Contaminants that led to a massive recall of pet food could have been added intentionally, according to one theory being considered by the Food and Drug Administration."Somebody may have added melamine to the wheat gluten in order to increase what appears to be the protein level," the FDA's Stephen Sundlof told CNN on Friday. "Wheat gluten is a high-protein substance and by trying to artificially inflate the protein level, it could command a higher price. But that's just one theory at this point."Sundlof said the agency is virtually sure the animal deaths linked to tainted pet food were caused by something that contaminated the wheat gluten, a normal ingredient of the food.The FDA has found melamine, a component of fertilizers and plastic utensils, in the gluten, but that may not be the culprit, said Sundlof, director of the FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine.... http://www.cnn.com censor News |
Editor - 07:19:00 04-06-07 |
Dubai Running Out of Office Space as Boom Draws Firms |
Dubai, the Middle East's fastest- growing city, is running out of office space, according to the commercial property broker CB Richard Ellis Group Inc. The lack of space is making it more difficult for foreign companies to profit from the sheikdom's economic boom, said Nicholas Maclean, managing director of the firm's business in the region. Some U.S. companies have agreed to occupy premises that won't be built for two years, he said. ``There's a desperate shortage,'' Maclean said in an interview. In some cases, companies are ``running their operations from other locations until the space eases up'' in Dubai, the most noted of the seven emirates that make up the U.A.E. The United Arab Emirates economy, the Arab world's second- biggest after Saudi Arabia, grew 8.9 percent in 2006 as the country earned an average of $65 per barrel of oil, about 22 percent higher than the previous year. That's helped draw in companies such as Baker Hughes Inc. to Dubai, ... http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=aAu7rArkl91w&refer=exclusive
full News |
Editor - 07:18:00 04-06-07 |
Kerkorian in $4.5bn Chrysler bid |
Billionaire Kirk Kerkorian's firm Tracinda has made a $4.5bn (£2.2bn) cash offer for Chrysler, the ailing US arm of Germany's DaimlerChrysler. Tracinda, formerly a key shareholder in Chrysler, said it wanted to "build and strengthen" Chrysler. Chrysler management and United Auto Workers could be "equity partners", said private investment firm Tracinda. DaimlerChrysler confirmed that it was in talks with potential partners over Chrysler, but made no other comments. Tracinda was the main shareholder in Chrysler when it merged with DaimlerBenz in 1998. Mr Kerkorian, who had opposed the merger, then tried to sue the firm in 2000, claiming that DaimlerBenz organised the deal to buy Chrysler in such a way that meant he lost billions of dollars. The case was rejected. ... http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6531629.stm
full News |
Editor - 07:12:00 04-06-07 |
Pentagon: No Saddam-Al Qaeda Link Meanwhile, Cheney Repeats Assertions Of Terror Group's Ties In Iraq |
Saddam Hussein's government did not cooperate with al Qaeda prior to the U.S. invasion of Iraq, the U.S. Defense Department said in a report based on interrogations of the deposed leader and two of his former aides. Meanwhile, Vice President Dick Cheney repeated his assertions of al Qaeda links to Saddam's Iraq, contending that the terrorist group was operating in Iraq before the March 2003 invasion led by U.S. forces and that terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was leading the Iraqi branch of al Qaeda. Others in al Qaeda planned the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. "He took up residence there before we ever launched into Iraq, organized the al Qaeda operations inside Iraq before we even arrived on the scene and then, of course, led the charge for Iraq until we killed him last June," Cheney told radio host Rush Limbaugh during an interview Thursday. "As I say, they were present before we invaded Iraq." However, a declassified Pentagon report ... http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/04/06/iraq/main2655316.shtml?source=RSSattr=World_2655316
full News |
Editor - 07:09:00 04-06-07 |
China firm denies role in pet deaths food scare |
A Chinese company at the centre of a contamination scare that has led to a recall of pet foods in North America and Europe said on Friday it had never exported wheat gluten to the United States. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said wheat gluten from China's Xuzhou Anying Biologic Technology Development Company Ltd. contained an industrial chemical called melamine, which was suspected of causing the deaths of 16 cats and dogs.But a manager at Xuzhou Anying told Reuters the company was cooperating with the Chinese government to investigate the allegations and insisted the firm was only a domestic feed dealer that had not produced anything itself."We haven't sold an ounce of wheat gluten to the U.S. and I don't understand how come they are blaming us," the manager, surnamed Mao, said by telephone.... http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070406/bs_nm/petfood_china_dc
full News |
Editor - 07:05:00 04-06-07 |
Scientists, governments clash as report reveals dangers of climate change |
After a marathon session that saw angry exchanges between diplomats and scientists, an international global warming conference approved a major report on climate change Friday."We have an approved accord. It has been a complex exercise," conference chairman Rajendra Pachauri told reporters after an all-night meeting.Several scientists objected to the editing of the final draft by government negotiators, the Associated Press reported, but in the end agreed to compromises. However, some scientists on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change vowed never to take part in the process again, the AP reported."The authors lost," one participant told the AP. "A lot of authors are not going to engage in the IPCC process anymore. I have had it with them," he said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the proceedings were supposed to remain confidential. An AP reporter, however, witnessed part of the final meeting.... http://www.usatoday.com/weather/climate/globalwarming/2007-04-06-global-warming-report_N.htm?csp=34
full News |
Editor - 07:04:00 04-06-07 |
|
post The Good, The Bad and The Ugly |
|