AMPLIFIED — Battle of the Bands was a crowd puller during the RTB Media Carnival (RTBMC) 2010. The semifinals for the first group were carried out yesterday. Competing bands performed an optional song and a song of their own creation. The winners will stand a chance to make their own song into a single album. .
DAVOS, Jan 30 (NNN-FNA) — Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki on Friday stressed Iran’s preparedness to rach a deal with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and possible suppliers to provide nuclear fuel to its Tehran Research Reactor.
Iran’s readiness is a proof of its good will, while providing the other party with the chance to have confidence in cooperation for fuel exchange, Mottaki said in a meeting with his Swiss counterpart Micheline Calmy-Rey on the sidelines of the 40th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland.
Regarding Iran-Switzerland relations, Mottaki said that cooperation with Switzerland, especially in the energy sector, sets a priority for Iran’s foreign policy.
After Iran announced to the IAEA that it had run out of nuclear fuel for its research reactor in Tehran, the Agency proposed a deal according to which Iran would send 3.5%-enriched uranium and receive 20%-enriched uranium from potential suppliers in return, all through the UN nuclear watchdog agency.
The proposal was first introduced on Oct 1, when Iranian representatives and diplomats from the five permanent UN Security Council members – Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States – plus Germany held high-level talks in Geneva.
But France and the United States, as potentials suppliers, stalled the talks soon after the start. They offered a deal which would keep Tehran waiting for months before it can obtain the fuel, a luxury of time that Iran cannot afford as it is about to run out of 20-percent-enriched uranium.
The Iranian lawmakers rejected the deal after technical studies showed that it would only take two to three months for any country to further enrich the nuclear stockpile and turn it into metal nuclear rods for the Tehran Research Reactor, while suppliers had announced that they would not return fuel to Iran any less than seven months.
Iran then put forward its own proposal that envisages a two-staged exchange. According to Tehran’s offer, the IAEA safeguards nearly one third of Iran’s uranium stockpile inside the Iranian territory for the time that it takes to find a supplier.
Meanwhile, in LONDON, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi reiterated Beijing’s stance on Iran’s nuclear issue, and underlined that the issue should be resolved through diplomacy.
“Iran’s nuclear issue should be resolved through diplomatic efforts and negotiations,” Yang Jiechi told reporters in London on Thursday after a meeting with the US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton.
“We believe we should focus on resuming dialogue and restarting negotiations,” he added.
China’s stance came amid the US efforts to pressure other world powers into imposing a new round of sanctions against Iran.
Washington and its Western allies accuse Iran of trying to develop nuclear weapons under the cover of a civilian nuclear program, while they have never presented any corroborative evidence to substantiate their allegations. Iran denies the charges and insists that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only.
Tehran stresses that the country has always pursued a civilian path to provide power to the growing number of Iranian population, whose fossil fuel would eventually run dry.
Russia and China reportedly opposed any new measures, while Beijing sent a lower-level diplomat in a signal of its reluctance to back tougher sanctions pushed by the West.
The US is seeking to impose a new round of sanctions, targeting certain high-ranking officials from Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps and some of its affiliated companies.
Washington and its allies accuse Tehran of pursuing a military nuclear program. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), however, has repeatedly said that it has found no evidence supporting the allegation.
The IAEA has conducted numerous inspections of Iran’s nuclear facilities, confirming the non-diversion of nuclear materials in country’s functional and under-construction plants.
Iran also denies the allegation, saying that it needs nuclear energy to produce electricity to meet the country’s growing demand. — NNN-FNA
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PHNOM PENH, Jan 30 (NNN-CIC) — A British scientist from Cambridge has been given a royal honour by the government of Cambodia ? for saving one of the world?s rarest crocodiles.
The Siamese crocodile was believed to be extinct in the wild, but several years ago Dr Jenny Daltry, from the Cambridge-based conservation charity Fauna & Flora International (FFI), discovered a tiny number were still alive in Cambodia.
She has since spearheaded a successful campaign to save them ? and on Thursday the Royal Cambodian Government recognised her efforts by awarding her the title Officer of the Order of Sahemetrei.
The award is given for ?distinguished services to the king and nation?.
Dr Daltry, a senior conservation biologist at the charity, told the News: ?I?m overwhelmed and grateful.
?For a conservationist to receive this rare honour does, I think, signify the importance that Cambodia places on its wildlife, forests, and protected areas.?
She has worked for FFI for 15 years and much of her time has been spent in Cambodia, where she has led several field expeditions, resulting in increased protection of forested areas in the Cardamom Mountains.
After discovering Siamese crocodiles surviving there in the year 2000, she set up a community-based programme to protect the endangered reptile.
She has also led a ground-breaking initiative to establish a new generation of Cambodian scientists.
An FFI spokeswoman said: ?Because the Pol Pot regime largely wiped out the educated classes, the country lacks enough qualified practitioners to manage its wildlife and help it to develop sustainably. Under FFI Cambodia?s University Capacity Building Programme, Dr Daltry created the first permanent Masters of Science programme at the Royal University of Phnom Penh. Nearly 150 Cambodians have enrolled on the course so far.?
The honour was presented to the Cambridge scientist at a ceremony attended by senior government officials, international dignitaries and the British ambassador to Cambodia.
Dr Daltry said: ?The achievement I feel most proud of is helping talented Cambodians to become leaders in biodiversity conservation. I also thank my colleagues and co-workers for their tireless commitment and support for more than a decade.? — NNN-CIC
ALKALERI, NIGERIA, Jan 30 (NNN-NAN) — Nigeria’s Federal Government will continue to provide free treatment for malaria patients, says Health Minister Proferssor Babatunde Osotimehin.
He restated the commitment while kicking off the free distribution of Long Lasting Insecticide-Treated Mosquito Nets in the Alkaleri Local Government Area of northern Bauchi State on Thursday.
He said anti-malarial drugs would be provided to all health institutions across the country to enhance effective case management of malaria and reduce the high rate of maternal and infant mortality resulting from malaria in the country.
The minister said the Federal Government, in collaboration with donor agencies, had embarked on massive distribution of the nets as part of an integrated campaign to control malaria.
“What we are doing is attacking malaria head-on and we are determined to eradicate the disease,” he said. “The government is providing free drugs for those suffering from malaria and it will be made available at focal health institutions in state and local government levels to ensure access to treatment.
“Malaria is responsible for the greatest mortality in our country; children and pregnant women are dying due to malaria and the trend must be reversed. I can say and declare here that malaria is no more, we must not have it again.”
Osotimehin said the government would also give priority to insecticidal spray so as to destroy mosquito breeding spots and ensure improved sanitary condition in communities.
He urged community and religious leaders to sensitise their followers on the need to use the bed nets and called on the beneficiaries to make good use of them in the bid to eradicate malaria.
Dr Folake Ademola, the Project Manager of the National Malaria Control Project, said about 33 million treated mosquito nets would be distributed in 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory before the end of the year.
Ademola said the Federal Government had so far distributed more than 15 million nets in nine states between May and December 2009. She added that more than two million nets would be distributed in Bauchi State in one week. — NNN-NAN
A COOKING competition was held at Giant Hypermart in Kg Rimba, and after 15 weeks since October 2009, only nine people for its final round were chosen, but only five turned up yesterday afternoon. The contest was very tough. Each of the participants was given a $15 voucher to purchase food items from Giant Hypermarket .
PROSPECTIVE students with interests in medicine and allied health professions are urged to attend the James Hon Study in UK Exhibition to be held at The Rizqun International Hotel next Tuesday, Feb 2, 2010. The fourth instalment of James Hon’s successful Study in UK Exhibition will feature 20 British institutions offering a variety of medical .
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Jan 30 (NNN-BRUDIRECT) — Brunei could again see another building boom soon as banks may loosen their purse strings and make property loans easier to get in the wake of the current credit card squeeze.
Brunei last saw its property bubble burst 10 years ago when the giant conglomerate Amedeo bit the dust bringing down with it a business slump from which it has failed so far to recover.
Now the speculation is that with banks barred from giving excessive personal loans and with new restrictions on credit cards as from this year the nation’s financial institutions may turn towards more creative and consequently more beneficial banking avenues.
Lacking other outlets the bankers, it is thought in some circles, may begin to channel their money into property.
That could take the shape of less conservative and longer property mortgages enabling easier home ownership. In most countries mortgages are available over 30 years and longer and where second bank mortgages are a norm in Brunei the terms are much shorter- from three to 20 years in general.
Previously it was even briefer, up to 10 years. Under the country’s financial guidelines mortgage loans could span up 55 to 65 years of age for pensionable government servants. Bank loans for non-government servants are generally more restrictive.
“If the banks start giving more liberal mortgage loans it would result in a much healthier development.
“It is hoped that it will encourage people to put their money into property rather than the current wasteful spending on consumer and other non productive channels,” a property agent said.
Liberal mortgages are also expected to bring down high rentals which in Brunei is high compared to other neighbouring countries because of the country’s lending policies.
Meanwhile the stringent credit card restrictions imposed starting from this year is not having a noticeable effect on consumer spending, local businessmen said.
“Maybe it is too early to tell. Nevertheless it is expected indeed to have a long term consequence,” said the local trader. — NNN-BRUDIRECT/Borneo Bulletin
MARRAKECH, jan 30 (NNN-MAP) — The Polisario is currently one of the major factors of destabilisation and insecurity in Africa, according to Charles Saint-Prot, director of the Paris-based research centre, Observatory of Geopolitical Studies.
“The situation of this force of evil (Polisario) will get worse gradually, as it will find itself in a deadlock and will, therefore, try to make a leap forward,” Saint-Prot underlined during the First International Symposium on Security in Africa here Thursday.
A micro-state in the Sahara would inevitably be a satellite of another power, which would upset the regional balance, he said, adding that it would become a permanent source of regional destabilization and a new centre of terrorism which would threaten Europe.
“It is clear that a ?Saharan? state will not only be illegitimate, but also dangerous, since it will represent a serious precedent and a risk of the region’s balkanisation,” said Saint-Prot, who added that the conflict over the Western Sahara hindered the development of the economic, political and security co-operation among Arab Maghreb countries.
Morocco, which has always shouldered its responsibilities, is one of the few states in the region with the means and determination to combat the risks of insecurity and destabilization in Africa, the French expert underlined.
The symposium, organized by the African Federation for Strategic Studies (FAES), provided an opportunity for the participants to discuss issues related to the multiple strategic and security challenges facing African countries. — NNN-MAP
This is the second part of the home business tip about the most important things you must know to be sure if you are in the right business or not, which will of course, determine your failure or success…Visit our online archive for the first and the thrid part of this article.
