Australian, US research unlocks memory secrets

SYDNEY: Australian and US scientists believe they have isolated a new mechanism by which the brain learns and stores memories, a finding they say could help treat brain injury and disease.

Bryce Vissel, lead researcher at Sydney's Garvan Institute, said the discovery challenges the way the brain has long been believed to capture and encode information.

“In terms of understanding learning and memory mechanisms in the brain, it's quite a fundamental shift in our understandings,” he told AFP.

“And I think it's got the potential to ultimately influence not only our understanding of brain function, but also drug development and our psychological approaches to treating people with Alzheimer's.”The six-year project studied the impact on the brain function of mice when a particular receptor -- previously deemed critical to learning something for the first time -- was chemically switched off.

It found that the brain uses the receptors when learning an experience for the first time, but that these were not essential for handling the subsequent learning of a similar event because another molecular mechanism was used.

Scientists hope this second pathway can be replicated, either using medication or other therapies, to treat patients with brain injuries or diseases such as Alzheimer's or Parkinson's.

Vissel said the findings, to be published online in the journal PLoS ONE, were still in the discovery phase but raised hopes for new drug and behavioural treatments for people with neurological disease or injury, as well enhancing learning for the able-minded.

“The exact implications of this research is that there is a separate mechanism of learning in the brain, it seems to be employed on what we call second learning,” Vissel said.

“It's like a new lens on your camera, you've just got a new way of looking at learning and memory. You think, 'Oh, you can exploit this in so many ways'.”Recent research suggests the number of Alzheimer's sufferers worldwide will double within 20 years to more than 65 million as people's lifespans extend. – AFP

Earthquake with magnitude of 6.4 jolts Japan

TOKYO: An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.4 jolted Japan's southern Okinawa islands on Monday, public broadcaster NHK said.

The quake, at 2228 local (1328 GMT), was at a very shallow depth, a government agency said.

A tsunami warning for waves of up to 50 cm was issued, according to NHK.
There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage. – Reuters

Pakistan floods curb food aid to Afghanistan

KABUL: Pakistan's devastating floods have interrupted delivery of food aid to neighboring Afghanistan that would have fed about a million people this winter, the UN World Food Program said Monday.

Many people in rural areas of impoverished, war-ravaged Afghanistan risk starvation, and the poorest subsist on bread and tea through the long, harsh winter. The World Food Program normally tries to move its aid there in autumn, before winter weather blocks mountain roads for months.

The agency had planned to supply about 3.8 million people with food in November. But about 16,000 metric tons of Afghan-bound wheat were in warehouses in neighboring Pakistan awaiting customs clearance when the country was engulfed in floods, said Challiss McDonough, a spokeswoman for the organisation. The warehouses were swamped by water about 10 feet deep.

Another 6,000 metric tons was diverted to feed Pakistanis who have no food because of the flooding, she said.

''That means 22,000 metric tons of wheat that we were counting on having in Afghanistan right now simply isn't here,'' McDonough said. ''We have enough for this month, but will start running short in November, and the situation will be really critical in December.''

Winter snows start cutting off roads in much of mountainous Afghanistan in late October or early November. The World Food Program typically sends a full winter's worth of food out to those areas that get blocked by snow about this time of year.

''If we cannot get food into those areas before the roads close, we won't be able to reach those people until spring, or in some places early summer,'' McDonough said. ''So a shortage now can continue affecting people for months.''

While food can be helicoptered in, it is so expensive that the agency reserves that only for the most dire cases, McDonough said.

The wheat lost to Pakistan's floods was insured but takes time to replace. Purchases typically take about three to four months to arrange, McDonough said. The agency is trying to buy some of Afghanistan's wheat crop, it will be difficult to get even that in time, she said. They have put out bids for about 10,000 metric tons of Afghan wheat.

The agency plans to prioritise the wheat that it does have to make sure it goes to the neediest people _ victims of natural disasters or people left homeless by conflict, she said.

The first programs to get cut will be those that give food as payment to day laborers. The idea behind the programs is that they target the poorest people in a community by default, as they are the ones most willing to work for food alone. Also likely to be cut will be programs that give food to families in exchange for the man of the household letting his wife take classes in literacy or marketable skills like tailoring or beekeeping.

Some supplies survived the flood - vegetable oil for example was salvaged even after being submerged in water. The agency said recent blockades of military supplies from Pakistan have not kept it from being able to ship these supplies in. Commercial trucks and humanitarian cargo are still being allowed through and McDonough said five WFP trucks crossed the border Sunday, with another 15 expected to cross Monday.

About 80 per cent of the agency's food aid for Afghanistan typically passes through Pakistan. – AP

Squash team makes perfect start, easy win for Aisam

NEW DELHI: Pakistan’s squash team made the perfect start to their 2010 Commonwealth Games campaign, winning all of their four matches as the various sport events got underway on Monday.

Pakistan’s tennis ace Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi also registered a comfortable win over Uganda’s Mugabe Duncan Kasumba with scores of 6-2, 7-6.

The performance on the squash court produced easy wins. Farhan Mehboob beat Uganda’s Sam Kyagulanyi 11-3, 11-4, 11-8, Danish Atlas Khan beat Bruce Burrowes of Jamaica 11-1, 11-5, 11-2, Aamir Atlas Khan defeated Bangladesh’s Masud Rana 11-2, 11-2, 11-6 and Yasir Butt got a walkover over Christopher Binnie of Jamaica.

Gunmen burn two more Nato trucks, kill driver

ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani official says gunmen have attacked two more trucks carrying Nato supplies to Afghanistan, burning them and killing one driver.

Mohammad Hashim, a government official in the in the southwest district of Kalat, said the two gunmen on a motorcycle opened fire on the trucks Monday afternoon, then torched the vehicles.

Hashim says the gunmen fled following the attack, which occurred about 100 miles (170 kilometers) south of the region's main city of Quetta. It was not clear who the attackers were.

It was the fourth attack on trucks carrying supplies destined for Nato troops in Afghanistan since Friday.

The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility Monday for a larger, pre-dawn assault on fuel tankers near Islamabad and threatened more attacks. – AP

Flower's return halted by paperwork glitch

JOHANNESBURG: Zimbabwe batting coach Grant Flower was denied permission to leave Harare airport on Monday because of paperwork problems as the team travelled to neighbours South Africa for a short tour.

“We are hoping to resolve the matter in the next 24 hours,” Zimbabwe team manager Lovemore Banda told Reuters.

“Grant Flower had to travel on a temporary document because his passport is still in the embassy in London waiting for a visa application.

“Those temporary documents are usually accepted all over the world, but South Africahave recently changed their rules due to all their immigration problems.”

Flower, the 39-year-old younger brother of England coach Andy, is set to combine his role as batting coach with making a playing return for Zimbabwe, six years after he last played international cricket.

Flower, who has featured in 67 tests and 219 one-day internationals, was one of the key figures in the exodus of senior players from the national team in 2004 after Heath Streak was removed from the captaincy. Fast bowler Streak is the current bowling coach.

“Having some experience around is vital as we make our way back into international cricket and head towards test cricket, and there’s no doubt Grant still has what it takes,” chief selector Alistair Campbell said.

“We’re very excited about having him back in the team. He is still as fit as a 21-year-old, and had a brilliant season for Essex in the one-day game. We cannot wait to build a few innings around him and learn from all the experience he has. We are all hoping he will make a big difference to the stability of our batting,” captain Elton Chigumbura said on Monday upon the team’s arrival in Johannesburg.

The short tour begins with Twenty20 games in Bloemfontein and Kimberley on Friday and Sunday, followed by three one-day internationals. -Reuters

Hilfenhaus haul leaves first test in balance

MOHALI: Ben Hilfenhaus took three wickets in the final session on the fourth day to leave India reeling at 55 for four in pursuit of 216 to win the first test against Australia on Monday.

Hilfenhaus dismissed Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag and Suresh Raina in taking three for 22 in seven overs to turn the match on its head after Indian pacers Ishant Sharma and Zaheer Khan skittled the tourists for 192 in their second innings.

Australia, who had a slender 23-run first innings lead, resumed on a positive note but Sharma removed three top order batsmen in the morning and Khan, who took five wickets in the first innings, mowed down the lower order to put India in command.

Shane Watson top-scored for Australia with a 59-ball 56 but only three of his compatriots managed double digit scores.

Sharma and Khan got three wickets apiece, while spinner Harbhajan Singh and Pragyan Ojha shared the rest.

Watson dominated an 87-run opening partnership with Simon Katich (37) before Sharma, who missed much of the first innings action with a troubled knee, struck.

In his eventful third over, Sharma removed Watson with his first delivery, had Ricky Ponting (4) caught at square leg off his fifth ball and Michael Clarke dismissed with the next, though umpire Billy Bowden ruled the latter a no-ball after consulting the third umpire.

The lanky paceman returned to send down a sharp bouncer in his next over which an evasive Clarke (4) could only glove to fall caught behind.

India’s Vangipurappu Laxman may be forced to bat lower down the order again after he came in at number 10 in the first innings because of a bad back.

Nato chief urges Pakistan to re-open supply route

BRUSSELS: Nato chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen urged Pakistan on Monday to reopen a key Afghanistan supply route “as soon as possible” and expressed regret for the deaths of Pakistani troops in a Nato strike.

Pakistan has blocked a land route for Nato convoys carrying supplies to neighbouring Afghanistan since Thursday after officials blamed a cross-border Nato helicopter attack for the deaths of three Pakistani soldiers.

Rasmussen said he had a “good and open discussion” with Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi at Nato headquarters.

“I expressed my regrets for the incident last week in which Pakistani soldiers lost their lives,” Rasmussen told reporters after the meeting.

“I expressed condolences to the families. Obviously this incident was unintended,” he added.

Rasmussen said Nato and Pakistan needed to “improve” and “step up” cooperation on the Afghan-Pakistani border region to prevent Taliban insurgents

from crossing the frontier to attack foreign troops fighting in Afghanistan.

“I expressed hope the border will be open for supplies as soon as possible,” he said. “The foreign minister committed himself to work on this.”

The Pakistani foreign minister did not hold a press conference after the meeting.

Nato has said its aircraft had entered Pakistani airspace Thursday in self-defence and killed “several armed individuals” after the air crews believed they had been fired upon from Pakistani territory.

Rasmussen noted that a joint investigation has been launched.

“We will discuss what happened and draw the right lessons,” the Nato chief said.

While the key supply route remains closed, Nato supply convoys have come under attacks in Pakistan in the past three days. Pakistani Taliban militants claimed on Monday two fiery raids in which nearly 60 trucks have been torched. – AFP

Imran beats Sohail to lift Snooker Cup

KARACHI: It took Punjab’s Imran Shehzad 12 years to end title jinx when he captured his maiden crown at the national level on Sunday imposing to 8-6 frames victory over Sindh’s Sohail Shehzad in the final of Snooker Cup at the Karachi Club.

The champion also entered his name in the annals of the game by compiling two elegant century breaks, including the highest, in the final of a national ranking event.

Imran beat his opponent 23-75, 94-15, 16-86, 68-21, 34-86, 127-1, 72-58, 50-60, 56-27, 54-81, 78-44, 49-68, 69-44, 103-0 in the epic final that lasted for some six hours in two sessions.

“I was confident of delivering the goods following the triumph against Shahram Changezi in the semi-final,” a jubilant Imran told Dawn after the final.

The 35-year-old Lahore-based cueist said: “It was his long time dream which has finally come true.”

Previously ranked fourth, he has now surged to the top of the national ranking which he has held once before in 2006-07.

Sohail, 28, a native of Karachi, who had made it to first final of his career, was of full praise for Imran.

“He (Imran) played well and was outstanding particularly, in the last two frames,” he said.

Apart from attaining No 1 and 2 ranking, both Imran and Sohail have also qualified for the World Snooker Championship being held at Damascus in December.

Imran hammered highest century break of 123 in the sixth frame and piled up another of 102 in the 14th and last.

After a neck-and-neck battle, the two cueists were tied 4-4, 5-5 and 6-6 when Imran displayed his potting abilities to win the next two frames and the title.

A beaming Imran received a winning purse of Rs50,000 and a glittering winner’s trophy in addition to highest break award of Rs5,000. Sohail fetched Rs30,000 and the runner-up trophy.

An ex-KCCI president, Anjum Nisar, offered a one-year contract of Rs8,000 per month to Imran.

Taliban claim attacks on Nato supply convoys in Pakistan

MIRAMSHAH: Pakistani Taliban on Monday claimed responsibility for two recent attacks on Nato supply convoys in Pakistan and threatened to carry out more, a spokesman said.

“We accept responsibility for the attacks on the Nato supply trucks and tankers,” Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) spokesman Azam Tariq told AFP.

“I am talking about attacks both in Sindh and in Islamabad,” he said in a telephone call from an undisclosed location.

“We will carry out more such attacks in future. We will not allow the use of Pakistani soil as a supply route for Nato troops based in Afghanistan,” he said.

“This is also to avenge drone attacks,” he added. – AFP

FM Qureshi to meet Nato chief today

BRUSSELS: Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi will meet today with NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen in Brussels to discuss the recent operations of Isaf helicopters in Pakistani territory.

Rasmussen is also expected to request resumption of Nato supply lines from Pakistan into Afghanistan.

A few days ago, Nato helicopters killed three Pakistani security personnel while carrying out operations in Pakistani territory. Pakistan responded by temporarily shutting down the Nato supply route into Afghanistan. Major protests against the attack were also carried out in Pakistan.

Brazil vote goes to runoff as Rousseff falls short

SAO PAULO: Ruling party candidate Dilma Rousseff placed a strong first in Brazil's presidential election on Sunday, but she will face a runoff after some voters were turned off at the last minute by a corruption scandal and her views on social issues.

Rousseff, a former Marxist guerrilla who was handpicked by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to continue the center-left economic policies that have made Brazil one of the world's hottest emerging markets, had 46.7 per cent of valid votes with 99 per cent of ballots counted.

That result left her unable to get the 50 per cent of valid votes she needed to avoid a runoff vote between the top two candidates on Oct. 31, election regulators said. Rousseff will face her nearest rival, former Sao Paulo state governor Jose Serra, who won 32.7 per cent of the votes.

An unexpected late surge by a third candidate, the Green Party's Marina Silva, came largely at Rousseff's expense. Silva had 19.4 per cent of valid ballots and her supporters will now be a highly prized voting bloc in the second round.

Rousseff is favored to beat Serra in the runoff and become the first woman to lead Brazil, although a first-round victory would have given her a stronger mandate to push through reforms such as changes to Brazil's onerous tax laws.

Rousseff sought to put a positive spin on the outcome, telling supporters that a second round would give her more time to detail her proposals.

“We are warriors, and we're accustomed to challenges,” she said in a speech in Brasilia, flanked by her running mate and her party's top brass. “We do well in second rounds.”

Her campaign has been helped by red-hot economic growth and Lula's constant support. Neither Rousseff nor Serra is seen deviating from the mix of social programs and investor-friendly policies that have made Lula wildly popular, helping Brazilian markets to rally in the run-up to the vote.

Yet recent allegations of a kickback scheme involving a former top aide to Rousseff, plus questions among evangelical Christians about her positions on abortion and other social issues, appear to have instilled just enough doubt in voters' minds to cost her a first-round victory.

Rousseff had spent the past month well above the 50 per cent support level in pre-election polls, and the disappointing performance is likely to revive questions about her relative lack of charisma and thin executive experience.

Valdeci Baiao da Silva, a security officer in Brasilia, said the good economic times had made him a Lula supporter -- but he voted for Serra because Rousseff seemed unprepared and unpredictable.

“I think she might even disappoint (Lula),” he said.

At a church service in Brasilia, Pastor Otaviano Miguel da Silva urged his followers not to vote for candidates from Rousseff's ruling Workers' Party because “it approves of homosexuality, lesbianism, and is in favor of abortion.”

Brazil is overwhelmingly Catholic, but evangelicals are growing in number and pre-election polls showed them abandoning Rousseff in significant numbers as the vote grew closer.

Rousseff met with church leaders last week and affirmed her support for existing laws, but she may not have been able to overcome Internet videos showing previous statements in which she appeared to support the decriminalization of abortion.

Green Party candidate Silva, herself an evangelical, appeared to be the main beneficiary of the last-minute shift.

A former environment minister who quit Lula's government in 2008, Silva had said she would not make an endorsement in a runoff -- though her new position as a potential kingmaker could cause her to change her mind.

In her concession speech, she said the party would meet to discuss its loyalties in a runoff.

ROUSSEFF FAVORED IN RUNOFF

Serra, a former health minister and one of Brazil's most experienced politicians, now has an extra four weeks to chip away at Rousseff's lead. Still, political analysts say a major scandal involving Rousseff directly would be virtually the only scenario under which she could lose a runoff.

Lula will spend the coming weeks touting his accomplishments -- including 20 million people lifted out of poverty since 2003 -- and telling voters that Rousseff is the best candidate for the job.

Runoffs are common in Brazil -- Lula faced them in 2002 and 2006, and emerged with a strong mandate in both cases -- and Rousseff is expected to take victory.

“This is an electoral climate that favors the incumbent party,” political analyst Luiz Piva said. “Brazilians are generally very happy with their government.”

Investors have been happy too. Brazil's stock market, bonds and currency have all remained strong in the run-up to the vote -- a marked contrast to the panic that preceded the 2002 election of Lula, a former radical.

With the Brazilian real trading at a two-year high, some investors have speculated that the Lula government was waiting for the first-round election to pass before announcing measures aimed at containing the currency. – Reuters

Afghanistan bans Blackwater, seven other firms

KABUL: Afghanistan has formally banned eight foreign private security firms, including the controversial company formerly called Blackwater, and confiscated their weapons, a spokesman for President Hamid Karzai said on Sunday.

The Afghan government announced in August that it was giving security firms working in the country four months to cease operations, potentially hitting hard efforts by Nato-led troops fighting Taliban in Afghanistan.

There are fears the measure could create huge problems for the military and other international entities that depend on the estimated 40,000 employees of private security contractors.

“The Afghan interior ministry today reported the dissolution of eight private security companies to the national security council of Afghanistan,” Waheed Omer told a news conference.

He said some of the companies had been fully dissolved and their weapons had been collected, while for others the process was still under way.

Xe – the former Blackwater – and White Eagle Security Services, which provides security for Afghan government officials and NGOs in particular, and Four Horsemen International are among the first companies banned.

The security firms provide a wide range of services, including protecting supply convoys for Nato, guarding foreigners’ compounds, embassies and other installations, as well as training Afghan security forces.

The dissolution will not immediately affect companies’ activities that deal with the training of national security forces or those guards who operate inside buildings to provide protection, Mr Omer said.

The August presidential decree ordered the 52 private security contractors operating in the country, both Afghan and international, to cease operations by January 1, 2011.

Mr Karzai had accused the security companies of running an ‘economic mafia’ based around ‘corruption contracts’ favoured by the international community.

He has said the firms duplicate the work of the Afghan security forces and divert much-needed resources, while Afghans criticise the private guards as overbearing and abusive, particularly on the country’s roads.

At a separate news conference, Interior Ministry spokesman Zemarai Bashary said more than 400 weapons had been seized and the government had already closed down an Afghan security firm with 75 employees, as well as several smaller groups.

Critics, though, say the tight deadline will not allow enough time to negotiate an alternative to private contractors in a country where security is a priority and police are generally not trusted.

Private security firms in Afghanistan are employed by US and Nato forces, the Pentagon, the UN mission, aid and non-governmental organisations, embassies and western media.—Agencies