Friday 5 Feb 2010 News
The Health Ministry in Portugal has reduced an order for further vaccines against the H1N1 flu virus from six to four million doses. The number of people contracting the so-called swine flu has reduced since November but increased slightly last week by 2,517 cases. So far 104 people are known to have died from the influenza virus nationally.
One concerning piece of information emerging from the health authority is that a high percentage of the high risk people who had contracted the virus had been vaccinated according to the health authorities. Portugal originally ordered six million doses of the vaccine to protect 30 per cent of the population, when it was originally thought that two injections were needed but now it has been confirmed that one dose is sufficient the government has reduced the order. Help lines set up to advise members of the public have also been downsized.
Students in primary and secondary state education took to the streets in protest yesterday to make 4 February a day of protest, estimated to be around 30,000 in number. A petition was also collated with an estimated 50,000 signatures. The issues being raised were the end of national tests, provision of sex education, general conditions in schools, provision of textbooks without charge, system of correction of faults and complaints about the revocation of the status of students.
In a statement, representatives of the National Association of Students of Secondary and Primary (Basic) Education (DNAEESB), who initiated the protest, accused the Ministry of Education, law enforcement officials and schools of failing in many areas.
A rupture in a pipe of a cooling system led to ten employees of a duck plant being admitted to hospital suffering the effects of inhalation of ammonia. The site at Marinhave in Foros de Almada, in the municipality of Benavente, is the largest supplier of ducks in Iberia, slaughtering around 1.5 million birds per year. One of those injured was a sufferer of bronchial asthma, as was said to be more seriously affected than the others.
The other nine were discharged quickly after receiving treatment and were said to be fine as they were not in contact with the ammonia for a long period of time. The fire services attended the scene and the plant shut down while the pipe was attended to.
An accident yesterday on the A23 between Castelo Branco and Torres Novas left seven injured, three critically. Police confirmed that nine cars collided with each other near the exit to the IC3 at around 3pm in what was a chaotic scene.
Quantitative easing pause
The Bank of England has said it will not continue immediately with its quantitative easing programme which has been used to stimulate the UK economy. The Bank also retained interest rates at the record low of 0.5 per cent for the 11th consecutive month.
Under the easing programme, £200 bn of new money was funnelled into the economy and used to purchase assets such as government bonds as it was considered this route would boost lending by commercial banks. While announcing the pause in the current programme, the Bank of England said it would continue to monitor the situation and might renew such spending in future.
December saw a rise in consumer prices of 2.9 per cent, the quickest annual pace for nine months while growth was just 0.1 per cent in the final quarter of 2009. For these reasons, analysts predicted that the interest rates would stay low and that this will continue until at least the second half of 2010 to assist the economy from regressing to recession.
Demand on MPs for repayment
MPs have received notice to pay the cumulative sum of £1.12m on expenses they claimed on their second homes. More than half of all MPs, namely 390, were listed.
The audit researched claims back to 2004 and was conducted by Sir Thomas Legg, who called the whole saga “traumatic and painful” saying that the rules were flawed and vague, and that moreover a feeling of deference prevented proper scrutiny of expense claims. He recognised that £800,000 had been already paid, some on a voluntary basis.
Three MPs were recommended to repay sums over £40,000 and 56 MPs were asked to repay between £5,000 and £40,000. A further 182 were asked to repay between £1,000 and £5,000 and 149 MPs were asked to repay between £100 and £1,000. The highest amount recalled was £42,458 from junior minister Barbara Follett primarily for mobile security patrols at her second home.
MPs were given the chance to appeal against Sir Thomas’ recommendations and about 70 are known to have taken this course, with 44 successful in getting the demands either reduced or overturned. MPs who refuse to pay may have the money docked from their pay or allowances.
Sir Thomas also took the opportunity to point out the positive side of his work, namely that UK national institutions, including a free press, an independent judiciary and an executive government, political parties and the House of Commons itself, had the will and means to correct matters and reform the systems.
Car sales jump up
Car sales increased dramatically in January by 29.8 per cent compared to last January, with 145,497 cars registered.
The figures were better than anticipated and the car scrappage scheme was credited with nearly one in five of the sales. The government has said the scheme, which provides motorists with £2,000 on trade-ins of old for new vehicles, will be extended until the end of March this year.
Analysts are taking a cautious view, however, about sales in 2010.
Oil profits down
The oil company Royal Dutch Shell is contending with a decline in profits owing to decreased demand in the weak global economy.
Profits for the Anglo-Dutch firm in the final quarter of 2009 were £755m, a drop of 75 per cent from the same quarter in 2008, while its rival BP reported fourth quarter profits up by a third from those made in 2009. For the whole year, Shell has seen profits drop from $31.4 bn in 2008 to $9.8 bn in 2009.
Shell’s chief executive put the blame on the weak global economy saying that: "Oil prices have increased compared with a year ago, but gas prices and refining margins have declined sharply, because of weaker demand and high industry inventory levels."
Art sale record
The art world was taken aback when a life-size bonze sculpture of a man by the artist Alberto Giacometti sold for a world-record price of £65,001,250.
The auctioneer Sotheby’s said it was the most expensive work ever sold at auction. The previous record for an art work sold at auction was £58,520,830 for Pablo Picasso's Garcon a la Pipe which sold in New York in 2004. Private sales sometimes have seen higher prices, for example, Jackson Pollock's No5, 1948, went for the value £73m in 2006. An anonymous phone bidder bought the work for £58m but the full price tag reaches over £65m price tag when including the buyer's premium. The piece was estimated to sell at somewhere between £12m and £18m.
The sculpture is considered to be one of the most important by the 20th Century Swiss artist. Another art work also exceeded expectations at the Sotheby's sale.
Gustav Klimt's Kirche in Cassone went for £26,921,250, above the £12m to £18m estimate.
Tuna ban call
France has joined in with other nations in calling for ban on the global trade in bluefin tuna. The country suggests there be a ban after an 18-month assessment period for scientists to study the data on tuna stocks.
France fishes for bluefin tuna and exports it to Japan but is concerned by conservationists’ claims that bluefin tuna numbers have decreased to about only 15 per cent of pre-industrial fishing levels. Monaco is heading up the effort to have the tuna included in the list produced by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. Italy also is in support of the ban. But European countries fear the international lobbying power of Japan, which receives about 80 per cent of the catch from the Atlantic and Mediterranean.
Swine flu drug boosts profits
Roche, the Swiss drugs firm, has recorded an 8 per cent rise in annual sales overall, which has been boosted by sales of the swine flu drug, Tamiflu, and certain cancer treatments such as Herceptin.
The increase is double the average of the industry. But overall net income dropped for the company as a result of the costs involved in taking over the US pharmaceutical company Genentech, a move which is starting to prove profitable.
Sales of Tamiflu soared last year, but are expected to fall sharply in 2010.
Jackson’s doctor in spotlight
Dr Conrad Murray, doctor for Michael Jackson, is due to appear in court on Friday to hear the charges against him connected with Jackson’s death in June 2009. It is believed that the doctor will be charged with involuntary manslaughter.
Involuntary manslaughter occurs when a death is the indirect result of negligence or recklessness. Should Dr Murray be charged, a judge would have to evaluate the evidence and decide if Dr Murray should go on trial.
Jackson’s death was ruled at the time as homicide, mainly caused by the powerful anaesthetic Propofol. A variety of drugs - including sedatives Midazolam and Diazepam, the painkiller Lidocaine and the stimulant Ephedrine - were also found in his body, according to a coroner. Dr Murray informed police that he had bee giving Propofol for Jackson’s insomnia, but that he didn’t prescribe or administer anything which should have killed him.
