L A T E S T      N E W S

WTO seals trade deal at Bali meeting

NUSA DUA (Indonesia): The World Trade Organization (WTO) reached its first ever trade reform deal on Saturday to the roar of approval from nearly 160 ministers who had gathered on the Indonesian island of Bali to decide on the make-or-break agreement that could add $1 trillion to the global economy.

The approval came after Cuba dropped a last-gasp threat to veto the package of measures.

"For the first time in our history, the WTO has truly delivered," WTO chief Roberto Azevedo told exhausted ministers after the talks which had dragged into an extra day on the tropical resort island.

"This time the entire membership came together. We have put the 'world' back in World Trade Organization," he said. "We're back in business... Bali is just the beginning."

The talks, which had opened on Tuesday, nearly came unstuck at the last minute when Cuba suddenly refused to accept a deal that would not help pry open the U.S. embargo of the Caribbean island, forcing negotiations to drag into Saturday morning.

Cuba later agreed on a compromise with the United States.

But there was scepticism how much had really been achieved.

"Beyond papering over a serious dispute on food security, precious little was progress was made at Bali," said Simon Evenett, professor of international trade at the University of St Gallen in Switzerland. "Dealing with the fracas on food security sucked the oxygen out of the rest of the talks."

The talks had begun under a cloud because of an insistence by India at the outset that it would only back an agreement if there was a compromise on food subsidies because of its massive programme for stockpiling food to feed its poor.

India, which will holds elections next year, won plaudits at home for taking a stand on behalf of the world's poor.

An eventual compromise was greeted with jubilation by Trade Minister Anand Sharma. While India had insisted on a permanent exemption from the WTO rules, the final text aimed to recommend a permanent solution within four years.

But the agreement is a milestone for the 159 WTO members, marking the organisation's first global trade agreement since it was created in 1995.

It also rescues the WTO from the brink of failure and will rekindle confidence in its ability to lower barriers to trade worldwide, after 12 years of fruitless negotiations.

The deal would lower trade barriers and speed up the passage of goods through customs. Analysts estimate that over time it could boost the world economy by hundreds of billions of dollars and create more than 20 million jobs, mostly in developing countries.

It still needs to be approved by each member government.

"It is good for both developed and developing members alike," U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman said.

A study by the Washington, D.C.-based Peterson Institute of International Economics estimated the agreement would inject $960 billion into the global economy and create 21 million jobs, 18 million of them in developing nations.

The deal slashes red tape at customs around the world, gives improved terms of trade to the poorest countries, and allows developing countries to skirt the normal rules on farm subsidies if they are trying to feed the poor.

The ministers had gathered with a clear warning that failure to reach agreement in Bali would turn the WTO into an irrelevance and trigger a rush towards regional and bilateral trade pacts.

It came almost 20 years to the day since a similar nail-biting conclusion to another marathon negotiation - the talks to agree the creation of the WTO itself, which wrapped up in mid-December 1993. That was the last global trade deal.

The Bali meeting was also noticeable for its lack of anti-WTO protests compared to the street battles when ministers met in Seattle 14 years ago.

The Bali accord will help revive confidence in the WTO's ability to negotiate global trade deals, after it consistently failed to clinch agreement in the Doha round of talks that started in 2001 and proved hugely over-ambitious.

As the Doha round stuttered to a halt, momentum shifted away from global trade pacts in favour of regional deals such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership that the United States is negotiating with 11 other countries, and a similar agreement it is pursuing bilaterally with the European Union. — Reuters

Row over Sanjay Dutt's parole

PUNE: A group of Republican Party of India (RPI) activists demonstrated outside Yerawada central jail here on Saturday, protesting the likely release of incarcerated Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt on parole.

Waving black flags and banners, the RPI activists shouted slogans demanding that Dutt should not be granted parole and must be treated at par with any other prisoner.

Police deployment has been beefed up outside the jail since Friday night with the expected release of Dutt on parole, as his wife Maanyata Dutt is unwell.

Dutt, 54, had recently applied for a month's parole contending that he wanted to take care of his wife. The parole has been granted and he is awaiting release from the jail to return home to Mumbai.

However, Maanyata reportedly attended a film premier on Thursday night and her pictures were splashed in various online media sporting a jeans and T-shirt.

This would be the third time that Dutt would come out on parole in the past three months.

Dutt had been granted a fortnight's parole for medical reasons on October 1, which was extended by another 15 days. He returned to the jail October 30.

The actor is presently serving the remaining 42 months of his five-year sentence for involvement in the March 1993 Mumbai serial blasts.

Having served 18 months in jail as an undertrial, Dutt started his stint in Yerawada jail on May 16 this year. In the jail he has been employed in making paper bags which are sold outside through some NGOs.

Though he spent Diwali in jail along with the other inmates, he is likely to enjoy Christmas and New Year with his family.

Dutt has acted in movies like "Munnabhai MBBS", "Lage Raho Munna Bhai" and "Agneepath" in the past few years. — IANS

Tejpal’s police custody extended till December 10

Panaji: Tehelka founder-editor Tarun Tejpal, accused of sexually assaulting a journalist woman colleague, will remain in custody of the Goa Police for four more days.

After the expiry of his six-day remand on Saturday, the 50-year-old journalist was produced before a local court, which extended his police custody till December 10.

Tejpal was arrested by the Goa Police last Saturday.

During arguments before Judicial Magistrate First Class Kshama Joshi, his counsel Sandip Kapoor opposed extension of the remand.

He said his client has been thoroughly interrogated by the police and relevant materials, besides the clothes which he wore on the day of alleged incident, have been recovered.

Public Prosecutor Saresh Lotlikar told the court that many witnesses were yet to be examined and hence further custody of Tejpal is required.

The Tehelka founder underwent two rounds of medical tests during his six-day custody.

Three colleagues of the Tehelka woman journalist, who has since resigned from the magazine, deposed before the Chief Judicial Magistrate in Panaji on Friday. The victim had confided in them about the alleged sexual assault.

The statement of Shoma Chaudhury, former Managing Editor of the magazine to whom the victim had written about the incident, is also to be recorded by the magistrate. — PTI

Youth throws acid on woman

LUDHIANA: A woman suffered burns on Saturday when an unidentified youth threw acid on her inside a salon in Ludhiana's Saraba Nagar locality, the police said.

Three others were also injured in the attack and were rushed to a hospital.

"We are trying to identify the accused. We will make arrests soon," an officer said.

The attack took place when the woman was getting ready for her wedding. The assailant entered the salon on the pretext of delivering some papers and fled after throwing acid on the victim, the police said. — IANS

Probe ordered into shutdown at India's Antarctica station

5 bombs recovered in Nalanda, 2 arrested

Biharsharif: Five bombs were recovered from a house on main road in Bihar's Nalanda district and two persons arrested today, police sources said.

Acting on a tip-off, a police team raided a house under Hilsa police station area of Nalanda district and recovered a bag containing five cane bombs, Deputy Superintendent of Police Rakesh Kumar said.

Two persons have been arrested and their interrogation is on.

Bomb defusal squad is being called from Patna, the DSP added. — PTI

2nd ODI: India look for revival to keep afloat

DURBAN: Faced with a do-or-die situation after their crushing 141-run defeat in the first match, India would look to turn around their fortunes with an improved show, especially in the bowling department, when they take on South Africa in the second ODI here tomorrow.

The Indians, licking their wounds after an embarrassing defeat in Johannesburg, have been left with no other option but to win tomorrow to stay afloat in the three-match series which has been dedicated to anti-apartheid icon and former President Nelson Mandela who passed away yesterday.

They were greeted by overcast conditions at this eastern coastal city which has been experiencing rain for the past week. Although there was talk that the pitch at Kingsmead stadium will be more to the Indians' liking, the lack of sun will surely have a bearing in some manner.

The whole of South Africa is mourning following the sad demise of Mandela and the Indian team, for once, would be hoping that their opponents are distracted.

The visitors though have other things to be concerned about, most of all, their bowling. That it was their weakest link has been known to one and all. However, the audacity with which Quinton de Kock, A.B. de Villers and J.P. Duminy butchered the Indian bowlers mystified many.

Poor bowling is one thing, and youngsters tend to learn and adapt as the game progresses. But they were not allowed to settle down as the South African batsmen plundered runs almost at will in Johannesburg.

One of the main reasons for the carnage-like experience in Johannesburg was due to lack of pace in the bowling of the likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohit Sharma. Only Mohammed Shami, during his opening spell, seemed to have some uneasy deliveries for de Kock and Hashim Amla, as he has more pace. And that is precisely what the Indian bowlers were lacking on that Wanderers pitch as Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel extracted pace and bounce by their fast stuff later that day. — PTI

US approves breakthrough drug for hepatitis C

WASHINGTON: US has approved a breakthrough therapy for treatment of chronic hepatitis C that is expected to offer a more palatable cure to millions of people infected with the liver-destroying viral disease.

Approved by the Food and Drug Administration, the pill, Sovaldi (sofosbuvir) is the
first drug that has demonstrated safety and efficacy to treat certain types of HCV infection without the need for co-administration of interferon, an official announcement said on Friday.

"Today's (Friday's) approval represents a significant shift in the treatment paradigm for some patients with chronic hepatitis C," said Edward Cox, director of the Office of Antimicrobial Products in the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.

Sovaldi is the second drug approved by the FDA in the past two weeks to treat chronic HCV (hepatitis C virus) infection.

On November 22, the FDA had approved Olysio (simeprevir).

Sovaldi is marketed by Gilead, based in Foster City, California. Olysio is marketed by Raritan, New Jersey-based Janssen Pharmaceuticals.

FDA said Sovaldi's effectiveness was evaluated in six clinical trials consisting of 1,947 participants who had not previously received treatment for their disease (treatment-naive) or had not responded to previous treatment (treatment-experienced), including participants co-infected with HCV and HIV.

Hepatitis C is a viral disease that causes inflammation of the liver that can lead to diminished liver function or liver failure.

About 3.2 million Americans are infected with hepatitis C, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the CNN said.

Symptoms may include fever, fatigue, loss of appetite, vomiting, nausea, abdominal pain, dark urine, clay-coloured bowel movements, joint pain and jaundice, according to the CDC. — PTI