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Ecuador: Everything old is new again in Quito

noreply@blogger.com (Blog News Online) — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 23:46:31 PDT

QUITO, Ecuador -- As the sun descends, street lamps take over, illuminating grandiose colonial plazas, antiquated historic buildings and romantic balconies that line the major streets of capital city Quito's "Centro Historico" district in Ecuador.
The streets buzz with activity. Indigenous women in colorful dress bustle around. Young hombres whiz by on motorcycles. Mustached men sell warm peanuts and pastries. Restaurant patios crowd with hungry patrons. And all those in the central square, Plaza Grande, jostle about to the musical backdrop of an impromptu jam session from curbside guitarists and accordion players.

It's a scene in stark contrast to the Centro Historico's past. An evening stroll down these parts eight years ago was a stroll into a world of crime, ghettos and dilapidated buildings. But it's amazing what $200 million and a vision to attract tourists can do for a capital city. In 2000, under the direction of Mayor Paco Moncayo, the city embarked on an extensive project to rid its streets of crime and restore its decaying historic center, deemed a world UNESCO site in 1978.

The plan is not quite completed -- and street crime remains a problem -- but architects and restoration crews have finished more than 200 rehabilitation projects including the city's cathedral; three historic theaters; plazas; monasteries; churches; entire blocks of colonial homes and buildings; and the narrow picture-perfect street known as La Ronda.

Four historical buildings have been converted into luxury boutique hotels, and several restaurants specializing in gourmet Ecuadorean fare have recently opened. This rebirth has transformed Quito from a mere transit point en route to the Amazon and Galapagos into a veritable destination in its own right.

"Before, tourist operators wouldn't bring travelers into the Old Town and tourists wouldn't come here on their own either," says Andrea Swigilsky, general manager of the upscale boutique hotel Patio Andaluz. "Only the brave stayed the night in the Old Town. But now everyone wants to come here, the locals, tourists, and even new businesses, local and foreign, are vying to get into this part of Quito."

It's not hard to see why tourists now want to come to Quito's Centro Historico.

More police are now stationed throughout the district and formerly dark and dreary streets, some newly pedestrianized, glow under lampposts. Cobblestone pathways have been scrubbed and swept.

Recently painted facades of peppermint green, cotton-candy pink and powder blue make you feel as though you've walked into an Easter egg wonderland. Mansions that had been sectioned into small apartments over the years have been restored to their former glory. And, in a hotly contested move, the throngs of street-side vendors that crowded the district with their neon signs and tacky cumbersome stalls, which made navigating the sidewalks challenging, have been relocated to indoor shopping centers.

"Viva la ciudad!" calls out a jovial shopkeeper in the Centro Commercial Granada to passers-by.

Long live the city indeed -- a city bursting with new culture and life. For example, the former Naval Archives is now the Centro Cultural Metropolitano, a bustling museum housed in a 400-year-old complex that today contains several extensive public libraries, a museum and performance spaces. The San Juan de Dios Hospital has become the innovative Museo de la Ciudad (City Museum), which documents Quito's past with displays recreating daily life from prehistory to the 19th century with wax figures and sound effects.

The Neoclassical Teatro Sucre has been restored to its former glory, along with its nearby cousin, the Variety Theatre. Fronting the northeast side of the main square, Plaza Independencia, the two-story, colonnaded Palazio de Arzobispal (Archbishop's palace) now houses two excellent restaurants, Internet cafes, public restrooms and a tourist information office.

The new Hotel Plaza Grande, which faces the Old Town's eponymous central plaza, caters to the indulgent traveler. Luxurious rooms in the restored Spanish colonial mansion go for $500-$1500 per night. Six blocks away, the charming and far less imposing Villa Colonna opened its doors two years ago, offering six classy rooms and B&B hospitality.

Despite all the recent additions, however, the center has not forgotten its past, which the district has brought back to life through its renovation initiatives. Today, the Old Town's 15th-18th century buildings shine anew, notably, the monochrome Church of San Francisco, a hybrid of Spanish, Mudejar and Incan architecture built in the Plaza San Francisco in 1536 shortly after the founding of Quito.

Next door is the Monastery of San Francisco, the country's largest colonial structure, which has shed its makeshift corrugated tin roof and now, with its newly whitewashed walls, includes a renovated museum with paintings from the Quito School of Art, a renowned body of gothic Catholic religious art produced by indigenous sculptors and painters during the 17th and 18th centuries.

A few blocks away is La Compania de Jesus, arguably Ecuador's finest church. Built by Jesuits between 1605 and 1765, it boasts a newly scrubbed Baroque facade of carved volcanic stone and twisted columns, sacred hearts, angels and saints. The opulent interior, renovated after a fire in 1996, showcases a downpour of gold leaf, reputedly seven tones that covers alters, galleries and the Moorish tracery and pulpit.

Take a few steps east to the Plaza de la Independencia, also known as the Plaza Grande, which still preserves its dimensions from when it was first laid out with a string and ruler in 1534. The square houses the glistening white Cathedral, built in 1678, and the dazzling two-story Neoclassical Palacio Arzobispal. The white-stuccoed Palacio de Gobierno, built in the 17th century, is still the seat of the government and presidential palace today, and is often the chosen spot of weekly protests and rallies by passionate Quinteros.

In fact, a stroll down any of the Old Town's colonial plazas takes you on a journey of the capital city's rich and renewed history, with an optimistic sense of where the district's future is headed.

If you go ...

Getting there: Quito's Centro Historico is about a $15 (Ecuador's main currency is the U.S. dollar) cab ride from Quito's airport. Ask the driver for the Plaza de la Independencia (also known as Plaza Grande) but agree upon the price before stepping into the cab or ensure that the driver puts on the meter. Once in the Old Town, you can access all major plazas by foot.

Centro Historico: The tourist office is located in the Palacio Municipal (City Hall) on Plaza Grande, on Venezuela and Espejo; http://www.quito.com.ec (English language option in upper right corner) or 011-593-2586-591. The office conducts two-three hour walking tours of the district led by fabulously informed multilingual guides from the municipal police -- your very own tourist body guard! Tuesday-Sunday, 9 a.m., 10 a.m., 11 a.m., 2 p.m., $10. Two nighttime tours at 7 p.m. showcase a beautiful floodlit Old Town, Tuesday-Sunday, $5.

Lodging: Patio Andaluz, Av. Garcia Moreno N6-52 at Olmedo y Mejia, http://www.hotelpatioandaluz.com or 011-593-2228-08-30, $200-$250.
What you should know: An umbrella and sweater will be your best friend -- take them with you always. You also might want to carry a few aspirins to prevent altitude sickness since Quito is 9,252 feet above sea level, almost twice as high as Denver, Colorado.

In Virginia, Large Voting Blocs for McCain and for Obama

noreply@blogger.com (Blog News Online) — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 20:30:39 PDT

VIRGINIA BEACH — Eight years ago, Senator John McCain outraged religious conservatives with a speech here in which he called the evangelical leaders Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson “agents of intolerance,” and described them as exerting an “evil influence” on the Republican Party. This year, as Mr. McCain seeks the presidency as the Republican nominee, memories of that speech threatened to undermine his appeal in Hampton Roads, as this politically pivotal corner of southeastern Virginia is known, despite his strength among veterans and members of the military who make up a large voting bloc here.

But all that changed when Mr. McCain, of Arizona, selected Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska, an evangelical Christian, as his running mate.

“The campus was ecstatic,” said Joseph Calandra, 26, an Air Force veteran and a senior majoring in religious studies at Regent University, which is run here by Mr. Robertson. “His comments were unfortunate back then, but no one has brought them up in the past week or so because everyone is too excited about Palin.”

No Democratic presidential candidate has won Virginia since Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964, and Republican Party leaders say the selection of Ms. Palin has improved Mr. McCain’s chances of carrying the state. Even so, advances by Democrats over the last few years, including the elections of two successive governors and a United States senator, and demographic shifts favoring Democrats have led both parties to agree that the state is up for grabs in November.

Senator Barack Obama of Illinois, the Democratic presidential nominee, still clearly sees an opportunity here. He has opened more than 41 offices in the state, compared with Mr. McCain’s 9. ( More ... )

Serial rapist suspected in student's slaying

noreply@blogger.com (Blog News Online) — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 23:19:42 PDT

NEW YORK -- Seven months have passed since the disappearance and slaying of college student Brianna Denison.

Brianna Denison, 19, disappeared when she was visiting friends at the University of Nevada, Reno.

The 19-year-old undergraduate from Santa Barbara, California, disappeared while visiting friends at the University of Nevada, Reno.

She was last seen sleeping on the living room sofa near an unlocked glass door of a friend's off-campus apartment after a night of partying.

Her friends awoke the next morning to find Denison missing, a small blood stain on her pillow. Her shoes, purse and cell phone were left behind.

Three weeks later, her body was found partially covered in snow in a nearby field. She'd been sexually assaulted and strangled.

But the killer left an unusual "calling card." According to authorities, he has a fetish for women's lingerie and makes it a habit to take the panties of his victims, leaving behind the previous victim's.

Along with Denison's remains, a pair of black thong panties was found. The panties did not belong to the victim and contained DNA from another, unidentified female.

Police are asking any woman who has lost a pair of black thong panties, size small, with a Pink Panther cartoon and heart design, to come forward.
Police have also been able to connect DNA found at the crime scene to a prior sexual assault that occurred December 16 and involved another university student. She managed to escape her attacker and described him in more detail to authorities.
Additionally, both crimes bear striking similarity to several other sexual assaults in the area, leading police to conclude that Denison's killer is a serial rapist who most likely lives or works in the area. The attacks all took place in close proximity to each other, during similar times of day and used similar methods.
In one of the earlier attacks, a university student was walking across a parking lot to her car when a man approached her from behind and put her in a choke hold. He pushed her to the ground and groped her. She fought him off and screamed. He kicked her in the head and then ran, dropping a couple of unopened condom packets.
In another incident, a student was attacked as she was parking her car outside her home. The assailant tried to choke her and force her inside his vehicle. He then drove her a few minutes away to a secluded area and sexually assaulted her, then beat her and drove her back to her residence.

He threatened that "he'd be back" if she told anyone. Victims describe the assailant as a white male, 28 to 40 years old, square chin, brown hair, about 5-foot-6, strong but not muscular, a small pot belly and short beard.

The vehicle associated with him is a small truck with an extended cab, automatic transmission and front bucket style seats with velour upholstery. One witness also describes seeing a baby shoe lying on the floorboard in the front passenger side of the truck.
Police and family are asking for the public's help in bringing Brianna Denison's killer to justice.
Please call the the Reno Police Hot Line at 775-745-3521 or the Secret Witness Line at 775-322-4900. Secret Witness is offering a $2,500 reward for anonymous tips that lead to an arrest and prosecution.

Fed in AIG rescue - $85B loan

noreply@blogger.com (Blog News Online) — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 23:02:48 PDT

Government response reaches dramatic new level: U.S. will take 80% stake in nation's largest insurer to prevent global financial chaos.
NEW YORK -- In an unprecedented move, the Federal Reserve Board is lending as much as $85 billion to rescue crumbling insurer American International Group, officials announced Tuesday evening.

The Fed authorized the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to lend AIG (AIG, Fortune 500) the funds. In return, the federal government will receive a 79.9% stake in the company.

Officials decided they had to act lest the nation's largest insurer file bankruptcy. Such a move would roil world markets since AIG (AIG, Fortune 500) has $1.1 trillion in assets and 74 million clients in 130 countries.

An eventual liquidation of the company is most likely, senior Fed officials said. But with the government loan, the company won't have to go through a tumultuous fire sale.

"[A] disorderly failure of AIG could add to already significant levels of financial market fragility and lead to substantially higher borrowing costs, reduced household wealth and materially weaker economic performance," the Fed said in a statement.

The bailout marks the most dramatic turn yet in an expanding crisis that started more than a year ago with the mortgage meltdown. The resulting credit crunch is now toppling not only mainstay Wall Street players, but others in the wider financial industry.

The line of credit to AIG, which is available for two years, is designed to help the company meet its obligations, the Fed said. Interest will accrue at a steep rate of 3-month Libor plus 8.5%, which totals 11.31% at today's rates.

AIG will sell certain of its businesses with "the least possible disruption to the overall economy." The government will have veto power over the asset sales and the payment of dividends to shareholders.

The company's management will be replaced, though Fed staffers did not name the new executives. The board will remain. For customers, it will be business as usual, officials said.

Taxpayers will be protected, the Fed said, because the loan is backed by the assets of AIG and its subsidiaries. The loan is expected to be repaid from the proceeds of the asset sales.

The government had resisted throwing a lifeline to AIG, hoping to entice investment firms to set up a $75 billion rescue fund. Officials opted not to bail out Lehman Brothers, which filed for bankruptcy on Monday. But by Tuesday night, it became clearer that the private sector would not step in to help AIG, which has a greater reach into other financial companies and markets than Lehman does.

"We are working closely with the Federal Reserve, the SEC and other regulators to enhance the stability and orderliness of our financial markets and minimize the disruption to our economy," said Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. "I support the steps taken by the Federal Reserve tonight to assist AIG in continuing to meet its obligations, mitigate broader disruptions and at the same time protect the taxpayers."
Dramatic end, high stakes

The firm's options grew more limited as the day wore on. Its already-battered share price fell another 21% with more than 1 billion shares trading hands, and plummeted another 46% in after-hours trading.

At one point Tuesday morning, shares fell more than 70% - a day after losing 61% of their value.

In a statement late Tuesday night the company said, "AIG is a solid company with over $1 trillion in assets and substantial equity, but it has been recently experiencing serious liquidity issues. We believe the loan, which is backed by profitable, well-capitalized operating subsidiaries with substantial value, will protect all AIG policyholders, address rating agency concerns and give AIG the time necessary to conduct asset sales on an orderly basis."

The company also commended the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department for "taking action to address AIG's liquidity needs and broader financial market concerns."

Furthermore, the firm expressed its gratitude to New York Governor Paterson, and other NY State as well as Federal officials.

New York State officials, who regulate the insurance titan, had urged the federal government to rescue AIG. The state attempted to help AIG on Monday by allowing it to tap into $20 billion in assets from its subsidiaries if the company could comes up with a comprehensive plan to get the much-needed capital, said a state Insurance Department spokesman.

Pleased with the federal government's response, New York Gov. David Paterson said Tuesday night: "Policy holders will be protected. Jobs will be saved. Business will continue."

The funding became ever more crucial as the insurer was hit Monday night by a series of credit rating downgrades. The cuts meant AIG (AIG, Fortune 500) could be forced to post more than $13 billion in additional collateral.

Late Monday night, Moody's Investors Service and Standard & Poor's Ratings Services each said they had lowered their ratings. A few hours earlier, Fitch Rating had also downgraded AIG, saying the company's ability to raise cash is "extremely limited" because of its plummeting stock price, widening yields on its debt, and difficult capital market conditions.

The downgrade could force AIG to post $13.3 billion of collateral, Fitch said in a statement. Also, the moves would make it more expensive for AIG to issue debt and harder for it to regain the confidence of investors.

All the while, analysts urged the company to unveil its restructuring plan.

"Management needs to address investor concerns now before the market sell-off becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy," Rob Haines, analyst at CreditSights, said Tuesday.
Global ripples

The failure of AIG could have caused unprecedented global ripple effects, said Robert Bolton, managing director at Mendon Capital Advisors Corp. AIG is a major player in the market for credit default swaps, which are insurance-like contracts that guarantee against a company defaulting on its debt. Also, it is a huge provider of life insurance, property and casualty insurance and annuities.

"If AIG fails and can't make good on its obligations, forget it," Bolton said. "It's as big a wave as you're going to see."

AIG has had a very tough year.

Rocked by the subprime crisis, the company has lost more than $18 billion in the past nine months and has seen its stock price fall more than 91% so far this year. It already raised $20 billion in fresh capital earlier this year.

Its troubles stem from its sales of credit default swaps and from its subprime mortgage-backed securities holdings.

AIG has written down the value of the credit default swaps by $14.7 billion, pretax, in the first two quarters of this year, and has had to write down the value of its mortgage-backed securities as the housing market soured.

The insurer could be forced to immediately come up with $18 billion to support its credit swap business if its ratings fall by as little as one notch, wrote John Hall, an analyst at Wachovia, on Monday.

This year's results have also included $12.2 billion in pretax writedowns, primarily because of "severe, rapid declines" in certain mortgage-backed securities and other investments.

The company brought in new management to try to turn the company around. In June, the company tossed out its chief executive, Martin Sullivan, and named AIG chairman Robert Willumstad, who joined AIG in 2006 after serving as president and chief operating officer of Citigroup (C, Fortune 500), in his place.

Houston's post-Ike supplies coming, officials say

noreply@blogger.com (Blog News Online) — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 20:59:54 PDT

HOUSTON, Texas -- Federal supplies of food and water will be available to those affected by Hurricane Ike in Houston by Monday evening, officials said Sunday after Houston's mayor voiced concern about the aid.
Some city officials, a day after Ike lashed Texas' Gulf Coast, suggested the Federal Emergency Management Agency had been slow to deliver aid.

"We expect FEMA to deliver these supplies and we will hold them accountable," Houston Mayor Bill White said.

But Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said 80 trucks carrying food and water were heading for Houston's Reliant Stadium, and that the items would be taken to 24 distribution points selected by city and county officials.

Also Sunday, a state official said nearly 2,000 people who did not evacuate for Ike have been rescued in southeastern Texas, and rescue crews were still searching areas "door by door" for anyone needing help.
"There's an effort to knock on every door, get into every place ... and see if anyone's trapped and to rescue them and, unfortunately in some cases, maybe recover them," said Steve McCraw, director of Texas Homeland Security.

Ike was blamed for at least 13 U.S. deaths by Sunday evening, including at least three in hard-hit Galveston County, Texas.

In Houston, widespread debris, power outages and flooded streets prompted the city to enact a weeklong curfew from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m.

Though the mayor said there is no sign of contamination in the city's water, he urged residents to drink bottled water or boil any tap water they intend to drink.

Twenty-four hours after Ike slammed into Galveston, Texas, packing 110-mph winds, rescuers in the area began efforts early Sunday to check on people who failed to heed mandatory evacuation orders.
Among the coastal Texas residents who found themselves in trouble after Ike hit were Paul and Kathi Norton. They overslept as Ike closed in on their home, so they decided to tough it out because their evacuation route was already flooded.

Though their Crystal Beach, Texas, home, about 20 miles northeast of Galveston, was on 14-foot stilts, the couple was concerned, they told CNN affiliate KHOU-TV in Houston, Texas.

"My husband made me wear a life jacket inside our house," Kathi Norton said. "Thank God for that, or I couldn't be here."

Early Saturday, about two hours before Ike officially made landfall, high winds and rising floodwaters began battering their home. The house began collapsing, and "if the flagpole wouldn't have stopped the house, the house would've crushed us," Kathi Norton said.
"It took the floor up, buckled down and took it right off the piling. And we dove out the door and grabbed the staircase, and we floated off," Kathi Norton told KHOU on Sunday after the couple was delivered in a National Guard helicopter to an evacuation point in Texas City, Texas.
Wanda Collins also stayed home as Ike approached. Collins has lived four blocks from Galveston's seawall for 30 years, and though she's seen hurricanes hit coastal Texas before, she's never had 5 feet of water collect in the garage under her home.

"I've never seen water like this," she said after the storm surge ruined everything in her garage, including a 2002 pickup truck, two Harley-Davidson motorcycles, a freezer, a washer and a dryer. iReport.com: See fire, flooding in Galveston
After weakening to a tropical depression, Ike delivered rain, high winds and flooding northward through Arkansas and the Midwest. In a suburb of Chicago, Illinois, dozens of people had to be evacuated by boat on Sunday, according to The Associated Press.

Ike's remnants were expected to continue on a northeasterly path, reaching New England by Monday morning.
The storm left Galveston without electricity, gas, water pressure and basic communications, and officials estimated those things may not be restored for a month, The Associated Press reported.
Homes and other buildings were flooded. Though much of the flooding receded by Sunday afternoon, sewage and sludge coated the streets. Officials encouraged those who were still there to leave.
Jesse Segura's Galveston home started to flood as he tried to wait out Ike early Saturday. He told the Galveston County Daily News that even though the water inside was rising, he tried to sleep on two mattresses he stacked on his kitchen table.

But when water became chest-deep, he waded to his bathroom, got on top of his sink, punched his way into his attic and waited there, the Daily News reported. Later that morning, he was able to leave his house soaked and barefooted, and rescuers picked him up.

"This was a real close call to death for me," he told the Daily News. "I'll never do it again, man. I learned my lesson."

Ike also hammered residents farther inland, who helped make up the estimated 40,000 Texans seeking refuge in 250 shelters across the state, according to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff.
Ike, which moved through the heart of the U.S. oil industry, destroying at least 10 production platforms, federal officials said, according to the AP.

Deaths from Ike

Galveston County sheriff's Sgt. Greg Hayes said Sunday that three bodies were found in Port Bolivar, located across the narrow entrance to Galveston Bay from Galveston Island.

In Arkansas, a man was killed when a tree fell on his mobile home as the remnants of the storm swept through early Sunday, the Pointsett County sheriff said.

Four people in Louisiana -- two in Terrebonne Parish and two in Jefferson Davis Parish -- died as a result of Ike, Louisiana Chief Medical Officer Louis Cataldie said Sunday. Details about those deaths were not immediately released.

A woman died after a tree fell through her home Saturday morning in western Montgomery County, Texas, officials said. A day earlier, a 19-year-old man drowned after the storm surge swept him off a 100-foot pier near Corpus Christi, Texas.

A child died Saturday at a Houston hospital from carbon monoxide poisoning as a result of a generator running inside the family's home, according to Lindsey Klingensmith, a spokeswoman for Memorial Hermann Hospital-Texas Medical Center.

Also, a 10-year-old boy was killed Friday by a falling tree limb as his father cut down a dead tree to prepare for the storm in Montgomery County, and an elderly person died while being evacuated to a shelter in Bell County, Texas.
More than 2.8 million customers were without power Sunday in the states hit by Ike, including 2,471,962 in Texas, the U.S. Department of Energy said. The rest were in Louisiana and Arkansas.
Hurricane Ike proved to be a huge storm system, 900 miles across at its largest. It remained a hurricane hours after crashing ashore over Galveston at 2:10 a.m. Saturday.
The storm surge, however, was smaller than forecast. The greatest surge, of 15 feet, happened at Sabine Pass, near the Texas-Louisiana line. Authorities had predicted surges of 20 to 25 feet.

Ten-man Chelsea ruin Robinho's City debut

noreply@blogger.com (Blog News Online) — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 23:18:14 PDT

MANCHESTER, England (AP) -- Chelsea overcame Robinho's debut goal to beat Manchester City 3-1 on Saturday in a harsh reality check for a home side still celebrating newfound wealth.
Ricardo Carvalho took just three minutes to level after Chelsea's main summer target Robinho netted a deflected free-kick in the 13th minute in his first game since his surprising move from Real Madrid.

Chelsea then took charge and gave City a lesson in finesse, with Frank Lampard slotting home in the 53rd minute and former City striker Nicolas Anelka putting the result beyond doubt on 69 to put Luiz Felipe Scolari's team top of the Premier League on goal difference ahead of Liverpool.

"It was good considering the start," Lampard said. "After we went a goal down, we showed good reaction. I think we're growing, we started the season very well, we will get better."

Chelsea's two-goal cushion did not look in danger even after captain John Terry's red card for fiercely halting Jo's advance, which ruled him out of next Sunday's match against defending champions Manchester United.
Chelsea's two-goal cushion did not look in danger even after captain John Terry's red card for fiercely halting Jo's advance, which ruled him out of next Sunday's match against defending champions Manchester United.

"It's disappointing," Lampard said. "I've never seen a player get sent off for a professional foul with two players behind him."

The defeat soured 12 days of electrifying festivities at Eastlands, dubbed Middle Eastlands since wealthy Gulf investors agreed to a buyout that will make City the richest club in world football.
"It's very early in our development," City manager Mark Hughes said. "We're still a very young team in time terms. It's not going to happen overnight, we all realize that people got a little bit ahead of themselves, a little bit hysterical.

"There's been a lot of hype surrounding the club, but we've only had benefit of one day of the transfer window to address any weaknesses in the side. We will have another opportunity in January."

Some fans at City's stadium arrived in Arab headgear and flowing white robes to celebrate the takeover funded by the Abu Dhabi royal family. Others came in Brazil jerseys to pay homage to the 24-year-old Robinho, who dramatically switched to City in the final minutes of the transfer window on September 1 despite Chelsea pursuing him throughout the offseason.

The stage was set for the record British signing when City won a free-kick outside the penalty area in the 12th minute and he duly delivered, curling the ball to the right of a disbelieving Petr Cech after the ball hit the defensive wall.

Robinho did his trademark celebration of sucking his thumb and bowed to the adoring fans, but City was soon undone by poor defending.

Carvalho's downward header from Frank Lampard's corner hit Joe Cole, but ricocheted back for the Portugal defender to score on his 100th Premier League appearance.

Chelsea never looked like being defeated from that point, with Anelka striking wide and heading over in the next five minutes.

Jo exhibited another piece of Brazilian skill in the 23rd minute, flicking through to Stephen Ireland, whose weak finish was no challenge for Cech.

Slack defense nearly proved costly again for City in the 29th minute when Florent Malouda found himself unmarked with only Joe Hart to beat, but headed onto the crossbar.

Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich's side were not going to be upstaged by their successors as the world's wealthiest club and stepped up the pressure in the five minutes before the break.

City's lethargic clearing allowed Anelka to send a cross which Malouda headed over, Hart caught a low shot from Anelka, and Ashley Cole whipped in a superb curling effort from 25 yards that was just off target.

The visitors kept pressing after the break, with Lampard chipping over in the 50th minute and finding the net soon after.

Anelka's goal capped off a move started by Deco, with the ball moving through Malouda and Cole before the Frenchman beat Hart at the near post against his former side.

While Robinho was largely anonymous after his free kick, Hughes was pleased with his overall performance.

"People don't often understand his work ethic," Hughes said. "It was difficult for him because he had just come back from Brazil and played a lot of football. We threw him into the game, it was important to expose him to what the Premier League is all about. We've gone through that process now and we're better for it."
Chelsea striker Didier Drogba featured in the last 20 minutes following a knee injury and will provide another option for Scolari when the Champions League group stage begins on Tuesday.

Michael Ballack will return in the home clash with Bordeaux after recovering from a foot injury.

"He will play on Tuesday but I do not know whether it will be for 45 minutes, 60 or 70," Scolari said. "The problem is they all want to play all the time because they have so much confidence."
Ballack has not played since the August 24 victory over Wigan, and missed the start of Germany's World Cup qualifying campaign

At least 15 dead in New Delhi blasts, officials say

noreply@blogger.com (Blog News Online) — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 22:20:30 PDT

NEW DELHI, India -- A string of explosions ripped through busy marketplaces Saturday in New Delhi, killing at least 15 people and injuring at least 50, a police spokesman said.
CNN-IBN, CNN's sister network in India, said it received an e-mail from the Muslim militant group Indian Mujahedeen warning of an impending strike.

The e-mail came about five minutes after the first blast.

At least five explosions ripped through the Karol Bagh market, Kailash Market and Connaught Place -- a popular tourist destination, Delhi police spokesman Rajan Bhagat said.

Two other bombs found near a movie theater and near a park in the Connaught Place area were defused, he said.

A witness said one of the bombs at Connaught Place was hidden near a public trash can at the market.
The force of the blast blew a small vehicle from one side of the street to the other, he said.

"It was terrifying," he recalled, adding that the small automobile rickshaw had blood all over it. Watch the chaotic aftermath »

Bhagat refused comment about who might have carried out the attack. No arrests have been made, he said. Indian Home Minister Shri Shivraj Patil blamed the attack on "anti-national elements" who he said have been trying to disturb the peace and create panic in parts of the country.

"The government will continue to deal firmly with such elements," Patel said in a statement. "I am confident that security agencies will soon be able to get to the bottom of these incidents and the culprits will be brought to book."
Indian Mujahedeen claimed responsibility for 17 explosions in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad on July 26, killing 49 people and wounding more than 100.

The blasts occurred within about an hour of each other within a six-mile (10-kilometer) radius.

Indian Mujahedeen also claimed responsibility in May for near-simultaneous bomb attacks that killed 63 people in the northwest city of Jaipur.
In the Jaipur claim, the group declared "open war" against India in retaliation for what it said were 60 years of Muslim persecution and the country's support of U.S. policies.

Ike wears itself out beating up on Texas

noreply@blogger.com (Blog News Online) — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 22:08:47 PDT

GALVESTON, Texas -- Rescuers in Galveston, Texas, were going door-to-door Saturday to check on the estimated 20,000 people who failed to flee Hurricane Ike, which has slowed to tropical storm status.
As of Saturday afternoon, the Galveston Fire Department had taken 27 people to a shelter in a high school on the coastal island, which was without electricity or water pressure.

No casualties had been discovered so far in the search and rescue efforts, which have been hampered by heavy flooding and scattered debris.

Galveston had ordered evacuation of the island, but Galveston City Manager Steve LeBlanc said about 40 percent of the city's 57,523 residents chose to stay.

LeBlanc said the island would be closed while authorities assess damages, including to the causeway, which was in "bad shape" because of debris and road damage.

"The road buckled in a number of places," LeBlanc said. "Even if we opened it up you couldn't get through."
LeBlanc said 17 buildings on the island had been destroyed by fires, potent winds and a strong storm surge.

"We are in a recovery mode," Galveston Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas said in a press conference Saturday afternoon. "This eye came right over us, stayed a while and went on, but it brought a lot of damage to our city."
Ike was downgraded Saturday to a tropical storm 11 hours after it crashed ashore as a Texas-sized hurricane that walloped southeast Texas and southwest Louisiana.

In its wake, Ike -- which smashed into the coast as a Category 2 hurricane -- left four people dead, millions without power and destroyed homes and businesses along the Gulf Coast with powerful winds, rain and floodwaters.

President Bush declared 29 Texas counties and parts of Louisianans major disaster areas, making federal funds available for recovery from the storm. View images of places hit by Ike »

Many people, like D.J. Knight of Pearlman, Texas, decided to ride out the storm at home, despite voluntary and mandatory orders issued across the region.

"The windows looked like they would explode," said Knight, a mother of two. "It just wouldn't stop."

Now, without electricity and surrounded by flooded roads and wreckage, Knight wonders whether it was worth enduring a sleepless night as the storm shook her home, located about halfway between Galveston and Houston.

"I didn't think it would be as bad as it was," she said. "It was horrible."

Knight is one of thousands waiting for assistance as the state rolls out the largest search and rescue operation in Texas history. See pictures of the storm's destruction »

Gov. Rick Perry dispatched a 1,000-strong search and rescue team, including state troopers, pilots and members of the National Guard. Lines of National Guard trucks and ambulances were deployed from San Antonio even as officials are trying to grasp the extent of damage and the number of Texans stranded by the storm.

However, flooding and debris have impeded rescue efforts in some areas, adding to the uncertainty about how many Texans actually survived the storm.

"We're obviously concerned that there may be people we find who didn't get out and who are going to be in the rubble of what we uncover," said Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff. "We hope for the best, but I do want to prepare people for the fact they we may have some fatalities."

Chertoff said 40,000 Texans were in 250 shelters, and that food and water would be distributed in about 20 coastal locations as rescue efforts continue.

In Galveston, which bore the brunt of the storm, floods filled the historic district with 7 feet of water at the storm's peak, said Galveston County official Margaret Bunch. Watch how a spunky little girl braved the storm »

A foot of water flooded the city's main courthouse, where many people rode out the storm, she said.
Wanda Collins' garage filled with 5 feet of water, ruining everything inside, including a 2002 pickup truck, two Harley-Davidson motorcycles, a freezer and a washer and dryer.

"I have never in my life seen water like this," the 30-year Galveston resident said.

Burle and Jamie Holmes also refused to leave their Galveston home despite a grim warning from the National Weather Service. Ike forced the couple and their dog, Trouble, into the attic, tossing their furniture like toys across the house.

"We lost everything," Jamie Holmes.

Curfews are in place in Galveston until dawn Monday and in Houston's Harris County until 6 a.m. Sunday.

Houston Mayor Bill White said his city appears to have avoided loss of life, but streets blocked by floodwaters, downed trees and power lines hampered efforts to determine the full extent of the damage.

Authorities shut down downtown Houston, where the streets were littered with traffic lights and glass, for cleanup and damage assessment. The city's tallest skyscraper, the 75-story JP Morgan Chase Tower, was missing many of its windows. See iReporter's images of destruction »

White advised residents to drink bottled or boiled tap water as a precaution after a power outage reduced water pressure, but he said nothing indicated that the water supply was contaminated.

Brennan's, a popular restaurant in downtown Houston for almost four decades, burned down Friday night as Ike battered the city.

North of Houston, a 10 -year-old boy died when a falling tree limb hit him in the head, the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office said. The boy's father was cutting down a dead tree in the family's yard in preparation for Ike's heavy winds early Saturday.

Nearly 2.6 million customers in Texas and Louisiana lack power because of Ike, the U.S. Energy Department said on Saturday.

In Brazoria County, emergency management officials said the main power line for the Texas/New Mexico grid was down. CenterPoint Energy said 90 percent of its customers were without electricity and it could take a month or more to get power restored to all of them.

iReporter Jackie Hensler of Houston said her apartment building's power was restored quickly on Saturday morning after a stormy night.

"There are lots of trees down; they've been uprooted or snapped," she said after venturing outside. "There's lots of debris in the streets, like boards and plywood from homes." Watch how the roof peeled off a building »

Hurricane Ike proved to be a huge storm system, 900 miles across at its largest. It remained a hurricane hours after crashing ashore over Galveston at 2:10 a.m.

Its maximum sustained winds were near 80 mph, with higher gusts. It was expected to continue to weaken and move into western Arkansas by Saturday night. Track the storm »
The storm surge, however, was smaller than forecast. The greatest surge, of 15 feet, happened at Sabine Pass, near the Texas-Louisiana line. Authorities had predicted surges of 20 to 25 feet.

Authorities in Orange County, Texas, on the Louisiana line, were using large dump trucks Saturday to rescue residents trapped on their roofs by massive flooding, a county judge told CNN.

The city of Orange and the town of Bridge City were flooded, Beaumont emergency official Brad Peneffon said. Watch the storm surge in Beaumont »

Rescuers fanned out in boats Saturday in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, after the storm surge flooded 1,800 homes.

Gas prices soared across the country amid fears the storm would disrupt fuel supplies. Ike hit a region that is home to about 25 percent of the United States' oil refining capacity, and the storm's progress across the Gulf of Mexico shut down crude oil collection from Gulf oil fields.

The U.S. Department of Energy said 14 refineries were closed by the storm, along with two Texas strategic petroleum reserve sites.

In Knoxville, Tennessee, Sean Kennedy expressed dismay at the difference a day made to gas prices.

"I filled up my tank yesterday morning on the way to work for $3.59 a gallon," he said. "This morning, gas prices at the same station were $5 a gallon for regular and $5.25 for premium."

The Coast Guard said early Saturday that 22 people aboard a freighter that was adrift in the Gulf of Mexico were safe after the storm.

Some good news came out of the region Saturday. About 175 miles west of Houston, a storm evacuee delivered a baby in the ladies' bathroom at a shelter in New Braunfels.
"The credit goes to the mother," said Dr. Mark Burns, who helped deliver the baby. "She did a beautiful job with her delivery."

Typhoon Sinlaku slams into Taiwan

noreply@blogger.com (Blog News Online) — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 22:12:52 PDT

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Typhoon Sinlaku slammed into Taiwan with heavy rain and strong winds Sunday, flooding low-lying regions and causing landslides that disrupted traffic and halted trains and domestic flights, officials said.

Sinlaku made landfall in coastal Ilan County in northeast Taiwan at 1:30 a.m. local time (1730 GMT), but quickly turned away and headed back out to sea, the Central Weather Bureau said.

"It's hanging around at the ocean near our coasts," said meteorologist Lee Hsiang-yuan. "It may move north, but we will not rule out another landfall on Taiwan."

Domestic flights were canceled, trains stopped running and several mountain highways were blocked by landslides, according to the Disaster Relief Center.

The center warned that 55 rivers are prone to flash flooding and warned people living nearby to take precautions.

More than 300 people were evacuated overnight from low-lying areas in Taoyuan and Hsinchu counties in northern Taiwan, it said.

As of 10 a.m. Sunday in Taipei, Sinlaku was centered at sea about 6 miles off Keelung in the northern tip of Taiwan, packing winds of 78 miles per hour, the Central Weather Bureau said.

Sinlaku, named for a Micronesian goddess, is expected to move northeast toward Japan later Sunday, the bureau said.
Typhoons frequently hit Taiwan between July and September, often causing casualties in mountainous regions that are prone to landslides and flash floods.

McCain barbs stirring outcry as distortions

noreply@blogger.com (Blog News Online) — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 07:13:49 PDT

Harsh advertisements and negative attacks are a staple of presidential campaigns, but Senator John McCain has drawn an avalanche of criticism this week from Democrats, independent groups and even some Republicans for regularly stretching the truth in attacking Senator Barack Obama’s record and positions.

Mr. Obama has also been accused of distortions, but this week Mr. McCain has found himself under particularly heavy fire for a pair of headline-grabbing attacks. First the McCain campaign twisted Mr. Obama’s words to suggest that he had compared Gov. Sarah Palin, the Republican vice-presidential nominee, to a pig after Mr. Obama said, in questioning Mr. McCain’s claim to be the change agent in the race, “You can put lipstick on a pig; it’s still a pig.” (Mr. McCain once used the same expression to describe Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s health plan.)

Then he falsely claimed that Mr. Obama supported “comprehensive sex education” for kindergartners (he supported teaching them to be alert for inappropriate advances from adults).

Those attacks followed weeks in which Mr. McCain repeatedly, and incorrectly, asserted that Mr. Obama would raise taxes on the middle class, even though analysts say he would cut taxes on the middle class more than Mr. McCain would, and misrepresented Mr. Obama’s positions on energy and health care.

A McCain advertisement called “Fact Check” was itself found to be “less than honest” by FactCheck.org, a nonpartisan group. The group complained that the McCain campaign had cited its work debunking various Internet rumors about Ms. Palin and implied in the advertisement that the rumors had originated with Mr. Obama.

“The last month, for sure, I think the predominance of liberty taken with truth and the facts has been more McCain than Obama,” said Don Sipple, a Republican advertising strategist.

Being called out
Indeed, in recent days, Mr. McCain has been increasingly called out by news organizations, editorial boards and independent analysts like FactCheck.org. The group, which does not judge whether one candidate is more misleading than another, has cried foul on Mr. McCain more than twice as often since the start of the political conventions as it has on Mr. Obama.

“The last month, for sure, I think the predominance of liberty taken with truth and the facts has been more McCain than Obama,” said Don Sipple, a Republican advertising strategist.

“They just keep stirring the pot, and I think the McCain folks realize if they can get this thing down in the mud, drag Obama into the mud, that’s where they have the best advantage to win,” said Matthew Dowd, who worked with many top McCain campaign advisers when he was President Bush’s chief strategist in the 2004 campaign, but who has since had a falling out with the White House. “If they stay up at 10,000 feet, they don’t.”

For all the criticism, the offensive seems to be having an impact. It has been widely credited by strategists in both parties with rejuvenating Mr. McCain’s campaign and putting Mr. Obama on the defensive since it began early this summer.

Some who have criticized Mr. McCain have accused him of blatant untruths and of failing to correct himself when errors were pointed out.

On Friday on “The View,” generally friendly territory for politicians, one co-host, Joy Behar, criticized his new advertisements. “We know that those two ads are untrue,” Ms. Behar said. “They are lies. And yet you, at the end of it, say, ‘I approve these messages.’ Do you really approve them?”

“Actually they are not lies,” Mr. McCain said crisply, “and have you seen some of the ads that are running against me?”

Obama tries to regain his stride

noreply@blogger.com (Blog News Online) — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 07:10:19 PDT

WASHINGTON - After a difficult week that sparked Democratic worries, Barack Obama fired back at Republican presidential rival John McCain on Friday with tough ads and a retooled message outlining their differences on taxes.

Obama acknowledged the concerns of his supporters after a week dominated by McCain and his new running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who charged out of the Republican convention on a wave of momentum and unleashed a volley of harsh personal attacks against him.

The emergence of Palin, an anti-abortion and pro-gun conservative who electrified the party's base supporters, seemed to knock Obama off stride and propelled the Republicans into a slight lead in the November 4 election race in a flurry of national opinion polls.

But Obama and his campaign had a clear message to nervous supporters on Friday: Calm down.

"People start worrying. Here's what I can guarantee you -- we are going to be hitting back hard," he said at a rally in Dover, New Hampshire, where he spelled out his plan to cut taxes for most workers and said he would provide three times more tax relief for middle-class families than McCain.

Obama's campaign released three ads hitting McCain as an out-of-touch supporter of President George W. Bush who would be unable to deliver economic improvements or on his promise to change the culture in Washington.

"Things have changed in the last 26 years. But McCain hasn't," one of Obama's new ads says. "He admits he still doesn't know how to use a computer, can't send an e-mail. Still doesn't understand the economy."

In another ad, Obama talks directly into the camera to explain his promise of change. "Because this year, change has to be more than a slogan," he said.

Obama campaign manager David Plouffe released a memo saying McCain had shown he was "willing to go into the gutter" to win the election.

"Today is the first day of the rest of the campaign," he said, promising to respond with "speed and ferocity" to McCain's attacks.

"His campaign has become nothing but a series of smears, lies, and cynical attempts to distract from the issues," Plouffe said of McCain. "As Barack Obama said earlier this week 'enough is enough."'

McCain brings his own attack
The McCain campaign issued its own attack on Obama. "He was the world's biggest celebrity, but his star's fading. So they lashed out at Sarah Palin," the narrator says in a new ad. "How disrespectful."

The McCain camp said the new approach from Obama was designed to hide his lack of achievement.

"What is becoming clear to the American people is the fact that Barack Obama has no record of bipartisan legislative accomplishment, no history of bucking his party and no chance of bringing change," said McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds.

The political firestorm caused by McCain's pick of the virtually unknown Palin as his No. 2 and the biting attacks on Obama by Republicans had drowned the Illinois senator's economic message in the last week. Democratic strategists have worried he seemed uncertain how to respond.

McCain, a four-term Arizona senator, and Palin latched on to Obama's message of change and presented themselves as the true reformers in the race -- a move that seemed to catch Obama's team off guard.

Some Democratic activists also questioned why Obama was left to handle the responses to McCain and Palin's attacks and urged a more active role for his No. 2, Delaware Sen. Joe Biden, and surrogates in attacking the Republicans.

The growing sense of Democratic nervousness was palpable among grassroots activists and elected officials, forcing Obama to ease their concerns.

Suicide bomber kills 25 in attack on Iraq police station

noreply@blogger.com (Blog News Online) — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 05:56:53 PDT

A suicide bomber slammed his explosives-filled truck into the police station in the central Iraqi town of Dujail on Friday, killing at least 25 people, police and security officials said.

The attack occurred at around 6:00 pm (1500 GMT) in the Shiite town located in the Sunni Salaheddin province, north of Baghdad, just minutes before people were getting ready to break their fast for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

An interior ministry official in Baghdad said around 40 people were also wounded, while a police officer from Salaheddin said 21 people were hurt.

A defence ministery official in Baghdad also confirmed the attack.

Dujail, 40 kilometres (25 miles) north of Baghdad, was the site of an assassination attempt on executed dictator Saddam Hussein in 1982.

Saddam was executed in December 2006 after an Iraqi court found him guilty of ordering the killing of more than 140 Shiites suspected of planning his assassination attempt in 1982 in Dujail.

The attack was the second biggest in less than three weeks and comes at a time when the violence in Iraq is at a four-year low.

The last major suicide attack occurred on August 26, when a bomber thwarted a security check at a police recruiting centre in Jalawla and blew himself up, killing at least 25 young people.

Jalawla is in Diyala province, considered to be one of the most dangerous in Iraq.

Friday`s attack carried the hallmark of Al-Qaeda, which has been blamed for such spectacular attacks by the US military in the past.

On Thursday, US General David Petraeus, head of the coalition forces in Iraq, said that the jihadist group had been "damaged, degraded and is on the run" but still not defeated.

He said it still capable of launching "lethal, sensational, dangerous and barbaric attacks. Al-Qaeda remains dangerous and very adaptive." (*)

Four Advisers hold meeting with Khaleda

noreply@blogger.com (Blog News Online) — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 05:56:07 PDT

Four advisers arrived and began a meeting with BNP chief Khaleda Zia at her cantonment home Friday night, reports bdnews24.com.
The meeting takes place a day after she said her party would join electoral dialogue and general elections planned for December.
Commerce adviser Hossain Zillur Rahman told the news agency that the three other advisers were law adviser AF Hassan Ariff, communication adviser Ghulam Quader and local government adviser Anwarul Iqbal.
He would not say what was the meeting all about.
Khaleda, standing trial on a raft of graft charges, was released from prison on bail Thursday after a year''s detention.
UNB adds: The BNP''s Standing Committee will hold a meeting today (Saturday) at the party headquarters in the city''s Naya Paltan area.
Party Chairperson Khaleda Zia will chair the meeting at 3:00pm, said Mahbubur Rahman, a member of the committee.
There had been no meeting of the Standing Committee, the highest policymaking body in the party, since January 11 last year when President Iajuddin Ahmed declared a state of emergency to quell weeks of street violence over political reforms.
This is originally a 13-member committee but now it has 12 members after KM Obaidur Rahman''s death. Currently, 10 members are outside while two others are behind bars.
Khaleda Zia was released from prison on Thursday on bail.
After her release, she said her party would join the dialogue with the caretaker government to expressing her intention to participate in the national polls. She demanded the national polls first and creation of congenial atmosphere including relaxation of the state of emergency for holding the polls in free, fair and credible manner.
She was arrested last year on graft charges in four cases.

Balinese silver design patenting case worrying other artists

noreply@blogger.com (Blog News Online) — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 06:50:20 PDT

The reported patenting of Balinese traditional silver work designs by foreigners has also given rise to anxiety among local artists including musicians.

"As a musician, I feel concerned about this matter since it is a threat to Balinese culture. I will raise this issue every time I perform," Nanoe Biroe, a young Balinese musician said here Saturday.

Nanoe said the lack of protection of copyrights in Indonesia was alarming. He referred to cases in which pirated songs and music were already available in the market even before the original albums were released.

He criticized the foreign parties that had stolen Balinese traditional silver work designs, saying the designs were part of Indonesia`s national heritage.

Nanoe also worried that the silver work designs case would have a psychological impact on all artists in Bali.

"It does not make sense that a silver craftsman was sued in court for allegedely violating a foreigner`s copyright on the craftsman`s creation. This will make other artists afraid to produce their creations," he said.(*)

Samak out of Thai leadership race

noreply@blogger.com (Blog News Online) — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 23:32:03 PDT

Thailand's ruling party has abandoned its attempt to get embattled leader Samak Sundaravej reappointed as prime minister.

The People Power Party (PPP) had initially backed Mr Samak, who was stripped of office earlier this week.

But it became clear that coalition partners and some PPP lawmakers opposed the decision, and a planned vote to re-elect him could not go ahead.

The move could pave the way for an end to Thailand's political crisis.

Protesters have been demanding Mr Samak step down for weeks. They say he is a puppet for Thaksin Shinawatra, the former prime minister who the military accused of corruption and ousted in 2006.

Mr Samak had vowed not to bow to the protesters' demands, but was eventually forced out earlier this week over an appearance in a TV cookery show that a court said breached the constitution.

'Done his best'

The PPP initially said it would renominate him as prime minister, but early on Friday the vote to re-elect him had to be abandoned because too few MPs turned up.
It became apparent that partners in the ruling coalition and some members of his own party opposed his nomination.

A spokesman later confirmed that Mr Samak was no longer trying to win back his job.

"Prime Minister Samak asked me to deliver the message that he has done his best as the party leader to preserve democracy," his personal secretary Theeraphol Noprampha told journalists.

"Now his role has come to an end, and everything is now up to the party," he said.

Parliament is now scheduled to vote on a new prime minister on Wednesday.

So far no clear front-runner has emerged and the protesters, who are occupying government buildings in Bangkok, say they will not accept another leader perceived as close to Mr Thaksin.

But the choice of a compromise candidate could persuade the demonstrators to abandon the protests that have paralysed the government and driven tourists away, analysts say.

The PPP is expected to hold talks with the five other parties that make up the ruling coalition in the next few days.

The BBC's Jonathan Head, in Bangkok, says that whoever gets the job will face the unenviable task of calming the fevered political temperature and helping the governing party overcome some formidable challenges.

Over the next few months it must face the possibility of being dissolved by the increasingly assertive courts over allegations of vote-buying in the last election.

Report: Titans' Young mentioned suicide

noreply@blogger.com (Blog News Online) — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 23:29:48 PDT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Tennessee Titans called police Monday night for help searching for Vince Young because his therapist told coach Jeff Fisher the quarterback mentioned suicide several times before driving away from his home with a gun.
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Both Fisher and Young have said what happened Monday night was overblown by the media. But the supplemental report filed Tuesday by Nashville police showed that Fisher was worried about the quarterback after the call from Young's therapist.

"I asked him, `What made her worry about him?' Lt. Andrea Swisher wrote. "He stated, `His mood, his emotions, he wants to quit, and he mentioned suicide several times.' He went on to state that he left the house with a gun."

The Titans declined to comment on details of the report.

The Nashville City Paper obtained the report through a public records request and first reported the details Friday afternoon on its Web site.

Nashville police had been criticized locally for what appeared to be an immediate and strong response to help with a star NFL player. The Titans and Fisher had only said they acted on the information they were given, and Fisher has refused to say what those concerns were.

"Given the totality of the circumstances, the police department continues to believe that it acted responsibly and appropriately in this situation," police spokesman Don Aaron said Friday.

Young seemed happy and laughed a bit Thursday when he discussed the past few days with reporters. He blamed his mother for overreacting and the media for making too much of nothing.

"Now I am OK. I was never depressed. I just hurt a little bit ... When it happens again, I'll know how to handle it," Young said.

Concerns over Young's mental state began last Sunday when he was booed heavily after throwing his second interception in the Titans' 17-10 victory over Jacksonville, and he didn't look like he wanted to go back into the game for the next possession.

He went on the field after Fisher pulled off his headset and talked with Young. But the quarterback was hit four plays later. Fisher has only ruled Young out for Sunday's game at Cincinnati.

However, Young talked with his therapist Monday and visited with Fisher at his home. The coach told him to go take his MRI exam to determine the extent of the damage to his knee, but Young rescheduled the test for Tuesday.

Then he sped off from his home without a phone.

The Titans' head of security notified police around 7:30 p.m. that he had a player "going off," and Fisher was in his truck when he saw Nashville police in the parking lot at LP Field writing a report on a separate incident.

Young's manager, Mike Mu, arrived at the stadium and told police he had tried to follow Young when the quarterback left his home. But Mu said he couldn't keep up with Young on Interstate 65 despite driving 90 mph.

Fisher connected police with Sheila Peters, the clinical psychologist who had met with Young earlier Monday. It was then that Young used the word suicide in conversations with her.

During the search for Young, Peters arranged for an evaluation by employees from a psychiatric hospital in Nashville. Then Fisher heard from Young's agent that the quarterback was safe and at an apartment with a female friend.

The agent, Major Adams, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that Young had been watching football and eating chicken wings with a male friend during the four hours people were searching for the quarterback.

Police arranged for crisis negotiators and SWAT officers to be on hand. They searched Young for weapons when he arrived at the Titans' headquarters around 11:30 p.m. They only found an unloaded handgun in the glovebox of his Mercedes.

Tennessee law allows an individual to possess an unloaded weapon provided there is no ammunition with it in the car.

"He was allowed to talk to his therapist and then he was released," the police report stated.

Young won't be making the trip with the Titans to Cincinnati. Fisher said Friday injured players stay home to continue treatment.

Hearing for man in Obama `plot' postponed

noreply@blogger.com (Blog News Online) — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 23:12:07 PDT

DENVER - A man who sparked fears of an assassination plot against Barack Obama missed a federal court hearing on a drug charge Friday because he's in the Denver jail on another case.
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Tharin Gartrell was to be arraigned on Friday. The hearing has been rescheduled for Sept. 19.

Details of the Denver case against him weren't immediately available.

Gartrell was stopped for a traffic violation in suburban Aurora the day before the Democratic Party convention in Denver. That led police to a witness who said Gartrell and two others talked about killing Obama because he's black.

Prosecutors didn't charge them with threatening Obama, saying they were high on methamphetamine at the time and posed no credible threat.

Gartrell faces up to two years in prison if convicted on the drug charge.

New dissent arrests in Malaysia

noreply@blogger.com (Blog News Online) — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 23:06:28 PDT

An opposition member of parliament and a journalist have been arrested in Malaysia amid growing fears of a crackdown by the government.

Police detained the two women late on Friday, who are are being held under Malaysia's internal security act.

The stringent measure means they can be detained indefinitely, without trial.

The arrests follow the detention of a prominent online anti-government campaigner and continuing opposition efforts to destabilise the government.

In the space of 24 hours three people have been arrested - all of them deemed a threat to malaysia's national security.

All of them can be detained indefinitely.

Opposition buoyant

The high-profile blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin was picked up first. He has been a long-time critic of the government.
His arrest was apparently due to blasphemous articles on his website. Late on Friday a journalist for a Chinese-language newspaper was taken in, as well as an opposition MP.

Both women have been accused of stoking racial tension.

The arrests come after a row over comments made by a politician from the Malay majority. He called the country's Chinese minority "squatters" and "immigrants".

But the bigger picture in Malaysia is of a government struggling to stay in power. The opposition won historic levels of support in a general election earlier this year.

Since then it has been threatening to bring down the government by persuading parliamentarians to defect.

More arrests are expected over the weekend, and some observers think this could be a repeat of a major crackdown in 1987.

Then the government ordered dozens of arrests and several newspapers were shut to try to quell dissent.

'Catastrophic' storm nears Texas

noreply@blogger.com (Blog News Online) — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 23:01:51 PDT

Hurricane Ike is nearing the Gulf coast of Texas and is expected to hit land within hours, causing "potentially catastrophic" flooding and damage.

US Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has warned as many as 100,000 homes could be destroyed by flooding.

There are fears the hurricane could cause a high storm surge, leaving miles of low-lying coast underwater.

Residents of coastal Galveston face "certain death" if they stay, the National Weather Service has warned. At 0200 GMT on Saturday, the "very large" hurricane was about 70 miles (115km) south-east of Galveston, with winds around 110 mph (175km/h).

The massive system is already buffeting Texas and causing flooding along the Louisiana coast, still recovering from last weekend's Hurricane Gustav.
More than a million people in Texas have been advised to leave their homes before Ike hits late on Friday or early Saturday morning.

But people in Houston city have been told to shelter at home, board up their properties and stockpile supplies.

Authorities are trying to avoid a repeat of 2005, when some 110 people in Houston died during a chaotic evacuation in the face of Hurricane Rita.
The US National Hurricane Center said Ike could grow from a Category Two to a Category Three storm - a "major hurricane" - by the time it reaches the coast.

Ike has already caused devastation in Cuba and Haiti, where hundreds of people have died in several tropical storms over the last month.

The hurricane's predicted path will take it through Galveston and on to Houston, home to America's biggest oil refinery and Nasa's Johnson Space Center.

"Our nation is facing what is by any means a potentially catastrophic hurricane," said Mr Chertoff.
He added: "This storm is so big in fact that its impact is already being felt all along the Gulf Coast."

The Texas authorities have laid on more than 1,000 buses to facilitate the mass evacuation.

In Galveston - scene of the country's deadliest hurricane, which killed at least 6,000 people in 1900 - 75 buses are taking residents to the state capital, Austin.
Weak and chronically ill hospital patients are also being moved.

But some residents were ignoring the dire warnings in Galveston, where Ike threatens to bring a 20ft (7m) high storm surge.
"If it ain't your time you ain't going anywhere," Emory Sallie, 44, told AP news agency, while walking and drinking a beer near his home.

Ports are shut and almost all energy production in the Gulf of Mexico has been suspended as a precaution, although Ike was expected to miss most of the installations.

The storm would be the first major hurricane to hit a US metropolitan area since Katrina devastated New Orleans three years ago.

President George W Bush has declared a federal emergency in Texas, allowing funds to be freed to help the state deal with the storm.

Palin says Obama regrets bypassing Clinton

noreply@blogger.com (Blog News Online) — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 23:58:17 PDT

NEW YORK - Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin said Friday she thinks Barack Obama regrets not making Hillary Rodham Clinton his running mate.
Palin praised Clinton's "determination, and grit and even grace" during the Democratic primaries, sounding an altogether different note than when she suggested earlier this year that the New York senator was whining about negative press coverage and campaigning in a way that was not advancing the cause of women in politics.

"I think he's regretting not picking her now," Palin told ABC News.

Her comment brought a sharp rejoinder from Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, on behalf of the Obama campaign: "Sarah Palin should spare us the phony sentiment and respect. Governor Palin accused Senator Clinton of whining."

Palin, in the second part of her first major interview since she joined the GOP ticket, also defended the nearly $200 million in federal pet projects she sought as Alaska governor this year even as John McCain told a television audience she had never requested them.

Palin was confronted in the interview with two claims that have been a staple of her reputation since joining McCain: that she was opposed to federal earmarks, even though her request for such special spending projects for 2009 was the highest per capita figure in the nation; and that she opposed the $398 million Bridge to Nowhere linking Ketchikan to an island with 50 residents and an airport.

Palin actually turned against the bridge project only after it became a national symbol of wasteful spending and Congress had pulled money for it.

Palin told ABC's Charles Gibson that since she took office, the state had "drastically" reduced its efforts to secure earmarks and would continue to do so while she was governor.

"What I've been telling Alaskans for these years that I've been in office, is, no more," Palin said.

When Gibson noted she had requested money to study the mating habits of crabs and harbor-seal genetic research — the kind of small-bore projects that draw McCain's ire — Palin said the specific requests had come through universities and other public entities and weren't worked out by lobbyists behind closed doors.

On the Bridge to Nowhere, Palin said she had supported a link from the mainland to the airport but not necessarily the costly bridge project.

"We killed the Bridge to Nowhere," Palin said flatly, despite evidence she had supported the project in its early stages.

On social issues, Palin reiterated her opposition to abortion rights — parting with McCain, who supports legal abortion in cases of rape or incest. Palin opposes those exceptions. Like McCain, she supports overturning the Roe vs. Wade guarantee of abortion rights.

However, she came down against a constitutional ban on abortion, which many social conservatives want. She said of abortion, "I think the states should be able to decide that issue," a position incompatible with a constitutional ban. In that respect, her position is the same as McCain's.

Palin refused to say whether she believed homosexuality was an orientation or a choice. "I'm not one to judge," Palin said.

Palin's comments came after McCain sat for a feisty grilling on ABC's "The View," where he claimed erroneously that his running mate hadn't sought money for federal pet projects.

"Not as governor she didn't," McCain said, ignoring the record.

Palin's entry in the race has drawn support from many white women, and the McCain campaign hopes in particular that she can pull Clinton's supporters away from Obama. It was in that spirit that she heaped praise on Obama's defeated rival in the face of her earlier criticisms.

"What determination, and grit, and even grace through some tough shots that were fired her way — she handled those well," Palin said.

In March, Palin was asked about coverage of Clinton at a Newsweek forum, and said: "Fair or unfair, I think she does herself a disservice to even mention it, really. I mean, you gotta plow through that. You have to know what you're getting into ... when I hear a statement like that coming from a woman candidate with any kind of perceived whine about that excess criticism, or you know maybe a sharper microscope put on her, I think, 'That doesn't do us any good — women in politics."

Delaware Sen. Joe Biden, the man Obama picked for his ticket, defended Clinton this week when a voter told him it was best that he was chosen over the New York senator. Biden said Clinton "might've been a better pick than me."

In Alaska, meanwhile, the investigator looking into whether Palin abused her power as governor in trying to fire her former brother-in-law asked state lawmakers for the power to subpoena Palin's husband, Todd, a dozen others and the phone records of a top aide. The state House and Senate judiciary committees were expected to grant the request.

Palin told ABC she welcomed the investigation. "There's nothing to hide in this," she said.

Palin was in Alaska on Friday and scheduled to attend a campaign rally in Nevada on Saturday while McCain took the day off, a reflection of her growing status as the GOP ticket's celebrity draw.

On "The View," McCain said that Palin had "ignited a spark" among voters but acknowledged they parted ways on certain issues. The Arizona has said human behavior is largely responsible for climate change and opposes drilling for oil in a federally protected refuge, for example.

McCain appeared to back off a bit from his claim that Palin was the best vice presidential pick in U.S. history when he joked, "We politicians are never given to exaggeration or hyperbole."

The GOP hopeful also stood by two debunked campaign commercials — one which said Obama favored comprehensive sex education for kindergarten students and another that suggested Obama had called Palin a pig. Both are factually inaccurate.

Obama, as an Illinois state senator, voted for legislation that would teach age-appropriate sex education to kindergartners, including information on rejecting advances by sexual predators. And while Obama told a campaign rally this week that McCain's policies were like "putting lipstick on a pig," he never used the phrase in connection with Palin.

"Those ads aren't true. They're lies," said "View" co-host Joy Behar.

"They're not lies," McCain said, insisting that Obama "chooses his words very carefully" and should never had made the lipstick remark.

Writers honoured in first Arab science journalism awards

noreply@blogger.com (Blog News Online) — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 00:34:52 PDT

The Arab Science Journalists Association (ASJA), in partnership with the Arab Science and Technology Foundation (ASTF), have announced the winners of its first annual Arab Science Journalism Awards.

"It is a very exciting time for us," says Bothina Osama, the awards coordinator. "The quality of the material submitted has been inspiring."

"Through these awards, we want to give recognition to those science journalists who have excelled in covering Arab science," says Nadia El-Awady, president of the ASJA. "We also want to encourage more journalists to cover stories about science in the region."

The awards had three categories representing media in Arabic, English, and French.

In the Arabic category, the first award went to Egyptian journalist Noaman El-Zeyaty. His article, 'The Secret of the Egyptian Nuclear Program. Why Did it Stop? And Why Return?' explores the economic dangers of restarting Egypt's nuclear energy drive.

El-Zeyaty told SciDev.Net, "Science journalism in the Arab world is in sharp decline. Awards such as these will trigger journalists to write better stories."

Second place went to active blogger and journalist Soad Roudy from Morocco for her blog post 'Moroccans and YouTube: Sex, Mischief and Politics'. In her post, Roudy explains how YouTube is quickly changing the lives of Moroccans who use the technology as a tool to speak out.

Hesham Suliman, an Egyptian journalist, won the third place prize for an internet programme that guides users through the different stages of pregnancy. Suliman won for excellent use of graphics, illustrations and animations to simplify the science in 'Your Pregnancy Week by Week.'

For English language media, American journalist Kevin Begos won the award for his article 'A Universal Struggle.' Begos explains how Middle Easterners are being forced to face the realities of cancer spreading in their communities.

The final award, for French media, went to Rasha Hanafy, an Egyptian journalist for her article discussing desertification in Egypt and how climate change is affecting it.

"Such an award encourages journalists to be more professional in what they write," said Hanafy.

All the winners will receive cash prizes, a certificate of excellence from ASTF and ASJA, and a fully funded trip to the first Arab Science Journalists Conference to be held in Fez, Morocco, in October 2008.

Tackling the MDGs requires an innovation-based approach

noreply@blogger.com (Blog News Online) — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 00:36:43 PDT

A commitment to development-oriented innovation should be high on the agenda at the upcoming MDG summit in New York.

World leaders are due to meet in New York later this month to discuss progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

The goals are a relatively ambitious set of development targets — from reducing infant mortality to increasing levels of primary education — first put forward in the mid-1990s.

The New York meeting is expected to hear that, since the UN Millennium Summit in 2000, substantial progress has been made towards reaching the MDGs by the 2015 target date. For example, the proportion of the world's population living in extreme poverty has fallen from 40 to 25 per cent over the past 15 years.

And donor countries meeting last week in Accra, Ghana, announced substantial progress in coordinating their aid programmes, and giving greater control over aid money to recipient countries.

But much more is needed to substantially reduce global poverty. Even if the proportionof people living in poverty is decreasing, the overall rise in population means that the total number remains more than one billion. As a statement issued at the Accra meeting bluntly acknowledged, "the pace of progress is too slow".

Open and closed gaps

Part of the reason for this is that developed countries are still reluctant to increase their aid budgets to the levels needed to meet the MDGs. Most donor countries still lag far behind the UN target of 0.70 per cent of gross national income, and many promises of increased aid have failed to materialise.

A report published by a UN task force last week (4 September) highlights other reasons for the slow progress. It acknowledges that there has recently been positive movement in some areas, such as bridging the digital divide by closing the gap in the mobile phone sector. Almost every African country now has more people using mobile telephones than fixed lines. Some 65 million people signed up for mobiles in 2006 alone, resulting in 22 per cent of Africans owning a mobile phone.

But the task force also says that large gaps remain in improving access to the technologies needed to increase productivity, sustain economic growth and improve service delivery in areas such as health and education.

In particular, it points out that access to essential medicines in developing countries remains "far from adequate". And it underlines the need for more funding for medical research and development in key areas including children's dosage forms and neglected diseases.

The importance of science

All this indicates that policymakers in charge of development assistance have still to absorb the full importance of science, technology and innovation, not only in achieving individual MDGs but also in creating robust platforms for developing countries to build their own capacity to address economic and social needs.

Almost four years ago, the authors of a SciDev.Net editorial wrote that "much more than money is needed; new approaches to aid and development are also urgently required". The latter, they suggested, should be based on commitments that place science, technology and innovation systems at the centre of aid policy (see Rethinking science aid).

Others have similarly emphasised that, however desirable the individual MDGs may be, their emphasis on relatively short-term targets may deflect attention from the need for longer-term investments, for example, in higher education or research capacity.

Yet without such investment — coupled with policies like appropriate patent regimes to ensure the fruits of research are effectively absorbed into the economy — developing countries are unlikely to achieve genuinely sustainable economic and social growth.

Opportunity knocks

One of the key tasks is to promote the importance of science, technology and innovation across development agencies and developing countries alike. This must be conducted in a manner appropriate to the needs and conditions of these countries.

The UN task force report also emphasised the need for international patent rules to be more flexible to accelerate the diffusion of development technology to poorer countries. Equally critical are more widespread differential pricing practices to make key technologies affordable for all.

And, perhaps most importantly, the international community must be committed to putting science and innovation at the heart of development policy, including long-term strategies for meeting the MDGs. Too often, these remain marginalised in international development thinking.

Still, individual countries are increasingly getting the message. South Africa and, more recently, Rwanda, are leading the way in promoting innovation systems as the key to sustainable development. And Iraq has just asked the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) to help it move in the same direction (see UN boost for Iraq's science and technology sector).

The New York summit later this month is an ideal opportunity for the international community to show its commitment to this way of thinking as the way out of global poverty.

David Dickson
Director, SciDev.Net

China launches major drug and disease funding initiatives

noreply@blogger.com (Blog News Online) — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 00:38:15 PDT

[BEIJING] China is set to launch two major funding initiatives next month to tackle the country's major infectious disease epidemics and boost drug discovery.

The key epidemics research initiative targets HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and virulent hepatitis — particularly hepatitis B and the liver cancer it induces.

China has 660,000 HIV/AIDS carriers, five million tuberculosis patients and 120 million infected by the hepatitis B virus.

The funding will support research into the diseases, and the development of drugs and new treatments. The initiative also targets capacity building for prevention measures and the use of traditional Chinese medicines to treat them.

The drug discovery research initiative seeks to develop drugs for ten major diseases including cancer, cardiovascular disease, neurodegenerative disease, diabetes and mental health.

Funding will also be put towards developing better procedures for Good Laboratory Practice for laboratory safety, and Good Clinical Practice to ensure the rights and safety of patients involved in clinical trials.

The exact amount of money invested is unknown, but it is estimated at around three billion yuan (around US$440 million) for the epidemics initiative, with six billion yuan (around US$880 million) for drug discovery. This is in line with other key research initiatives detailed in China's middle and long-term science strategy for 2006–2010.

Zeng Yi, a senior virologist at the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention and a member of the key epidemics initiative's steering committee, says the initiative will pool resources to make bigger breakthroughs, such as vaccines for hepatitis B.

"Many individual research projects under the initiative could be streamlined to combine the pathological discoveries and the corresponding preventive or therapeutical measures," Zeng told SciDev.Net

Li Youping, a professor of public health at the Chengdu-based Sichuan University and a drug evaluation expert working for the WHO, says, "My team have found many new trends in the three epidemics in China, such as the high incidence of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis. The key research initiative can combine national resources to fight them".

"But my worry is with the new initiative, more money could be given to scientists who already have many research funds, while the grassroots medical workers cannot get money for their practical work," Li told SciDev.Net.

The epidemics initiative was first approved by the State Council, China's cabinet in June, but the Ministry of Health only issued a call for grant applications on 18 August with a deadline of 31 August. The drug discovery initiative has a deadline of 11 September for applications. Successful projects for both initiatives will be announced later this month while funds will be distributed in October.

The short deadline has attracted criticism among some Chinese scientists, according to a report in Nature. They say the last minute rush for applications could reduce the quality of proposals.

And the short review time for applications has led some to suggest it would favour only those who knew about the call in advance of the official announcement.

Palin says Obama regrets bypassing Clinton

noreply@blogger.com (Blog News Online) — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 23:08:15 PDT

India Continues to Progress in AIDS Vaccine Development Efforts

noreply@blogger.com (Blog News Online) — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 00:01:08 PDT

Chennai, August 16, 2008 – A second Phase I AIDS vaccine clinical trial in India was successfully completed, the Indian Council of Medical Research, the National AIDS Control Organization and the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative announced. The results of the trial of an MVA-based AIDS vaccine candidate (TBC-M4), which was conducted in Chennai, indicated that the vaccine candidate had acceptable levels of safety and was well tolerated.

The proportion of volunteers whose immune systems responded to the vaccine candidate suggests the candidate holds promise. The trial was done using two doses of the candidate vaccine. After three injections, 82 percent of the volunteers who received a low dose and 100 percent of those who received a high dose registered immune responses to the vaccine. The 100 percent response rate is greater than that seen with the majority of AIDS vaccine candidates tested in humans to date. However the strength and diversity of these immune responses were modest. It may be possible to boost the immune response, if this vaccine is used in combination with other candidate AIDS vaccines.

“We are pleased to see that the MVA-based candidate tested in Chennai was safe and showed promising initial immune responses. We do not know whether these observed responses will ultimately translate into an effective vaccine that will help protect individuals from HIV infection, but hope to learn more through further testing,” said Dr. S K Bhattacharya, Additional Director General of the Indian Council of Medical Research. “India is playing a significant role in global AIDS vaccine discovery efforts given our strong medical and scientific capabilities. There is a need for continued efforts for the creation of novel, reliable mechanisms for long-term research on AIDS vaccines and other new prevention technologies.”
The Phase I clinical trial was initiated in January 2006 at the Tuberculosis Research Center (TRC), an Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) institute in Chennai, and was completed in February 2008. This trial was conducted under the aegis of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Government of India—through the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the National AIDS Control Organization (NACO)—and the not-for-profit International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI). YRG CARE, based in Chennai, collaborated with TRC to mobilize the community around the Phase I trial.

Dr. Narayanan, former Director of the Tuberculosis Research Center, added, “Consistent innovation in science despite setbacks has ensured the development of many effective prevention technologies. The successful conduct of the trial in Chennai re-affirms the need for continued vaccine development initiatives, where learnings from every effort will contribute to global advancement of the AIDS vaccine field.”

About the Phase I MVA-based (TBC-M4) AIDS vaccine trial
The trial was a double blind, dose-escalation, randomized, placebo-controlled trial, which was initiated after receiving all necessary regulatory and ethical clearances. The objectives of such a Phase I trial are to evaluate the safety of the vaccine candidate and to gather preliminary results of immune responses induced by the candidate. The total duration of the trial was approximately 24 months. The volunteers recruited for this trial were 32 healthy, HIV-uninfected men and women between 18 and 50 years of age, from all socio-economic strata. Three intra-muscular injections of TBC-M4 or placebo were administered to the volunteers.

Moving forward
The results of the Phase I vaccine trial of TBC-M4 suggest that further research is warranted. Currently, two additional Phase I trials testing the MVA-based candidate in a prime-boost regime are planned and under review by the relevant authorities in India and approved in the UK. The trials are designed to use different modes of administration of the priming vaccine, different dosages and different vaccine regimens. It is hoped that the prime-boost regimen will help to strengthen the modest immune responses observed in the Phase I trial of the MVA-based candidate alone. Collectively, the results will help determine whether and how to move forward with additional testing of this MVA-based AIDS vaccine candidate.

Simultaneously, IAVI has undertaken work to modify the MVA-based vaccine candidate so that it is ready for large-scale manufacturing should the trial results suggest further testing is warranted.

About Partners

About the National AIDS Control Organization (NACO):

NACO is the nodal organization for formulation of policy and implementation of programmes for prevention and control of HIV/AIDS in India. The overall vision of the National AIDS Control Organization (NACO) is to lead and catalyze an expanded response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in order to contain the spread of infection, reduce people’s vulnerability to HIV, promote community and family-based care to HIV/AIDS cases within an enabling environment without any stigmatization and discrimination, and alleviate the epidemic’s devastating social and economic impact.

About the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR):

The ICMR, the apex body in India for the formulation, co-ordination and promotion of biomedical research, having been founded in 1911, is one of the oldest medical research bodies in the world.

The Governing Body of the Council is presided over by the Union Health Minister. It is assisted in scientific and technical matters by a Scientific Advisory Board comprising eminent experts in different biomedical disciplines. The Board, in turn, is assisted by a series of Scientific Advisory Groups, Scientific Advisory Committees, Expert Groups, Task Forces and Steering Committees, which evaluate and monitor different research activities of the Council.

About the Tuberculosis Research Centre (TRC):

TRC, headquartered in Chennai, was set up in 1955 by the ICMR to boost biomedical research in India and to complement the National Tuberculosis Control Programme. In recent years, TRC has been extensively involved in HIV research. The institution has one of India’s best and most experienced multidisciplinary teams of scientists and one of the best-equipped laboratories for HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis research.

About the Y R Gaitonde Centre for AIDS Research and Education (YRG Care):

YRG Care is a non-profit HIV referral and research centre in Chennai. The centre was founded in 1993 by Dr. Suniti Solomon M.D., who documented the first evidence of HIV infection in India. YRG CARE is a widely recognized model of AIDS care and support services. YRG CARE has established a comprehensive platform for HIV diagnostic, laboratory and clinical facilities that are unparalleled in the country. The centre has developed an extensive network of local, national and international collaborators. The centre has a commendable track record in excellence in program implementation and research.

About the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI):

IAVI is a global not-for-profit organization whose mission is to ensure the development of safe, effective, accessible, preventive HIV vaccines for use throughout the world. Founded in 1996 and operational in 24 countries, IAVI and its network of collaborators research and develop vaccine candidates. IAVI's financial and in-kind supporters include the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health, The John D. Evans Foundation, The New York Community Trust, the James B. Pendleton Charitable Trust, The Rockefeller Foundation, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation; the Governments of Canada, Denmark, Ireland, The Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States, the Basque Autonomous Government as well as the European Union; multilateral organizations such as The World Bank; corporate donors including BD (Becton, Dickinson & Co.), Bristol-Myers Squibb, Continental Airlines, Google Inc., Henry Schein, Inc., Merck & Co., Inc. and Pfizer Inc; leading AIDS charities such as Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and Until There's A Cure Foundation; other private donors such as The Haas Trusts; and many generous individuals from around the world. For more information, see www.iavi.org.

For further information, please visit the IAVI India website – www.iavi.org.in