German companies relinquish their share of Baghlan sugar factory

Wednesday, 26 December 2012

Berlin, Dec 26 : Two German companies gave their 38-percent joint share of the New Baghlan Sugar Factory to the government of Afghanistan, making it the sole owner of the factory, Ministry of Agriculture said.

The factory needs subsidies of $500,000 annually, but it is expected to turn a profit within the next 5 years, the ministry added.

A major obstacle to the factory's productivity has been a shortage of beetroot, largely due to a pest infestation of the crop in Baghlan over the last few years. As the only shareholder of the factory, the Afghan government will endeavor to resolve the shortage and make the company self-sustained.

"We try to remove the challenges the company faces so that the opportunity for its self-sufficiency is provided. There is no doubt that carrying all the responsibilities of this factory will benefit Afghanistan," said Minister of Agriculture Mohammed Asef Rahimi.

Reconstruction of the Baghlan Sugar Factory started six years ago by the private sectors of Germany and Afghanistan. It had seven initial shareholders, including the Ministry of Agriculture. Three years ago, the four Afghan shareholders gave up their shares, followed by the Germans this year.

Abdulkarim Waziri, the former head of the New Baghlan Sugar Company, says that the company's assets are valued at an estimated $15 million.

"This factory is ready to work. The only problem is shortage of beetroot. If beetroot is provided, it will be capable of good productivity. The factory's infrastructure and systems are ready," said Waziri.

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David Cameron to announce major reduction in Afghanistan troop numbers

London, Dec 26 : David Cameron is expected to reveal that at least 4,500 troops - more than half of the British force - will be withdrawn from the country by the end of next summer’s “fighting season”.

Around 500 troops will leave by the end of this year as Britain and its Nato partners begin discussing the number and type of troops that should remain in Afghanistan when foreign soldiers depart at the end of 2014.

But the Prime Minister will avoid offering a precise timetable for withdrawal, amid tensions between politicians and defence chiefs over how rapid the scaling down should be.

Commanders have long maintained that Nato’s advances - the term success is no longer used - against the Taliban remain “fragile and reversible” and serious doubts remain over the capability of the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF).

Senior commanders believe that drawing down troop numbers too quickly could endanger the lives of those British forces remaining in Helmand and, in the worst case scenario, derail the entire exit strategy.

The decision on the details of the announcement is expected to be made at the meeting of the National Security Council (NSC), made up of senior ministers, civil servants and military leaders, which is set to discuss troop reductions in Afghanistan.

The Prime Minister and the rest of the NSC will be briefed by General Sir David Richards, the Chief of the General Staff, who is known to favour a cautious approach to cutting troop levels.

The timetable is also dependent on the whether the United States plan to confirm their troop reduction strategy before Christmas.

Leon Panetta, the US defence secretary, arrived in Kabul last week to discuss US troop withdrawals with the Afghan government. Mr Panetta also held discussions on the US’s desire to leave up to 10,000 soldiers in the country after the 2014 deadline.

A Whitehall source said last night: “The size of the British force will reduced down to some where between 4,000 and 6,000 by next October.

“Britain will not announce troop reductions before the US does and we have the other Nato members to consider as well. But there is an expectation that the Prime Minister could make the announcement this week.”

The Prime Minister is expected to say that the transition of security control from British and Nato to Afghan forces is on schedule and making good progress.

He will also say that violence in Afghanistan is falling and the vast majority of the country’s population has no interest in seeing a return of the Taliban.

It is understood that over 50 British outposts and checkpoint have been closed or handed over to the Afghan security forces as commanders begin scaling down their “operational footprint”.

But senior commanders remain concerned that the ANSF still do not possess all the military capabilities to either contain or defeat the Taliban.

The Afghan army is still heavily dependent on Britain and other Nato countries for capabilities such as clearing roadside bombs and casualty evacuation as well as intelligence, air and logistics support.

Confidence in the Afghan army has also been eroded following the surge in the number of so-called insider attacks.

However, although many senior officers remain cautious their views have softened in recent months with some even suggesting that speeding up the withdrawal process is the better option.

The Prime Minister is determined to keep defence chiefs on side in any troop reduction process but he is under pressure from members of his own cabinet, especially George Osborne, the Chancellor, who wants to see the £2.5bn annual cost of the war slashed.

Politicians are also concerned at a lack of public support for the war, in which 438 troops have been killed and thousands more injured, which polls show is very low if non-existent, with the majority believing that troops should be brought home immediately.

Earlier this year Philip Hammond the Defence Secretary gave an insight into the Government’s thinking when he admitted that the pace of withdrawal could be increased.

During a visit to Camp Bastion in Helmand, he said: “I think there is a bit of a rethinking going on about how many troops we do actually need.

"There may be some scope for a little bit more flexibility on the way we draw down, and that is something commanders on the ground are looking at very actively.”

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'Helmand was safer under the Taliban'

Marjah, Dec 26 : Nearly three years after US-led forces launched the biggest operation of the war to clear insurgents, foster economic growth and set a model for the rest of Afghanistan, angry residents of Helmand province say they are too afraid to go out after dark because of marauding bands of thieves.

And, during the day, they say corrupt police and government officials bully them into paying bribes.

After 11 years of war, many here long for a return of the Taliban. They say that under the Taliban, who routinely punished thieves by cutting off a hand, they were at least safe from crime and corruption.

"If you had a box of cash on your head, you could go to the farthest part of Marjah and no one would take it from you, even at night," said Maulvi Daoud, who runs a cubbyhole-sized shop in the town.

"Today you bring your motorcycle in front of your shop and it will be gone. Now the situation is that you go on the road and they are standing in police and army uniforms with weapons and they can take your money."

In Marjah in early 2010, about 15,000 Nato and Afghan forces waged the biggest battle of the war. They not only fought the Taliban with weapons, they promised to bring good governance to Marjah and the rest of the southern province of Helmand - and demonstrate to the residents the advantages of shunning the militants.

But it appears the flaw in the plan was with the quality of Afghans chosen by the president, Hamid Karzai, to govern and police the area after most of the fighting ended. And that adds to growing doubts about the entire country's future after foreign troops withdraw by the end of 2014.

Many claim the US-funded local police, a type of locally sanctioned militia, routinely demand bribes and threaten to accuse those who do not comply of being members of the Taliban. Good governance never came to Marjah, they say.

In villages of sun-baked mud homes, at crowded bus stops and in local tea houses where residents sit cross-legged at plastic-covered tables drinking tea and eating off communal plates, people scoffed at claims of security and development. They heaped criticism on the Afghan government and officials- accusing them of stealing billions of dollars in aid money meant for the people - and on an international community that they said ignored their needs and pandered to a corrupt administration.

Mr Daoud, the Marjah shop owner, said there had been more security under the Taliban, who were ousted by the US-led invasion in late 2001.

"They were never cruel to us and the one difference was security. It was better during the Taliban," he said.

His partner in the rickety shop along Marjah's chaotic one-street bazaar, Mohammed Haider, said poppy farmers who planted substitute crops such as cotton are losing money because they cannot sell their harvests. He predicted poppy production would double when foreign soldiers leave in 2014.

Analysts who know Helmand say a corrupt government poses one of the biggest hurdles to stability, alienating the locals and driving them into the hands of the Taliban.

The province is strategically important because of its large-scale poppy production that is financing the insurgency and fuelling criminal activity. While some success has been achieved at getting farmers to plant substitute crops, Helmand is still one of Afghanistan's largest opium-producing provinces.

The Nato-led coalition, known as the International Security Assistance Force, claims there are tangible gains against the Taliban in Helmand and neighbouring Kandahar province.

"While insurgent activity remains problematic in several districts, primarily in northern Helmand and western Kandahar, data from the battle space shows a marked decrease in overall enemy activity," an ISAF spokesman, Jamie Graybeal, said recently.

Despite a drop of 8 per cent in militant attacks from January to October compared with the same period last year, Helmand and neighbouring Nimroz province accounted for 32 per cent of all such attacks reported across the country from October 2011 to October this year, according to the ISAF.

Ryan Evans, a research fellow at the US-based Centre for National Policy, called Helmand the "most dangerous and violent" of Afghanistan's 34 provinces.

Some Afghans believe their countrymen are responsible for the current state of affairs.

Haji Khalil, who moved his family from Marjah to Lashkar Gah during the 2010 offensive, blamed Afghans for the rise in thefts and lawlessness since the defeat of the Taliban.

"During the Taliban no one would steal because we knew the punishment, but when they left everyone began to steal," Khalil said. "We became worse after the Taliban," he said. "The problem is with us."

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Fewest states in 20 years executed inmates in 2012: report

Austin, Dec 26 : Nine states executed inmates in 2012, the fewest number in 20 years, as several Southern states that usually carry out executions did not put any inmates to death, according to a report released by a nonprofit that tracks death penalty data.

"There are still 33 states with the death penalty, but very few are actually regularly carrying out executions," said Richard Dieter, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center and author of the report.

Forty-three inmates were executed this year, the same number as 2011, according to the report by the Washington, D.C.-based organization. Last year, 13 states executed inmates. No more executions are scheduled for this year.

Four states - Texas, Arizona, Oklahoma and Mississippi - accounted for more than three-quarters of the executions. Texas executed 15 people, and Arizona, Oklahoma and Mississippi each executed six. Ohio and Florida each executed three inmates. South Dakota executed two, and Delaware and Idaho each executed one. All of the executions were by lethal injection.

Several states that allow the death penalty and have traditionally had high numbers of executions did not carry out any in 2012. Among those was Virginia, which is second to Texas in the number of executions since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Missouri also had no executions in 2012.

"Even in the traditional death penalty areas, the death penalty is not being used as much," Dieter said.

"It's not seen as a normal or regular punishment for a crime," he added. "It's very expensive, it takes a long time to get to a death sentence, many are overturned and executions take place 20 years after the sentence. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense to invest in something so speculative and far off."

But in Texas, Governor Rick Perry's office has said the governor "supports the death penalty as a fitting and constitutional punishment for the most heinous crimes."

Connecticut this year repealed the death penalty, bringing to 17 the number of states without the punishment. Illinois repealed its death penalty last year, while New York, New Jersey and New Mexico also did so recently.

This year in California, which has not carried out an execution in nearly seven years, voters declined to repeal the death penalty.

Next, Dieter said he expects to see efforts to repeal the death penalty in Maryland, Colorado and New Hampshire.

The number of new death sentences in 2012 was projected to be 78, the second-lowest since 1976. The lowest year since the reinstatement was 2011, with 76 sentences.

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Hollywood quiet so far on gun control after Connecticut

Los Angeles, Dec 26 : Pick a social cause and you'll often find a Hollywood celebrity speaking out. Gay marriage (Brad Pitt), Darfur (George Clooney), the environment (Robert Redford or Leonardo DiCaprio).

Most of Hollywood's biggest action movie stars have remained silent, so far, on the divisive issue following last week's slaying of 20 young children and six adults at a Connecticut school. And pop culture experts say it's not hard to see why.

"If you are known for being a star who carries around weaponry and fires it, when something like this happens, the last thing in the world you want to do is insert yourself ... unless you say you are never going to star in another action-adventure movie," Robert Thompson, professor of popular culture at Syracuse University, said.

Longtime gun control advocates like actress Susan Sarandon and "Bowling for Columbine" documentary director Michael Moore were quick to take to Twitter after the Connecticut massacre, and tens of thousands of Americans have since signed online petitions urging approval of stricter gun control laws.

Yet major action heroes Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Denzel Washington, as well as Pitt and Clooney, have had little or nothing public to say.

That may change, according to a veteran public relations executive who handles many Hollywood clients.

"I think there will be a very public display of outrage from prominent people in the entertainment world and people wanting to do something about guns," said the public relations chief who asked not to be named because he was not authorized to speak for his clients.

"I think the stereotypical Hollywood action star not wanting to touch an issue like this may be dated. There is a lot of talk about people wanting to express very public outrage. Let's see who joins, and how that manifests itself," he said.

With Hollywood studios again under scrutiny for making violent movies, Paramount Pictures canceled the premiere in Pittsburgh of Tom Cruise's new film "Jack Reacher," in which Cruise plays a cold-blooded former military sniper.

In New York, the Lincoln Center Film Society postponed a screening and conversation with Cruise "out of respect for the families who lost loved ones in Newtown, Connecticut," according to a statement.

"Jack Reacher," which opens with a sniper picking off and killing five apparently random targets on a riverfront promenade, is due to open in U.S. movie theaters.

Cruise has said nothing publicly about the shootings in Connecticut, and maintained his silence on the subject during an appearance on "Late Show With David Letterman" to promote the film.

But "Jack Reacher" director Christopher McQuarrie told entertainment industry website TheWrap.com that the actor played a key role in the decision to cancel the red carpet premiere in Pittsburgh - where much of the movie was shot.

"Tom and I insisted on it. Nobody should be celebrating anything 24 hours after a tragic event like that," McQuarrie told TheWrap.

Letterman, however, spoke at length about the killings before Cruise joined him on the set, saying "it's a sad, sad holiday season."

The talk show host also said that gun laws were not the answer to a "multi-faceted" social ill.

"I'm not dumb enough to think that this is a problem of guns, because before there were guns people were killing each other," Letterman said.

He added that he was mystified by the "need" for semi-automatic weapons like one reportedly used in the Connecticut massacre. In a lighter vein, he remarked: "I've never seen a deer worth 30 rounds of ammo and an automatic rifle."

On television, the Fox broadcast network pulled graphic trailers for its upcoming serial killer drama "The Following," and replaced episodes of animated shows "Family Guy" and "American Dad" to avoid what a network source called the airing of "any potentially sensitive content."

The finale of Emmy-winning drama "Homeland" - which included a massive car bomb scene - was preceded with a disclaimer warning that some scenes may be disturbing.

Hollywood is often irked when movies and videogames are held to blame for the actions of Americans, some of them with mental health issues, who have run amok with guns in recent years.

"I think it's always unfair to single out the entertainment business for scrutiny. There is something deep in the American psyche that is much deeper than videogames or movie or records," the public relations executive said.

Despite the 12 people killed and 59 wounded by a gunman at a Colorado movie screening in July of "The Dark Knight Rises," the Batman movie went on to make more than $1 billion at the global box office and is the second most-successful movie in the United States and Canada for 2012.

Thompson at Syracuse University questioned how much influence celebrities wield when expressing their personal opinions - whatever the cause - and especially on an issue like gun control that raises such passion in the United States on both sides of the argument.

"It is much more likely that that kind of speaking out gets people to change their opinion about a celebrity, not an issue," Thompson said

Besides, he said, who really cares what random stars think about events as emotive as the Connecticut killings?

"Celebrities weighing in after something like this is perceived by a lot of people as tacky. The idea of expecting (their) opinion to somehow make anything better or different is, I think, perceived by a lot of people as self-centered hubris," Thompson said.

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Hollywood hacker sentenced to 10 years in prison

Los Angeles, Dec 26 : A federal judge sentenced a hacker to 10 years in prison after he broke into the personal online accounts of Scarlett Johansson, Christina Aguilera and other women and posted revealing photos and other material on the Internet.

U.S. District Judge S. James Otero sentenced Christopher Chaney after hearing from a tearful Johansson in a videotaped statement.

The case included the revelation that nude photos taken by Johansson of herself and meant for her then-husband Ryan Reynolds were leaked online.

"I have been truly humiliated and embarrassed," Johansson said. "I find Christopher Chaney's actions to be perverted and reprehensible."

Prosecutors said Chaney, 35, of Jacksonville, Fla., also targeted two women he knew, sending nude pictures of one former co-worker to her father. The judge noted the damage to the women was in some ways worse than what Chaney's celebrity victims endured.

The women, identified in court filings only by initials, wrote in letters to Otero that their lives have been irreparably damaged by Chaney's actions. One has anxiety and panic attacks; the other is depressed and paranoid. Both said Chaney was calculated, cruel and creepy.

"It's hard to fathom the mindset of a person who would accomplish all of this," Otero said. "These types of crimes are as pernicious and serious as physical stalking."

Prosecutors were seeking six years imprisonment, but Otero said he was concerned that Chaney would not be able to control his behavior and had shown a "callous disregard" for his actions.

Chaney, who could have faced a maximum sentence of 60 years under the law, apologized in court but denied that he had sent naked photos of women he knew to their relatives.

"I don't know what else to say other than I'm sorry," Chaney said. "I could be sentenced to never use a computer again and I wouldn't care."

Chaney previously pleaded guilty to counts that included wiretapping and unauthorized access to a computer.

Actress and singer Renee Olstead said in court that she attempted to kill herself after Chaney leaked nude photos of her. She said she had never before considered suicide.

"I just really hope this doesn't happen to someone else," she said, crying. "You can lose everything because of the actions of a stranger."

Chaney looked up at her a few times as she spoke but kept his head low for most of Olstead's statement.

Chaney will be placed on three years of supervised probation when he is released and will have to notify officials of his online accounts. But the judge feared that wouldn't be enough and said he wished he could sentence Chaney to lifetime supervision.

The accounts of the cybervictims served as a cautionary tale for people — even major celebrities — who snap personal, sometimes revealing photos.

Aguilera said in a statement issued days before the sentencing that although she knows that she's often in the limelight, Chaney took from her some of the private moments she shares with friends.

"That feeling of security can never be given back and there is no compensation that can restore the feeling one has from such a large invasion of privacy," Aguilera said.

Prosecutors said Chaney illegally accessed the email accounts of more than 50 people in the entertainment industry between November 2010 and October 2011. Aguilera, Mila Kunis and Johansson agreed to have their identities made public with the hope the move would provide awareness about online intrusion.

Some of Aguilera's photos appeared online after Chaney sent an email from the account of her stylist, Simone Harouche, to Aguilera asking the singer for scantily clad photographs, prosecutors said.

Chaney was arrested in October 2011 as part of a yearlong investigation of celebrity hacking that authorities dubbed "Operation Hackerazzi." Chaney's computer hard drive contained numerous private celebrity photos and a document that compiled their extensive personal data, according to a search warrant.

He continued to pursue his victims after the FBI seized his computer, a factor Otero said warranted a harsher penalty.

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Fatal Pasadena police shooting ruled lawful

Los Angeles, Dec 26 : The district attorney's office concluded that Pasadena police officers responding to a robbery report acted lawfully when they fatally shot a suspect who turned out to be unarmed.

The officers shot Kendrec McDade, 19, during a nighttime encounter on March 24 after a man reported two men robbed him of a backpack at gunpoint.

A Dec. 17 letter from the district attorney's Justice System Integrity Division to Pasadena Police Chief Phillip L. Sanchez said an investigation concluded the officers "acted in lawful self-defense and in defense of others."

Attorney Caree Harper, who represents the McDade family, said she will review the eight-page report but called its reliance on "contorted stories" from Pasadena police officers "insulting."

The letter said Oscar Carrillo, the man who reported being robbed, mentioned a gun eight times during a 911 call, and that dispatch advised Officers Matthew Griffin and Jeffrey Newlen that both suspects were armed.

Carrillo later acknowledged he lied about guns in hopes of getting a faster police response, the letter said.

Carrillo was arrested for investigation of involuntary manslaughter, but prosecutors declined to charge him. His lawyer claimed police were scapegoating Carrillo.

Harper said McDade's father, Kenneth McDade, was disappointed and dismayed at the decision against prosecuting Carrillo.

With no charges filed against Carrillo, Tracy McDade "is not completely surprised" that prosecutors didn't pursue charges against police officers, Harper said.

McDade's family has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit and a claim against the city of Pasadena and five officers.

An analysis included in the letter described the officers pursuing the fleeing McDade by car and on foot, his left arm swinging back and forth in a running motion but his right hand clutching his waistband.

McDade was running on a sidewalk when he suddenly turned into the street and headed directly at Griffin, who was in his patrol car and opened fire because he believed McDade was about to shoot him while confined in the vehicle, the letter said.

Newlen, who was on foot at that point, also opened fire, believing McDade was firing at Griffin, the letter said.

In May, a 17-year-old boy who had been with McDade appeared in juvenile court and acknowledged his role in the theft that led to the shooting.

The minor made the admission — the juvenile court equivalent of a guilty plea — to two felony counts of burglary, one count of grand theft and a misdemeanor count of failing to register as a gang member. He wasn't identified because of his age.

A court commissioner sentenced him to six months at a community camp program.


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Dingo unchained: Dog photographed stealing woman’s purse

Sydney, Dec 26 ”: An Australian dingo in the wild Australia's dingo population is no stranger to getting blamed for crimes. But this time there is irrefutable evidence that a dingo stole a British woman's bag containing thousands in cash and jewelry.

Australian network ABC reports that the 58-year-old woman was walking along a beach in New South Wales when the dingo made the grab.

Several witnesses tried unsuccessfully to warn the woman and another individual took photos of the dingo racing off into the nearby dunes.

The Australian dingo often makes its home in sandy areas near bodies of water. It's considered an apex predator, meaning it has no known rivals in the wild. However, interbreeding with other wild dogs has led to the dingo becoming a protected animal in Australia, with certain habitats designated for pure dingos.

There have been several reported dingo attacks against humans, but this appears to be an extremely rare case of an animal "robbing" a person of personal belongings.

Police were eventually able to track down the dingo, but have not yet found any of the stolen merchandise.

Port Stephens Crime Manager, Acting Inspector Matthew Maroney, tells ABC that the dingo, which was shot and killed, was suspected of being behind several other incidents this year. "It was established that this animal had been the subject of numerous complaints in the prior three months, jumping onto barbeques in the van park and approaching and stealing things from people," Maroney told ABC.

"The offending dingo was photographed by witnesses and was clearly identified as having one leg predominantly white," he added.

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Molten gold signals revival in Calif. Mother Lode

Sutter Creek, Dec 26  : The gold miners who made California famous were the rugged loners trying to shake nuggets loose from streams or hillsides.

The ones who made the state rich were those who worked for big mining companies that blasted gold from an underground world of dust and darkness.

The last of the state's great mines closed because mining gold proved unprofitable after World War II. But with the price of the metal near historic highs, hovering around $1,700 an ounce, the California Mother Lode's first large-scale hard rock gold mining operation in a half-century is coming back to life.

Miners are digging again where their forebears once unearthed riches from eight historic mines that honeycomb Sutter Gold Mining Co.'s holdings about 50 miles southeast of Sacramento. Last week, mill superintendent Paul Skinner poured the first thin stream of glowing molten gold into a mold.

"Nothing quite like it," murmured Skinner, who has been mining for 65 years.

It was just four ounces, culled from more than eight tons of ore, but it signaled the end of $20 million worth of construction and the pending start of production. The company announced the ceremonial first pour before financial markets opened, marking the mine's official reincarnation.

By spring, the company's 110 employees expect to be removing 150 tons of ore a day from a site immediately north of the old Lincoln Mine, enough to produce nearly 2,000 ounces of gold each month.

The company projects resources of more than 682,000 ounces of gold worth more than $1 billion at today's prices. Company officials say they are confident there is far more in their historically rich section of the 120-mile-long Mother Lode region of the Sierra Nevada foothills.

Reopening the mine has been anything but a gold rush, however.

It took three decades for the mine's operators to obtain more than 40 environmental permits. By contrast, the old Wild West miners wreaked such devastation that they prompted some of the nation's first conservation efforts nearly 130 years ago.

"We've gone from no regulation to probably the other extreme," said Bob Hutmacher, the company's chief financial officer.

In recent decades, most of California's gold has come from the state's desert regions. However, high gold prices recently spurred what authorities say was a rogue surface gold mine in El Dorado County, east of Sacramento. The owners now face criminal charges.

Farther north, several mines have started the process to reopen. Most of these kinds of hard rock mines have recently been known more as tourist destinations, including the Empire Mine, which was once the state's largest hard rock mine. It became a state historic site after it closed in 1956.

Sutter Gold's mine also hosted underground tours featuring gold mining history until about a year ago. A half-million people took the tours before they were halted for insurance reasons as the company scrambled to begin production.

Miners have now burrowed more than a half-mile underground and are digging another half-mile network of tunnels to reach the milky white quartz deposits that contain the gold.

Six-hundred vertical feet underground, Keith Emerald was soaking wet in a T-shirt, rubber boots and bib overalls in the damp, chilly mine.

The only light came from his battery-operated hardhat headlamp as he leaned into a deafening 135-pound jackleg pneumatic drill, driving an 8 1/2-foot-long bit repeatedly into a wall of solid rock. The more than 30 holes he drilled were packed with explosives to reduce a head-high archway to rubble.

"Fire in the hole," came a disembodied voice over the mine's radio system hours later.

The miners are using tools like the jackleg drill that have changed little in a century because they are searching for relatively narrow bands of quartz, averaging 2.4 feet wide. That makes it too costly to use modern mechanized equipment that would churn out tons of worthless rock.

"This harkens back to the 19th century where you follow the gold veins," said chief operating officer Matt Collins. "We're throwbacks."

Their predecessors pried 3.5 million ounces of gold from the ground underlying the company's holdings before the last mine, the Eureka, closed in 1958.

The company has mining rights under about 4.5 miles of the Mother Lode between the quaint Gold Rush communities of Sutter Creek, population 2,500, and Amador City, with 200 residents. The mining area roughly parallels Highway 49, named after the miners who rushed to California from around the globe after gold was discovered in 1849.

Sutter Creek is the namesake of John Sutter of gold discovery fame. The nearby mines once made Hetty Green the nation's richest woman and propelled the success of railroad baron Leland Stanford, who went on to become governor and found Stanford University.

Now the towns boast more about their proximity to foothill wineries and the restaurants, boutiques and antique stores that line their historic main streets.

"(Highway) 49 is known as the Gold Rush road. If there's gold to be found, I think it should be mined," said Jan Hicks, who lives in nearby Jackson but clerks in an 1869 Amador City building that once housed a general store catering to miners.

"It's still an allure, the mining history," Hicks said as she unpacked tourist knickknacks in what is now a home and garden shop. "We're very fortunate. We have gold and grapes and antiques. What isn't there to love?"

Donald "Pat" Crosby, 85, moved to Sutter Creek in 1959, just in time to watch the gold, sand, clay and logging industries peter out. The former city councilman remembers laughing at the Lincoln Mine owner who first proposed reopening the mine two decades ago.

"You're going to make more off of tourism than you ever would from gold," Crosby recalls telling the owner.

"Now, gold is taking the first step coming back. Thank God for that — I never thought it would."

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Massachusetts fines Morgan Stanley over Facebook IPO

Boston, Dec 26: Morgan Stanley (MS), the lead underwriter for Facebook Inc's (FB.O) initial public offering, will pay a $5 million fine to Massachusetts for violating securities laws governing how investment research can be distributed.

Massachusetts' top securities regulator, William Galvin, charged that a top Morgan Stanley banker had improperly coached Facebook on how to disclose sensitive financial information selectively, perpetuating what he calls "an unlevel playing field" between Wall Street and Main Street.

Morgan Stanley has faced criticism since Facebook went public in May for revealing revised earnings and revenue forecasts to select clients before the media company's $16 billion initial public offering.

This is the first time a case stemming from Morgan Stanley's handling of the Facebook offering has been settled.

Facebook had privately told Wall Street research analysts about softer forecasts because of less robust mobile revenues. A top Morgan Stanley banker coached Facebook executives on how to get the message out, Galvin said.

A Morgan Stanley spokeswoman said the company is "pleased to have reached a settlement" and that it is "committed to robust compliance with both the letter and the spirit of all applicable regulations and laws." The company neither admitted nor denied any wrongdoing.

Galvin, who has been aggressive in policing how research is distributed on Wall Street ever since investment banks reached a global settlement in 2003, said the bank violated that settlement. He fined Citigroup (NYS:C) $2 million over similar charges in late October.

"The conduct at Morgan Stanley was more egregious," he said in an interview explaining the amount of the fine. "With it we will get their attention and begin to take steps in restoring some confidence for retail investors to invest."

Galvin also said that his months-long investigation into the Facebook IPO is far from over and that he continues to review the other banks involved. Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan also acted as underwriters. The underwriting fee for all underwriters was reported to be $176 million at the time, or 1.1 percent of the proceeds.

As lead underwriter, Morgan Stanley took in $68 million in fees from the IPO, according to a estimate.

Massachusetts did not name the Morgan Stanley banker in its documents but personal information detailed in the matter suggest it is Michael Grimes, a top technology banker who was instrumental in the Facebook IPO.

The report says the unnamed banker joined Morgan Stanley in 1995 and became a managing director in 1998, dates that correlate with Grimes' career at the firm. It also says the banker works in Morgan Stanley's Menlo Park, California, office, where Grimes also works.

Grimes did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and was not accused of any wrongdoing by name.

The state said the banker helped a Facebook executive release new information and then guided the executive on how to speak with Wall Street analysts about it. The banker, Galvin said, rehearsed with Facebook's Treasurer and wrote the bulk of the script Facebook's Treasurer used when calling the research analysts.

A number of Wall Street analysts cut their growth estimates for Facebook in the days before the IPO after the company filed an amended prospectus.

Facebook's treasurer then quickly called a number for Wall Street analysts providing even more information.

The banker "was not allowed to call research analysts himself, so he did everything he could to ensure research analysts received new revenue numbers which they then provided to institutional investors," Galvin said.

Galvin's consent order also says that the banker spoke with company lawyers and then to Facebook's chief financial officer about how to prove an update "without creating the appearance of not providing the underlying trend information to all investors."

The banker and all others involved with the matter at Morgan Stanley are still employed by the company, a person familiar with the matter said.

Retail investors were not given any similar information, Galvin said, saying this case illustrates how institutional investors often have an edge over retail investors.

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Walmex used bribes to open 19 Mexico stores: NY Times

New York, Dec 26 : Wal-Mart Stores Inc's (WMT) Mexican affiliate routinely used bribes to open stores in desirable locations, according to a New York Times investigation, which cites 19 instances of the retail giant paying off local officials.

The Times first reported in April that Wal-Mart had intentionally stifled an internal probe into bribery at its Mexican affiliate Walmex (WALMEXV.MX). Late last month, Mexico's anti-corruption body said it found no irregularities in the permits Wal-Mart received in the country, but that two audits remain underway.

In the new report published on its web site, the Times detailed specific instances in which Walmex allegedly paid off officials to expand in Mexico. The alleged payoffs often related to zoning laws and environmental permits that would have otherwise prevented Walmex's opening of new stores.

Much of the report focused on a store built near ancient ruins in Teotihuacan, north of Mexico City. Walmex was hit by protests in 2004 after announcing plans to build a warehouse less than a mile from the city.

In a statement, Wal-Mart spokesman David Tovar said the company was already looking into the allegations in the Times article regarding the permitting and licensing process for the Teotihuacan store, as part of a broader internal probe that Wal-Mart began over a year ago into potential violations of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

"At this point, the investigation is still ongoing and we have not yet reached final conclusions," he said, adding that the company has taken steps to improve its compliance programs.

Wal-Mart is also cooperating with the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on the matter, Tovar said.

The U.S. Justice Department, the SEC, U.S. lawmakers and authorities in Mexico have all been conducting their own probes.

An official at Mexico's federal attorney general's office said that an initial probe had been opened following the Times' April story, but that prosecutors did not uncover sufficient evidence to file any charges.

The probe closed "a couple months ago," the official said.

In a "Leading with Integrity" letter sent to Wal-Mart employees after the Times report, Chief Executive Mike Duke - who oversaw international operations from 2005 to 2009 - said integrity is the foundation of the company's culture.

"As leaders, we are measured by our weakest moment, so we can't have a weak moment in the area of integrity," Duke wrote. "We can have a bad sales day and a good sales day and hope they average out, but we can't average integrity."

Shares of Wal-Mart rose 0.65 percent to close at $69.20 in New York trading, before the Times story was posted.

The Times report did not give a figure for how much Wal-Mart spent on all of the alleged bribes. But it cites instances in which the company allegedly paid $221,000 in bribes to build a store near the ruins in Teotihuacan, as well as $341,000 in alleged bribes to establish a store near the Basilica de Guadalupe without appropriate permits, and another $765,000 in alleged bribes to set up a refrigerated distribution center in an environmentally fragile area near Mexico City.

According to the report, Wal-Mart's international real estate committee approved Walmex's plan to spend about $8 million on the Teotihuacan store. The committee consisted of 20 or so top executives including Chairman S. Robson Walton, according to the report. Walton is a son of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton.

The earlier Times report said a 2005 Wal-Mart inquiry had found some $24 million in suspect payments in Mexico, but the world's largest retailer essentially shut down the probe and didn't notify law enforcement officials until December 2011, after the New York Times informed Wal-Mart it was looking at the issue.

That report said Walmex had taken active steps to conceal the bribery from headquarters when it was happening, but alleged that senior Bentonville executives were involved in decisions about the internal investigation.

Wal-Mart lost $10 billion of its market value immediately following the report, and has since disclosed it has spent $30 million to update its global anti-corruption program and undertaken a massive investigation into the allegations.

Wal-Mart has incurred some $100 million in various costs related to the matter.

Also, in November, Wal-Mart disclosed it expanded its internal inquiry to cover bribery allegations in Brazil, China and India, and its joint venture in India suspended its finance chief and other employees as part of its inquiry.

Bribery and corruption are pervasive in Mexico, where the justice system is weak and lower-level public sector workers earn relatively low salaries. A study last year by Transparency International showed Mexican companies were perceived to be the third-most likely behind those in China and Russia to pay bribes abroad.

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Knight Capital's board said to be split on rival buyout offers

New York, Dec 26 : Knight Capital Group's (KCG) board was split between two competing offers for the firm after a meeting where suitors Getco Holding Company LLC and Virtu Financial LLC presented their sweetened bids to Knight's directors, sources involved in the talks said.

Knight had not reached a decision on which offer to accept, as it weighed different structures of the bids as well as the motivations of some of its own investors, according to one of the sources. Still, a deal of some kind for the electronic trading firm was increasingly looking more likely than not, the source added.

Getco recently increased the amount of cash to its cash-and-stock offer for Knight, which executes around 10 percent of U.S. equity trading volume, valuing it around $1.8 billion, while Virtu boosted its all-cash bid to $3.20 a share, or around $1.6 billion, the source said.

Chicago-based Getco's deal would see it merge into Knight to create a new publicly traded company, whereas Virtu would take Knight private.

Jefferies Group Inc (JEF), which helped lead a rescue of Knight earlier this summer and became a major investor, is helping to finance Getco's bid, leading some at Knight to question whether it was merely looking to take profits from the investment, the source said. Jefferies was also instrumental in bringing Getco into the investor group at the time, the source said.

Knight is also debating whether closely held Getco was looking at the deal as a way to find a stronger partner, as Getco's profits are down around 60 percent this year, the source said.

Virtu has lined up financing for its bid and is backed by private equity firm Silver Lake, a Virtu investor, separate sources said.

A Getco spokeswoman was not immediately available for comment. A Knight spokeswoman and a Virtu spokesman declined to comment.

The discussions around Knight come as both Getco and Virtu eye its U.S. market-making business, which uses computer models to match buy and sell orders in stocks and options. The business, one of the largest in the country, has remained profitable despite a market-wide trading slump.

Getco and Virtu have market-making units that compete against Knight.

Knight also runs bond and foreign exchange trading platforms, and owns a reverse mortgage lender as well as a stake of about 20 percent in Direct Edge, the No. 4 U.S. cash equities exchange.

The Jersey City-based firm, however, became vulnerable to a takeover this summer when a software glitch left it nearly bankrupt, leading a group of investors to step in with $400 million in emergency capital.

The rescue deal was led by Jefferies and included Getco, as well as Blackstone Group LP (BX), TD Ameritrade Holding Corp (AMTD.N), Stifel Financial (SF), and Stephens Inc.

As part of the deal, Getco investor General Atlantic, as well as Blackstone and TD Ameritrade, were given seats on Knight's board.

The latest discussions started after Getco made an unsolicited bid late last month for Knight, which was followed by Virtu's bid, which was also unsolicited.

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AIG marks end of era with $6.45 billion AIA stake sale

Hong Kong, Dec 26 : American International Group Inc raised $6.45 billion from the sale of its remaining stake in AIA Group Ltd in Asia's second-largest block sale ever, exiting a business the U.S. insurer started nearly 100 years ago.

The sale, which priced near the top of its indicative range, marks the end of an era for AIG (AIG) in Asia and its Chief Executive Robert Benmosche, who took AIA (1299.HK) public in Hong Kong in the world's third-biggest IPO two years ago.

AIG was forced to sell parts of its massive business, including AIA, after the U.S. government bailed the company out in 2008 as it teetered on the brink of collapse. The government ultimately spent $182 billion on the rescue.

AIG priced its 13.69 percent stake or 1.65 billion shares in Asia's third-largest insurer at HK$30.30 per share. The deal had been marketed at HK$29.65-HK$30.65 apiece.

That is a discount of 4.3 percent to AIA's close at HK$31.65 in Hong Kong. AIA shares fell 0.8 percent in trade, less than the discount, underscoring demand for the stock. Trade had been suspended at the company's request.

"There are plenty of candidates out there ready to buy into the stock," said Ping Cheng, an insurance analyst at DBS Vickers in Shanghai.

"AIA offers very solid growth outlook and has a profitable profile. The expectation is that there is plenty of growth out there. They just did an acquisition in Thailand, they're in the low penetration markets like Vietnam, Cambodia."

Shares in AIA have soared about 61 percent since the $20.5 billion IPO in 2010, and have become a top choice of fund managers looking to benefit from growing wealth in Asia and booming demand for insurance and other financial products.

The block offering, surpassed only by Vodafone plc's (VOD.L) $6.6 billion stake sale in China Mobile <0941.HK> two years ago, comes one week after a lockup on the shares expired, adding to two other rounds of AIA share sales in September and March that had raised about $8 billion in total.

"The short time frame in which (the placing) was completed demonstrates the strength of investor support for AIA and its growth prospects," AIA's Chief Executive Mark Tucker said in a statement.

The deal also adds to a flurry of block offerings which target a select number of institutional investors and seek to bypass volatile demand from retail investors.

Those share sales have surged nearly 90 percent so far in 2012 from 2011 to $49.2 billion, according to data, helping investment banks in Asia, ex-Japan, buffer their business from a 60 percent plunge in IPOs.

AIG, which expects to use the net proceeds from the AIA sale for general corporate purposes, has not identified the buyers.

Deutsche Bank AG (DBK.DE) and Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS) were hired as joint global coordinators for the offering, with Citigroup Inc (NYS:C), JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM) and Morgan Stanley (MS) also acting as bookrunners.

AIG's exit from AIA comes at a time when Asia's insurance industry is growing, attracting buyers hoping to tap into the expansion.

A Thai conglomerate bought HSBC's stake in Ping An Insurance (2318.HK) for $9.38 billion, while Hong Kong businessman Richard Li acquired ING's (INGA.AS) Hong Kong, Macau and Thailand insurance units for $2.14 billion.

The exit has also forced the U.S. insurer to strike out on its own in Asia, where it is focusing its attention on China. AIG became the biggest cornerstone investor in the $3.6 billion IPO of People's Insurance Company (Group) of China (PICC), also inking a joint venture to sell life insurance in the world's second-largest economy.

"The AIA exit was more about returning cash to repay the government, to strengthen its domestic U.S. business," said Cheng from DBS Vickers.

"Betting on China, they're using a small part of their funds, putting on a long-term story. It's probably easier for you to have a foothold in China going through a strategic holding rather than going directly yourself."

AIG's business started in Shanghai in 1919 under U.S. entrepreneur C.V. Starr, with AIA ultimately becoming the name of its regional operation. Twenty years later, Starr temporarily relocated to the United States to avoid political instability in Asia, and following World War Two decided to run his U.S. businesses from New York. They came to be known as AIG, whose shares began trading on the New York Stock Exchange in 1984.

AIA has built a sprawling and successful business across the region, with an army of hundreds of thousands of agents competing head-to-head with Prudential in several countries.

AIA's 2010 IPO came after a failed takeover offer from Prudential Plc (PRU.L).

The U.S. Treasury Department said it has completed its final sale of common stock in AIG, cutting its shares in the insurer to zero four years after the bailout.

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China home price rises quicken, uptrend takes hold

Beijing, Dec 26 : China home prices showed fresh signs of recovery taking hold in November, the fourth month in the last five to show a rise as a two-year long government campaign to curb prices frays.

Average home prices in 70 major cities across China rose 0.3 percent in November from the previous month, after a 0.05 percent rise in October, according to calculations from data released by the National Bureau of Statistics.

Real estate, which directly impacts around 40 other business sectors in China, is a key driver in the world's second-largest economy, which is reviving from a lackluster third quarter.

The signs of a turn in property coincide with other November data published recently which showed industrial output and retail sales rising at their fastest annual pace in eight months, reinforcing views that growth in the fourth quarter will accelerate from the third quarter's 7.4 percent.

"The risk of tightening property curbs is accumulating due to rising home prices along with reviving economy and stabilizing investment," said Zhao Xinkui, a property analyst with Huarong Securities in Beijing.

A  poll showed that economists expected a 7.0 percent increase in house prices in 2013 and a rise of 5.0 percent in 2014 due to a reviving economy and strong housing demand.

Home prices rose month-on-month in 53 of 70 major cities monitored by the NBS in November, up from 35 in October, confirming a trend of recovering property market, the NBS data showed.

The NBS also said new home prices in Beijing in November rose 0.7 percent from a year earlier, compared with October's year-on-year decline of 0.2 percent. Shanghai's price fall, meanwhile, eased to 0.8 percent in November on a year ago, versus a 1.3 percent annual fall in October.

China's annual policy-setting conference said that Beijing would maintain property controls, including restrictions on how many homes individuals can buy.

A house price boom between 2009 and 2011 pushed costs well above the reach of many people in China's rapidly emerging urban middle class, sowing social discontent.

Such a modest rise in home price, if turned into a steep rebound next year would fuel market uncertainty over the risk that Beijing will seek to further stifle the property market through controls.

China's fight against property speculation has headed into its third year but the middle-class Chinese are still priced out the of the urban housing market.

A recent uptick in land costs - typically a prelude to home price rises - have changed market sentiment and pushed would-be home buyers back to the market in a bid to beat increases.

China's top state think tank warned last week that China should enforce new property controls next year to curb speculation and prevent an expected modest recovery in house prices from turning into a steep rebound.


"The Chinese government would like to keep the stability of the real estate market. If home prices and sales rebound too quickly next year, the government might unveil fresh tightening policies, including expanding property tax beyond Shanghai and Chongqing," said Liu Yuan, a head of research at property consultancy Centaline.

Rocketing property prices were a major consequence of China's last economic stimulus effort, the 4 trillion yuan ($635 billion) package launched in 2008 at the depths of the global financial crisis.

Compared with a year ago, however, home prices are still falling nationwide. The 0.7 percent drop in November was the ninth such decline but easing from a year-on-year fall of 1.1 percent in October, according to calculations.

This started its weighted China home price index in January 2011 when the NBS stopped providing nationwide data. The NBS now only publishes price changes for each of the 70 major cities.

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Judge rejects Apple injunction bid vs. Samsung

New York, Dec 26 : A U.S. judge denied Apple Inc's request for a permanent injunction against Samsung Electronics' smartphones, depriving the iPhone maker of key leverage in the mobile patent wars.

Apple had been awarded $1.05 billion in damages in August after a U.S. jury found Samsung had copied critical features of the iPhone and iPad. The Samsung products run on the Android operating system, developed by Google.

Apple and Samsung are going toe-to-toe in a patents dispute that mirrors the struggle for industry supremacy between the two companies, which control more than half of worldwide smartphone sales.

For most of the year, Apple had been successful in its U.S. litigation campaign against Samsung. Apple convinced U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose, California to impose two pretrial sales bans against Samsung -- one against the Galaxy Tab 10.1, and the other against the Galaxy Nexus phone.

Apple then sought to keep up the pressure after its sweeping jury win. It asked Koh to impose a permanent sales ban against 26 mostly older Samsung phones, though any injunction could potentially have been extended to Samsung's newer Galaxy products.

Yet the jury exonerated Samsung on the patent used to ban Galaxy Tab 10.1 sales, and Koh rescinded that injunction. Then, in October, a federal appeals court reversed Koh's ban against the Nexus phone.

In her order, Koh cited that appellate ruling as binding legal precedent, ruling that Apple had not presented enough evidence that its patented features drove consumer demand for the entire iPhone.

"The phones at issue in this case contain a broad range of features, only a small fraction of which are covered by Apple's patents," Koh wrote.

"Though Apple does have some interest in retaining certain features as exclusive to Apple," she continued, "it does not follow that entire products must be forever banned from the market because they incorporate, among their myriad features, a few narrow protected functions."

An Apple spokeswoman declined to comment on Koh's ruling, and a Samsung representative could not immediately be reached.

In a separate order, Koh rejected a bid by Samsung for a new trial based on an allegation that the jury foreman was improperly biased in favor of Apple.

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Illegal sand extraction irks residents

Chrengpora, Dec 26 : Outraged at illegal extraction of sand from river Jehlum here in occupied Kashmir, residents of Prang, Chrengpora and Banyariare have demanded immediate action against the people involved in this illegal trade.

 Illegal sand extraction from the river Jhelum near Banyari, Chrengpora, Bakshibal and adjoining villages is posing a threat to the embankments, locals said.
 They said a few contractors in nexus with the officials of Fisheries and Geology Mining Department are carrying out the illegal sand extraction. They said that district administration has not paid any heed towards their repeated pleas to stop the sand extraction in these areas.

 Locals alleged that some people, supported by elected representatives and officers, have started extracting sand by using lightweight machines and have dug more than eight feet into the river. “If the same situation continues the embankments of Jhelum River would recede and it can lead to the loss of lives, and people putting up around Jehlum would be permanently deprived of their water source,” locals added.

 They urged Deputy Commissioner to initiate action against the culprits. “If no action is taken we will be left with no other option other than taking to streets,” residents said.

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7 years on, Prang residents await commissioning of 3 MW

Prang, Dec 26 : Residents of Prang area here in held Kashmir are facing acute shortage of electricity    as the construction work of the three Megawatt receiving station is going on at snail’s pace.

Locals told Greater Kashmir the receiving station was approved seven years ago by the Power Development Department. However, it is yet to be commissioned.

Locals said the construction of the receiving station was halted several times due to the “lackadaisical attitude” of the PDD officials.  

 The receiving station if commissioned would benefit about 8,000 consumers in the Prang and adjoining villages.

 The station is almost complete with regard to the construction of infrastructure; the equipment required for the station has also been acquired however there is dispute on the transmission line with the villagers of Sadunanra.

 However, residents of Sadunanra blamed PDD for the delay. “The dispute which the department is speaking about is three years old. The PDD is not serious about commissioning this project. Had PDD officials shown slight interest villagers would have easily allowed them to lay the transmission line through the village,” locals added.

 “We are demanding electricity, we pay bills, we have nothing to do with false promises which the department is making for the past five years, we want power,” they said.

 “We approached the concerned Deputy Commissioner and PDD officials on many occasions and apprised them about the issue, but response from their side was cold,” they added.

 Residents said they are now planning to meet the Chief Minister Omer Abdullah and apprise him about the issue. “We are left with no option than to seek CM’s intervention,” they added.

 Superintend Engineer Power Development Department Mushtaq Ahmed said: “The issue has been taken up with the Deputy Commissioner Bandipora. It is due a dispute with a framer that department could not commission the receiving station. However it would be made functional within a few days.”

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Gangbugh faces acute water shortage

Prang, Dec 26 : Residents of Gangbugh village here in held Kashmir are facing acute shortage of drinking water from past eight years due to acute power shortage.

 Locals told Greater Kashmir Shri Hari Karan Gund water Supply Scheme with the capacity f 45,000 gallons was thrown open to public in 2002.Constructed at the cost of  Rs59.44 Cr the scheme was expected to provide drinking water to 15000 souls in Prang and adjoining villages. However, it couldn’t do so due to acute power shortage.

“The water supply scheme remains defunct for more than six months and taps run dry. We have to fetch the water for drinking and other purposes from an open stream. However, streams usually become dry during winter season and we have to face lot of hardships,” locals said.      

 Blaming the authorities for neglecting this 1500-household village, Ghulam Hassan said: “Despite repeated pleas, the concerned department has failed to mitigate problems of the people.”

 They said repeated assurances of the authorities to make the water supply scheme functional have proved to be a hoax.    

 Talking to Greater Kashmir Executive Engineer PHE Division Sumbal Abdul Qayoom Chowdary said: “We have not received any such complaint yet. If there is any problem in functioning of the scheme Mechanical Wing would be informed about it.”

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Cheaper and easier isn't necessarily better in new colon cancer screening procedures

Islamabad, Dec 26 : Eventually, colon cancers bleed and so tests for blood in stool seem an inexpensive and noninvasive alternative to traditional colonoscopies.

In fact, a recent article in the journal Cancer Prevention Research showed that fecal immunochemical testing (FIT) is an accurate predictor of colorectal cancer and can provide a low-cost screening alternative for medically underserved populations.


However, Tim Byers, MD, MPH, associate director for prevention and control at the University of Colorado Cancer Center and professor of epidemiology at the Colorado School of Public Health, says that despite its ease, low cost, and one-time accuracy, FIT remains inferior to colorectal cancer screening the old-fashioned way, by colonoscopy.

"Testing for blood in the stool can find cancer and advanced adenomas, but it does not work well for finding most adenomas, therefore creates many missed opportunities for cancer prevention," Byers says. In other words, by the time a colorectal cancer bleeds, the window for successful treatment may be closed -- proverbially, this is discovering the barn door is unlocked after the horse has run away.

To shorten the time before a bleeding colorectal cancer sees treatment, proponents of FIT testing recommend using the procedure yearly, rather than every five-to-ten years as recommended for colonoscopies. Frequent screening, they hope, will allow treatment to follow closely on the heels of the discovery of blood in stool, perhaps with the same timeliness of a colonoscopy, which due to the long time between screenings may catch a cancer that has been on the move for years between checks.

However, "We are very bad in our health care system and as individuals in doing anything yearly, so practices that use FIT testing perform poorly with repeat testing over time -- the poor performance of FIT testing gets even worse as people forget to do the annual tests," Byers says.

In a recent editorial in response to the findings in the above journal, Byers points out that insurance companies have strong incentive to promote the less expensive alternative, but in this case the cheaper alternative may, in fact, lead to fewer colorectal cancers identified in their early stages.

"Tests designed to identify occult blood in the stool are better for detecting colorectal cancer, whereas direct endoscopic visualization of the colorectum [colonoscopy] is better for prevention," Byers writes.

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Study hints at possible therapeutic strategy to combat premature birth

Islamabad, Dec 26 : Scientists who developed a novel mouse model mimicking human preterm labor have described a molecular signaling pathway underlying preterm birth and targeted it to stop the problem.

In a study to be published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), the researchers report their findings may lead to new strategies for combating this major global health issue in humans. The study was led by scientists in the division of Reproductive Sciences and Perinatal Institute at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.

They point to molecular signals from the protein complex mTORC1 (mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1). In laboratory tests, the signals contributed to early aging in uterine cells, preterm labor and stillbirth in the genetically modified mice. When researchers gave the mice a low dose of rapamycin -- a known inhibitor of mTORC1 signaling -- it stopped the early aging of uterine cells and premature birth.

"Our findings show an unanticipated role for mTORC1 signaling in preterm birth in mice and may help us better understand the mechanism of birth timing in humans," says Sudhansu K. Dey, PhD., who led the study and is director of Reproductive Sciences at Cincinnati Children's. "Whether these findings have direct relevance in human birth requires further investigation, although these data could help us develop new and improved strategies to combat this international health problem."

Among a wide array of adverse effects, premature birth can result in underdeveloped organs and organ systems -- especially in the respiratory system. It also creates a greater risk for cerebral palsy, as well as learning and developmental disabilities. Globally there are nearly 13 million premature births and more than 3 million stillbirths annually. Prematurity is also a direct cause of more than one million neonatal deaths each year.

Earlier studies have linked mTOR signaling to aging in cells and structures in organisms, as well as metabolism. Signals from mTOR have also been connected to interactions with different molecular pathways in human tumor growth.

Rapamycin is an immunosuppressant drug widely used to prevent organ rejection in transplant surgery. Previous studies have shown rapamycin can ease respiratory distress caused by enhanced mTORC1 signaling in the premature lungs of preterm mice. The drug also has been tested in humans for treating tumors in the disease tuberous sclerosis and in certain cancers, because of its affinity for blocking mTOR signaling.

Dey and his colleagues decided to test whether mTORC1's known role in premature aging would also influence the biology of uterine cells and preterm birth in mice. The mice were modified so they lacked the protein p53 in their uteri. The p53 protein -- sometimes referred to as "guardian of the genome" -- acts as master regulator in multicellular organisms by controlling cell cycles and helping prevent tumor growth.

Through a series of complementary experiments, the researchers tested the different molecular interactions and influence of mTORC1 on preterm birth. They identified a novel "signaling axis" critical to birth timing in mice comprised by three proteins: mTOR, p21, and COX2. They also report that inhibiting any of these three proteins prevented premature aging in uterine cells and the preterm births.

The researchers say future studies will probe even deeper into the molecular interactions of mTORC1 in mouse prematurity to see if there may be different molecular targets and opportunities for therapeutic intervention.

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Children suffer unnecessarily from chronic postoperative pain

Islamabad, Dec 26 : Are children suffering needlessly after surgery? UC Irvine anesthesiologists who specialize in pediatric care believe so.

An operation can be one of the most traumatic events children face, and according to a UCI study, many of them experience unnecessary postsurgical pain lasting weeks or months.

Such chronic pain is well understood and treated in adults but has been generally overlooked in pediatric patients, said Dr. Zeev Kain, professor and chair of anesthesiology & perioperative care.

This month, he and his UCI colleagues published in the Journal of Pediatric Surgery the first-ever study of chronic postoperative pain in children. Out of 113 youngsters who had procedures ranging from appendectomies to orthopedic surgery, 13 percent reported pain that lingered for months.

While the sample group was small, Kain said, the study's implications are profound. Four million children undergo surgical procedures in the U.S. each year, suggesting that more than half a million of them suffer well after leaving the hospital. This results in more school absences and visits to the doctor and, for parents, days off work.

Kain said the research indicates that physicians need to more effectively manage pain within 48 hours of surgery -- which, in adults, has been shown to minimize the potential for chronic pain -- and that parents should be properly prepared to alleviate their child's pain at home.

"Medical professionals must understand this issue better and learn how to work with parents to care for chronic pain," he said. "We hope this study marks a first step toward long-term, definitive solutions."

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