mutiny’ by PPP Govt

March 10, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Islamabad, Mar.10 (ANI): Former Pakistan Prime Minister of Pakistan and Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif has called on the people of Pakistan to come out on the streets and fight for change.

Addressing a huge gathering in Jhelum, Sharif urged for a change in the current political scenario of the country through a revolution.

“Get ready to make sacrifices for a revolution, come out on the streets to change your destiny,” The Daily Times quoted Sharif, as saying.

Strongly criticizing the Supreme Court’s verdict to disqualify him and his brother, Shahbaz Sharif , the PML-N chief termed the decision as a ‘fake verdict by a fake court.’

“The constitution, the law, the judiciary and Pakistan are not the fiefdom of Zardari. If anyone tries to subject people to injustices, he should be ready to face the consequences,” Sharif added.

Sharif asked the security forces not to abide by the government’s order which were against the law and constitution.

The provocative statements by the former Prime Minister ahead of the protest march have raised fears about a large-scale public revolt.

Interior Advisor,Rehman Mailk said termed the Sharif’s verbal attack on the government and particularly on President Asif Ali Zardari as a ‘mutiny’.

Malik warned of severe consequences in case of loss to human life or property during the long march.

If, in this long march, any death takes place or anyone’s property is damaged, the responsibility will be on those who are bearing the flag of sedition, and a police compliant will be registered,” Malik said. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: advisor, ali, ANI, anyone, asif, Asif Ali Zardari, attack, brother, call, case, change, Chief, compliant, constitution, country, Court, daily, death, decision, Destiny, fiefdom, fight, flag, former, former prime minister, gathering, Government, govt, Injustices, interior, Islamabad, Jhelum, judiciary, law, league, life, loss, Mailk, malik, mar, March, minister, Muslim, muslim league, mutiny, nawaz, Nawaz Sharif, order, Pakistan, place, pml-n, police, political scenario, ppp, president, prime, prime minister of pakistan, property, protest, protest march, provocative statements, rehman, responsibility, revolt, revolution, sacrifices, scenario, security, sedition, Shahbaz, shahbaz sharif, sharif, supreme, times, verbal attack, verdict, zardari

Bharti Airtel is India’s largest certified organization

February 19, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Feb 19 (ANI/Business Wire India): Bharti Airtel announced that it is now a fully ISO 27001:2005 certified organization.

The ISO 27001:2005 certification from BSI: British Standards Institute ensures a high quality information security environment in Airtel and is one of the most stringent information security standards in the world.

With this achievement, Bharti Airtel has successfully institutionalized a strong security foundation based on a robust Information Security Management System that is process oriented, person-independent and self-sustaining.

With a total of 29 certificates awarded under the ISO 27001:2005 Certification Program, Airtel has the unique distinction of being awarded the largest number of certificates to any company in India across sectors and is amongst one of the largest in the world.

The ISO 27001:2005 certification program encompassed all strategic business units – Mobile Services, Enterprise Services and Telemedia Services, covering around 300 locations.

The scope included all central and zonal office locations, data centers, network zones, landing stations, switch locations and Airtel Center. In terms of personnel, the scope included all employees of Bharti Airtel.

“The completion of the program is a significant milestone in the journey towards our 2010 vision of being the most admired brand in India. With around 40,000 information assets under security management, it is a momentous achievement by the team at Airtel to have made this certification program a huge success” said, Dr Jai Menon, Director Technology and Customer Service, Airtel.

He added, “This certification will help build trust and confidence amongst our customers and further enhance the confidence of our employees in operational processes.”

The journey to be a ISO 27001:2005 compliant organizations began with the BISP (Bharti Information Security Policy) being launched in 2003, followed by a great deal of technology rollout through outsourcing beginning 2004, and a systemized approach for certification starting 2005 with the first certification being awarded in 2006.

Airtel achieved complete enterprise-wide certification in February, 2009.

ISO develops and publishes standards that establish best practices across a variety of industries. The ISO 27001:2005 certification is an endorsement of Bharti Airtel commitment to deliver managed and monitored security solutions that are benchmarked to the highest international standards.(ANI)

Filed Under: Business News Tagged With: achievement, airtel, ANI, approach, Bharti, BISP, brand, British, bsi, business, center, central, Certification, commitment, company, completion, compliant, confidence, customer, deal, director, distinction, Dr Jai Menon, endorsement, enterprise, environment, Feb, February, Foundation, India, information, institute, ISO, journey, landing, management, milestone, Mobile, network, New Delhi, number, office, organization, policy, process, program, quality, rollout, scope, security, service, standards, success, system, team, Technology, Telemedia, total, trust, variety, vision, wire, world, zonal

Islamic finance shows resilience as London consolidates position as key western centre

February 11, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Feb.10 (ANI): A report that may interest a lot of people in the world’s financial markets is that Islamic finance is showing resilience, even as London continues to consolidate its position as key western centre.

Incidently, the global market for Islamic financial services rose by 37 per cent to 729 billion dollars at end-2007.

In 2008, IFSL’s Islamic Finance report notes that the industry felt the influence of the credit crunch and downturn in the global economy – Sukuk issuance has more than halved and the value of equity funds has fallen.

Islamic banks, however, have been less affected than many conventional banks, as they are prohibited from activities that have contributed to the credit crunch, such as investment in toxic assets and dependence on wholesale funds.

Two Islamic banks, Gatehouse Bank and European Finance House, have been granted licences bringing to five the number of fully Sharia compliant banks in the UK.

Principal Insurance became the first Shariah compliant independent company authorised to offer Takaful to UK residents.

Four new exchange traded funds and two new equity funds were launched in capital markets.

International Financial Services London (IFSL)’s report suggests that the United Kingdom’s offering includes a total of 22 Banks, far more than in any other Western country.

Professional services are provided by 18 law firms and the Big Four accounting firms.

A cumulative total of 18 Sukuk issues raising 10 billion dollars have been listed on the London Stock Exchange, which is second only to Dubai.

With 55 institutions offering educational and training products in Islamic finance, the UK has more providers than any other country worldwide.

According to Duncan McKenzie, IFSL’s Director of Economics, : “The UK has benefitted considerably from supportive government policies intended to put Islamic services on the same footing as conventional services. Evidence of London’s growing role in Islamic finance is shown in the UK being the only western country to feature prominently, 8th with assets of 18 billion dollars in a global ranking of Sharia compliant assets by country.”

As per Sir Andrew Cahn, UK Trade and Investment’s Chief Executive Officer: “Despite its origins overseas, Islamic finance has found a natural home in the UK. Though no sector is immune to the global financial crisis, Islamic finance has shown great resilience. It is important we continue to work with our Islamic finance partners to maintain our position as the leading western centre for Islamic finance service providers.”

IFSL’s Islamic Finance Working Group is taking a leading role in the promotion of Islamic financial services available from the UK. The group is working closely with private sector and government, particularly UKTI and the City of London Corporation.

IFSL Research aims to raise awareness of the UK’s role in international financial markets and to highlight the contribution of financial services to the UK economy. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: accounting, ANI, awareness, bank, Big, capital, cent, centre, Chief, city, company, compliant, contribution, corporation, country, credit, crisis, crunch, dependence, director, downturn, Dubai., duncan mckenzie, economics, economy, end, equity, European, evidence, exchange, executive, Feb, finance, financial, footing, Gatehouse, Government, group, home, house, IFSL, Incidently, industry, influence, insurance, international, investment, Islamic, issuance, law, London, lot, market, number, offering, officer, position, principal, professional, promotion, ranking, report, Research, resilience, role, sector, service, sharia, Shariah, Sir Andrew Cahn, stock, Sukuk, Takaful, total, trade, training, U.K, UKTI, United Kingdom, value, working, world, worldwide