Geneva, September 9
Scientists involved in a historic “Big Bang” experiment to begin this week hope it will turn up many surprises about the universe and its origins, but reject suggestions it will bring the end of the world.

Robert Aymar, the French physicist who heads the CERN research centre, predicted that discoveries to emerge from his organisation’s 6.4 billion euro ($ 9.2 billion) project would spark major advances for human society.

“If some of what we expect to find does not turn up, and things we did not foresee do, that will be even more stimulating because it means that we understand less than we thought about nature,” said British physicist Brian Cox.

“What I would like to see is the unexpected,” said Gerardus t’ Hooft of the University of Michigan. Perhaps, he suggested, the Large Hardron Collider machine at the heart of the experiment “will show us things we didn't know existed.”

Once it starts up on Wednesday, the scientists plan to smash particle beams together at close to the speed of light inside CERN's tightly-sealed Large Hadron Collider to create multiple mini-versions of the primeval Big Bang.

Cosmologists said that the explosion of an object the size of a small coin occurred about 13.7 billion years ago and led to the formation of stars, planets and eventually to life on earth. CERN, the European Centre for Nuclear Research, says its key researchers and many ordinary staff have been inundated by e-mails voicing fears about the experiment. — Reuters

In a chilling reminder of its burgeoning might, the LTTE launched a daring attack against the government troops in Vavuniya in northern Sri Lanka on Monday night by simultaneously carrying out an air and ground attack on the air force base in the area and an artillery attack on the army camp in the vicinity, leaving Ten soldiers dead and 15 other injured

The military claimed that they had shot down the LTTE aircraft that carried out the attack but there is no independent verification of the claim. The two bombs dropped from the aircraft to the air base did not explode so there were no damages. Ten Tigers were killed in the attack on the air base, the Defene Ministry said.

These attacks came as the government asked all the UN and local and foreign aid workers in the LTTE dominated areas to leave and move to government controlled areas as their security in these areas could no longer be ensured.

The UN in Colombo in a statement issued on Tuesday evening said it will begin relocating its staff this week. “The UN notes that the government recognises it holds primary responsibility for ensuring the safety of humanitarian workers” the statement said.

The new developments come as the military is closing in on the LTTE’s last remaining strongholds in Mullaithivu and Kilinochchi districts in the north. Aid workers fear a humanitarian crisis is looming with nearly 450,000 civilians trapped in LTTE controlled area. The government’s appeals to them to move into areas under its control have had no significant response so far.

The fighting is also taking a heavy toll on the military. Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake told Parliament on Tuesday that within the past month, 155 soldiers were killed and nearly a 1,000 injured in fighting in the area.

Washington, September 9
Republican presidential candidate John McCain has gained huge support and now leads Democrat Barack Obama among white women voters since naming Sarah Palin as his running mate, according to a survey published today.

The Washington Post/ABC News poll found that much of McCain's surge in the polls since the Republican National Convention is attributable to the shift in support among white women. The race for the White House is now a virtual tie, with Obama at 47 per cent support of registered voters and McCain at 46 percent, the poll found.

Before the Democratic National Convention in late August, Obama held an eight per cent point lead among white women voters, 50 per cent to 42 per cent, but after the Republican convention in early September, McCain was ahead by 12 points among white women, 53 per cent to 41 per cent, the poll found.

McCain surprised the electorate ahead of the Republican convention by naming Palin, the little-known Alaska governor, as his vice presidential running mate. She received high marks among supporters for her convention address, which included a scathing attack ridiculing Obama's experience and record — Reuters 

The CPN-Maoist-led coalition government in Nepal is all set to present its first ever policies and programs at the Constituent Assembly meeting that is going to resume on Wednesday in the capacity of Legislature-Parliament.

On the eve of unveiling its policies and programs in Parliament by the newly elected President Dr Ram Baran Yadav, a meeting of Council of Ministers on Tuesday approved the policies and programs after accommodating suggestions floated by the major coalition partners, the CPN-UML and Madhesi People's Rights Forum, said Krishna Bahadur Mahara, minister for information and communication after the cabinet meeting.

According to the government, it has given its top priority to bring the peace process to a logical end, write new democratic and federal constitution on time and bring about socio-economic transformation. All the agreements, including the Comprehensive Peace Accord, reached in the past with several groups would be fully implemented, said a govenrment spokesperson.

For the first time, Nepal's first President Dr Yadav, the head of the Himalayan nation, will table it at the Parliament Wednesday. The government has planned to endorse it on September 14 through Parliament after carrying out further discussion on September12 and 13, before the Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, alias Prachanda, leaves for New Delhi for his four-day first political visit to India.

BRIEFLY

56 killed in China mudslide
China: Fifty-six persons were killed and hundreds more may be missing in north China after a reservoir of mining waste collapsed, burying cars and houses under a wall of sludge, said the official Xinhua news agency on Tuesday. Torrential rain triggered Monday’s avalanche of mud and rocks after the holding pond at the Tashan mine in Shanxi province was apparently filled beyond capacity, state media said. The torrent was several metres high and destroyed houses and a three-story office building in minutes. — Reuters

Answer to arsenic poisoning
LONDON: British scientists claim to have found a solution to the world’s worst case of poisoning through exposure to arsenic in rice and water in eastern India. According to an estimate, over 70 million people in eastern India and Bangladesh experience involuntary arsenic exposure from consuming water and rice. This includes farmers, who have to use contaminated groundwater from minor irrigation schemes. — PTI

Boyle’s love for Mumbai
TORONTO: British director Danny Boyle, whose effervescent, no-holds-barred take on Mumbai in the superbly crafted film, “Slumdog Millionaire”, has won both him and the city a battery of new fans, has admitted that he was blown away by the sheer energy and spirit of the metropolis. “Mumbai is an extraordinary place. It's a city on perpetual fast forward and the generosity and humanity is beyond capturing,” said Boyle. — PTI

Exhibition on Indian culture
LONDON: 'India Inspirations', an exhibition showcasing the work by three women artists, including an Indian, will open for public at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan here from September 26. The show will present an eclectic and thought-provoking range of work, representing the rich colour and culture of India, the exhibition's organisers said. The three artists are Mari Ianson, Caroline Jariwala and Anjali D'Souza. — PTI

UK experts begin study with Pune hospital
LONDON: British scientists have started a major study in collaboration with a Pune hospital to explore the link between low birth weight and diseases in later life in India. Experts at the University of Southampton have started examining the impact of low birth weight and infant weight that may have on the development of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases in adult life. This is the latest stage of a study of 400 children born in the King Edward Memorial Hospital in Pune. — PTI