Category: News

Researchers Warn Stem Rust Could Destroy European Wheat

10 Feb 2017 IAC Staff

Researchers have issued a warning about a kind of stem rust that could damage wheat crops in the 2017 season.

Results of lab tests showed that stem rust epidemics in Sicily last year were caused by a new and dangerous variant of race TTTTF, according to Denmark-based Global Rust Reference Center (GRRC).

Researchers are warning that spores produced by stem rust may spread to this year’s crops in Europe, according to a report from Nature weekly magazine.

“We have to be careful of shouting wolf too loudly. But this could be the largest outbreak that we have had in Europe for many, many years,” Chris Gilligan, an epidemiologist at the University of Cambridge in the UK, was quoted as saying by the Nature magazine. Gilligan leads a team that has modeled the probable spread of the fungus’s spores.

In a statement issued February 2, the GRRC said the stem rust infected several thousands of hectares, and it could have produced a huge number of spores. There could be a “real risk of repeated outbreaks in the 2017 crop season if stem rust race TTTTF persists,” the center said.

The organization also said that two new strains of yellow rust were also spotted for the first time. One was found in Europe and North Africa, and the other in East Africa and Central Asia.

Farmers in at-risk areas should be fully ready, monitor crops for stem rust, and use registered fungicides. They need to control stem rust at an early growth stage to avoid losses, according to the center.

Similar alerts about the three crops diseases were issued by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) on February 3.

Last year, stem rust destroyed tens of thousands of hectares of crops in Sicily. Europe is known as the world’s largest wheat-producing region. According to Mogens Hovmøller of the GRRC, the region has not been seen stem rust epidemics in Europe since the 1950s. Hovmøller, who leads the center’s testing team, thinks that there is a great need for an early-warning system in Europe. In next few weeks, he will join other experts to ask the European Research Council to release funds for the establishment of the warning system.

Such a system will help partners – including breeders, scientists, and agrochemical firms in Europe – to share investigative facilities and information about potential outbreaks.

Fazil Dusunceli, a plant pathologist at the FAO, believes that such a warning system might have helped to mitigate the Sicily outbreak. “I wouldn’t question the necessity for an early-warning system,” he said.

The GRRC is part of Aarhus University in Denmark and the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center.

 

President Trump Nominates Neil Gorsuch to Replace Scalia on Supreme Court

10 Feb 2017 IAC Staff

President Donald Trump on January 31 announced that Neil Gorsuch is his nominee for the Supreme Court. He has been selected for the position of Associate Justice to replace the late Justice Scalia.

Gorsuch is a federal judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit in Denver, Colorado. He was appointed in 2006 to the 10th Circuit by then-President George W. Bush.

Gorsuch’s nomination was sent to the Senate on Feb. 1. If confirmed, he will replace Scalia who died last year. At 49, Gorsuch is the youngest Supreme Court nominees, and, if confirmed, he would be the youngest sitting Supreme Court justice since Clarence Thomas. Additionally, he would be the first Protestant on the court since John Paul Stevens’s retirement in 2010.

Gorsuch is a graduate of Columbia, Harvard, and Oxford. He served as the U.S. Department of Justice as the principal deputy associate attorney general in 2005. He assisted in managing major aspects of the agency’s work in areas such as constitutional law, counterterrorism, environmental regulation, and civil rights.

From 1995 to 2005, Gorsuch worked as an associate and partner at the law firm of Kellogg, Huber, Hansen, Todd, Evans & Figel, PLLC. He also clerked for Justice Byron White and Justice Kennedy of Supreme Court of the United States and Judge David Sentelle of the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

Gorsuch attended Harvard Law School as a Harry Truman Scholar and graduated with honors in 1991. He graduated with honors from Columbia University in 1988, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. After law school, he attended Oxford University as a Marshall Scholar and received his Doctorate in Philosophy in 2004.

“Judges should instead strive, if humanly and so imperfectly, to apply the law as it is, focusing backward, not forward, and looking to text, structure, and history to decide what a reasonable reader at the time of the events in question would have understood the law to be,” Gorsuch said in his speech at Case Western Reserve University.

He also published a book titled The Future of Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia in 2006. He opposed assisted suicide, stating that “all human beings are intrinsically valuable and the intentional taking of human life by private persons is always wrong.”

In related news, Gorsuch criticized Trump’s tweet targeting federal district court judge James Robart. A spokesman of the Supreme Court nominee confirmed to The Guardian that Gorsuch called the president’s tweet “disheartening and demoralizing.” He criticized the president’s remark on the judiciary in a private meeting with Senator Richard Blumenthal, the spokesman said.

However, Trump said that reported comments from his Supreme Court nominee were misrepresented.

Protests at Berkeley Stop Conservative Speech from Milo

8 Feb 2017 IAC Staff

A talk by Milo Yiannopoulos scheduled on the 1st of February at UC Berkeley ended up in a protest by hundreds of students. A crowd of more than 1500 students gathered outside the UC Berkeley campus. Protesters were against Milo’s speech in UC Campus. They started breaking windows, throwing smoke bombs in campus and sparked bonfire outside the building. Due to safety concerns by the crowd gathered for the event, UC Berkeley canceled the event two hours before the event started.

Milo’s visit to UC Berkeley was sponsored by the campus Republican club. Mr. Yiannopoulos after the cancellation of an event told to Fox news, “obviously it’s a liberal campus so they hate any conservatives who dare to express an opinion on their campuses.” Further, Milo added, “They particularly don’t like me.”

Nicholas Dirks, UC Vice Chancellor gave his statement in Berkeley news, “What happened tonight was very unfortunate.”

Dirks added to his statement, “It was against the fundamental values of the university. We are and will remain in favor of free speech as essential to the educational mission and a vital component of the identity of the University of California.” For more information, see Berkeley’s statement here: http://news.berkeley.edu/2017/02/02/campus-condemns-violence-defends-free-speech/

Dan Moulof, the university spokesperson said, “They were a small group of Hijackers in black masks, who were breaking windows and throwing smoke bombs.”

Protest organizer Yvette Felarca described, “The actions of protestors were of self-defense. She said we have the right to save ourselves.”
She further added “Shutting down the Milo was necessary. And we can do anything to shut him down.”

Margo Bennet, Police chief UC Berkeley stated, “a small group of protestors started throwing smoke bombs and flares. These protestors were wearing black hooded sweatshirts.”

Bennet said “at some time they were unable to guarantee the security and canceled the event. The spokesperson was evacuated from the building”.

The protest prompted President Trump’s views on free speech. Mr. Trump wrote a tweet questioning the university on handling this incident. He also threatened to cut off school’s federal funds.

He tweeted “If U.C. Berkeley does not allow free speech and practices violence on innocent people with a different point of view – NO FEDERAL FUNDS?”

A spokesman for the Berkeley College Republicans, Pieter Sittler said, “The Republican club off campus does not support everything that Milo says.”

Pieter further added, “Milo gives voice to the repressed conservative thought on American colleges.”

Pranav Jandhyala, a student eyewitnesses the incident and said, “It’s horrible; it’s disgusting what’s going on. It’s one thing to protect someone’s right to come here and speak, but it’s another thing to create this much amount of destruction and violence.”

Colin Duke, another student said “I just came to see if I could get into the Milo event. I support free speech. And it just got canceled by a bunch of people in black clothes.”

Iran Tests Missiles, President Trump Responds

3 Feb 2017 IAC Staff

Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan confirmed reports that Iran successfully conducted a ‘ballistic’ missile test, Tasnim News Agency reported Feb. 2.

The defense minister said that the missile test was successful and does not violate the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and the UNSC Resolution 2231.

However, U.S. officials criticized the missile test and claimed that Iran has violated JCPOA and the Resolution 2231. They also claimed that the test-fired Iranian ballistic missile exploded after traveling 630 miles (1,013 kilometers).

Dehqan did not say anything about the missile explosion. The Iranian defense minister, however, said that Iran will not allow the others to interfere in its defense affairs.

Meanwhile, 220 Iranian MPs recently issued a statement to voice their “full-fledged support” for the country’s Armed Forces. In a prepared statement, they said that “reinforcement of the defense capabilities of the Islamic Republic of Iran in line with deterrence strategy” is essential to ensure the country’s security.

Under the Resolution 2231, Iran cannot “undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons.”

However, Iran says that none of its missiles have been designed to carry nuclear warheads. It maintains that nuclear weapons have no place in the Islamic Republic’s defense doctrine.

In response to the reports of Iran’s missile test, Trump Administration has issued a statement, stating that Iran’s recent actions including “a provocative ballistic missile launch” underscores its “destabilizing behavior across the Middle East.”

“Recent Iranian actions, including a provocative ballistic missile launch and an attack against a Saudi naval vessel conducted by Iran-supported Houthi militants, underscore what should have been clear to the international community all along about Iran’s destabilizing behavior across the Middle East,” the White House said.

Houthi forces, which were trained by Iran, recently have struck Emirati and Saudi vessels and threatened U.S. and allied vessels transiting the Red Sea, according to the White House.

The White House criticized the Obama Administration for its failure to respond adequately to Iran’s actions including weapons transfers, support for terrorism, and other violations of international norms.

President Trump called various agreements reached between Iran, the Obama Administration, and the United Nations “weak and ineffective.”

The White House said that Trump condemns Iranian actions “that undermine security, prosperity, and stability throughout and beyond the Middle East and place American lives at risk.”

“As of today, we are officially putting Iran on notice,” the White House said Feb. 1.

Floods in California Forced Evacuations

27 Jan 2017 IAC Staff

Successive winter storms unleashed heavy rains in Southern California over the weekend flooding roads, freeways and homes, trapping people in swamped vehicles, mudslides and bringing down trees in the region.  It made evacuation of stranded residents in several affected areas unavoidable.

The storm rained heavily for several hours with damaging effect. The frightening weekend storm added plenty of precipitation, which suddenly had its arrival in the State after years of withering drought.

The National Weather Service says the system is gaining strength Sunday and could be the strongest in at least seven years. Evacuations are ordered near wildfire burn areas in Santa Barbara, Los Angeles and Orange counties. Officials say potential debris flows could limit access for emergency responders.

Coastal areas of Los Angeles County were among the worst hit with Long Beach Airport setting a new all-time rainfall record, 3.87 inches.

The heavy downpour was too much for the local roads. Both the 110 Freeway in Carson and the 710 Freeway in Long Beach were shut down on Sunday afternoon due to extreme flooding that left cars stranded like islands in a lake.

Heavy snow in the Sierra Nevada triggered an avalanche that shut down a highway just west of Lake Tahoe. Schools were cancelled in northern Nevada after it witnessed nearly half-foot of snow fall near Reno. Several intersections in Long Beach and surrounding communities were flooded and residents reported that their parked cars were damaged due to rising rain water. Several people were rescued from their cars and thousands lost power. It is reported that the storm dumped as much as four inches of rain at some places.

Rockslides blocked the roads in Malibu and other coastal mountain areas. According to close sources, about 15 to 20 residents of ocean-front apartment units had been evacuated.

Heavy rains can cause mudslides in the burn areas caused by wildfire last year. Evacuation orders have been issued for burn areas in Glendora, Duarte, Silverado Canyon in Orange County and parts of Santa Barbara County. However, some residents in the burn areas chose to stay in their homes in order to protect their homes in case things run out of their hands.

Brett Albright, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s office in San Diego, said the storm dumped as much as four inches of rain in some places.

The State has deployed extra emergency crews to help, including a bulldozer operator and two additional swift-water rescue teams. The epic rains wreaked something unusual in Disneyland Sunday characterised by a quiet day with small crowds. Although thunderstorm conditions were expected to come down slightly, rainfall is expected to pour until Tuesday.

The storm has caused heavy rainfall over the days along with mudslides and snow blocked major roads including Interstate 80. U.S 395 and Highway 17 the main freeway linking Silicon Valley with Santa Cruz. According to NWS (National Weather Service) the incessant storm and rainfall has seen a record-breaking wave height for the Monterey Bay of measuring 34.12 feet.

Bill Wolcott, a California State Parks public safety superintendent said, “We’ve seen very large surf, with very little break in between, and it’s that repeated beating down by the ocean that seems to be having the biggest effect on the ship this year.”

Syrian Peace Talks Begin

27 Jan 2017 IAC Staff

The Syrian peace talks, that began on January 23, 2017 in Astana, the Kazakhstan capital, are the latest moves towards ending the bloody six-year old civil war in Syria. It is an initiative by Russia, Turkey and Iran and aims at consolidating a ceasefire agreement that came into force on December 30, brokered by Russia and Turkey.

Opposition spokesman Yahya al-Aridi said there are two main objectives of the ongoing peace talk: “First is the consolidation of the accord signed by Turkey and Russia on the 30th of December, concerning the ceasefire, and making this ceasefire cover all of Syria and at the same time taking care of all the breaches by the regime and Iran, especially in Wadi Barada and Homs and in southern Damascus and other areas in Syria.”

The talks began on Monday with representatives of some of the rebel armed groups sat opposite to the Syrian government delegation on a round table. They are also joined by representatives of Russia, Iran and Turkey, the UN special envoy Staffan de Mistura and the US ambassador to Kazakhstan.

Residents in the Syrian city of Aleppo express high hopes that progress can be made in the strife-torn Syria. One woman in Aleppo said, “I hope that the conference in Kazakhstan will lead to reconciliation. I hope that they all agree to stand with us and that God stands by our side too. God willing things will be well,” said one woman in Aleppo.

Kazakh Foreign Minister Kairat Abdrakhmanov, said that it was time to “make the real breakthrough that Syrian people rightfully deserve”.

Some key players were not present in the talks. The prominent stakeholders like ISIS, al-Qaeda, Saudi Arabia, and the Kurdish-led, U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Council and a powerful militant group named Ahrar al-Sham are not attending the peace talks.

A spokesman for the rebel delegation, Yahya al-Aridi said that the meeting would contribute to the UN brokered Geneva talks on a political settlement, which are scheduled to resume next month.

Syria’s permanent representative to the UN Mr. Jaafari was critical of opposition delegation Chief Mr. Mohammed Alloush’s speech and said on Monday that it had ‘irritated the attendees’ diplomatic senses and experience’. A transcript of Mr. Alloush’s speech has not been released, but a video of part was posted online by a member of his delegation.

Alloush has warned “A political solution in Syria is our choice but it is not the only one because we fight for our rights; our right to live; the right of freedom; the right to decide our fate and the people’s right to decide who will represent them.”

Apple Sues Chip Maker Qualcomm for $1B

27 Jan 2017 IAC Staff

The tech giant Apple (APPL) has filed a lawsuit to the tune of $ 1 billion on Friday, 22 January 2017 against Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM) in the federal district court in the Southern District of California by accusing the latter of overcharging for its wireless chips and engaging in monopolistic tactics.

Apple said in the “Form many years Qualcomm has unfairly insisted on charging royalties for technologies that they have nothing to do with.” According the iPhone maker, the more money the Company innovates with unique features such as TouchID, advanced displays, and cameras, to name just a few, the more money Qualcomm collects for no reason and the more expensive it becomes for Apple to fund these innovations.

According to Apple, Qualcomm, the chipmaker company and the maker of the iPhone’s baseband processor, is leveraging its monopoly position in baseband chips and overcharging for the chips and refusing to pay some $ 1 billion in promised rebate for chip purchases.

Apple said in the lawsuit “We are extremely disappointed in the way Qualcomm is conducting its business with us and unfortunately after years of disagreement over what constitutes a fair and reasonable royalty we have no choice left but to turn to the courts.”

The Apple’s lawsuit followed the US Federal Trade Commission’s lawsuit against Qualcomm filed on 17 January 2017. FTC filed the lawsuit against Qualcomm saying that the San Diego-based company used its dominant position as a supplier of certain phone chips to impose “onerous” supply and licensing terms on cell phone manufacturers.

Patrick Moorhead, president of market-research firm Moor Insights & Strategy, said the legal dispute with Apple will help determine ‘what is fair pricing for patents that Qualcomm invested heavily to develop’.

The iPhone has been hugely profitable for Apple and accounts for three-fourth of Apple’s gross profit. The lawsuit says that by making its chip supply contingent on paying patent licenses, Qualcomm managed to secure royalty terms which are not otherwise acceptable to the manufacturers.

For instance, Apple charges about $549 for an iPhone 6s with a 4.7-inch display and $649 for a iPhone 6s Plus with a 5.5-inch display. Even if the higher price is related to the larger display, and not Qualcomm’s chip, Qualcomm collects the same royalty percentage over the total selling price of the iPhone. Qualcomm also require Apple to exclusively use it chips in iPhones from at least 2011 to 2016. Apple also claims that Qualcomm’s practices deterred Apple from switching to chips made by competitors like Intel Corp.

In a counter statement, Qualcomm General Counsel Don Rosenberg called Apple’s claims “baseless” and has put blame on Apple for “actively encouraging regulatory attacks on Qualcomm’s business in various jurisdictions around the world, as reflected in the recent KFTC decision and FTC complaint, by misrepresenting facts and withholding information.”

$125B Sovereign Wealth Fund Merger in Abu Dhabi

27 Jan 2017 IAC Staff

Abu Dhabi’s government has merged two of its sovereign wealth funds called Mubadala Development Co and International Petroleum Investment Co (IPIC) into a new single entity called Mubadala Investment Company (MIC) with assets totalling about $125 billion on 21 January 2017. Government sources said the move was to cut costs in response to drop in oil prices in the global market and to diversify investments away from oil to other viable sectors.

The government said the joint venture will “run operations in acquisition, development, construction, financing, operation, and investment in various sectors”.

According to the government, integrating the two entities would create greater benefit and enhanced economic value to them.

IPIC owns corporate stakes in the energy industry and other sectors across the world. The new fund, Mubadala Investment Co, becomes the world’s 14th largest sovereign fund according to the data available with Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute.

The Abu Dhabi government also named Mubadala Development’s current group CEO Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak to run the new sovereign fund.

Government sources say the merger of the two wealth fund giants will enable Abu Dhabi to face the demands of competitive world, where size matters. The measure by the major sheikhdom in the oil-rich United Arab Emirates, comes as a cost-cutting measure in response to the low prices of the commodity in the global market.

According to government the high-level merger is needed as the emirate government attempts to combine state assets to cut costs in response to drop in oil prices and diversify investments away from oil to other viable sectors. In the wake of oil prices at about half their levels in mid-2014, sovereign funds across the rich Gulf Arab oil exporting states have to adjust policies to adapt themselves to lower inflows of petrodollars.

The merged entity’s large size is expected to enable it to raise money from international market. Mubadala Investment Company would conduct partnerships and businesses in 30-plus countries. It will infuse synergies and growth in various sectors including the energy and utilities sector, technology, aerospace, industry, health care, real estate, and financial investments.

According to the Emirate government, the combined entity would realize synergies and growth in multiple sectors including the energy and utilities sector, technology, aerospace, industry, health care, real estate, and financial investments. It would also have the ability to contribute more significantly to the diversification of the economy, in line with the Abu Dhabi plan and the country’s long-term vision.

As a part of its measures to strengthen its financial institutions, Abu Dhabi is initiating the process of merging of several institutions like the proposed merger of two largest banks, National Bank of Abu Dhabi and First Gulf Bank.

For more information see: http://www.mubadala.com/en/merger

President Trump’s Executive Order on Healthcare

25 Jan 2017 IAC Staff

Day one Donald J. Trump, the 45th President, signed his first executive order on January 20, 2017 to roll back certain aspects of the existing Affordable Care Act (ACA), popularly known as Obamacare, a national health care initiative. The executive order aims at ‘minimising the economic burden’ of the Obamacare law ‘pending its repeal’, which Mr. Trump vowed during his campaign trail.

The order says “It is the policy of my administration to seek the prompt repeal” of the law. The Trump administration is preparing to replace it with an effective plan that they say would allow ‘insurance for all’.

The order on the Affordable Care Act directs departments and agencies related to the healthcare and health insurance sector to ease the burden of Obamacare during the period of transition of its repeal and replacement.

The administration has said they are working at creating a freer and more open healthcare market in the country. To achieve the goal, they ordered federal departments and agencies to take actions consistent with law to reduce the unwarranted economic and regulatory burdens of the ACA and gives the states with more flexibility and control to his effect.

By signing the executive order on day one in the White House, Mr. Trump takes actions to dismantle the healthcare law that covers some 20 million Americans and was the signature healthcare program of his predecessor President Barack Obama.

Section 2 of the Executive order instructs the secretary of HHS (Health and Human Services) to “exercise all authority and discretion available to them to waive, defer, grant exemptions from, or delay” parts of the law that would place a fiscal or regulatory burden on states, individuals or health-care providers.

The President with his team decided to replace and repeal the Obamacare laws with new a new healthcare system that will allow patients to buy health insurance across state lines using health savings accounts and have interstate health insurance sales and high-risk pools at the state level to take care of people who have pre-existing conditions.

The executive order is not going to affect Medicare, the federal healthcare insurance program for older people at 65 years or above and people with disabilities. Considering the time it will take Republicans to fashion a replacement, the federal and state insurance exchanges are likely to function at least through 2018.

The Affordable Care Act marketplaces are still active before open enrollment ends Jan. 31 for 2017 coverage. Advocates for the ACA will be interested in seeing how many companies and individuals decide to take part this year and next.

The new administration says features found in Obamacare, like the provision that continues young adults’ coverage under their parents’ insurance, will not be affected.

For more information see the executive order here: “Executive Order Minimizing the Economic Burden of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Pending Repeal” https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/01/2/executive-order-minimizing-economic-burden-patient-protection-and

Cancer Death Rate Drops by a Quarter from 1991 High

10 Jan 2017 IAC Staff

American Cancer Society, Jan, 9, 2017, Cancer Statistics 2017, an annual report by the American Cancer Society (ACS) and published in CA: Cancer Journal for Clinicians shows that there has been a consistent decline in the number of people dying from cancer since 1991. In 1991, 215.1 per 100,000 of the population succumbed to cancer, whereas in 2014 161.2 per 100,000 passed on. This represents a 25% drop from the 1991 figures, which have been the highest figures yet recorded. The annual report that includes metrics such as cancer incidence, death rate, and survival used data up to 2014, which is the last year with up to date data ready for analysis.

A 25% drop in cancer related deaths over two decades means that 2.1 million fewer deaths have been reported between 1991 and 2014. In the report, Otis W. Brawley, M.D, FACP, the chief medical officer of ACS remarked, “The continuing drops in the cancer death rate are a powerful sign of the potential we have to reduce cancer’s deadly toll.” He went on, “Continuing that success will require more clinical and basic research to improve early detection and treatment, as well as creative new strategies to increase healthy behaviors nationwide. Finally, we need to consistently apply existing knowledge in cancer control across all segments of the population, particularly to disadvantaged groups.”

The decline in death rates has been attributed to cutting down on smoking and the improvement of early detection and therapeutic interventions over the years. There have been steady reductions in cancer related deaths in the most common sites for cancer occurrence in the human body: the lung, breast, prostate and colorectal (colon and rectum). Cancer related deaths associated with the lung decreased by 43% (1990-2014) in males and 17% (2002-2014) in women. There was a 38% reduction in deaths from breast cancer from 1989 to 2014 and a 51% reduction in Prostate and Colorectal cancers (1993 to 2014 for prostate cancer, 1976 to 2014 for colorectal cancer).

The report also highlighted the fact that there are gender and racial differences in cancer incidence and cancer related deaths. For all the four common sites, the incidence rate for cancer is 20% higher in men, while the mortality rate is 40% higher in males. There are racial differences in cancer related deaths, with blacks and Hispanics suffering more than whites. The good news is that the excess risk of death from cancer in black men has gone down by 26% points from 47% in 1990 to 21% in 2014. The difference between white and black women went down 7% points from 20% in 1998 to 13% in 2014.

In the report, 2017 is estimated to have 1,688,780 new cancer cased and 600,290 cancer related deaths in the United States. It has also shown that the overall cancer incidence rate has gone down by 2% every year in men while remaining static for women in the last ten years. The cancer death rate has declined by 1.5% every year for both genders.