Indian unpaid women workers sent home from Saudi
Riyadh, April 13
A group of Indian women workers, who were not paid their salaries for the past nine months by their employer here, have been repatriated after the Indian Embassy mediated with their contracting company for their final exit.

Slavyansk, April 13
At least two persons were killed and nine wounded today in gun battles between Ukrainian special forces and pro-Kremlin militias that threatened to scuttle the first international talks on the worst East-West crisis since the Cold War.

The clashes across the ex-Soviet state's separatist eastern rust belt broke out a day after masked gunmen stormed a series of police and security service buildings in coordinated raids that Kiev blamed on the "provocative activities of Russian special services".

The heavily Russified region has been riven by unrest since a team of Western-backed leaders rose to power in February on the back of bloody protests against the old regime's decision to reject an EU alliance and look for future assistance from the Kremlin.

Russia has since massed around 40,000 soldiers along Ukraine's eastern frontier and threatened to halt its neighbour's gas supplies over unpaid bills -- a cutoff that would impact at least 18 EU nations and threaten further retaliation against the Kremlin.

Yesterday's attacks were especially unsettling for both Kiev and Western leaders because of their remarkable similarity to events leading up to Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea peninsula last month. The balaclava-clad gunmen were armed with special-issue assault rifles and scopes most often used by nations' crack security troops.

Many wore unmarked camouflage uniforms similar to those seen on the highly trained units that seized the Black Sea peninsula in early March. They also moved with military precision and cohesion.

But Russia denied any involvement. And it sternly warned Kiev yesterday that the use of force against pro-Russian protesters could ruin the chances of the two sides sitting down for US-EU mediated talks in Geneva on Thursday.

Ukraine's Interior Minister Arsen Avakov announced the launch of an "anti-terrorist" operation in the eastern Donetsk region today.

He said crack units from Ukraine's SBU security service moved first into the city of Slavyansk to regain control of a police station that had been seized by about 20 militants yesterday.

But Avakov admitted that his troops had to "regroup" after meeting stiff resistance and suffering casualties. — AFP

Berlin, April 13
The UN climate chief today called on governments to take bold steps to tame carbon emissions after a landmark report said the worldwide aim to limit global warming was still attainable.

“The world can still combat climate change but only if nations raise their collective ambition to achieve a carbon-neutral world in the second half of the century,” said Christiana Figueres, executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

“We cannot play a waiting game where we bet on future technological miracles to emerge and save the day.” Figueres oversees UN negotiations towards a global pact on curbing climate-altering greenhouse-gas emissions that must be agreed in Paris late next year.

Its goal is to limit warming to two degrees Celsius over pre-industrial levels, but progress has been hampered by bickering over how to divide up the bill.

The report, issued in Berlin by the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), said the challenge to curb warming to levels deemed relatively safe by scientists can still be met through a “large-scale” shift to greener energy.

There is a “likely” chance of meeting the target if the world cuts annual greenhouse gas emissions 40-70 per cent by 2050 from 2010, it said.

It would also entail a “tripling to nearly a quadrupling” in the share of energy from renewable and nuclear sources and from traditional fossil or new biofuel sources whose emissions are captured and locked away.

But the document, a summary for policymakers that government representatives scrutinised line-by-line in Berlin over six days from Monday, also warned that on present trends the planet would be 3.7-4.8 C warmer by 2100 — a level scientists say could be catastrophic.

“This new report challenges decision makers by presenting to them alternative futures and spelling out the pathway to each,” said Figueres, in a statement issued by the UNFCCC secretariat in Bonn. — AFP

Paris/Rome, April 13
Tens of thousands of people took part in protests in central Paris and Rome on Saturday organised by hard-Left parties against government economic reform plans and austerity measures.

The protest in Rome turned violent when a large splinter group, many wearing masks and helmets, threw rocks, eggs, firecrackers and oranges at riot police in front of the industry ministry.

The Riot police with batons charged the group, with protesters fighting back with rocks and firecrackers. One man lost a hand when a firecracker exploded before he could throw it. There were dozens of lighter injuries among police and protesters, and at least six arrests, police said.

In Paris, protestors marched from the Place de la Republique, some carrying banners attacking President Francois Hollande with slogans such as "Hollande, that's enough" and "When you are leftist you support employees."

The French police said about 25,000 joined the protest, which came after new Prime Minister Manuel Valls unveiled planned tax and spending cuts on Tuesday, vowing to bring down France's public deficit.

The French Communist Party, on its Twitter account, estimated Saturday's turnout at 100,000. The protest in Rome was smaller, drawing several thousand, according to witnesses. They called for more affordable housing and took aim at 39-year-old Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and his plans to reform labour rules to make it easier for companies to hire and fire employees. — Reuters

Valparaiso, April 13
At least 11 persons have died in a huge fire in Chile's port city of Valparaiso famous for its UNESCO-listed historic centre, officials said today.

The blaze, which started in woodland near the city on Saturday and whose cause is under investigation, destroyed 500 homes and forced the evacuation of more than 5,000.

"So far, there are at least 11 fatalities from the fire," police official Colonel Fernando Bywaters told Radio Cooperativa.

The latest death toll came as President Michelle Bachelet arrived in the hard-hit city, 120 km west of the capital Santiago, to coordinate the emergency response after declaring it a disaster zone.

"This is the worst catastrophe Valparaiso has ever seen," the regional administrator, Ricardo Bravo, told reporters. The military has taken over security in the popular tourist hub, located on the Pacific coast with a population of 270,000.

At dawn, pockets of fire were still active and firefighters warned that extinguishing them was complicated by the area's hilly geography, narrow streets and persistent strong winds.

Overnight, many residents watched helpless, from distant vantage points, as the hills burned bright red. Thick smoke clouded the sky.

Hundreds of firemen were hopelessly outmatched in their battle to limit the blaze. They were forced to retreat time and again as flames reduced homes to cinders, a wall of red towering above them. — AFP

London, April 13
India is facing a cancer crisis, with smoking, belated diagnosis and unequal access to treatment causing large-scale problems, experts said.

Every year in India, around one million new cancer cases are diagnosed and around 600,000 to 700,000 people die from cancer in India, with this death toll projected to rise to around 1.2 million deaths per year by 2035, a new report on cancer care in India published in The Lancet Oncology reported.

The new report has been compiled by Professor Richard Sullivan and Professor Arnie Purushotham from King's Health Partners Cancer Centre at King's College London with the help of senior Indian colleagues, including Professor CS Pramesh and Professor Rajan Badwe at the Tata Memorial Cancer Centre, Mumbai.

"Access to affordable cancer treatment and care in India lags behind other parts of the world. Making such treatment and care accessible will require addressing its causes, while also developing affordable treatments," Professor Sunil Khilnani, Director, King's India Institute, King's College London, said.

Although India has a relatively lower incidence of cancer (around a quarter of that in the USA or Western Europe), the rate of deaths from cancer, adjusted for age, is similar to that seen in high-income countries, the report said.

Less than a third of patients with cancer in India currently survive for more than five years after diagnosis.

Around 95 per cent of the medical colleges in India do not have comprehensive cancer care services, comprising surgical, medical and radiation oncology departments, on the same campus.

Currently there are around 2,000 medical and radiation oncologists in India - one per 5000 newly diagnosed cancer patients - and in almost all remote or rural areas even the most basic cancer treatment facilities are non-existent, it said.

As a result, urban cancer centres are overcrowded and under-resourced, leading to long waiting times, delayed diagnoses, and treatment that comes too late for many patients. "The need for political commitment and action is at the heart of the solution to India's growing cancer burden," said Mohandas Mallath, a professor at the Tata Medical Centre in Kolkata. — PTI

Grim picture Every year in India, around one million new cancer cases are diagnosed and around 6,00,000 to 7,00,000 people die from cancer in India, with this death toll projected to rise to around 1.2 million deaths per year by 2035 Less than a third of patients with cancer in India currently survive for more than five years after diagnosis 95% of the medical colleges in India do not have comprehensive cancer care services, comprising surgical, medical and radiation oncology departments, on the same campus