The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

South Africa set for polls today
Johannesburg, May 6
Despite widespread discontent with the current government over corruption and unemployment, the ruling ANC is expected to win tomorrow's fifth democratic election in South Africa since anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela first took power in 1994 after decades of white rule.

Yet another knife attack at China train station; 6 hurt
Beijing, May 6
Six persons, including two women, were injured today in a knife attack at a busy railway station in China's Guangzhou city, the third such assault in over two months with authorities blaming the first two on terrorists from Xinjiang. A knife-wielding assailant was responsible for the assault at southern China's Guangzhou railway station, police said dismissing earlier reports that claimed four persons were involved in the attack.

Coca-Cola to phase out controversial ingredient
New York, May 6
Coca-Cola says it will drop a controversial ingredient from all its drinks that contain it, not just Powerade. The Atlanta-based company says brominated vegetable oil is still being used in some flavors of Fanta and Fresca, as well as several citrus-flavoured fountain drinks. The change will apply to its drinks globally, meaning Canada and Latin America are phasing out the ingredient as well.

Indian-origin nurse cleared of poisoning charge in UK
London, May 6
An Indian-origin dental nurse won "the battle of her life" when she was cleared of poisoning her boss with mercury after two separate juries failed to convict her. Ravinder Kaur, 34, had denied charges of lacing her manager Laura Knowles' coffee with mercury amalgam used in dental fillings in revenge on March 16, 2012, three days after being given a warning about "poor behaviour" at work.

2 explosions rock Thai tourist town; five injured
Bangkok, May 6
Two bombs exploded minutes apart in the southern Thai city of Hat Yai on Tuesday, wounding five people, and the police said they suspected Muslim rebels were responsible. One bomb exploded outside a convenience store near a school while a second bomb went off near a police station.

Indian docs more likely to be struck off in UK: Report
London, May 6
Indian doctors are at least four times more likely to be struck off from practising in UK than medics who are trained locally, according to latest figures. According to statistics from the General Medical Council (GMC) here, in the past five years, 117 doctors trained in India and Pakistan have been barred from working in the UK. The figures add up to around 1 in 1,000 doctors who are trained in UK being struck off during that period as against 1 in 250 of those trained in India, and 1 in 350 of those from Pakistan. The country with the largest number of doctors removed from the UK register is India, followed by Pakistan, Egypt and Nigeria. The revelations are being seen as further proof of discrimination within the system by the British Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (BAPIO). — PTI

NGO: Blast in tunnel kills 30 Syrian troops
Beirut, May 6
At least 30 Syrian soldiers were killed in a powerful explosion caused by a massive bomb that rebels planted in a tunnel they dug under a checkpoint, a monitor said today. "Around 30 regime forces were killed... in a blast in which several tons of explosives were planted in a tunnel beneath a checkpoint on the northeastern outskirts of the town of Maaret al-Numan," group said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. A video posted online by Syria's biggest rebel alliance, the Islamic Front, showed an enormous explosion that threw dust and debris dozens of metres up into the air. — AFP

Boko Haram kidnaps eight more girls
Kano, May 6
Suspected Boko Haram Islamists have kidnapped eight more girls from Nigeria's embattled northeast, residents said today, after the extremist group's leader claimed responsibility for abducting more than 200 schoolgirls last month. "They moved door to door looking for girls," said Abdullahi Sani, referring to the late Sunday attack in the village of Warabe, Borno state. "They forcefully took away eight girls between the ages of 12 and 15." Sani, a Warabe resident, spoke to AFP by phone from Gwoza, a town 10 km away where he and others fled after the attack, which he blamed on Boko Haram. — AFP

Both sides bury the dead as Ukraine slides towards war
Rebels set to hold Crimea-like referendum on secession on Sunday

Odessa, May 6
Both sides have been burying their dead as Ukraine slides further towards war, with supporters of Russia and of a united Ukraine accusing each other of tearing the country apart. Tuesday morning was quieter than past days in eastern and southern Ukraine, but the deadliest week since the separatist uprising began has transformed the conflict, hardening positions and leaving little room for peace.

In Kramatorsk, a separatist-held town in the east that saw an advance by Ukrainian troops at the weekend, the coffin of 21-year-old nurse Yulia Izotova was carried through streets stilled by barricades of tyres and tree trunks on Monday.

Scattered red carnations traced the route. At the Holy Trinity Church, seven priests led mourners in prayer for a woman killed by large calibre bullets, which the townsfolk believe were fired by Ukrainian troops. "They shoot at us. Why? Because we don't want to live with fascists?" asked 58-year-old passport photographer Sergei Fominsky, standing with his wife among the mourners. "We're not slaves. We kneel to no one."

In Odessa, a previously peaceful, multi-ethnic Black Sea port where more than 40 people were killed on Friday in the worst day of violence since a February revolt toppled Ukraine's pro-Russian president, pall-bearers carried Andrey Biryukov's open casket from a van to the street corner where he was shot.

A pro-Ukrainian activist, Biryukov, 35, was killed during a day that began with hundreds of pro-Russian sympathisers armed with axes, chains and guns attacking a Ukrainian march, and ended later that night with the pro-Russians barricaded inside a building that was set on fire, killing dozens. A small crowd of about 50 people stood around the body, covering it with carnations and roses.

A Ukrainian flag fluttered in the wind, and a patriotic song about dead heroes was played from a sound system. Relatives wept and a young woman fell on her knees crying loudly. The corner where the man died was decorated with flowers and small Ukrainian flags.

The next few days could prove decisive as separatists in the eastern Donbass region say they will hold a referendum on secession on Sunday, May 11, similar to the one that preceded Russia's annexation of Crimea.

Two days earlier, on Friday, May 9, is the annual Victory Day holiday celebrating the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany. Moscow has been openly comparing the government in Kiev to the Nazis, and Ukrainian officials say they are worried that the day could provoke violence. In Moscow, there will be a massive parade of military hardware through Red Square, a Soviet-era tradition revived by President Vladimir Putin. — Reuters

South Africa set for polls today

Johannesburg, May 6
Despite widespread discontent with the current government over corruption and unemployment, the ruling ANC is expected to win tomorrow's fifth democratic election in South Africa since anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela first took power in 1994 after decades of white rule.

The African National Congress (ANC) is largely seen as winning the election again, returning its leader Jacob Zuma for a second presidential term, although analysts are expecting the party to have a smaller percentage of votes than in the last election in 2009.

Despite the considerable dissatisfaction with Zuma's first term with allegations of corruption, mismanagement and sometimes violent protests about a lack of delivery on basic services, the ANC's dominance is expected to continue amid a highly fragmented opposition that has also seen former ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema taking on his bosses with his own Economic Freedom Fighters Party.

With rhetoric of increasing employment and services through nationalisation of assets, Malema has found favour among the youth and is expected to garner a number of seats in Parliament.

The strongest opposition though remains the Democratic Alliance led by Helen Zille which has been gaining ground among blacks after initially being seen as a whites' party.

The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), highly respected across the continent and internationally, has come under fire this time for alleged involvement by its chairperson, Pansy Tlakula, in irregular property deals for IEC buildings.

Several parties went to court last week in an attempt to remove Tlakula from office, threatening to have the results declared null and void saying she would not be neutral as the IEC head. — PTI

System of proportional representation

The South African system of proportional representation sees voters choosing parties rather than candidates, with the party winning a controlling number of seats in the legislature selecting the President

The 2014 elections will be the first in which the so-called 'Born Frees', people born after 1994 in a democratic South Africa, will be casting their votes. A total of 24 million people are eligible to vote in the polls

Latest polls indicate that the ANC is likely to secure about 63 per cent of the votes, just under 3 per cent less than it got in 2009

Yet another knife attack at China train station; 6 hurt

Beijing, May 6
Six persons, including two women, were injured today in a knife attack at a busy railway station in China's Guangzhou city, the third such assault in over two months with authorities blaming the first two on terrorists from Xinjiang. A knife-wielding assailant was responsible for the assault at southern China's Guangzhou railway station, police said dismissing earlier reports that claimed four persons were involved in the attack.

The police confirmed that six persons were injured in the attack and asserted that only person, who was shot and arrested, carried out the attack. They also denied the report that a foreigner was one of the injured in the attack.

The suspect was carrying a long knife and did not have any identity card, a police statement said.

The male suspect was shot by the police and is being treated in hospital.

The official media including the state television played down the coverage of the incident unlike the previous attacks at railway stations.

The incident is the latest of the recent attacks at crowded train stations in over two months. China has blamed the al-Qaeda backed East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM) for such attacks. — PTI

Coca-Cola to phase out controversial ingredient

New York, May 6
Coca-Cola says it will drop a controversial ingredient from all its drinks that contain it, not just Powerade. The Atlanta-based company says brominated vegetable oil is still being used in some flavors of Fanta and Fresca, as well as several citrus-flavoured fountain drinks. The change will apply to its drinks globally, meaning Canada and Latin America are phasing out the ingredient as well.

A spokesman for Coca-Cola, Josh Gold, noted that the ingredient is not used in many countries.

Brominated vegetable oil, or BVO, had been the target of petitions on Change.org by a Mississippi teenager, who wanted it out of Gatorade and Powerade. The Associated Press reported yesterday that Coca-Cola is dropping BVO from Powerade, following a similar move by PepsiCo's Gatorade last year.

Today, Coca-Cola said in a statement that all its drinks are safe and comply with regulations in the countries where they're sold. It noted that BVO is used to improve the stability of its drinks and prevent certain ingredients from separating.

In coming months, however, the company said it would phase out the ingredient to be consistent with the ingredients it uses around the world. It said it would instead use sucrose acetate isobutyrate, which Coca-Cola said has been used in drinks for more than 14 years, and glycerol ester of rosin, which it said is commonly found in chewing gum and drinks.

In the US, Coca-Cola said it expects BVO to be out of all drinks by the end of the year. Representatives for PepsiCo weren't immediately available to say whether the company uses the ingredient in other drinks.

Even as companies stand by the safety of their products, several have recently changed their recipes as people increasingly look to eat foods they believe are natural. — AP

It’s called BVO

Coca-Cola says brominated vegetable oil (BVO) is still being used in some flavours of Fanta and Fresca, as well as several citrus-flavoured fountain drinks

BVO had been the target of petitions on Change.org by a Mississippi teenager, who wanted it out of Gatorade and Powerade.

Indian-origin nurse cleared of poisoning charge in UK

London, May 6
An Indian-origin dental nurse won "the battle of her life" when she was cleared of poisoning her boss with mercury after two separate juries failed to convict her. Ravinder Kaur, 34, had denied charges of lacing her manager Laura Knowles' coffee with mercury amalgam used in dental fillings in revenge on March 16, 2012, three days after being given a warning about "poor behaviour" at work.

She has now spoken of her relief after the UK Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) decided not to pursue the case with a third trial.

"I felt freedom, I felt relieved. A huge weight has come off my shoulders I was really happy that I've won the battle of my life," she said.

"It has been a horrifying, terrifying experience that has left me scarred. I am a broken person. My dignity and my career have been destroyed," she told Birmingham Mail.

The court heard there was friction between Kaur and colleagues. Three days before the coffee incident, she was handed a final written warning for allegedly leaving a patient unattended in the dental chair, an accusation Kaur denied.

The crown's case was that Kaur then took "a capsule or a number of capsules of mercury, and tipped it into a mug and handed the cup of coffee to Ms Knowles to drink". — PTI

2 explosions rock Thai tourist town; five injured

Dense smoke billows from a police station parking lot after a bomb hidden in a car exploded in Hat Yai district on Tuesday. AP/PTI

Bangkok, May 6
Two bombs exploded minutes apart in the southern Thai city of Hat Yai on Tuesday, wounding five people, and the police said they suspected Muslim rebels were responsible. One bomb exploded outside a convenience store near a school while a second bomb went off near a police station.

"The explosions were roughly seven minutes apart. Five persons were injured at the convenience shop ... they are all responsive and have been sent to hospital. Nobody was injured in the second blast," said Krissada Boonrat, governor of Songkhla province where the city is located.

The police said they suspected Muslim insurgents were responsible for Tuesday's attacks. The three southern provinces are covered by a tough emergency decree that gives the military wide-ranging powers of search and arrest.

Hat Yai, an important trade hub 755 km from the capital, Bangkok, is not covered by that law. — Reuters