Hear No Evil

Hear No Evil

By Obaida Hamad
Photos Phil Sands & the French Cultural Centre

Hear No Evil

Religious authorities have blocked the performance of a play by one of Syria’s leading literary figures, the first time a cultural performance has been officially censored in response to religious protests.

Touqous al-Isharat wa al-Tahawoulat (Rituals of Signs and Transformations) was scheduled to run for two nights on March 31 and April 1 at the state-run cultural centre in Aleppo, Syria’s second largest city. The final performance was cancelled, however, after local religious authorities objected to its portrayal of Islamic leaders.

Controversial material

Hear No EvilThe play, written 15 years ago by the late Syrian playwright Saadallah Wannous, takes a critical look at political ambition, religious fundamentalism, sexuality, hypocrisy and intellectuals who serve autocratic regimes. Controversially, its central character is an Islamic religious leader who is immoral, corrupt and a womaniser.

It was the first time the play, by one of the Arab world’s leading contemporary playwrights, was performed in the author’s homeland. The text of the play, however, has been available at Syrian bookshops since it was first published in 1994. Rituals of Signs and Transformations has previously been performed in Lebanon, Jordan and Kuwait, although minor modifications were made for the Jordanian and Kuwaiti productions.

The play’s production was sponsored by the French Cultural Centre, the European Union and the Ministry of Culture’s theatre and music department. It was directed by Wisam Arbash, a French director of Syrian origin. The opening performance in Hama and two more shows in Damascus were staged without incident. In Aleppo, however, the second and final performance of the play was cancelled at short notice.

Two Aleppan muftis raised objections about the play’s depiction of Islamic leaders to officials at the city’s governorate and the Ministry of Culture, lobbying to have it cancelled for being blasphemous.

“I didn’t attend the play, but I received many phone calls and people came to my house pushing me as a mufti to stop the play which humiliated Islamic figures,” Sheikh Mahmoud Akkam told Syria Today. “I support freedom of expression, but not freedom that hurts Muslim dignity. For that reason I contacted officials in Aleppo and the Ministry of Culture to sk them to stop showing the play.”

Akkam said the move to cancel the final showing was supported by the wider community in Aleppo. “I represent the view of the Muslim street,” he said. “The decision to stop the play is a wise one and has helped contain an angry reaction.”

Arts community angered

The move by religious figures to intervene in a cultural performance is unusual in Syria and has raised concerns among the country’s arts community and secular intellectuals about the growing power of religion in the country’s cultural life.

“It was a mistake to stop the play,” Taiseer Edress, a well-known actor who starred in the play, said. “I’ve been an actor since 1977 and this is the first time that anything like this has ever happened to me. I’m still angry about it.”

The move to cancel the play’s final performance in Aleppo was all the more surprising, Edress said, given the play’s director had already toned down some of its language after receiving feedback from the Ministry of Culture.

“The Ministry of Culture owes us an explanation,” he said. “The play was cancelled even after we changed the words they wanted. It is not an important issue to change a word such as ‘whore’ into ‘prostitute’.”

Anwar Baddar, a Syrian drama critic at the London-based daily Arabic-language newspaper Al-Quds Al-Arabi, said the play’s cancellation was “a dangerous sign for the future”.

“The surprising thing is that the objections didn’t come from the censorship department or those who are responsible for this kind of matter,” Baddar said. “It’s not the job of a sheikh to monitor the work of the Ministry of Culture. What happened in the case of this play clearly shows that there are unofficial figures interfering and censoring books, plays and soap operas. It’s a dangerous sign for the future.”

Play not banned

Hear No EvilGovernment officials have denied a ban has been put on the play, pointing to the fact that only one of five performances did not go ahead. They say the decision to cancel the final Aleppo performance was based on local considerations, rather than an outright ban.

“The show wasn’t banned, it was stopped because of the reaction of the people,” Ajaj Salim, director of theatre and music at the Ministry of Culture, said. “We can show the play again in other cities in the future and we could show it in Aleppo in the future as well.”

Salim, who attended the first show in Hama, categorically denied that religious authorities in Syria have veto power over cultural productions.

“No mufti has the right to stop any play,” he said. “The mufti concerned conveyed notices and comments from people to the relevant officials. He dealt with the issue in a respectable way and informed officials that many people were not happy.”

Salim said the ministry had consulted with the play’s director in the lead-up to the performance to take into account local sensitivities, given the work’s controversial nature.

“I’m a director and I live here, I’m not coming from France so I advised him [Arbash] because I know what the people here think,” Salim said. “For me it’s more important to present a good play by Saadallah Wannous than it is to provoke a problem.”

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Georgia sees red after Russia vetoes UN monitors

TBILISI, June 16 - Georgia lashed out at Russia on Tuesday for vetoing a resolution to extend UN monitors’ mandate in breakaway Abkhazia, saying Moscow did not want ”witnesses” in the region.

Russia quashed a Western-proposed resolution at the UN Security Council late on Monday designed to buy time to negotiate a long-term plan for the 16-year-old monitoring mission in the Black Sea rebel region.

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Marcos and her gems to be reunited

By Roel Landingin and agencies in Manila

Published: June 15 2009 20:12 | Last updated: June 15 2009 20:12

She was famous for her shoes and lavish lifestyle. Now, 23 years after her husband was deposed as leader of the Philippines, Imelda Marcos may soon be reunited with her jewellery. The Philippine government has urged the return of gems worth more than $310m (€224m), including a Burmese ruby said to be as big as a prune.

The justice department on Monday ordered an anti-corruption agency to resolve claims dating back two decades on several sets of jewellery allegedly belonging to Mrs Marcos and return them to her family if warranted.

Raul Gonzalez, justice secretary, said that the Presidential Commission on Good Government, which aims to recover about $10bn of the allegedly ill-gotten wealth of Ferdinand Marcos, the late dictator, and his family, did not issue a sequestration order when it seized the jewellery in 1986.

“Evidently, Mrs Marcos remains to be the legitimate owner of said prized jewellery,” Mr Gonzalez said in a letter to the commission.

The commission said that it was surprised but would discuss the order on Tuesday.

The collection, which reportedly included a diamond brooch, bracelet and earrings as well as the prune-sized ruby, has been kept in a vault at the Philippines’ central bank since 1990.

Mrs Marcos, who went to court to stop a government attempt to auction the jewellery collection in 2006 arguing that the gems were not acquired illegally using public funds, welcomed Monday’s decision.

“Thank God that after more than 23 years of relentless persecution and deprivation initiated by the Cory Aquino administration in 1986, President Gloria Arroyo’s government has now started efforts for truth and justice to prevail,” she said.

Many of the pieces were meant for religious images, including “tiaras for the Blessed Virgin Mary”, said the former first lady, whose power and extravagance is the theme of a show, Imelda: The New Musical, set to open on Broadway in New York this autumn.

But the justice department order was condemned by human rights advocates as another example of the “unpredictability and instability” of government policies under Mrs Arroyo.

The president is struggling to counter record low popularity ratings amid a widespread perception that she is behind attempts to rewrite the constitution to remain in power after her term ends next year.

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Qatar breaks from high-pressure surge

Published: June 15 2009 18:02 | Last updated: June 15 2009 18:02

In Doha the cranes are whirring and the headhunters are still busy, but Ibrahim Ibrahim, an adviser to the emir, says Qatar is taking a break from headlong growth.

As secretary-general of the general secretariat for development planning, Mr Ibrahim’s job title sounds like that of a Soviet functionary. The Qatari government is engaging in central planning on a heroic scale as it manoeuvres through the global crisis but the economic hand dealt the country is the envy of any red-blooded capitalist.

Qatar has been the fastest growing economy in the Gulf for about a decade. But, as oil prices headed north and gas exports increased, inflation spiralled. So the breather brought about by the financial crisis is generally welcomed by economists.

“There must be a speed limit to anything because if growth is too fast it cannot be met by the capacity of the country. It will cause problems,” Mr Ibrahim says. “I don’t want to say this was a blessing in disguise, but it did reduce the pressure on the economy.”

HSBC says real gross domestic product growth this year is likely to fall below 10 per cent from last year’s 15 per cent, while inflation dropped sharply in the first quarter and will continue to moderate this quarter, averaging less than 5 per cent over the year.

“Qatar will be the fastest growing economy in the region by some margin, but the pace is easing and that offers some real advantages. They don’t have the same time pressures as others in the region,” says Simon Williams, chief economist at HSBC in Dubai.

The scale of the emirate’s real growth will emerge over the next five years. Gas exports, which last year eclipsed oil as the main revenue earner, are due to increase by 135 per cent. Exports of liquefied natural gas are due to double by the end of this year.

The Qatar Investment Authority is set to invest the majority of these revenues abroad, along the lines of a high-profile investment into Barclays, the UK bank, and a potential stake in Porsche, the German car-maker. But, over the past few months, the sovereign wealth fund has taken a more domestic approach.

The lull in international activity has allowed the wealth fund to restructure, reorganising business and moving staff. It has also been instrumental in government attempts to shore up the domestic banks.

As stock markets in the Gulf tanked last year, the QIA said it would buy 10- 20 per cent of local banks’ equity portfolios in a $5bn plan.

The government has similarly intervened in the property sector in the wake of a downturn in which valuations have slumped by more than 30 per cent. The central bank is leading a QR15bn ($4.1bn) plan to take on property portfolios of nine local banks, though the mechanics have yet to be revealed.

“By protecting the real estate market we hope to encourage the banks to lend, as any delay in these projects or any stoppage could be more harmful,” Mr Ibrahim says.

Rents, which have fallen more than 10 per cent, are helping the employment market as companies find housing more reasonable.

Mr Ibrahim says he hopes developers will expand into low-cost housing for the workers needed for the vast process of industrialisation over the coming years.

“I think what we need is development more in lower income housing and not high-income housing,” he says.

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Cayman Islands deal reached

By Vanessa Houlder

Published: June 16 2009 03:00 | Last updated: June 16 2009 03:00

Britain has signed a tax agreement with the Cayman Islands, one of the world's largest hedge fund centres, which has come under pressure during the international crackdown on tax havens and offshore financial centres. The deal is designed to address double taxation and "fiscal evasion".

Stephen Timms, financial secretary to the Treasury, said the agreement was "a significant step" in establishing the jurisdiction's compliance. The territory is required to sign three more agreements promising assistance to foreign tax authorities before it will be removed from the "grey list" of tax havens.

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「独立役員」に親会社・主力行の出身者は認めず　経産省方針

　経済産業省は上場企業に導入を検討している「独立役員」に親会社や主力銀行の出身者を認めない方針だ。経営陣と利害関係がなく、独立性の高い社外取締役または社外監査役を最低１人置くことで、上場企業のコーポレートガバナンス（企業統治）の向上を目指す。今後、東京証券取引所などが詳細を議論して上場規則に盛り込むなど具体策を検討する。

　同省の「企業統治研究会」の最終報告書に盛り込み、17日に発表する。会社法は委員会設置会社には社外取締役、監査役会設置会社には社外監査役の設置を義務付けている。ただ当該企業や子会社の役員・従業員以外なら「社外」と認めており、親会社や主要取引銀行など取引先の出身者が社外役員に就任しているケースも多い。(07:00)

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【足利事件】「本部長謝っているのを見て許す気になった」菅家さん
2009.6.17 12:42
このニュースのトピックス：刑事裁判
１７年半ぶりに故郷を訪れた菅家利和さん（中央）＝１７日午前１０時半すぎ、ＪＲ宇都宮駅１７年半ぶりに故郷を訪れた菅家利和さん（中央）＝１７日午前１０時半すぎ、ＪＲ宇都宮駅

　平成２年の足利事件をめぐり再審請求中に釈放され、栃木県を訪れた菅家利和さん（６２）は１７日、県警本部で石川正一郎本部長から直接謝罪を受けた後、栃木県庁で記者会見し、「本部長が謝っているのを見て考えが変わった。許す気になった」と話した。

　一方で、菅家さんは「誤ったＤＮＡ鑑定を行い、無実の私を１７年半苦しめた科警研の技官らは絶対に許さない。再審で間違いを明らかにしてほしい」と述べた。

　弁護団は、栃木県警の石川本部長が面会の際に「当時の捜査員全員を代表して、自分が悪い」と述べたことを明らかにし、「県警の心からの謝罪は伝わった」と述べた上で、「この問題は県警だけの問題だけない。検察、裁判官らの誤りを明らかにしていく」と述べた。

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Carter says Gaza Palestinians treated like animals
Tue Jun 16, 2009 11:18am EDT

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GAZA, June 16 (Reuters) - Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are being "treated more like animals than human beings", former U.S. president Jimmy Carter said on Tuesday.

On a visit to the enclave, he condemned Israel's January bombardment of Gaza and its continuing trade blockade, which he said forbids even children's toys.

"I understand that even paper and crayons are treated as a security hazard," he told Gazans at a local United Nations office. "I sought an explanation of this when I met with Israeli officials and I received none, because there is no explanation."

Carter, 84, has spent far more years as a human rights activist than he did in the White House from 1977 to 1981. He is easily the most outspoken former U.S. president on the Middle East conflict, and seen by many Israelis as a harsh critic.

He ignored a U.S. government ban on dealings with Gaza's Islamist rulers Hamas and had talks with its leaders.

Israel tightened a blockade on Gaza in 2007 when Hamas took control after routing rival Fatah forces loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas, who favours a peace deal with Israel. In late December, Israeli forces bombed then invaded Gaza, devastating its already battered infrastructure.

Since then, Israel has blocked imports of steel, cement and other goods to the population of 1.5 million Palestinians, saying Hamas could use many items for military purposes.

Carter, a Democrat, said he had seen for himself there had been almost no reconstruction in Gaza over the past five months.

"Never before in history has a large community like this been savaged by bombs and missiles and then been deprived of the means to repair itself," he said.

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【危うい「友愛」外交】（１）米大物が警告した民主の「反米３点セット」 (1/5ページ)
2009.6.16 15:24
このニュースのトピックス：外交

　「民主党が掲げる政策を一度にぶつけたら、米議会や政府は反米とみなすかもしれない。皆さんは注意されたほうがいい」。

　静かな室内に、「反米」という言葉が非常ベルのように響きわたった。昨年１２月１９日朝、東京都心の帝国ホテルの一室で開かれた民主党幹部と米知日派の国防・安全保障専門家の懇談でのことだ。

　民主党側の出席者は、鳩山由紀夫幹事長（当時、以下同）、菅直人代表代行に岡田克也、前原誠司両副代表を加えた４人。米側は民主党系のジョセフ・ナイ元国防次官補、ジョン・ハムレ米戦略国際問題研究所長（元国防副長官）の大物二人に、ブッシュ前共和党政権で対日政策を担当したマイケル・グリーン前国家安全保障会議アジア上級部長、ジム・ケリー元国務次官補も加わった。

　見えない将来像

　鳩山、菅らの顔をみすえるように、「反米警告」の口火を切ったナイは、イエローカードの代わりに三つの具体的問題を挙げた。

　（１）海上自衛隊のインド洋給油支援活動の即時停止（２）日米地位協定の見直し（３）沖縄海兵隊グアム移転と普天間飛行場移設を柱とする在日米軍再編計画の白紙撤回－。

　いずれも、民主党が最新政策集「政策ＩＮＤＥＸ２００８」などを通じて政権公約に掲げてきたものだ。

　「反米とみなされないためには日米協力の全体像（トータル・パッケージ）を描いた上で個別の問題を論じたほうがよい」。出席者によると、ナイはそう強調した。口調は穏やかでも、反米警告に込められた疑問は明白だった。

　それは民主党政権になった場合の日米同盟の将来像がさっぱり見えないということだ。

　菅らは「民主党政権になっても日本の外交安保政策の基軸は、日米関係だ」と説明し、約４５分間の懇談は終わった。だが、それから半年たった今も、米側出席者の一人はこう語る。「民主党が日本の政権に就いて本当に大丈夫か」。

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沖縄密約文書「ない理由示せ」　地裁裁判長、国に要請（1/2ページ）

2009年6月17日5時1分

　７２年の沖縄返還に伴って日米間で交わされたとされる「密約文書」をめぐる情報公開訴訟で、東京地裁の杉原則彦裁判長は１６日、「文書を保有していない」と主張する国側に「その理由を合理的に説明する必要がある」と指摘し、次回までに示すよう求めた。訴えられた国側に積極的な説明責任を求めたもので、異例の訴訟指揮といえる。

　密約をめぐっては、その存在を裏付ける外交文書が米側で公開されているにもかかわらず日本政府は一貫して「密約はない」と否定し続けている。訴訟をきっかけに、国側の姿勢が改めて問われることになりそうだ。

　訴えているのは、作家の澤地久枝さんや立正大講師の桂敬一さんら２５人。昨年９月に情報公開法に基づいて、密約を記した日本側文書の公開を求めたが、国は「保存場所を探索したが、文書を作成、取得した事実は確認できず、廃棄・移管の記録もなかった」などとしたため、今年３月に提訴した。

　この日あった第１回口頭弁論の冒頭で、杉原裁判長は「率直な感じを述べさせていただく」と切り出し、米側に密約文書があるのだから日本側にも同様の文書があるはずとする原告側の主張は「十分理解できる点がある」と発言。原告側が、仮に密約文書そのものを国が保有していないとしても関連文書はあるはずと主張していることについても、「理解できる」とした。

　そのうえで、もし密約そのものが存在しないというのであれば、アメリカの公文書をどう理解すべきなのかについて「被告側が説明することを希望する」と述べた。

　さらに、当時の交渉責任者で、密約があったことをメディアに明らかにしている吉野文六・元外務省アメリカ局長を証人に招くよう原告側に促した。吉野氏は０６年、朝日新聞のインタビューに「当時は、とにかく協定を批准させればそれでいい。あとは野となれ……という気持ちだった。そのために『記憶にない』『そういう事実はない』と言ってきた」と証言した。

　原告の澤地さんは閉廷後の会見で、３７年前に密約を暴いた西山太吉・元毎日新聞記者が国家公務員法違反で有罪とされた件に触れ、「存在しない文書をめぐって西山さんは裁かれたというのか」と話した。

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Iraq war inquiry to be held in secret

By James Blitz, Defence and Diplomatic Editor

Published: June 15 2009 22:50 | Last updated: June 15 2009 22:50

Gordon Brown has said the long-awaited inquiry into the Iraq war would be conducted in secret, drawing criticism from opposition leaders who insist the proceedings should be held in the full glare of public scrutiny.

As Britain prepares for the final withdrawal of its forces from Iraq next month, the prime minister told the House of Commons the inquiry would be independent of government and with the widest possible remit to investigate Britain’s role in the war.

Mr Brown said the inquiry, to be chaired by Sir John Chilcot, a former civil servant at the Northern Ireland Office, would examine British policy from the summer of 2001 until July 2009. Mr Brown did nothing to limit Sir John’s terms of reference, other than to say the inquiry “will not set out to apportion blame or consider issues of civil or criminal liability”.

Sir John will publish his findings when he has completed his work in one year’s time. However, the announcement that the inquiry hearings would be held in secret – along the lines of the Franks investigation into the origins of the 1982 Falklands war – drew an angry response from opposition leaders.

David Cameron, leader of the Conservative party, said some sessions should be held in public. “Isn’t that what many will want and many will expect, and part of the building of public confidence that is absolutely necessary?” he asked Mr Brown.

Nick Clegg, Liberal Democrat leader, took a similar view, saying: “It looks to me suspiciously like you want to protect your reputation and that of your predecessor instead.”

Mr Brown said the inquiry – which will be completed after the next general election – must be held in closed session to protect national security. “In this way . . . evidence given by serving and former ministers, military officers and officials will, I believe, be as full and candid as possible,” he said.

To underscore the independence of the inquiry team, none of its members will be former politicians or soldiers. They will include Baroness Usha Prashar, chair of the Judicial Appointments Commission; Sir Roderick Lyne, former UK ambassador to Moscow; Sir Lawrence Freedman, professor of war studies at King’s College London; and Sir Martin Gilbert, the historian best-known as the biographer of Sir Winston Churchill.

The inquiry will be Britain’s fifth official investigation into the Iraq war since 2004. The Butler inquiry of that year has until now been the most important. It inquired at length into the use by Tony Blair, former prime minister, of secret intelligence material to justify the claim Saddam Hussein possessed “weapons of mass destruction”.

The new inquiry will probably shine most light on the inadequate preparation by the UK and US for a long-term occupation. None of the previous inquiries has considered in any detail this aspect of the war.

Richard North, author of a recent book on the Iraq war, said: “Illuminating the conduct of the occupation is of vital and immediate importance. This is because the lessons learned . . . have immediate application to the prosecution of the counter-insurgency in Afghanistan.”

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Envoy named to head MI6 spy agency

By James Blitz in London

Published: June 17 2009 03:00 | Last updated: June 17 2009 03:00

Britain yesterday took the unusual step of appointing a prominent career diplomat as the next head of its foreign security service, MI6, a position which has rarely gone to an outsider.

Sir John Sawers, Britain's 53-year-old ambassador to the United Nations, was appointed to the post referred to within the service as "C." He replaces Sir John Scarlett, who has headed MI6 for five years and had been expected to retire this summer.

Sir John Sawers' appointment will place him at the centre of Britain's counter-terrorism strategy for the next five years, the length of time that most people occupy the post. MI6 is in charge of all foreign intelligence-gathering for the British government, while MI5 runs domestic security.

For decades, the heads of MI6 and MI5 have been insiders from the world of espionage and secrecy, people whose photographs and biographies were not in the public domain. However, Sir John's appointment reaks with tradition. He is the first person from outside MI6 to be appointed as chief since Sir John Rennie, also a diplomat, in 1968.

Whitehall sources acknowledged Sir John had been in MI6 early in his career, after which he left the service. They said the bulk of his career has been in the ranks of the regular diplomatic service.

Sir John has been one of the most prominent figures in UK foreign policymaking for many years, acting as an adviser to Tony Blair and as one of the top negotiators in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Sir John has spent much of his career in the Middle East and was Britain's special envoy to Iraq immediately after the US-led invasion of 2003. His appointment suggests that the focus of British intelligence- gathering will continue to be on the Middle East.

He has also played a central role in forging UK policy on Iran, both as political director in the foreign office and as ambassador to the UN. Over the years, he has emerged as something of a hawk on the issue of forcing Iran to halt its uranium enrichment programme.

Downing Street yesterday said Sir John' Scarlett's decision to retire had nothing to do with the announcement this week of an Iraq war inquiry.

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Syria: These Teenagers Mean Business

By Nitin Jugran Bahuguna, Womens Feature Service

A math whiz since childhood, it seemed a foregone conclusion that Rasha Al Dabbas, 15, would take up a career in engineering or medicine. So when she informed her parents of her dream to open branches of her own bank in different provinces of Syria after graduation, they were taken aback.

Dalal Al Imadi, 15, has come up with a novel idea of creating a website on the internet to design advertisements for companies. "This is a very rare idea, giving companies an opportunity to promote their products on my website. There is no such website in Syria, yet," she claims proudly.

Turning away from the traditional and accepted career options of doctor, teacher or engineer, young women in Syria are setting out to storm the hitherto male bastion of the business world, be it in the banking sector, web-designing or as a private enterprise.

Under the auspices of SHABAB, a Syrian NGO, young girls are being given a unique opportunity to achieve their potential in diverse fields. The project is a national movement of local community action, dedicated to motivating and preparing young people to enter the business world by increasing their awareness of business and developing their key skills. "The objectives of SHABAB are to boost entrepreneurship amongst young Syrians, encourage them to enter the business world, equip them with the skills they need in order to succeed as productive individuals and create a positive impression of business amongst Syrian society," explains Yamama Al-Oraibi, Project Manager, SHABAB.

The NGO runs four programmes aimed at people between 15 and 24 years old: Business Awareness; Know about Business; Business Experience and Business Clinic. In line with its emphasis on reaching out to youngsters throughout Syria, SHABAB has implemented these programmes in the cities of Damascus, Aleppo, Homs, Lattakia, Deir al-Zour, Tartous, Rural Damascus and Quneitra.

Volunteers from the business communities bring their knowledge and experience into the classrooms. Besides raising awareness of business among young people, the project is an effective example of how the business world can contribute to the local community, states Yamama. "Since its inception three years ago, the project has directly benefited over 46,000 young people in 500 schools and recruited over 350 business volunteers," she maintains.

At the Al Farouk School for Girls in downtown Damascus, students of Class 10 are busy working on their different projects in groups of six. Rasha, who is the Marketing Manager of her project, says she and her friends want to set up a bank, which will have branches in each province "because we want to provide services to the largest number of customers".

She is aware of the challenges of competing with bigger established banks in the country, but has worked out a strategy to offer quality services. "To attract more customers, we will hold a lottery on special occasions and during Easter we give our customers gifts. We will also put up a permanent donation box in our bank for charity collections," she elaborates.

"This project has opened our eyes to the different job possibilities we can explore. As women, we don't need to confine ourselves to teaching or other traditionally accepted female occupations. After discussing this with my parents they have been very supportive. They know that Maths is my favourite subject and are confident I will excel because of my determination," adds a smiling Rasha.

The optimism and enthusiasm of these adolescents is amply demonstrated as child after child talks animatedly about her pet project. "I want to start a clothes and toy company for children, which I will name 'Baby Tune'," says Sara Parees, 15. Envisioning a luxury company offering competitive prices, Sara hopes to raise the initial capital by approaching charitable institutions or established business firms. "I feel as a single woman one has an advantage as charities look favourably upon us for loans. Also, I could approach big companies to sponsor us if we agree to give them a percentage of our future profits," she avers.

"I don't think every woman should be a doctor or engineer. Girls have more choices today," asserts Rouqa Hamzah, 16. Rouqa and Yoser Shelleh, 15, want to be designers of ladies' garments and accessories. They have already earmarked a site in the city where they will open their boutique, Beauty World, after graduation. "The logo of our boutique is a yellow lamp. The idea is to tell customers that our shop is like the genie of Aladdin's lamp and we will provide them with all their needs," explains Yoser.

"Our dresses will all be in the western style as it is in vogue now among girls and women for both formal and party wear," adds Rouqa. The two, in partnership with another friend, plan to each bring some capital to start their dream shop. "Yes, it is a risk, but it is interesting and it's also what we want to do. We are confident because each of us will pool different experiences in the field," says Yoser.

Mariam Idris, 15, has planned a mall called Shining Island that will include a spa, an American restaurant and a dormitory for children.

One of the distinctive features of SHABAB is that it offers different segments of society the opportunity to participate in the implementation of its programmes and thus play an active role within their local community, states Mais Balkhi, a Business Experience Assistant Manager. She points out that its strongest working relationships are with the local business communities, government and civil society.

SHABAB forms part of the Syria Trust for Development. The first NGO in the country, it was launched under the patronage of Syria's First Lady, Asma Akhras al Assad. According to the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), female participation in total labour force has increased from 12.4 per cent to 16.3 per cent between 1994 and 2006.

To encourage young women entrepreneurs, the government has started a two-fold micro credit scheme that gives women both access to finance as well as training in marketing, sales and advertising at special training centres, Assad reveals. Observes the First Lady, "We are the first country in the Middle-East to develop a micro credit legislation to support small entrepreneurs to register their companies in the formal sector so that they have more benefits like tax benefits."

Womens Feature Service covers developmental, political, social and economic issues in India and around the globe. To get these articles for your publication, contact WFS at the www.wfsnews.org website.

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SQHC puts its fertilizer plant project in action
The Chairman of Syrian-Qatari Holding Company (SQHC), Mr. Nasser Hassan Al-Ansari, signed earlier last month a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on behalf of SQHC with the Ministry of Oil and Mineral Resources and the Ministry of Industry.

* Syria: 4 hours, 57 minutes ago
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The purpose of the MoU was to establish a company to construct and operate a production facility to produce phosphate-based fertilizers.

In this light, meetings between the Ministry of Industry, the Ministry of Oil & Mineral Resources and SQHC are being conducted on regular basis in order to ensure a smooth transition from the MoU to the Final Definitive Agreement. Furthermore, SQHC commissioned a technical and feasibility study, currently being conducted by Nexant, an international consultancy company based in the UK, specialized in the energy, chemical and fertilizer industries.

Mr. Hassan Mukayed, CEO of SQHC, stressed the importance of this project and said:

'This is a strategic and crucial project to Syria's agricultural development. It will further bolster our self-sufficiency capabilities, as well as enhance our export competitiveness. Our ability to attract world-class partners and consultants, such as Nexant and others, is a testament to the crucial role SQHC is playing in its commitment to raising Syria's business standards. SQHC's world-class team is implementing our vision according to top international standards, facilitating mandatory financing and technical requirements.'



During a visit of Nexant's representatives to Syria from June 9th to June 11th, a consortium team comprising of SQHC, Nexant, the Ministry of Oil & Mineral Resources and the Ministry of Industry visited the Industrial City in Hassia, the TSP factory at the General Fertilizers Company in Homs, the Eastern Phosphate mines of the General Company of Phosphate and Mines in Sawana near Palmyra, the Phosphate Industrial Washing Facilities at the Eastern mines, and potential sites for the newly proposed phosphate based fertilizer factory.

'Upon positive findings of Nexant's market and feasibility study, and in collaboration with our international strategic partners, the Ministry of Oil & Mineral Resources and the Ministry of Industry, we are hoping to help transform Syria's phosphate-based fertilizer industry through the successful implementation of the project,' Mr. Mukayed added.

Syrian-Qatari Holding Company expects an expansion of its consortium, to include additional national, regional and/or international strategic partners. This will further bolster current capabilities in fertilizer production and marketing. Such discussions are already under way in the Middle East, Europe and elsewhere, and SQHC is giving careful consideration to various candidates.

Syrian-Qatari Holding Company is committed to introducing leading and pioneering investment opportunities to the Syrian market across different industries. The company sets sights on becoming the leading investment firm and partner of choice in Syria by investing in several other sectors such as Power Generation, Agriculture, Dairy & Juice, Healthcare, Real Estate and Financial Services.

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Russian move raises supply crunch fears

By Ed Crooks, energy editor

Published: June 17 2009 03:00 | Last updated: June 17 2009 03:00

Alexei Miller, Gazprom's chief executive, warned in a speech in Italy last week of a looming "supply crunch" in the oil market after 2012, caused by under-investment today, which could send oil and gas prices soaring.

A few days later, he drove that warning home in the most vivid way possible, with Gazprom's investment cuts and production delays raising the spectre of a gas supply crunch in Europe.

The decision to defer the flow of gas from Gazprom's first development of the huge reserves in the Yamal peninsula, in northern Russia, makes perfect sense in the short term.

All the talk in the industry is of a global "gas glut", fostered by a surge in supplies of liquefied natural gas, particularly from the mega-projects in Qatar now coming on stream.

"Barely a year ago everyone was saying Gazprom would not be able to keep up with demand," says Jonathan Stern of the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies. "The speed of the turnround has been extraordinary."

The global recession has hammered Europe's gas consumption, particularly for industrial users. The car industry, for example, uses gas-fired heaters to dry paint, and many assembly lines have fallen silent.

Cedigaz, the gas industry association, has estimated that industrial demand in developed economies, including the European Union, the US and Japan, will be 17 per cent lower this year than last year.

Residential consumption is more stable, but the EU's overall demand could fall 5 per cent this year, even after an unusually cold January.

Gazprom, which is the biggest gas importer into the EU, has been forced to cope with that downturn at the same time as Russian demand has been plunging.

Prof Stern estimates that EU demand will be 20bn cubic metres lower than last year, Russian demand 40bn cu m lower and demand from Ukraine and other former Soviet states also 20bn cu m lower.

Gazprom has responded by cutting its own production and forcing independent Russian gas producers to cut theirs. It has also told Turkmenistan, one of its main central Asian suppliers, to cut its export price. An explosion in April cut the gas pipeline from Turkmenistan to Russia, and it has not yet reopened. The causes are disputed.

The rate at which gas demand picks up will depend on the pace of economic recovery.

Tony Hayward, chief executive of BP, said last week that although demand had steadied after dramatic falls earlier in the year, there were as yet no signs that it was rising again.

So Gazprom's forecast that even in 2012 its production is likely to remain lower than last year is a plausible assumption.

The alarming prospect for Russia is that western European demand will never recover. If the EU could meet its objective of raising energy efficiency by 20 per cent by 2020, then its gas consumption could fall through the decade. Cambridge Energy Research Associates, a consultancy, argued recently that even going halfway to the EU target could cut gas demand back to early 1990s levels by 2030.

However, other experts are sceptical those savings can be achieved, or that other fuels can substitute for gas in the next decade.

Colette Lewiner of Capgemini, the consultancy, argues that European gas demand is set to rise until at least 2020.

"I don't think renewables will be able to do enough," she says. "If you take all the other energy sources, you are still left with a rising need for gas."

European production, meanwhile, is in decline. The International Energy Agency estimates western Europe's gas production will fall by 30 per cent over the next two decades.

The search is on for new sources of gas to bring to Europe. The EU has high hopes for Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan, and recently there has been growing optimism about gas from northern Iraq. But the reality is that the EU cannot do without Russia, and sooner or later that gas from Yamal will be needed.

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Rise in agricultural commodity prices seen easing

By Javier Blas, Commodities Correspondent

Published: June 17 2009 11:59 | Last updated: June 17 2009 11:59

Agricultural commodities prices will rise 10-30 per cent over the next 10 years compared with their average of 1997-2006, less than previously feared because of lower economic growth and oil prices, two leading organisations said on Tuesday.

“Continued weakness in the general economy will further dampen commodity prices over the next two to three years,” the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development said. But they added that prices “should then strengthen with economic recovery”.

“We are forecasting lower prices than [we forecast] last year,” Merritt Cluff, a senior economist at the FAO and one of the report’s main authors, told the Financial Times. Last year’s report saw prices rising by an average of 40 per cent over the next decade.

Private sector analysts and agriculture industry executives are less relaxed, however. In addition, wholesale agricultural commodities prices have already risen to their highest level in eight months, up about 50 per cent from December’s lows.

The FAO and OECD acknowledged risks ahead, saying that “further episodes of strong price fluctuations cannot be ruled out nor can future short-lived crises” and added that agricultural commodities prices will “remain above historical averages”.

But the overall tone of their Agricultural Outlook 2009-18 report painted a more positive picture than last year, when at the peak of the food crisis they warned of sharply rising prices over the coming 10 years and a “structural upward shift” in food costs.

This time, however, the two organisations said that there was “lessening evidence” to suspect that the world has “undergone any structural upward shift” in food costs.

Most executives from the food industry and analysts believe, however, that agricultural commodities prices have experienced an structural upward shift in costs, which is likely to be exacerbated by water scarcity and climate change.

The report states, however, that agricultural commodities prices – even when taking into account inflation over the next 10 years – will not return to their low levels of the last decade, suggesting that food costs have, indeed, moved to a higher plateau.

Among individual food commodities, it sees higher prices for vegetable oil and corn, followed by rice, sugar and wheat. Meat and dairy product prices will remain little changed when compared with the levels of 1997-2006.

The organisations said that the agricultural sector was expected to be better shielded from the global economic crisis than others because of ”the recent period of relatively high incomes” and the fact that a drop in personal incomes has little effect on food demand.

Agriculture, long a neglected sector in terms of policy discussions, is now being examined more closely by policymakers after the 2007-08 food crisis, which saw record prices for staples such as wheat and rice spark food riots from Haiti and Bangladesh to Egypt and Senegal.

The FAO and OECD warned that even if food prices rose by less than feared over the next 10 years, global food security would remain a problem. “High food costs, combined with the global credit crunch, falling international trade and investment flows, lower remittances and budgetary pressures on development aid, are reversing the progress made in combating global poverty,” they said.

Jacques Diouf, head of the Rome-based FAO, told the Financial Times earlier this year that the combination of high food prices and the economic crisis would boost the number of chronically hungry people above 1bn for the first time this year, up from 963m in 2008.

Before the food crisis started in 2007, there were fewer than 850m chronically hungry people in the world, a level that had remained roughly constant since the early 1990s thanks to the global fight against poverty and increased economic growth in countries such as China and India.

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知事会の内部留保金３１億円、橋下知事が返還要求

　大阪府の橋下徹知事は１７日の記者会見で、全国知事会が約３１億円の内部留保金を外国債や地方債に投資していることを明らかにし、「（運用の）責任の所在がはっきりしない」と批判、即時解約と留保金の返還を求めた。

　内部留保金は、全国知事会が入居する都道府県会館（東京）の建て替えのために、都道府県から集めていた負担金の余剰分。府や知事会によると、２００３年～０６年に、知事会事務総長の決裁で外国債１１億円の購入に充てられたほか、地方債に１４億４０００万円、普通・定期預金に約５億６０００万円運用されている。

　このうち外国債は３０年間の運用が元本保証の条件で、知事会は府に対し、仮に今年５月時点で解約して売却すれば、約４億円の損失が発生すると説明したという。

　橋下知事は記者会見で、「余っている金はすぐ返してもらう。（途中解約による損失は）知事会事務局の人件費で責任をとるべきだ」と批判。これに対し、知事会側は「資産運用は少しでも積立金を増やそうとして行ったこと」としている。

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“大富豪”英女王に補助金７５００万円、「いびつな制度」批判も

　広大な領地を持つ英国のエリザベス女王が、欧州連合（ＥＵ）から巨額の農業補助金を受け取っていることが明らかになった。

　英政府が先月公表した資料によると、女王は昨年、ロンドン北方約１６０キロにある王室私有地サンドリンガムの「農地の生産助成金」として、ＥＵから４７万３５８３ポンド（約７５００万円）を受け取った。ここは、女王が毎年クリスマスを過ごす離宮、ダイアナ元皇太子妃が少女時代に住んだ家や森林が広がる保養地で、約８０平方キロ・メートルの農地もある。

　ＥＵの農業補助制度は、第２次世界大戦後の食糧不足解消を目指して始まり、現在は小規模農家の支援を名目としている。補助金は原則として地権者に支払われるため、「大富豪」の女王も受給権を持つ。英研究機関「欧州改革センター」のジャック・サーストン研究員は、「いびつな制度の象徴」と批判する。

　農業補助金は現在、ＥＵ予算の約４０％を占める。過去に何度も改革論議が浮上したが、農業大国フランスなどの反対で難航。制度が矛盾をはらんだまま維持され、「本来の目的である所得再配分とはほど遠い」（同研究員）のが現状だ。

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柔道の世界無差別は中止へ、会場のマカオ「経済情勢厳しい」

　今年９月にマカオで開催予定だった柔道の世界無差別選手権が中止されることが１７日、全日本柔道連盟の理事会、評議員会で報告された。

　大会を主管するマカオ連盟から先月、厳しい経済情勢などを理由に国際柔道連盟に開催を返上する意向が伝えられ、代替開催も厳しい見通しという。

　同選手権は男女無差別だけで実施され、昨年、フランスで第１回大会が行われた。

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US banks to break free of state assistance

By Francesco Guerrera and Greg Farrell in New York

Published: June 17 2009 01:22 | Last updated: June 17 2009 01:22

JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley will no longer issue government- guaranteed bonds in an effort to sever their financial ties to the US authorities and show investors they can fund themselves without Washington’s help.

In separate statements, the two banks said on Tuesday they did not expect to have to sell short-term bonds backed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, a banking regulator.

The announcements by the two banks, which could be followed by Goldman Sachs and the other institutions that passed the government’s recent stress tests, make it likely the debt guarantee plan will not be extended beyond its October deadline.

The move by JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley underline the gap between banks that have freed themselves from government aid and rivals such as Citigroup, Bank of America and Wells Fargo that still owe money to the authorities.

Citi, BofA and Wells declined to comment on whether they would issue more FDIC-backed debt.

General Electric, which did not receive government funds but whose finance arm GE Capital has issued billions of dollars in FDIC-backed and non-guaranteed bonds, said it would continue to raise funds through both sources.

JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley and Goldman are among the 10 financial groups that on Wednesday will send a combined $68bn back to the government following last week’s decision to let them repay funds from the troubled asset relief programme.

In a letter to Barney Frank, chairman of the Financial Services Committee of the House of Representatives, Lloyd Blankfein, Goldman’s chief executive, said the group was “grateful for the government’s extraordinary efforts and the taxpayers’ patience”.

“While we regret that we participated in the market euphoria and failed to raise a responsible voice, we are proud of the way our firm managed the risk it assumed on behalf of our clients,” he added.

The FDIC set up the plan to guarantee bonds of up to the three years in maturity last year when the credit crunch threatened to starve financial groups of funding.

The move helped banks to raise more than $263bn in debt at below-market interest rates, according to Dealogic. But as credit markers thawed and banks became eager to free themselves from the tough rules that came with the government aid, the authorities told them they had to raise debt outside the FDIC plan before they could repay Tarp funds.

The FDIC also introduced an additional fee for banks using its guarantee as a way of weaning institutions off the subsidised bonds.

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Israel reconsidering rationality of visa-free trips for Ukrainians

17.06.2009, 02.42

TEL-AVIV, June 17 (Itar-Tass) – Israel is reconsidering the rationality of a mutual renunciation of travel visas with Ukraine in the wake of the economic crisis, Israeli Minister of Tourism Stas Misezhnikov told a news briefing in Jerusalem Tuesday.

Although the abolition of travel visas for tourists between Israel and Russia has proved efficacious in the conditions of the crisis, the situation with Ukraine is somewhat different.

“The abolition of travel visas for Russian tourists proved efficacious, since that country has felt a much smaller damage from the crisis than other European countries and, by and large, the curve of the demand for tourism did not suffer as much as in Ukraine where the middle class was impoverished,” Misezhnkov said.

“That’s one of the reasons why the Israeli Foreign Ministry is currently reviewing the rationality of visa-free traveling for the Ukrainians,” he said. “As for Russia, the situation is different.”

An agreement on visa-free mutual trips by Russian and Israeli tourists went into effect in September 2008.

Soon after that, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said Ukraine would be the next country in the post-Soviet space it would hold talks with on the abolition of visas.

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’Dairy problem’ btw Russia, Belarus settled, says minister

17.06.2009, 04.23

MOSCOW, June 17 (Itar-Tass) – Russia and Belarus have rounded up talks on the ‘dairy problem’ and have reached an agreement that both sides find acceptable, Russian Agriculture Minister Yelena Skrynnik said late night Tuesday after talks with Belarussian officials.

“We ended our consultations and talks at an encouraging note and signed an agreement acceptable for both countries,” she said.

Joint efforts helped the countries to agree on zero imports of powered milk from Belarus in the second and third quarters of the year.

This means that Russian dairy factories will buy powdered milk from Russia producers in the period of ‘big milk yields’, Skrynnik said adding that this will make it possible to rule out the situations of powered milk sale at dumping prices.

“Simultaneously, Russia will increase the imports of Belarussian curdles, cheese and butter in line with the market demand in this country,” she said.

Skrynnik indicated that the two sides “worked out the mechanisms of control over the agreements, which they will observe scrupulously.

“We realize that Russia and Belarus are brotherly nations and they must develop trade but it should be mutually beneficial, “ she said.

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Belarus ready to suspend powdered milk exports to RF for 6 months

15.06.2009, 15.22

MOSCOW, June 15 (Itar-Tass) - Belarus has expressed readiness to suspend powdered milk exports to Russia for six months, Russian Agriculture Minister Yelena Skrynnik told a meeting of the government’s presidium on Monday.

“Today we received a verbal proposal from Belarus to stop the import of powdered milk for six months, for the second and third quarters – this is the season of large milk yields,” she said.

“This is a good proposal for us. It will give an opportunity to our agricultural producers to sell Russia’s milk at adequate and acceptable prices,” Skrynnik said.

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Medvedev calls for Chinese investment in Russia


MOSCOW, Jun 17 (Prime-Tass) -- Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Wednesday called for Chinese investment in Russia, ITAR-TASS reported.

"We paid considerable attention to the subject of investment cooperation," he said at a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao. "Both Russia and China seek to achieve a qualitative breakthrough in this field."

Chinese companies are prepared to invest in Russia's electric power, timber processing, and transportation industries, Medvedev said.

Medvedev also called for cooperation in the natural gas and coal industries.

Commenting on other issues, Medvedev said that Russia and China would consider promoting the use of the ruble and the yuan in bilateral trade settlements.

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Ukraine glorifies Nazism and defames Great Patriotic War in new history books
16.06.2009 Source: Pravda.Ru URL: http://english.pravda.ru/world/ussr/107780-ukraine_nazism-0

New textbooks on history are going to be published in Ukraine in the nearest future. Ukrainian officials from the Ministry for Education and Science said that the word combination 'Great Patriotic War' would not be mentioned in the new books and would be replaced with 'Second World War.'

Ukrainian nationalists from the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists, who fought against the Red Army, were labeled as the fighters of the national movement for liberation in Ukraine . What about their cooperation with Nazi Germany?

Deputy head of Ukraine’s Ministry for Education and Science, Pavel Polyansky, said that there was nothing presumptuous about it.

“Everything is based on documents. We do not estimate anything in our textbooks. When we speak about Hitler’s Nazi Germany, we do not use such epithets as ‘anti-human dictatorship,” he said.

The official stressed out that schoolchildren were free to discuss the subject of Ukrainian nationalists at classes. However, his remarks about the absence of any estimations in the new textbooks contradicted to the official press release from his ministry. “The Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists is a movement for liberation,” the document runs and mentions nothing about their cooperation with Nazis.

Until recently, the authors of textbooks on history in Ukraine tried not to write anything about the cooperation of the Ukrainian Nationalists with Nazis. President Viktor Yushchenko said that the organization was struggling both against the USSR and Nazi Germany. However, there is not even a document to prove that.

Nowadays, Ukrainian authorities say that those who cooperated with Nazi Germany should be labeled as national heroes. If the new textbooks were based on real documents, they would obviously unveil the truth about the role of Ukrainian nationalists in the war.

However, the Ukrainian authorities prefer to be neutral about Nazi Germany, which means that Ukraine attempts of glorify Nazism. Yushchenko would be jailed for such textbooks in Germany or Austria.

Read also: "Ads praising Nazi WWII division pop up in Ukrainian town"

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Moscow metro to introduce women-only carriages and VIP trains?
17.06.2009 Source: Pravda.Ru URL: http://english.pravda.ru/russia/history/107791-moscow_metro-0

The Moscow metro is not going to follow the example of Beijing authorities to introduce women-only carriages to prevent the sexual harassment of women.

“We have never considered such a question,” the chairman of the press service of the Moscow metro, Pavel Sukharnikov, told RIA Novosti.

The official added that there were no complaints from female passenger of the metro. However, this subject receives a lot of attention on the Russian Internet. Many bloggers write on their web-pages that every woman was subjected to sexual harassment in public transport at least once in her lifetime.

Psychologists say that public transport provides a perfect environment for that: many people, availability and an opportunity to avoid punishment. Up to 40 percent of female passengers of the Moscow metro were subjected to sexual harassment.

Dmitry Gayev, the chairman of the Moscow metro, previously said that there would be no VIP carriages in the underground. The idea to introduce such carriages appeared in St. Petersburg.

“I’ve heard those rumors about VIP trains and VIP carriages in the St. Petersburg metro. The subject was discussed actively, but I can officially reject the information,” he said.

“The metro is an open system of transportation, where all people are equal, just like they are in a sauna. If you’re stuck in a traffic jam, leave your Bentley and ride the metro,” Gayev said.

Dmitry Gayev also said that there would be neither bathrooms nor garbage cans in the Moscow metro.

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Oil Age ends in about 50 years?
16.06.2009 Source: Pravda.Ru URL: http://english.pravda.ru/business/finance/107778-Oil_Age-0

The world has enough oil reserves for 42 years at current production rates.

This was announced Thursday in a report of British Petroleum Ltd, Bloomberg.com wrote.

"Fossil fuels will remain the dominant source of energy well into the future", British Petroleum Ltd Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Tony Hayward, said at a presentation in London.

Global proved oil reserves fell last year, the first drop since 1998, led by declines in Russia, Norway and China, according to BP Plc.

Oil reserves totaled 1,258 trillion barrels at the end of 2008, compared with a revised 1,261 trillion barrels in 2007, BP said in its annual Statistical Review of World Energy Tuesday.

"Declines in Russia, Norway, China and other countries offset increases in Vietnam, India and Egypt," BP said on its Web site.

BP Ltd and other oil companies are struggling to replace reserves as access to deposits becomes harder, and older fields in places like the UK and Mexico are depleted.

Russia passed a law in 2008 that limits foreign ownership in some of the country's biggest energy and metals deposits.

Middle East countries, which hold 60% of global reserves, restrict access for international companies, novinite.com reports.

However there is a different point of view expressed by The Australian.

“All of that looks pretty encouraging, particularly as last year's ratio of reserves to annual production stood at 42 times. In the simplest terms, that ratio means global conventional oil reserves will last 42 years if production keeps going at current levels and there are no new discoveries.

That's the good news, but on the flipside there's a lot of muttering in the oil industry about some developing nations' tendency to overstate their reserves for political purposes.

Against that, oil extraction technology is improving all the time and the "proved reserves" numbers are meant to refer to oil that is readily extractable by existing methods. In the simplest scenario, drillers can now send wells out horizontally to do a much more thorough job of extracting oil from existing fields than they did, say, 10 years ago.

That's clearly a plus. But back on the negative side, there's a difference between proven reserves and economically extractable reserves, since some deeper fields aren't worth exploiting unless oil is closer to $US80 a barrel than $US30. With the crude price now at the upper end and rising, that will increase the amount of economically recoverable oil. Miners would say it's lowering the cut-off grade.

Conclusion? We won't run out soon and the final date for the Oil Age will be put back further and further as the price rises. Don't bank on the tar sands, meanwhile, since there's another dimension: CO2 emissions. Converting tar sands to oil releases huge amounts of CO2 and there's no current technology available to stop that. Then again, there could be one out there.

All of which suggests we might still be arguing about the end of the Oil Age in 50 years. Let's hope that by then it will all be hypothetical thanks to the development of other energy sources”.

Click business/story/0,28124,25635024-5005200,00.html" target="_blank">here to read the full text of the article.

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Russian scientists found connection between Alzheimer's disease and sense of smell
17.06.2009 Source: Pravda.Ru URL: http://english.pravda.ru/science/health/107787-Alzheimer_disease-0

Alzheimer's disease and the sense of smell are closely connected.

The Russian scientists who have been working on establishing a connection between the sense of smell and the development of certain diseases came to conclusion that the distortion of smell perception may signal the beginning of Alzheimer's disease.

“Our studies give doctors an opportunity to diagnose Alzheimer's disease at its earliest stage,” says Dr. Natalia Bobkova from the Russian Academy of Sciences.

“Alzheimer's disease is one of the main problems which the scientific community is facing today. Despite huge investments and scientific efforts taken around the world the number of people suffering from this disease is growing. About one percent of the population in developed countries and about 15 percent of people over 65 are suffering from Alzheimer's disease,” says Natalia Bobkova.

One of the most important parts of modern neurology is studying the factors which lead to brain degeneration. Alzheimer's disease is a typical example of such a pathological process. This process leads to complete personal degradation, memory loss and spatial disorientation. Today there are more than ten theories explaining the origin of this disease. According to the most popular theory, it is a specific beta-amiloida fiber that causes Alzheimer's disease.

Read also: “Treatment of Alzheimer's disease by new drug to be possible in several years”

Normally this fiber is present in the human body in microscopic proportions. If a person develops Alzheimer's disease, this fiber is accumulated in the brain forming plaques. Patients say that they usually feel changes in the sense of smell when the disease begins.

Russian scientists decided to investigate this hypothesis to find out whether there is a connection between the loss of the sense of smell and the degeneration process in the brain. Alzheimer's usually develops very slowly. That is why it is very important to create the model of the disease. And the Russian scientists have created it.

In their experiments on rats the scientists removed the rodents' olfactory bulbs and found out that the defects in the olfactory system of the rats triggered a fast development of Alzheimer's disease. They explain such consequences saying that the olfactory system is directly connected with such an important brain structure as hypocamp. There is no doubt that the hypocamp destruction leads to the development of Alzheimer's disease.

The model created by the Russian scientists allows not only to diagnose the disease, but to find the most appropriate medicine to cure it.

Read also: “A safe technique for the focused erasure of troubling memories”

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BRIC countries catch up and overtake G7

17:5617/06/2009

MOSCOW. (Oleg Mityayev, RIA Novosti economic commentator) – The Russian city of Yekaterinburg on May 16 hosted the first official summit of BRIC, a group comprising four countries showing the highest rate of economic growth – Brazil, Russia, India and China.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said in the wake of the summit that the event was aimed at promoting a fairer world order.

The BRIC nations currently account for 15% of the global economy and 42% of global currency reserves. These are important reasons for BRIC to have ambition to influence international economic and financial policies.

According to many estimates, emerging economies will the driving force of the expected global economic recovery – that is, they will bail out wealthier nations. Citigroup’s chief executive Vikram Pandit said at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum in early June that “China, India and Russia will become the engine of world growth for a while.”

Most estimates put China’s and India’s 2009 GDP growth at 6% and 4%, respectively, while the Group of 7 will still be in recession. The two fastest growing modern markets, China and India, are not heavily dependent on exports to industrially developed countries, but are developing independently due to booming internal demand.


Emerging economies linked to developed ones by currency and trade

However, most economists are convinced that emerging economies, BRIC countries included, are unable to develop independently of the industrialized nations. International trade and the global currency system are reportedly the two key reasons behind this unbreakable bond.

The need to reform the existing system of monetary management was a key issue in the run-up to the Yekaterinburg summit. All the BRIC countries put forth their own proposals about how to decrease the role of the weakened U.S. dollar in international trade and finance.

One proposal was to boost the role of SDRs (Special Drawing Rights), an international reserve asset issued by the IMF; another, a broader use of regional reserve currencies and their combinations; or the use of their own currencies for bilateral settlements.

However, shortly before the event, its participants seemed to recall that they kept a large portion of their currency reserves in dollar assets, and those assets’ further depreciation was the last thing they wanted.

As of last March, China has U.S. Treasuries worth $767.9 billion, Brazil $126.6 billion, and Russia $138.4 billion.


BRIC countries overtaking the West at different paces

Jim O'Neill, chief global economist at Goldman Sachs, who invented the term BRIC in 2001, has issued several forecasts since on the time these countries’ aggregate GDP exceeds that of G7, with each forecast putting the date closer. The latest one says this will happen by 2027, less than 20 years from now.

China’s economy will exceed the U.S. in size at about the same time, O'Neill predicts.

At the same time, however, the BRIC group has major discrepancies between its members. China and India are expected to show substantial growth even in 2009, the year marked by the deepest global recession. Brazil’s economy will be in stagnation, posting a 1% GDP decline, according to the same estimate, while Russia will suffer a deep fall, by over 6%.

Indeed China and India have objectively better prospects than Russia and Brazil. This difference is due to higher diversification of the two leading BRIC economies.

“China’s and India’s development is fuelled by a steadily growing internal consumer demand and state investment,” Maxim Simagin, analyst at the Alfa Capital asset management company, told RIA Novosti. “Russia and Brazil are two export-oriented, commodity-based economies. Brazil’s economy is even more diversified than Russia’s because the latter is heavily dependent upon exports of natural gas, oil, metals and fertilizers, while Brazil has in addition a developed financial sector, agriculture, manufacturing and services,” he added.

The term BRIC primarily refers to the ever-growing clout of the world’s largest emerging economies, not to a political bloc. Therefore, that the group’s members are developing at different rates does not mean this new driving force of the global economy is going to become weaker.


The opinions expressed in this article are the author's and do not necessarily represent those of RIA Novosti.