UPDATE 1-Hilton Food sees progress in H2 on volume growth

July 23, 2010 By Leave a Comment

(Reuters) – Meat-packaging firm Hilton Food Group Plc (HFG.L) said on Thursday it continued growing volumes in the first half and that it would make further progress in the second half.

The company, which caters to international food retailers like Tesco (TSCO.L) and Ahold (AHLN.AS), said trading for the 28 weeks ended July 18 was in line with its expectations, driven by volume growth across both Western and Central Europe.

Hilton Food also said raw material pricing remained relatively stable across most of its markets.

The company said it remained on schedule to start production at its new facility in Denmark in the second quarter of 2011.

“We will continue looking to grow our business with our existing customers and also by exploring geographic expansion prospects,” Hilton Food said in a statement.

Shares in the company closed at 250 pence on Wednesday on the London Stock Exchange. (Reporting by Tresa Sherin Morera in Bangalore; Editing by Unnikrishnan Nair)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Rio Q2 iron ore output dips 2 pct, warns on China

July 15, 2010 By Leave a Comment

July 14 (Reuters) – Global diversified miner Rio Tinto (RIO.AX) (RIO.L) on Wednesday reported a 2 percent fall in second-quarter iron ore production from a year earlier and raised concern about a possible double-dip recession in OECD countries and a slight slowdown in Chinese growth.

Rio Tinto, the world no.2 producer of the steel making raw material, also said it was running its iron ore mines close to capacity and forecast total 2010 production of 234 million tonnes.

For a table on second-quarter production: [ID:nSGE66C0JC] (Reporting by James Regan; Editing by Ed Davies)

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Silver foil making artisans battle for survival amidst diminishing profits

June 6, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Jaipur, June 6 (ANI): The silver-foil making artisans of Jaipur are facing an unprecedented lean period and there seems to be no end in sight.

The famous ‘Vark’ makers of the Pink City have been registering poor collections because the price of their craftsmanship remains stagnant while that of its raw-material, silver, keeps fluctuating and has skyrocketed in the past few months.

“When the rate of silver goes high, then we face problems …the wage decreases…because the rate of silver may go up whereas the labourers” wages are fixed and the income decreases,” said Attah-Ullah Padal, owner of a silver foil making unit.

Silver prices in Jaipur almost touched rupees 30000 (640 US dollars) for a kilogram as compared to rupees 25000 (around 534 US dollars) over the past couple of months.

Ayurdvedic and Unani preparations also contain ‘Vark’ as it is believed that the silver possesses healing properties.

“There are many pharmaceutical companies such as Charak, Baidyanath, and other so many companies where the silver foil is used for medicinal purposes and foil from Jaipur is supplied to these companies,” said Gulam Ali Khan, supplier.

The popular ‘Vark’ has its biggest consumer base in the states of Maharashtra and Gujarat.

The 2,500 ‘Vark’ making artisans live in a colony named Pannighar first set up by Maharaja Jai Singh who ruled Jaipur around three centuries ago. (ANI)

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New Company Formed to Recycle Post Consumer and Post Industrial PLA

April 16, 2010 By Leave a Comment

EAU CLAIRE, Wis.–(Business Wire)–
Plarco, Inc. is the first company in the United States dedicated exclusively to
recycling post consumer and post industrial Polylactic acid (PLA) back into
lactic acid – PLA`s fundamental building block. PLA is the most widely applied
resin and fiber among a new generation of polymers made from plants, not oil.

Plarco has contracted with supplier BioCor (www.biocor.org), which purchases and
resells scrap PLA, to be BioCor`s exclusive recycler of post consumer and post
industrial PLA. NatureWorks, www.natureworksllc.com, the world`s leading
producer of PLA under the firm`s Ingeo™ brand name, has entered into an
agreement to purchase all of Plarco`s production of lactic acid. The lactic acid
will be shipped to NatureWorks` Blair, Nebraska, facility, where it will be
polymerized into Ingeo™ biopolymer.

“Plarco`s recycling process will help to create true cradle-to-cradle reuse of
post consumer and post industrial PLA,” said Plarco CEO Charles L. (Chuck)
Terry. “Our contractual relationships with both BioCor and NatureWorks and the
trend toward greater use of biopolymers bode well for Plarco`s sustained
business growth.”

Today, Plarco is effectively converting specific types of PLA waste into lactic
acid suitable for production of virgin PLA resin, and in the near future will be
accepting all kinds of PLA Waste. Plarco is located at the WRR Environmental
Services and EnviroGreen Solutions facility in Eau Claire. Belgium-based
Galactic, a world scale producer of lactic acid, and EnviroGreen are
stockholders in the new venture.

“The supply chain in which BioCor locates and aggregates post consumer and post
industrial PLA scrap, Plarco processes the scrap back to lactic acid, and
NatureWorks utilizes reclaimed lactic acid as a cost effective raw material in
its polymer process demonstrates the versatility and sustainability of PLA in
terms of end-of-life options,” said Mike Centers, BioCor executive director.
“Plarco`s unique business model and cutting-edge recovery processes are
essential to making cradle-to-cradle reuse of post consumer and post industrial
PLA in North America a reality.”

Ingeo and the Ingeo logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of NatureWorks
LLC in the USA and other countries.

Plarco, Inc.
Media Contact:
Charles L. (Chuck) Terry, 715-599-1920
Email: cterry@plarco.com

Copyright Business Wire 2010

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POSCO says to raise stainless steel prices for April

April 6, 2010 By Leave a Comment

SEOUL, April 5 (Reuters) – South Korea’s POSCO (005490.KS), the world’s No. 4 steelmaker, said on Monday it had raised prices of stainless steel products for a third straight month on rising raw material costs and to match global competitors.

Basic Materials

It said in a statement that April prices of hot-rolled stainless steel products rose 9.2 percent to 3.55 million won ($3,162) a tonne, and cold-rolled product prices were increased by 300,000 won to 3.82 million won a tonne.

“Global stainless steel prices have risen 20 percent from the beginning of this year, along with increasing raw material prices,” the POSCO statement said.

Prices of nickel MNI3, a key ingredient in stainless steel, on the London Metal Exchange are hovering at around $25,000 a tonne, a level more than double in the past year as the global economic recovery spurred demand.

POSCO in January said it would raise prices of its stainless steel products for February’s release by up to 3.3 percent for the first time since last September. The mill in February raised the metal prices by up to 3.2 percent for March. [ID:nTOE60R04Y] [ID:nTOE61O07L] ($1=1122.8 Won) (Reporting by Cho Mee-young; Editing by Ed Lane)

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Gushan Environmental Energy Limited Announces Date of Fourth Quarter 2009 and 2009 Annual Results Release and Conference Call with Investors

March 5, 2010 By Leave a Comment

NEW YORK, March 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Gushan Environmental Energy
Limited (“Gushan” or the “Company”; NYSE: GU) announces that it will submit
its unaudited results for the fourth quarter and the full year of 2009 on Form
6-K to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday, March 10,
2010, to be followed by a conference call on the same day at 8:30 a.m.
Eastern
Standard Time (9:30 p.m. Hong Kong Time) to discuss the Company’s fourth
quarter and annual financial results ended December 31, 2009.

To join the conference call, please use the dial-in details below:

US Toll Free Number 1.800.638.5495
US Toll Number: (for international callers) 1.617.614.3946
Hong Kong Toll Number 852 3002 1672
Hong Kong Toll Free Number 800 96 3844
China Toll Free Number 10 800 130 0399
UK Toll Free Number 00 800 280 02002
UK Toll Number (for international callers) 44 207 365 8426
Passcode: 74823868

An audio webcast will also be available at http://www.chinagushan.com

A replay of the call will be available on the same day at 10:30 a.m.
Eastern Standard Time (or 11:30 p.m. Hong Kong Time) until March 17, 2010.
To
listen to the replay, please use the dial in details below:

US Toll Free Number: 1.888.286.8010
US Toll Number: (for international callers) 1.617.801.6888
Passcode: 91954088

About Gushan Environmental Energy Limited

Gushan is a leader in the PRC biodiesel industry, in terms of annual
production capacity, and one of the leading biodiesel producers in Asia, in
terms of nominal capacity. The Company produces biodiesel, a renewable, clean-
burning and biodegradable fuel and a raw material used to produce chemical
products, primarily from vegetable oil offal and used cooking oil, and by-
products from biodiesel production, including glycerine, plant asphalt, erucic
acid and erucic amide. Gushan sells biodiesel directly to users, such as
marine vessel operators and chemical factories, as well as to petroleum
wholesalers and individual retail gas stations. The Company has seven
production facilities, located in the Sichuan, Hebei, Fujian and Hunan
provinces and Beijing, Shanghai and Chongqing, with a combined annual
production capacity of 450,000 tons. The Company’s Sichuan, Hebei, Beijing
and
Shanghai production facilities are currently in operation.

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning
of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as
“will,” “may,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “aim,” “target,” “intend,” “plan,”
“believe,” “estimate,” “potential,” “continue,” and other similar statements.
Statements other than statements of historical facts in this announcement are
forward-looking statements, including but not limited to, our expectations
regarding the expansion of our production capacities, our future business
development, and our beliefs regarding our production output. These forward-
looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties and are
based on current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections about
the Company and the industry. Important risks and uncertainties that could
cause the Company’s actual results to be materially different from
expectations include but are not limited to the effect of any applicable
government policy, law or regulation, of natural disasters, and of
intensifying competition in the biodiesel and alternative energy industries,
the availability of suitable raw materials to the Company, and the risks set
forth in the Company’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission, including on Form 20-F, as amended. The Company undertakes no
obligation to update forward-looking statements, except as may be required by
law. Although the Company believes that the expectations expressed in these
forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot assure you that its
expectations will turn out to be correct, and investors are cautioned that
actual results may differ materially from the anticipated results.

SOURCE Gushan Environmental Energy Limited

US: Elizabeth Cheek, Hill & Knowlton (New York), +1-212-885- 0682,
Elizabeth.cheek@hillandknowlton.com, or Asia: Rico Ngai, Hill & Knowlton (Hong
Kong), +852-2894-6204, Rico.ngai@hillandknowlton.com.hk

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Actio and Atrion Introduce REACHtracker(TM) 2.0 for Supply Chain Communication and REACH Compliance

March 2, 2010 By Leave a Comment

PORTSMOUTH, NH and MONTREAL, Mar 01 (MARKET WIRE) —
Actio Corporation and Atrion International today announced the
availability of REACHtracker(TM) 2.0, a SaaS solution for automating and
managing supply chain communication and substance information collection
processes for compliance under Europe’s REACH legislation.
REACHtracker(TM) 2.0 provides a holistic substance view that integrates
the relationships between finished products, raw materials and individual
substances. The solution also provides enhanced communications features
for upstream and downstream supply chain communications and customized
visual reporting tools that alert organizations if any of their finished
goods, raw materials, or substances are not in compliance so that they
can take action to mitigate their risk.

New features include:

– Bill of Materials (BOM)-level data management
– Automation and tracking data collection from suppliers and customers
– Advanced alerts when a supplier has added, changed, or reviewed any data
or when inventory is approaching and exceeding substance volume limits
– Enhanced visual reporting features that enable organizations to see
changes and threshold levels at-a-glance
– Enhanced downstream communication tools for collecting usage data
– Improved account access and data security through VeriSign’s Secure
Socket Layer (SSL) technology

“REACH has driven raw material transparency requirements to an
unprecedented level of market and regulatory attention,” said Russell
McCann, President and CEO of Actio. “Material transparency regarding
product and packaging composition, downstream use, and processes must
exist in order for companies to manage change, reduce brand risk, and
keep adequate business intelligence about a supply chain.
Chemical-specific, multi-dimensional regulations and product labeling
requirements demand substance-level disclosure from both upstream and
downstream. REACHtracker(TM) provides this level of supply chain
transparency.”

“Because REACH is a substance-based legislation, organizations must now
be aware of the REACH registration status of all substances present in
raw materials, including substances that are manufactured further
upstream in the supply chain,” said Frank Arcadi, VP Product Strategy &
Direction from Atrion “In addition, they also must be aware of who has
purchased their products so that information and safety precautions
regarding hazardous materials may be passed on. This is why automating
supply chain communication is so important.”

REACHtracker(TM) 2.0 is available today. To learn more visit
www.reachtracker.com.

About Actio Corporation
Since 1996, Actio Corporation has been helping
companies and their supply chain networks to cost-effectively manage the
complexities surrounding environmental compliance and the exchange of
parts, substances and chemicals along the global manufacturing supply
chain. Actio’s supply chain materials information management solutions
are delivered as SaaS and encourage Six Sigma or a “best practices”
approach for analyzing and managing parts, substance and chemical
information in today’s complex regulatory environment. Actio solutions
track raw material and part composition for compliance with global
regulations including: REACH, RoHS, WEEE. For more information please
visit Actio Corporation at www.actio.net. Review current information in
the Actio Press Room.

About Atrion International
Atrion International Inc., founded in 1989,
delivers the most reliable, product compliance solutions for both process
and discrete manufacturers. By integrating the largest set of managed
regulatory content into a prepackaged automated solution and connecting
to key ERP systems, Atrion’s Product Compliance Solution ensures that
products will reach customers with minimal risks to brand image and
shareholder value. Atrion International is headquartered in Montreal,
Quebec, Canada with offices in the United States and Europe. For more
information about Atrion International, visit http://www.atrionintl.com.
Or you can subscribe to Atrion’s RSS Feeds.

PR Contact:
Lisa Allocca
Red Javelin Communications
+1 (978) 470-2227
Email Contact

Actio Corp. Contact:
Kathleen Hurley
Director, PR / Communications
(603) 433-2300, ext. 350
Email Contact

Atrion Intl. Contact:
Donna Zamiska
Marketing & Communication Manager
(514) 337-2114, ext. 226
Email Contact

Copyright 2010, Market Wire, All rights reserved.

-0-

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Demand growth for steel to cross 10 percent soon: Steel Secretary

August 25, 2009 By Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Aug 25(ANI): Steel Secretary P R Rastogi on Tuesday said that the growth in steel demand in the country would soon cross 10 percent, as soon as the effects of global economic slowdown would be over.

Rastogi said this while addressing the third meeting of the Inter-Ministerial Group on Steel in the national capital.

He informed that the consumption grew by 8.9 percent in July and production grew by 5.9 percent and during April to July 2009, production grew by 3.8 percent while consumption grew by 5.8 percent.

Emphasizing the need for raw material security, Rastogi said: “Government has so far allocated 12 coking coal and 51 non-coking coal blocks, thereby ensuring 2700 million tonnes and 7000 million tonnes of non-coking coal for captive use by the steel industry.”

He urged the industry to expedite the opening of coal reserves concurrent with commissioning of their steel production unit.

“The Union Cabinet has recently approved the rehabilitation programme of Jharia coal fields, where nearly 12 billion tonnes of coking coal reserve is available,” Rastogi said

Rastogi also urged steel producers to give their feedback on the draft of National Mineral Policy circulated by the Ministry of Mines and said that the priority allocation of mines for the steel producers and value adders should remain an important criterion in the new Act. (ANI)

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Ahmedabad hooch death toll rises to 65

July 10, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Ahmedabad, July 9 (ANI): With the death of 17 more people, the death toll following the consumption of spurious liquor in Ahmedabad rose to 65 on Thursday.

According to police, 17 more people died during treatment at various hospitals. Several are still undergoing treatment. he new cases were reported from Odhav and Amaraiwadi during the last 24 hours.

Meanwhile, police has detained one suspected bootlegger Harishankar Kahar alias Hariom, who allegedly supplied spurious liquor in the Majoor Gam and Odhav areas where most of the deaths have occurred.

Earlier, the two ACP and four Police inspectors were suspended and transferred in this connection.

Gujarat Home Minister Amit Shah said that a probe has been called for.

“As far as action taken on authorities is concerned, we have suspended two Deputy Superintendents of Police and four police Inspectors. And senior officers are keeping an eye in all the hospitals where treatment of patients is going on,” said Shah.

The Gujarat Government has also announced that a commission headed by a retired High Court judge will probe the incident and the investigations have been handed over to the city crime branch.

Earlier, Ahmedabad had witnessed angry protests by people in the Majoor Gam area where some people fell ill after consuming spurious liquor during a party on Sunday night.

After conducting raids in various areas of the state Capital, police recovered large quantity of raw material used in preparation of the illicit liquor, containers and bottles. (ANI)

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2 inspectors, DySP suspended following Gujarat hooch tragedy

July 8, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Ahmedabad, July 8 (ANI): In connection with the recent hooch tragedy that claimed 25 lives in Gujarat, two police inspectors were suspended today, while a DySP-rank officer was shifted.

“Two police inspectors of Kagdapith police station have been suspended and the process of suspension of a DySP is on,” Gujarat Minister of State for Home Amit Shah told the state Assembly.

According to police sources, suspended police inspectors were R G Patel and A A Pathan, while G L Khunti was the DySP officer being transferred.

So far, police have not arrested anyone in the spurious liquor case.

The Gujarat government has also announced that a commission headed by a retired high court judge will probe the incident and the investigations have been handed over to the city crime branch.

The tragedy also had its echo in the state Assembly where the Opposition criticised the government and shouted slogans, which saw 14 Congress MLAs being suspended for the day.

Earlier, Ahmedabad had witnessed angry protests by people in the Majoor Gam area where some people fell ill after consuming spurious liquor during a party on Sunday night.

After conducting raids in various areas of the state Capital, police recovered large quantity of raw material used in preparation of the illicit liquor, containers and bottles. (ANI)

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Uttarakhand forest researchers develop a fast growing eucalyptus

July 1, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Haldwani (Uttarakhand), July 1 (ANI): Forest researchers and scientists at the Forest Research Institute of Haldwani in Uttarakhand have developed a fast growing variety of Eucalyptus.

Developed after extensive research of 10 years, this variety grows faster than the normal Eucalyptus plant.

The new variety is based on Brazilian cloning model. Experts choose the best productive plant as mother plant, which would be further cut into small pieces for developing plant shoots.

The main advantage of this variety is that it develops in a very limited time period.

“The most vital thing regarding this clone variety is that it develops in a very short span of time…the other thing is that the plant contains all the genetic characteristics of its mother plant…since we choose the best tree for cloning and CPT (carnitine palmitoyltransferase) so all properties will be inherited to the cloned plant. Sufficient development take place in 10-12 years in normal variety whereas this clonal variety will be ready in 5 to 6 years,” M. S. Bisht, a forest scientist at the Forest Research Institute, Haldwani.

Experts feel that this newly developed Eucalyptus variety would provide additional income to the farmers.

Besides, these plants would also be used in the afforestation and providing raw material to the paper mills and other industries. By Vipul Goel (ANI)

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Soon, bulletproof vests made of cement

June 30, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, June 30(ANI): A new type of body armour made from cement is being developed by engineers at the University of Leeds.

The boffins are combining super-strong cement with recycled carbon fibre materials to make a material tough enough to withstand most types of bullets.

Dr Philip Purnell, who is leading the team at the School of Civil Engineering in the University, said: “By using cement instead of alumina we are confident we can deliver a cost-effective level of protection for many people at risk. It should be good enough for people like security guards, reporters and aid workers who are worried about the odd pot shot being taken at them.

“The fact is many of the armoured vests sold today are over-engineered for the threats they face. Cement based body armour would not only create a whole new market but it would also take some of the pressure off the demand for hi-spec alumina models so that people like soldiers, who really need this kit, can get it.”

Till date, hi-spec body armour is constructed with alumina plates the raw material used to make aluminium – which is heated to 1600 degrees Celsius for up to two weeks in a process called ‘sintering’ making them ultra hard.

Enhanced combat body armour (ECBA) as supplied to UK troops uses sintered alumina plates.

However, in the past UK and US soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan have faced shortages of ECBA as production has struggled to keep up with soaring global demand.

Leeds engineers call the project ‘Cementing the future’ and also suggest putting the material to use in pump-less fridges, a new type of catalytic converter, and improved bone replacements. (ANI)

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Virbhadra Singh assumes charge of Steel Ministry

May 29, 2009 By Leave a Comment

New Delhi, May 29 (ANI): Minister for Steel Virbhadra Singh assumed charge here on Friday.

He was welcomed by Steel Secretary P.K.Rastogi and other senior officers.

Talking to reporters after taking charge, he said that one of his key priorities would be to ensure that the expansion programmes of the public sector giants the Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) and the Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL) is completed in time in a cost effective fashion.

“While the capacity of SAIL will go up to 26 million tons that of RINL will go up to six million tons after the expansion. Both the expansion programmes will involve an expenditure of over Rs.70, 000 crore,” he said.

He added that steel sector in India and China have recorded positive growth during the first quarter of this calendar year while the global steel production has contracted by 23 per cent during the same period.

“Another focus area will be to bring in a rational, seamless and transparent regime for allocation of raw material resources to existing and prospective steel producers,” he said. He further said, the Ministry of Mines would be requested to undertake consequential amendments to Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act 1957 to bring amendments to force.

“There is a need to restructure some of the smaller steel PSUs and for attempting mergers to capture the benefits of improved synergies. The companies under restructuring/merger mode include the Bird group of companies, the HSCL, the BRL and the SIIL,” he said (ANI)

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Shooting of ‘Total Ten’, film on Mumbai terror attacks underway

April 23, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Mumbai, Apr 23 (ANI): On location shooting of forthcoming Bollywood film ‘Total Ten’ is underway in Mumbai.

The film would star Rajan Verma, who essays the role of Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone terrorist caught alive during the Mumbai terror attack in November 2008.

Produced by Hari Om Sharam, Anand Pandrey and Kumar, Total Ten is budgeted at a meagre Rs. 3 crore and shows the journey of Kasab from Pakistan to the trial court in Mumbai.

The other actors performing the movie are Sudesh Berry, who plays Vijay Salaskar (former Senior Police officer and encounter specialist), Homi Wadia, who plays Hemant Karkare (former Chief of Mumbai anti-terrorist squad), Ashok Kulkarni, who plays Ashok Kamte (former Additional Commissioner of Mumbai police) and Ashish Vidyarthi, who plays Tukaram Ombale (former assistant sub-inspector of Mumbai Police).

All these brave men were killed while fighting the terrorists in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks.

Describing the theme of his movie, Surendar Suri said that Total Ten was a tribute to these Mumbai police officers who paid the ultimate price while fighting for their countrymen.

“The title of the film ‘Total Ten’ if you read then you will come to know that there were only ten Mumbai police officers who got Ashok Chakra (bravery awards) and only those people get Ashok Chakra who have performed some heroic deeds. So this film is my tribute to their bravery,” said Suri.

Rajan Verma said he believes that the movie will give a message to those youngsters who have gone off track but not to trod the path of terrorism.

“This is not a mere film but it’s a message from those terrorists who are churned out of so called terror factories. We don’t have to finish one terrorist but we have to close those terror factories. And these terror factories will stop when the raw material (the youngsters) supplied to them is stopped. Through this film I have to give a message to those youngsters who have gone astray not to become terrorists,” said Verma.

Kasab was one of 10 gunmen who arrived in Mumbai last November via sea route from Pakistan to terrorise the city, killing 166 people. By Shaikh Sharik (ANI)

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UPDATE 1-Australia’s OneSteel chops forecast, raises capital

April 17, 2009 By Leave a Comment

OneSteel cuts FY09 earnings forecast to A$200 mln

* Plans to raise at least A$559 million

* Expects earnings improvement in FY 2010 (Adds detail)

MELBOURNE, April 16 (Reuters) – OneSteel Ltd (OST.AX), Australia’s second-largest steelmaker, cut its year earnings forecast by as much as 47 percent on Thursday in response to weak sales and said it would raise at least A$559 million ($405 million) in equity capital.

The company said it would issue new shares at a price of A$1.80 a share, a 30 percent discount to its last traded price, to strengthen its balance sheet and remove debt refinancing risk until 2011.

The revised earnings guidance reflected significantly lower-than-expected sales and margins in March as the company struggles with tough market conditions at home and abroad. OneSteel said it expected earnings to improve in the 2010 financial year helped by cost reductions, increased production as well as lower raw material and debt financing costs.

“This half has been impacted by a number of factors, and we are well positioned to benefit from even a modest recovery in the economy,” chief executive Geoff Plummer said in a statement.

OneSteel said it now expected its net operating profit after tax for the 2009 financial year to be around A$200 million, compared with a February forecast for earnings in a range of A$325-A$375 million.

Shares in the maker of long steel products, such as bars, pipes and rails, have been on a trading halt since Tuesday. They last traded at A$2.56.

The company said the equity raising would move the balance sheet to the bottom end of its preferred gearing range of 30 to 40 percent.

OneSteel stock has rebounded nearly 50 percent in the past month, recovering after steep losses amid the global financial crisis and subsequent economic slowdown. Its larger rival BlueScope Steel Ltd (BSL.AX) has bounced around 29 percent.

BlueScope earlier this year forecast a loss in the second half of 2009 blaming a marked decline in steel prices and product demand. ($1=A$1.38) (Reporting by Simone Giuliani and Denny Thomas; Editing by James Thornhill)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Guinea aims to cancel alumina refinery sale

April 14, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Guinea’s junta wants to cancel RUSAL refinery sale

* Junta plans to take legal action

(Adds detail, quotes, background)

By Saliou Samb

CONAKRY, April 12 (Reuters) – Guinea’s ruling military junta said on Sunday it planned to challenge in court the 2006 sale of the Friguia alumina refinery to Russian aluminium company RUSAL.

Camara has made a series of threats to mining firms with operations in the world’s biggest bauxite producer, a trend analysts says is destabilising an already fraught business environment for miners.

“We are going to take legal action to cancel the sale of the Friguia plant. A number of technicalities mean we can win this case,” said Captain Moussa Dadis Camara, the head of the junta.

The plant employs more than 1,000 people and has capacity to refine enough raw material bauxite to produce 640,000 tonnes of alumina per year.

Camara made the remarks about the sale during a hearing with various officials involved in the sale.

RUSAL, which had previously operated Friguia under a long-term contract, acquired full control of the plant in 2006.

The deal involved buying 100 percent of the Friguia company from the state, along with the government’s 15 percent stake in the operating company, Alumina Company of Guinea.

A lawyer representing the junta said the initial sale promise made in 2003 had been signed by one of the president’s civil servants, rather than a minister.

“This situation lasted three years before an agreement by two Guinean ministers sold the Friguia assets without going through the privatisation department, which is illegal,” said lawyer Momo Sacko.

“The sale decree provided for an agreement to be signed between the different parties to make the sale definitive. Yet this agreement, which should have been ratified by parliament, was never signed,” said Sacko.

Workers went on strike at the plant at the start of April to demand better salaries but returned to work last Wednesday after personal intervention from Camara.

RUSAL said last week it expected the 2006 purchase of the refinery to be scrutinised by the junta, but that it was fully confident the privatisation deal was legitimate.

Guinea has long had issues over the RUSAL sale. The West African country’s previous government warned RUSAL a year ago it risked losing the alumina factory if it did not successfully renegotiate a share transaction. (Editing by David Clarke and Mike Nesbit)

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Leh women become self-reliant

April 11, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Leh (Jammu and Kashmir), Apr 11 (ANI): Many self-help groups in Choshut village of Leh are working on various social issues to help women become self-sufficient.

Shashi Self-Help Group, one of the oldest self-help groups in the region, had started with only six members and now at present, there are more than 15 women members working in the group.

Shashi self-help group is actively promoting local handicrafts. The group is also conducting workshops and giving training to women of different villages. The group is also promoting local handicrafts at the district level and at the state level.

“We are working for the last five years in this village and we have seen a lot of improvement in the lifestyle of the villagers. Nowadays, we are educating villagers about the health and hygiene. Our self-help group is working with various government agencies to improve our village standards as compared to other villages in the region,” said Amina Khatoon, president of Shashi Self -Help Group.

The group also help women to make decorative home items. These handicraft goods are sold in the Leh market and income earned is later used for the benefit of the society.

The group is finding it difficult to get raw materials for handicrafts, as it is not available in the Ladakh region.

“I learned to make handicraft goods from my friend from south India. I was there for a year and later I joined self-help group in my village. Later, I became an instructor of the group. At present more then 15 women of the group were trained to make handicrafts, from where they can earn some income. Here in Ladakh, we can’t get raw materials for making handicraft goods. We are looking for the alternative source from where we can get raw material here in Leh,” said Zara Bano, Instructor of a self-help group.

The self-help groups are also working on several social issues such as keeping the entire village and schools clean. The groups are also helping government health workers during their visits to the village, such as during pulse polio drive and educating villagers to improve their living standards. (ANI)

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IOL Chemicals to hire 400 new employees this year

April 9, 2009 By Leave a Comment

IOL Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals Limited, a leading organic chemicals manufacturer and supplier, has announced that it will hire around 400 new employees by the end of this year.

The company has an existing workforce of over 900 professionals.

Market experts believe that despite the global economic slowdown, this is a big step by Ludhiana-based IOLCP towards preparing itself to tap global opportunities in the pharmaceutical industry.

According to company officials, the company’s new manpower will primarily take care of the proposed expansion of its manufacturing capacity with an investment worth Rs 216 crore.

The capacity expansion for its various product lines includes; forward integration in chemical division as well as backward integration in pharmaceutical division to produce raw materials for its flagship product Ibuprofen; and increase in cogeneration of power.

Recently, IOLCP has got coveted certifications for exports of its pharmaceutical products, Ibuprofen, to various countries. The company intends to produce 4800 tablets per annum of acetyl chloride, which is a raw material used to manufacture Ibuprofen.

Apart from latest development, the company is also constructing a new captive co-generation plant with additional capacity of 13 MW in addition to the existing cogeneration plant of 4 MW.

The plant is expected to begin working by the end of year 2010 and will generate a total of 17MW of power for exclusive consumption by IOLCP s manufacturing facilities.

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Planets around cool suns have different mix of life-forming chemicals

April 8, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, April 8 (ANI): A new study from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope hints that planets around stars cooler than our Sun might possess a different mix of potentially life-forming, or “prebiotic,” chemicals.

Astronomers used Spitzer to look for a prebiotic chemical, called hydrogen cyanide, in the planet-forming material swirling around different types of stars.

Hydrogen cyanide is a component of adenine, which is a basic element of DNA.

The researchers detected hydrogen cyanide molecules in disks circling yellow stars like our Sun – but found none around cooler and smaller stars, such as the reddish-colored “M-dwarfs” and “brown dwarfs” common throughout the universe.

“Prebiotic chemistry may unfold differently on planets around cool stars,” said Ilaria Pascucci, lead author of the new study from Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland.

Young stars are born inside cocoons of dust and gas, which eventually flatten to disks.

Dust and gas in the disks provide the raw material from which planets form. Scientists think the molecules making up the primordial ooze of life on Earth might have formed in such a disk.

Prebiotic molecules, such as adenine, are thought to have rained down to our young planet via meteorites that crashed on the surface.

“It is plausible that life on Earth was kick-started by a rich supply of molecules delivered from space,” said Pascucci.

But, could the same life-generating steps take place around other stars?

Pascucci and her colleagues addressed this question by examining the planet-forming disks around 17 cool and 44 Sun-like stars using Spitzer’s infrared spectrograph, an instrument that breaks light apart, revealing signatures of chemicals.

The stars are all about one to three million years old, an age when planets are thought to be growing.

The astronomers specifically looked for ratios of hydrogen cyanide to a baseline molecule, acetylene.

They found that the cool stars, both the M-dwarf stars and brown dwarfs, showed no hydrogen cyanide at all, while 30 percent of the Sun-like stars did.

“Perhaps ultraviolet light, which is much stronger around the Sun-like stars, may drive a higher production of the hydrogen cyanide,” said Pascucci.

The team did detect their baseline molecule, acetylene, around the cool stars, demonstrating that the experiment worked.

This is the first time that any kind of molecule has been spotted in the disks around cool stars.

The findings have implications for planets that have recently been discovered around M-dwarf stars. (ANI)

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Toy factory gutted in Gurgaon

April 6, 2009 By Leave a Comment

GURGAON: A major fire broke out in a closed toy factory in Sector 18, Gurgaon on Saturday. The police said property worth lakhs was gutted in the
fire. But the amount could not be ascertained exactly as the owner of the factory was not traced, they said.

According to sources, the fire broke out around 11.30am at Aarushi Enterprises Pvt Ltd, which was closed down around two years back. A few passersby noticed the smoke coming out from the factory and informed the police. Fire brigade rushed 19 fire tenders to the spot, which struggled for over five hours to douse the fire. Locals alleged that first fire tender reached the spot at 12.30pm, around one hour after the fire was reported which caused it to spread to almost entire factory.

According to H C Sihag, fire officer at Sector 29 fire station, such was the impact of fire that almost entire building destroyed in the fire and lakhs of packaged toys made of rubber and plastic as well as raw material gutted. There was no loss of human life as the factory was closed and not even security guards were present there.

Fire officials said reason behind the fire was yet to be ascertained. They ruled out the possibility of short circuit as the building had no electricity connection, but said that some inflammable chemicals and paint could have caused fire. Police said they were also examining possibility of foul play in the mishap.

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