NiMin Energy Corp. to Host Year-End 2009 Conference Call

April 6, 2010 By Leave a Comment

CARPINTERIA, CALIFORNIA, Apr 05 (MARKET WIRE) —
NiMin Energy Corp. (TSX: NNN)(OTCQX: NEYYF) (“NiMin” or the “Company”)
will host a conference call to discuss the results of operations in 2009
and provide an operations update.

The call will be held on Tuesday, April 6, 2010 at 9:00 AM EDT (6:00 AM
PDT). The conference call chairperson will be Mr. Clancy Cottman,
Chairman and CEO of the Company, also on the call will be Dr. Sven Hagen,
President and Mr. Jonathan Wimbish, CFO.

Interested parties in the United States can join the call by dialing
(877) 407-8031; parties outside the U.S. should dial (201) 689-8031.
Please call in five to ten minutes prior to the call start time. The call
will also be webcast live on the Company’s website at
www.niminenergy.com. A replay of the call will be available by calling
(877) 660-6853 or (201) 612-7415 for international callers; account
number 286 and conference ID number 347657. The replay will be available
until April 19, 2010.

About NiMin Energy Corp.

NiMin Energy is a California based independent oil and gas exploitation
and production company with principal operations in the Bighorn Basin of
Wyoming, the San Joaquin Basin in California and South Louisiana onshore
areas of the U.S. The Company has over 27 million barrels of proved and
probable reserves, 97% of which are oil in California and Wyoming. The
Company has current gross production of approximately 920 barrels of oil
equivalent per day.

Contacts:
EnergyIR
Brad Holmes
(713) 654-4009
B_holmes@att.net

NiMin Energy Corp.
Jonathan Wimbish
CFO
(805) 566-2900
jwimbish@niminenergy.com

Copyright 2010, Market Wire, All rights reserved.

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Qatar takes $847 million stake in Fairmont Raffles

April 6, 2010 By Leave a Comment

(Reuters) – Affiliates of Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund have paid $847 million for a stake in hotelier Fairmont Raffles Holdings International from Kingdom Holding 4280.SE, to become the biggest shareholder in the group.

Deals

Kingdom Holding said in a statement that Fairmont Raffles had agreed to sell 40 percent of its capital to Cayman Islands-based Voyager Partners Ltd and Qatari Diar, which is owned by the Qatar Investment Authority.

Kingdom Holding did not say whether the stake involved new or existing shares in Fairmont Raffles Holdings.

The relationship between Voyager Partners and Qatari Diar could not be immediately clarified and neither party was immediately available for comment.

Raffles Fairmont would use the money to fund current and future expansion and Kingdom, 95-percent owned by billionaire Saudi Prince Alwaleed, would see its stake fall to 35 percent from 58 percent after the deal, Kingdom added.

Kingdom Holding, a main shareholder in Citigroup Inc (C.N), posted a net profit of 156 million riyals ($41.60 million) in the fourth-quarter, following a 30.98 billion riyal loss a year earlier.

It said on January 5 that it would cut its capital by 41 percent, a move analysts said was aimed at wiping out accumulated and unrealized losses which reached 65 percent of its capital at the end of the third quarter of 2009.

($1=3.750 Saudi Arabian Riyal)

(Writing by Ulf Laessing, Editing by Thomas Atkins and Simon Jessop)

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Air Arabia to fly to non-metro cities

April 5, 2010 By Leave a Comment

New Delhi, April 5 (IANS) Air Arabia will fly to more smaller cities across India, the Gulf-based low-cost carrier said Monday, marking the completion of its fifth year of operations in the country.

‘We have made efforts to operate to smaller, less congested airports closer to the customer base. We also operate in smaller cities offering customers to fly to their destinations directly from their home town. This has resulted in continuous growth year on year,’ the airline said in a statement.

The airline flies to smaller towns like Nagpur, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Cochin, Coimbatore, Kochi, Kozhikode and Thiruvanathapuram, besides the metros. Currently, it offers 102 flights a week, flying directly from its hub in Sharjah to 13 cities in India.

‘In the last five years, we have opened up affordable air travel to the Indian community living in the Gulf and will continue to offer comprehensive route network and connectivity across the country,’ the airlines said.

Air Arabia was the first international airline to commence operations from smaller towns like Nagpur in 2005. It was the first UAE-based airline to offer direct flights to Goa last year.

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Israel allows clothes, shoes into blockaded Gaza

April 5, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Israel allowed a shipment of clothes and shoes for Palestinian traders into the Gaza Strip on Sunday for the first time in its almost three-year-old blockade of the Hamas-controlled enclave.

An Israeli military spokesman said clothes and shoes had been allowed into the territory on a regular basis as part of humanitarian aid. But this was the first time privately-imported clothing was allowed in for traders to sell on.

Palestinian officials said the goods arrived in the coastal enclave via Israel’s Kerem Shalom border crossing. Ten trucks of clothing and footwear were expected during the day, they said.

Gaza’s merchants, who imported the goods privately, said Sunday’s shipment was not enough to replenish their stocks and demanded Israel release more goods held at its ports since 2007.

“Some of it even smells bad. I can say half of the merchandise is still good, but the other half is damaged. I fear I may not be able to recoup my outlay,” importer Ziad Barbakh told Reuters while frantically inspecting his clothes shipment.

Merchants said they had to pay 2000 shekels (about $540) per month for storing their merchandise at the Israeli port of Ashdod for the last three years.

“Now they (Hamas) want to take tax as well,” said shoe trader Eyad El-Ejla.

The Israeli government is under international pressure to relax its blockade, which the United Nations says punishes Gaza’s 1.5 million people over the policy of Islamist Hamas, which is pledged to Israel’s destruction.

Israel bans shipments of cement and steel to Gaza on the grounds that Hamas could use them for military purposes.

Its long list of controlled goods also includes items that critics say have no apparent military value, such as children’s crayons and books.

Gaza has been getting most of its consumer goods via tunnels from neighbouring Egypt operated by smugglers who add on hefty surcharges.

Egypt is building an underground wall to block the tunnels, which have been frequently bombed by Israel since it launched an offensive in the Gaza Strip 14 months ago with the declared aim of curbing cross-border rocket attacks by Palestinian militants.

A Palestinian official close to ceasefire talks Egypt has brokered in the past between Gaza militant groups and Israel has told Reuters the Egyptians are stepping up diplomatic pressure on both parties to reduce tensions in the coastal strip.

Some 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis were killed in the December 2008-January 2009 Gaza war.

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The FRS Company, Maker of Popular FRS Healthy Energy Products, Announces $23.1 Million in Latest Financing Round

April 3, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Financing Led by Oak Investment Partners Validates The FRS Company`s Aggressive
Business Strategy and Explosive Growth Potential
FOSTER CITY, Calif.–(Business Wire)–
The FRS Company, a developer and distributor of FRS Healthy Energy products,
announced today that it has received $23.1 million in its latest financing round
led by Oak Investment Partners, LLC. Oak Investment Partners was an early
investor in The FRS Company, and its continued support of FRS validates the
company`s aggressive business strategy for national and international expansion
and explosive sales growth.

“We continue to be very enthusiastic about the progress FRS is making in the
market,” said Fred Harman, Managing Partner of Oak Investment Partners. “The
ongoing research around the science of quercetin continues to demonstrate
multiple health and performance benefits and this is further increasing our
confidence that FRS will evolve into a major health and wellness platform. In
addition, over the past three years, we`ve seen triple-digit growth in the
company`s retail sales and an ever growing number of elite and every day
athletes who are passionate users of FRS Healthy Energy products. We look
forward to working with management as the company continues to accelerate its
growth domestically and internationally.”

The additional financing allows the company to expand its sales infrastructure,
including hiring some of the leading names in the beverage industry, and
exploring distribution opportunities throughout the U.S. and internationally.
The company will also continue to support its creative marketing efforts, such
as the recently launched national television advertising campaigns featuring
seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong and four-time NBA
championship player Derek Fisher.

“We`re grateful to have the continued support of Oak Investment Partners, who
recognize the company`s growth potential, believe in the science behind our
products and share our vision of making FRS a billion dollar health and wellness
company,” said Carl Sweat, CEO of The FRS Company.

Along with Lance Armstrong and Derek Fisher, professional athletes like Andrew
McCutchen, Baseball America 2009 Rookie of the Year, Brooke Hanson, AVP beach
volleyball 2009 Defensive Player of the Year, Raphael Matos, 2009 IndyCar Rookie
of the Year – and 16 professional sports teams — are enthusiastic advocates of
FRS products. These athletes` support of the brand comes from their real-life
use of and passion for FRS Healthy Energy products.

All FRS offerings are fueled by the antioxidant quercetin, which is naturally
found in fruits and vegetables such as red apples, grapes and berries. The
patented FRS formula contains the highest purity quercetin as well as a mix of
vitamins and metabolic enhancers to help increase quercetin absorption or
bioavailability. Quercetin has been proven in clinical studies to deliver
sustained energy, help promote improved fitness and support overall health.

In addition to Mr. Sweat, the FRS Board of Directors includes: James Quandt,
founder and principal at Thomas James Capital Incorporated; Lance Armstrong,
seven-time Tour de France champion; Fred Harman, managing partner at Oak
Investment Partners; Richard Rosenblatt, co-founder, chairman and CEO of Demand
Media; Peter Sealey, founder of The Sausalito Group and former Chief Marketing
Officer at The Coca-Cola Company; and Brian Swette, non-Executive Chairman of
Burger King and former Chief Marketing Officer at Pepsi-Cola Co.

About The FRS Company

The FRS Company produces and distributes its FRS Healthy Energy products in a
variety of formulations — soft chews, drink concentrates, powdered drink mixes
and ready-to-drink cans — to suit customers` needs. All FRS offerings contain a
patented mix containing the highest purity quercetin available (QU995), green
tea extract and essential vitamins. FRS single-serving cans and select
additional products are currently available through GNC, Rite Aid and Vitamin
Shoppe stores nationwide, in a wide array of grocery and convenience chains,
specialty and bike shops and online at Amazon.com and other online retailers.
Customers can visit FRS.com to purchase online or to locate a retailer. For the
past three years, ten cents of every case of FRS cans sold goes to LIVESTRONG.
Similar donations are also made on cases sold of all other FRS products.

The FRS Company
Sydney Neuhaus, 646-805-2827
sneuhaus@rlmnet.com

Copyright Business Wire 2010

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SFL – Filing of Annual Report on Form 20-F

April 3, 2010 By Leave a Comment

HAMILTON, BERMUDA, Apr 02 (MARKET WIRE) —

Press release from Ship Finance International Limited April 2, 2010

Ship Finance International Limited (NYSE: SFL) announces that the Company
has filed its annual report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31,
2009.

The annual report can be downloaded from the Company’s website at
www.shipfinance.org. Shareholders can also request a hard copy of our
complete audited financial statements free of charge upon request by
writing us at:

Ship Finance International Limited
PO Box HM 1593, Par-la-Ville Place
14 Par-la-Ville Road
Hamilton HM 08 Bermuda

or send an e-mail to: ir@shipfinance.no

April 2, 2010

The Board of Directors
Ship Finance International Limited
Hamilton, Bermuda

Contact Persons:

Ole B. Hjertaker: Chief Executive Officer, Ship Finance Management AS
+47 23114011 / +47 90141243

Magnus T. Valeberg: Vice President, Ship Finance Management AS
+47 23114012 / +47 93440960

About Ship Finance

Ship Finance is a major ship owning company listed on the New York Stock
Exchange (NYSE: SFL). Including newbuildings, the Company has a fleet of
68 vessels, including 31 crude oil tankers (VLCC and Suezmax), two
chemical tankers, eight oil/bulk/ore vessels, one dry-bulk carrier, 9
container vessels, six offshore supply vessels, one jack-up drilling rigs
and three ultra- deepwater drilling units. The fleet is one of the
largest in the world and most of the vessels are employed on long-term
charters. The Company has declared a cash dividend for 24 consecutive
quarters.

More information can be found on the Company’s website:
www.shipfinance.org

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Statements

This press release may contain forward looking statements. These
statements are based upon various assumptions, many of which are based,
in turn, upon further assumptions, including Ship Finance management’s
examination of historical operating trends. Although Ship Finance
believes that these assumptions were reasonable when made, because
assumptions are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and
contingencies which are difficult or impossible to predict and are beyond
its control, Ship Finance cannot give assurance that it will achieve or
accomplish these expectations, beliefs or intentions.

Important factors that, in the Company’s view, could cause actual results
to differ materially from those discussed in this presentation include the
strength of world economies and currencies, general market conditions
including fluctuations in charter hire rates and vessel values, changes
in demand in the tanker market as a result of changes in OPEC’s petroleum
production levels and world wide oil consumption and storage, changes in
the Company’s operating expenses including bunker prices, dry-docking and
insurance costs, changes in governmental rules and regulations or actions
taken by regulatory authorities, potential liability from pending or
future litigation, general domestic and international political.

[HUG#1400502] SFL – 2009 Annual Report:

http://hugin.info/134876/R/1400502/355834.pdf

Copyright 2010, Market Wire, All rights reserved.

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Ukraine hopes to have new programme with IMF in May

April 3, 2010 By Leave a Comment

KIEV, April 2 (Reuters) – Ukraine hopes to have a new programme with the International Monetary Fund in May, Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said on Friday.

“A memorandum will be prepared in April and then will be signed. After that the board of directors meeting on a new programme will take place. We expect that in May we will resume the cooperation with IMF,” Azarov told reporters.

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Update: Aerius Phones to Be Sold in EU

April 3, 2010 By Leave a Comment

LAS VEGAS, NV, Apr 02 (MARKET WIRE) —
Aerius International (PINKSHEETS: AERS) — Agreement to manufacture cell
phones equipped with Aerius green technology in Shenzhen, China where
Apple iPhones are made, has been reached said Bill Luxon, Aerius
International Inc., CEO.

Aerius won a 2009 Frost & Sullivan Green Technologies Award in wireless
technologies based on its ability to increase battery life 66%, reduce
dropped calls 60%, and virtually eliminate handset power loss into users.

Carrier and Independent lab reports on performance of Aerius equipped
phones appear on the Aerius website, www.goaerius.com, said Chuck
Closterman, Aerius VP International Sales.

Based on buyer forecasts at Amazon.com and other retailers, sales of
Aerius equipped phones in the EU in 2010 could exceed 200,000 phones,
producing over $12 million in gross revenue for Aerius, said Luxon.

Contact:
Aerius International
Bill Luxon
Tel: 866-412-9800
Fax: 866-412-5300
Email Contact

Copyright 2010, Market Wire, All rights reserved.

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Terrorism a by-product of Pak’s past mistakes: Zardari

September 19, 2009 By Leave a Comment

London, Sep. 19 (ANI): President Asif Ali Zardari has revealed that extremism was a by-product of Pakistan’s past mistakes and was deliberately created during the 1980s.

He said the employment of a liberal policy encouraged religious fanaticism and achieved of certain strategic objectives of terror perpetrators.

“What we are witnessing today is the outcome of that policy of the 80′s and even earlier.The policy of using religious extremism as an instrument of war. We in Pakistan have paid a very heavy price for this policy,” The News quoted Zardari, as saying.

Addressing a gathering at London’s International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS), Zardari pointed out that militants and militancy were not created in a vacuum; they have been the product of a deliberate policy to fight the rival ideology.

The free world adopted a novel strategy that was based on the exploitation of religion to motivate Muslims around the world to wage jehad, he added.

Furthermore, Zardari pointed out that the strategy may have worked well but some serious mistakes were also made as the world abandoned Afghanistan in a hurry and no thought was given to its stability after the withdrawal of foreign forces.

“After the retreat of foreign forces, Afghanistan was abandoned and left at the mercy of the warlords and the jehadis…Pakistan has suffered more than others. For decades we had to host and continue to host millions of Afghan refugees,” he said. (ANI)

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Flintoff to coach UAE cricket team for six months

September 19, 2009 By Leave a Comment

London, Sep 18(ANI): England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff will be coaching the United Arab Emirates national team during the period that he recovers from knee surgery.

“A partnership has been agreed with Dubai Sports City to use their gym and facilities as a base for his rehabilitation. In return he will be carrying out some coaching for the UAE national team over the next six months,” The Independent quoted Andrew Chandler, Flintoff’s agent, as saying.

Consistently rated amongst the top international all-rounders in both ODI and Test cricket, Flintoff had announced his retirement from Test cricket at the conclusion of the 2009 Ashes series, but made himself available for future commitments in One Day International and Twenty20 International matches.

Flintoff’s career has also been marred with injuries due to his heavy frame and bowling action. He recently had surgery on his knee, which had been troubling him for long, and last week he had moved to Dubai, where he hopes to open a cricket academy.

“His partnership with Sports City will also help raise the profile of his Dubai academy,” Chandler added. (ANI)

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Despite IAEA findings, Iran sings its old nuke-for-peaceful-purposes tune

September 19, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Tehran, Sep. 18 (ANI): Even as a secret IAEA report revealed that Iran is capable of making a nuclear bomb and is developing a missile system to carry an atomic warhead, Iranian officials have reiterated claims that the Islamic nation’s nuclear program is intended for peaceful purposes.

Fox News quoted Iran’s ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Ali Asghar Soltanieh, as saying that Iran is sincere in wanting to negotiate with the West.

He added that Western countries should “read between the lines” about Iran’s intentions.

Although the prospects of finding anything between the lines were almost nil after the surfacing of the IAEA report, but Soltanieh insisted that discussions with the West would be a “real, new window of opportunity.”

The secret U.N. watchdog report, titled “Possible Military Dimension of Iran’s Nuclear Program,” concludes:

*Iran worked on developing a chamber inside a ballistic missile capable of housing a warhead payload “that is quite likely to be nuclear.”

*Iran engaged in “probable testing” of explosives commonly used to detonate a nuclear warhead – a method known as a “full-scale hemispherical explosively driven shock system.”

*Iran worked on developing a system “for initiating a hemispherical high explosive charge” of the kind used to help spark a nuclear blast.

“Iran has sufficient information to be able to design and produce a workable implosion nuclear device (an atomic bomb) based on HEU (highly enriched uranium) as the fission fuel,” The agency assessed.

On October 1, Iran is scheduled to meet with the U.S. and five other world powers seeking curbs on its atomic activities for the first time in more than a year.

However, Tehran says it is not prepared to discuss its nuclear activities. (ANI)

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Researchers operate biomedical robots from different locations worldwide via Internet

September 19, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, September 18 (ANI): Experts from the University of Washington and SRI International have jointly developed a new software protocol, to standardize the way biomedical robots are managed over the Internet.

Nine research teams from universities and research institutes around the world recently made a successful demonstration of biomedical robots operated from different locations in the U.S., Europe, and Asia with the help of the ‘Interoperable Telesurgical Protocol’.

In a 24-hour period, each participating group connected over the Internet, and controlled robots at different locations.

The tests performed demonstrated how a wide variety of robot and controller designs can seamlessly interoperate, allowing researchers to work together easily and more efficiently.

The demonstration also evaluated the feasibility of robotic manipulation from multiple sites, and was conducted to measure time and performance for evaluating laparoscopic surgical skills.

“Although many telemanipulation systems have common features, there is currently no accepted protocol for connecting these systems. We hope this new protocol serves as a starting point for the discussion and development of a robust and practical Internet-type standard that supports the interoperability of future robotic systems,” said SRI’s Tom Low.

The protocol is expected to allow engineers and designers that usually develop technologies independently, to work collaboratively, determine which designs work best, encourage widespread adoption of the new communications protocol, and help robotics research to evolve more rapidly.

Its early adoption may encourage robotic systems to be developed with interoperability in mind, and avoid future incompatibilities.

“We’re very pleased with the success of the event in which almost all of the possible connections between operator stations and remote robots were successful. We were particularly excited that novel elements such as a simulated robot and an exoskeleton controller worked smoothly with the other remote manipulation systems,” said Professor Blake Hannaford of the University of Washington. (ANI)

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Megan Fox tired of fame, sexiness

September 17, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, Sep 17 (ANI): It seem that Megan Fox is tired of her fame and sexiness, for she doesn’t want to let people know more about herself.

The 23-year-old actress is currently promoting new film ‘Jennifer’s Body’ at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Although the ‘Transformers’ star never complains about being the hottest female star in Hollywood, she does seem a little tired of all the attention she is getting.

Asked whether playing a high-schooler made her nostalgic for her own high school days, Fox dodged the question saying that she’d instead like to “go back to a time where I didn’t have any responsibility.”

In fact, she seemed wary of the exposure she has had recently.

“I feel like I cling to my privacy and I don’t need to expose myself further to people,” Fox News quoted her as saying. (ANI)

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Passport refused to footballer due tohis father’s link with militants

September 17, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Srinagar, Sep 16 (ANI): The regional passport authorities of Jammu and Kashmir have denied passport to a Kashmiri youth, sighting the reason of his father’s involvement with militants in the valley.

A Nineteen-year -old youth, Basharat Bashir, was all set to fly to Spain for the soccer training, but the news of denial of passport has crushed his dreams.

“They were (passport authorities) only telling me that your case has not been recommended by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and FRO from police. I know they have denied me to give the passport because my father was a militant,” said Ahmad.

Bashir was among the 11 players selected by International Sports Academy Trust (ISAT) for training in Spain, but was dropped at the last moment because of non availablitiy of passport.

When contacted, the passport office authorities refused to talk about it.

Former Indian football captain Abdul Majeed Kakroo said it was injustice to Bashir and demanded the intervention of state Chief Minister Omar Abdullah in the matter.

“His father was into wrong things but now he has improved. Now, why should his son suffer for that? Why should he be denied the passport, and hurdles put in his way? On behalf of all the football players I would request the chief minister to help him,” Kakroo said.

Bashir also said that he was a year-and-a-half old when his father was arrested and was later released.

“He had become militant even before my birth,” Bashir said. By Parvez Butt (ANI)

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Action plan to phase out consumption of HCFC is on track: Ramesh

September 17, 2009 By Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Sep 16 (ANI): Union Environment and Forest Minister Jairam Ramesh said on Wednesday that India has developed a comprehensive Road Map and Action Plan to phase-out of production and consumption of Hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) in various sectors.

Addressing the gathering during the 15th International Ozone Day here Ramesh said: “The Government of India has taken a number of policy measures, fiscal and regulatory, to encourage the early adoption of alternative technologies in this area by existing and new enterprises.”

Ramesh hailed the Montreal Protocol as the most successful international treaty to ever achieve universal participation.

“At a time when the world is trying to solve the problem of climate change, the International Ozone Day provided a timely reminder of how international cooperation can help to solve major global environmental problems,” Ramesh added.

India is one of the first developing countries to join the Montreal Protocol and pledge its commitment to protect the Ozone Layer.

As a part of the accelerated phase-out of CFCs, India has completely phased out the production and consumption of CFCs as on 1 August 2008, 17 months prior to the agreed schedule.

Ramesh informed that over 97percent of controlled Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS) have been phased out by the Montreal Protocol.

“The end of 2009 will mark another significant milestone in the history of its implementation, with the use of potent ODSs -CFCs, Carbon Tetra Chloride (CTC) and Halons, except pharmaceutical-grade CFCs used in the manufacture of Metered Dose Inhalers (MDIs) – being ceased completely,” he said

The CFCs required for manufacturing for MDIs used by Asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) patients are still available in India, a national transition strategy to phase them out by 2013 is currently under implementation.

“The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), with support from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the World Bank recently also launched the India: Chiller Energy Efficiency Project to accelerate the conversion of CFC-based chillers using new, more energy efficient technologies,” Ramesh said.

This year’s theme for the ozone day was ‘Universal participation – Ozone protection unifies the World.’ (ANI)

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Pakistan’s rocket-shelling plunges market price of land beyond border

September 17, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Chak Allah Bakhash (Punjab), Sept. 15 (ANI): The prices of farming land have plunged following past week’s rocket-shelling incident in the India-Pakistan border villages.

Local farmers say that it was already quite tough to find buyers for the land situated beyond fencing and the latest rocket-shelling incident has caused the prices to drop further.

Fenced from three sides, Village Chak Allah Bakhash at the International border has nearly 150 acres of land beyond fencing.

Balwinder Kaur, one of the natives in village Chak Allah Bakhash, said that it was already difficult for her to meet the daily expenditure.

Sucha Singh, another villager, said: “My family owns a piece of land across fencing and has been facing many difficulties while cultivating the land at the border. There are no takers for our land.”

Nearly 553 km long barbed fencing of the Punjab border along side Pakistan resulted in thousands of acres of land being left beyond fencing.

The price of the land spread before fencing line is nearly three times higher than the vast land spread beyond the fencing.

An acre of land, located before fencing, is available for approximately 600,000 to 10,00,000 rupees whereas more fertile land, located beyond the fencing, is worth about 200,000 to 300,000 rupees per acre.

Mandatory frisking by security men at the border gates of the fence and restricted working hours and few objections could be some of the reasons for a lesser price of land beyond fencing.

The farmers are worried that it would be difficult to find buyers for their lands. By Ravinder Singh Robin (ANI)

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Glowing light show in American sky was actually astronaut pee

September 17, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Melbourne, Sep 16 (ANI): The trail of light that sparkled through the American sky on Wednesday night was not a unique celestial show, but was actually astronaut piss.

While skygazers marvelled at the beauty of the glowing trail, astronauts aboard the space shuttle Discovery were merely dumping water and urine out into space in preparation for a landing attempt on Thursday.

Although the astronauts had to postpone their landing due to poor weather, but the Discovery safely landed in California on Friday, reports the Courier Mail.

NASA spokeswoman Kylie Clem said that the light show was due to an unusually large amount of water (about 150 pounds) being dumped all at once.

Discovery had just undocked from the International Space Station the day before, and had not been able to unload wastewater during the 10-day visit. (ANI)

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WII to host global deer conservation meet in Srinagar next month

September 17, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Srinagar, Sep 16 (ANI): The Wildlife Institute of India (WII) is hosting a five day global meeting of the deer experts here-from October 9 to discuss conservation plans for the Hangul, which is also known as Kashmir Stag.

The meeting is also expected to chalk out a long-term effective management plan for the conservation of Hangul habitat.

Hangul is one of the endangered species of the world and has been listed in the Red Data Book of International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

According to WII Director P.R. Sharma the experts would share their knowledge in the management and conservation of endangered deer species in general and Red deer and its subspecies such as Hangul in particular in the meeting.

Conservationists from Russia, East Tibet, Middle East, Afghanistan and China will deliberate on issues threatening the existence of the species and formulate strategies, take effective relocation and recovery plan at the meet.

The conference would help the Indian conservationists to enhance and updating scientific knowledge on globally successful species recovery, conservation programmes and aspects of deer ecology, Sinha said.

That the meet is being held in Srinagar itself mirrors the government’s concern to urgently save the Hangul, one of the four easternmost subspecies of Red deer that is endemic to Kashmir mountains in Jammu and Kashmir.

The population the Hangul, which is one of the four easternmost subspecies of Red deer, has declined from an estimated 2000 individuals in 1947 to about 170-200 individuals in recent years, due to poaching, excessive grazing of livestock, forest fires.

Deer are important part of woodland ecosystems and their effects are vital to the survival of plants and animals that depend on open woodlands. Their low numbers and restricted range is of great ecological concern amongst the conservationists throughout the world. (ANI)

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Gender row runner Semenya shattered by her predicament

September 17, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Johannesburg, Sep.16 (ANI): Sex test runner Caster Semenya is “completely shattered” by claims she is half male, her spokeswoman said.

The 800m world champion has shut herself away at her university amid claims that International Association of Athletics Federations gender tests proved she had internal testes and no womb, reports The Mirror.

Athletics South Africa official Phiwe Mlangeni-Tsholetsane said she was struggling to come to terms with being humiliated on a global scale and has been placed on suicide watch.

She said: “Caster is completely shattered by all that has been said about her.

“She gets all the newspapers and reads them thoroughly. She has cable TV in her bedroom so there is no escape from all of this.”

The saga began four weeks ago at the World Athletics Championships in Berlin when the South African’s masculine looks and superb performances sparked talk that she might be male. (ANI)

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New air filter system can destroy up to 99.9 per cent of bugs on aircraft

September 17, 2009 By Leave a Comment

London, September 16 (ANI): British researchers have developed an air filter system that destroys up to 99.9 per cent of infectious viruses and bacteria as well as pollutants that can circulate in the confines of an aircraft, especially on long-haul flights.

According to a report in The Times, the machine has been developed by aerospace giant BAE Systems, in collaboration with Quest International, a small company based in Cheadle, South Manchester, UK.

The device, called AirManager, uses a controlled electric field to filter out and destroy any airborne particles or germs as they pass through an aircraft’s air conditioning system, emitting only clean, sterilized air.

After four years of development and tests, BAE says it has received its first orders from a major European airline and announced the technology is also being considered for use in NHS hospitals as a way to stop the spread of “superbugs” such as MRSA and Clostridium difficile.

The air on board a passenger jet must be pressurized in order for passengers to be able to breathe, but scientists and lobby groups have previously claimed that passengers can be exposed to toxins as a result of the “bleed air” system that is used to redirect air from the engines to the cabin and cockpit.

Air inside the cabin is then circulated and re-circulated up to 30 times an hour, far more than in conventional air conditioning systems, meaning that infectious viruses and bacteria can quickly spread.

Unlike conventional filters, which are designed to sieve out particles from the air as it passes through perforated barriers at high speed, David Hallam, an engineer and founder of Quest International, said that the AirManager used an “avalanche of electrons” emitted in a closed electric field to break down and destroy the atomic structure of any pollutants or germs.

“This works with swine flu, avian flu, norovirus, MRSA, even a modified form of anthrax,” Hallam said.

Hallam said that he originally designed the “close coupled field” in the late 1990s to rid nursing homes of biological odours caused by bacteria.

But, the filter was later found to have an effect in reducing the airborne transmission of bacteria such as MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) and Clostridium difficile.

BAE Systems expressed interest in the technology four years ago for use on aircraft and the system was recently tested on the flight deck and cabin air systems of Boeing 757 and Avro RJ passenger jets by five European airlines, with successful results. (ANI)

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