Pope to promote peace in talks with world religious leaders

by AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE

VATICAN CITY, Oct 25 – Pope Benedict XVI has invited 300 religious leaders to a meeting in Assisi in Italy to repudiate “violence in the name of God” amid growing tensions fuelled by fundamentalists across the world.

The day of interreligious council, which will be held on Thursday in St. Francis of Assisi’s birthplace, is intended to be a “journey of reflection, dialogue and prayer for peace and justice in the world,” the Vatican said.

Over 50 Islamic representatives are expected to attend the talks from several countries, including Saudi Arabia and Iran.

They will be joined by Rabbis, Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, Sikhs, a Zoroastrian, a Bahai and representatives of Taoism and Confucianism as well as of other traditional religions from Africa and America.

For the first time, four atheists will also attend the meeting, which is traditionally organised so as not to coincide with the Muslim day of prayer on Friday, the Jewish one on Saturday or the Christian one on Sunday.

However, the Imam from the Al-Azhar University in Cairo, a heavyweight authority on Sunnism, will not be coming, having fallen out with the pope after he urged Egypt to protect Christians from attacks by radical Islamists.

The meeting is being criticised by Catholic fundamentalists who are strongly against the idea of dialogue with other religions. French fundamentalist Regis de Cacqueray said 1,000 masses would be needed to be said in reparation.

The event marks the 25th anniversary of the first interreligious meeting in Assisi, organised by John Paul II in 1986 as a “day of prayer” inspired by the United Nation’s proclamation of an International Year of the Peace.

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the then prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, chose not to attend because of concerns shared by traditionalists that it risked mixing religions into a vague common belief.

While guests attending this year’s encounter — the third in Assisi — will in principle follow a “common course”, those who wish to pray will do so separately, according to their beliefs, the Holy See has said.

Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, who helped organise the first Assisi day in 1986, said John Paul II had been careful to avoid mixing beliefs, and Benedict XVI was no different.

“Interreligious dialogue has spread” over the last 25 years, and the pope sees it “as a common, irrevocable heritage of Christian sensibility,” he said.

The pope’s main aim is for participants to agree to “a common commitment to reject the instrumentalism of religion and the use of violence in the name of God,” said a Vatican insider.

Number two of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, Pier Luigi Celata, said the problems that particularly concern religions are immigration, cultural diversity, religious liberty and the defence of the family.

“These issues oblige faithful people from different religions to look for common solutions,” he said.

At the end of the day of talks, the main participants will renew their commitment to peace in the square in front of St. Francis’ Basilica.

A burning torch will be symbolically presented to the delegations in the hope that they will take the message back with them to their communities.

Thai floods may disrupt global electronics supply chain for several quarters

by Khettiya Jittapong / Bangkok— Reuters

Global electronics firms expect supply disruption caused by flooding in Thailand to continue for several quarters and the Thai operations of Japan's Toshiba Corporation are expected to resume in January at the earliest, executives said.

Toshiba has had to halt operations at nine production plants at the Bangkadi Industrial Park and another plant at the Nava Nakorn estate, both in badly flooded Pathum Thani province to the north of Bangkok.

Bangkadi Industrial Park is the major production center in Southeast Asia for Toshiba Corporation. Its factories make home appliances, semiconductors and lighting products.

“We expect to resume operations in January at the earliest,” Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul, chairwoman of Toshiba Thailand, told Reuters. “We're talking about 45 days after the water recedes. But whether we achieve that is still in question.”

Mr. Kobkarn, also chairwoman of the Bangkadi estate, which Toshiba owns, said a Toshiba plant in Nonthaburi province was still operating as normal.

Seagate Technology's operations in Thailand are running as normal and its production is not constrained by either internal component supplies or by its ability to assemble finished products, it said in an emailed response to Reuters queries.

But it still faces problems.

“Rather, we are constrained by the availability of specific, externally sourced components. As a result, industry demand will significantly outstrip supply at least for the December quarter, and the supply disruption will continue for multiple quarters,” it said.

Seagate, which competes with Western Digital for the title of the world's largest maker of hard drives, has two production plants in Samutprakarn and Nakornratchasima provinces, away from the flooding in central provinces and northern Bangkok.

In contrast, Western Digital's two plants in Thailand have been forced to close due to floods and they account for about 60 per cent of its global output.

Lenovo Group Ltd., the world's second-biggest PC maker, said on Wednesday it expected some constraints on hard disk drive supplies through the first quarter of next year after severe floods in Thailand crimped global supply.

The floods have forced the closure of seven industrial estates in Ayutthaya, Nonthaburi and Pathum Thani provinces bordering Bangkok, causing billions of dollars of damage, disrupting supply chains and putting about 650,000 people temporarily out of work.

The Thai private sector has worked on plans to protect other estates in eastern Bangkok from flooding, including Bangpoo, Wellgrow and Lad Krabang, said Payungsak Chartsuthipol, head of the Federation of Thai Industries.

Some electronics makers have turned to Chinese suppliers to help with supply chain problems.

“We shifted to import from suppliers in China and keep our production running,” Delta Electronics (Thailand) Pcl director Anusorn Muttaraid told Reuters.

Delta, part of Taiwan-based Delta Electronics, has two facilities at Bangpoo Industrial estate at Sumutprakarn and Wellgrow Industrial estate at Chachoensao, east of Bangkok.

Mr. Anusorn said he expected limited impact from flooding because its factories were located in high areas where water could run down to the sea, but he expected margins and profit growth might be affected by an increase in freight costs.

British scientists create blood in the laboratory that could be used in transfusions in just two years

By Fiona Macrae

Artificial blood created from stem cells could be tested on Britons within  two years.

The scientists behind the research, which could provide industrial scale quantities of blood, believe it will transform transfusions by preventing hospital shortages, and save thousands of lives on battlefields and at the scene of car crashes.

Heart transplant, bypass and cancer patients would also benefit from having a guaranteed supply of blood on hand for their surgery.

The ‘holy grail’ of blood research, the man-made blood would be free of infections that have blighted natural supplies and could be given to almost everyone regardless of   blood group.

The hope comes from Edinburgh and Bristol university researchers who have, for the first time, made thousands of millions of red blood cells from stem cells – ‘master cells’ seen as a repair kit for the body – taken from bone marrow. But with the average blood transfusion containing 2.5million million red blood cells, this is not enough.

Cells taken from human embryos in the first days of life are easier to multiply in large numbers, but the researchers have so far not managed to make such realistic blood.

If they crack the recipe, just one embryo could theoretically provide all the cells ever needed for Britain’s blood supply.

Edinburgh University’s Professor Marc Turner hopes to make a supply of cells with the O-negative blood type. This ‘universal donor’ blood could be given to up to 98 per cent of the population.

A supply of safe blood would also be a boon in developing countries, where thousands of lives are lost   to conditions such as haemorrhages after childbirth. Mr Turner predicts that in two to three years, he will be ready to inject a teaspoon of man-made blood into healthy volunteers, in the first British trial of blood from stem cells.

Large-scale trials would follow, but the blood could be in routine use in a decade. Within 20 years, it may be possible to produce two million pints of artificial blood a year – enough to satisfy the nation’s medical needs. Any embryonic stem cells used would be taken from four or five-day-old embryos left over from IVF treatment and donated to the research project.

Critics say it is wrong to plunder an unborn child for ‘spare parts’ to advance medical science.

But Mr Turner, who is funded by the Wellcome Trust, said: ‘There is a lot of regulatory framework to ensure that the cells are being treated with the appropriate respect and being used for genuine scientific and medical reasons and not in a trivial fashion.’

He added that a recent European decision to ban the patenting of treatments based on embryonic stem cells means his focus is likely to switch to other sources of cells.

Chris Mason, professor of regenerative medicine at University College London, described the research as ‘fascinating’ and a safe, ready supply would make a ‘massive difference’ to patients.

He added that production could be geared to demand, with bigger supplies on hand in the summer when there are more car crashes and gun fights. And while there are fears other ‘body parts’ made from stem cells can trigger cancer, blood cells should be free of this risk.

Blood donation services from around the UK and Ireland are providing the scientists with practical help and expertise. Lorna Williamson, of NHS Blood and Transplant, said the research was encouraging but ‘we will continue to rely, for some years to come, on our loyal, regular blood donors to help us meet the needs of patients for vital blood’.

Mr Turner, who is also the associate medical director of the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service, is far from the only scientist in the race to crack the billion-pound market in artificial blood.

The French have started early-stage human trials with stem cell blood and other researchers around the world are making haemoglobin, the red blood cell protein used to ferry oxygen around the body.

Ideas being pursued elsewhere include using haemoglobin taken from cows as a blood substitute.

Some 1.6million Britons give blood each year. In the UK, stocks can fall during holiday periods, with supplies of the highly versatile O-negative type particularly vulnerable.

iRobot becomes a reality as man gets smartphone built into his artificial arm

By Emma Reynolds

iRobot has become a reality after a British man became the world's first person to have a smartphone dock built into his prosthetic arm.

Trevor Prideaux, who was born without a left arm, can now call and text with ease using the Nokia C7 stuck in his fibreglass and laminate forearm.

His story sounds like it is straight out of the Will Smith sci-fi film, in which the actor plays a man with a high-tech mechanical limb.

Mr Prideaux, from Wedmore in Somerset, was fitted with his first prosthetic arm at three years old.

But the 50-year-old catering manager decided to enlist the help of medical experts and Nokia bosses to create an arm to suit his needs.

'I think this is the first time this has ever been done in the world - and it is brilliant,' said the father of one.

'I can now take calls and make texts just by using my one hand, while the phone sits inside my arm.
'The phone slots smoothly and securely within my limb and is easily removable, when required.

'I think this would help a lot of people with prosthetic arms - especially those who were not born with the disability.

'People who have had motorbike crashes and soldiers who have lost limbs - they could all benefit from this.'

Mr Prideaux found that texting and making calls with mobile phones was very difficult - especially with a smartphone.

When he tested out an iPhone while thinking of buying one, he realised the technology 'was not ideally suited to be used with only one hand.'

He contacted Apple to try to obtain a blank iPhone casing to test it out - but they refused his request.
'I was born without my arm so I am used to adapting to things - but I thought that others must be struggling too,' he said.

'I wondered whether it was possible to have a mobile phone built into my limb.'

Fortunately, when he went to his local 02 shop to get an upgrade on his Nokia, the staff agreed to assist him in his efforts.

Technicians at The Exeter Mobility Centre then produced the prototype for the cutting-edge arm - in just five weeks.

Prosthetist Steve Gallichan, technician Les Street and undergraduate student Sarah Bennett painstakingly made a fibre cast of the phone and built a cradle into the skin-coloured limb.

Mr Prideaux said: 'This phone is slightly narrower than an iPhone and has both a qwerty and alphanumeric board, which is easier for me to use.

'My Nokia C7 sits within my forearm between my stump socket and the single knob rotary that holds my limb attachments in place.

'Now when I get a call, I can either hold my arm up to my ear or put it on speakerphone. I can also take it out if I need to.

'Texting is also much easier and a lot safer. I am hugely grateful to the people EMC. This is a leap forward which has helped me out a lot and can also aid others.'



Rick Perry raises ‘birther’ issue, casting doubt about Obama’s birthplace

By Philip Rucker

Texas Gov. Rick Perry was supposed to be answering questions about his presidential bid. Instead, he raised more.

Perry tried to reboot his struggling campaign this week by announcing a broad economic policy agenda, recruiting longtime strategists with national credentials and reintroducing himself as the “bold” choice for the Republican nomination. But he undercut the reach of his economic message by repeatedly injecting an issue that most Americans thought had been put to rest.

Perry cast doubt about President Obama’s birthplace, Hono­lulu, suggesting in two interviews this week that Obama may have been born outside the United States. If true, that would make his presidency illegal. This spring, as would-be candidate Donald Trump rocketed in opinion polls partly by pushing “birther” conspiracies, Obama publicly released his long-form birth certificate to prove that he was born in Hawaii.

In an interview with Parade Magazine published Sunday, Perry said he does not know if Obama’s birth certificate is authentic. He continued to press that point in an interview with John Harwood of CNBC and the New York Times that aired Tuesday, saying: “It’s a good issue to keep alive. . . . It’s fun to poke [Obama] a little bit and say, ‘Hey, let’s see your grades and your birth certificate.’ I don’t have a clue about where the president — and what this birth certificate says.”

Perry may have been trying to get under Obama’s skin and show Republicans that he would stand up to the president aggressively on any front. “I’m really not worried about the president’s birth certificate,” the governor told Harwood.

On Tuesday, Perry’s aides tried to turn attention away from the candidate’s comments. Asked to explain the strategy behind Perry’s fanning the birther rumors, campaign spokesman Mark Miner said: “It’s a non-issue. The governor is focused on improving the economy and creating jobs, issues Americans are truly concerned about.”

Still, Perry’s remarks alarmed some powerful Republicans, who quickly condemned his comments and said they distract voters from the one issue Republicans think they can ride to the White House: Obama’s record.

 “If this election is about Barack Obama’s policies and the results of those policies, Barack Obama’s gonna lose,” Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour told reporters Tuesday. “Any other issue that gets injected into the campaign is not good for the Republicans.”

Strategist Karl Rove, who has a well-documented rift with Perry, said on Fox News Channel: “You associate yourself with a nutty view like that and you damage yourself. . . . It starts to marginalize you in the minds of some of the people whom you need in order to get the election.”

Former Florida governor Jeb Bush wrote in a statement to Jennifer Rubin, a conservative opinion blogger at The Washington Post: “Republican candidates should categorically reject the notion that President Obama was not born in the United States. It is a complete distraction from the failed economic policies of the President.”