Lorient’s Burkina Faso international Alain Traoré Struggling with injury since the start of the season, Lorient’s Burkina striker Alain Traoré must get back into shape quickly before the Africa Cup of Nations, which kicks off on 19 January 2013.
The former Auxerre player was very active at the start of the season for Lorient, but after scoring a brace against Rennes in the fifth week he suffered a thigh injury at training on 19 September.
The Stallions striker therefore missed the visit by Nice as well as the away game in Evian, before making his return in the eleventh week when they hosted Lyon.
But Traoré suffered another injury on November 2, against Brest, leading to being side-lined for another three weeks.
He was back in action against Brest in the fourteenth week, but a pain in the thigh prevented him from playing last weekend when his team hosted Toulouse.
These recurrent problems are doing little to reassure the technical staff of the Stallions, at just short of a month from kick-off of the big continental rendezvous.
Burkina Faso will play Zambia, Nigeria and Ethiopia in Group C. Lorient’s Burkina Faso international Alain Traoré Struggling with injury since the start of the season, Lorient’s Burkina striker Alain Traoré must get back into shape quickly before the Africa Cup of Nations, which kicks off on 19 January 2013.6
The former Auxerre player was very active at the start of the season for Lorient, but after scoring a brace against Rennes in the fifth week he suffered a thigh injury at training on 19 September.
The Stallions striker therefore missed the visit by Nice as well as the away game in Evian, before making his return in the eleventh week when they hosted Lyon.
But Traoré suffered another injury on November 2, against Brest, leading to being side-lined for another three weeks.
He was back in action against Brest in the fourteenth week, but a pain in the thigh prevented him from playing last weekend when his team hosted Toulouse.
These recurrent problems are doing little to reassure the technical staff of the Stallions, at just short of a month from kick-off of the big continental rendezvous.
Burkina Faso will play Zambia, Nigeria and Ethiopia in Group C.
Burkina hope for the rapid return of Alain Traoré
Person of the year 2012: Mr. Jonathan Goodluck!
By
Prince Charles Dickson
The lazy person eats the products of his native wisdom; only a fool does not know what devious way will be fruitful. (If one lacks industry, one had better be resourceful.)
Person of the Year (formerly Man of the Year) is an annual issue of the United States newsmagazine Time that features and profiles a person, group, idea or object that “for better or for worse, …has done the most to influence the events of the year.”
The first being in 1927. I would not bore us with the history of what led to it, but since then its come to stay and not without its controversies. Despite the frequent statements to the contrary by Times Magazine, the designation has been regarded as some form of honour, a kind of prize or award.
There was the selection of “You” in 2006 or The Computer in 1982, “Endangered Earth” in 1988. We had “man of the decade”, Peacemakers in 1993 and last year was “The Protester”. We have seen the likes of Hitler, and Stalin win the accolade, its believed Osama lost out to New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani for obvious reasons.
The Times Magazine Person of the Year has been replicated. Nigerian of the Year, Person of the Year, Financial Times Person of the Year, Athlete of the Year, Footballer of the Year.
First let me apologize that there were no votes in this particular contest, but largely a debatable subjective behaviour by people who “for better or for worse, …has done the most to influence the events of the year in Nigeria.”
In the light I introduce my first persons of the year. Mr. Goodluck Jonathan, with an almost combined entry of over 40, 000, 000. Depending on how you google the names, you can’t say Nigeria’s number one citizen has not affected the lives of some 150 million Nigerians.
For a president who during his campaign said in one swing he wasn’t promising anything, to the one who in a mouthful said there would be an airport in every state.
We have seen a president fight corruption so hard that we have only witnessed monumental corruption rise in government circles and the jailing of maggi cube thieves while the cabal of real thieves thrive.
He really doesn’t give a ‘damn’ thus scoring him high up there as one of the topmost presidents anywhere in the world, he cares less about what we think or say, besides if he has survived the year with BH sponsors and sympathizers…He sure is the man.
Two presidential media chats have not done Mr. President any good. He remains a man many love to hate. In what cannot be described as less an intellectual discourse, people have questioned even his Phd in relation to tangibles and deliverables.
He is butts of so many jokes, several of them unprintable. Same man who riding high on the wave of popular opinion despite negligible electoral fraud galvanized Nigerians with his ‘no shoes’ slug. The man whom many voted instead of PDP has done very little to shore up the confidence of Nigerians.
For a man that Nigerians entrusted their destiny as a nation into. Its been one calamity after the other, while a section argue, its our turn, his our man…others say, give him time, besides he did not cause all these.
Jonathanians as I often refer to his supporters point to some snail pace developments, the trains are slowly picking. Power will come back fully in most parts by June next year, like BH was supposed to be a tale earlier this June.
Even in the heat of our social ills, our struggles and hopes, Nigerians found time to argue if Mr. President is handsome, why that patch on his nose, or that his peculiar smile. We have scrutinized his condolence tirade, breaking it to the usual, how he reacts to attacks on different faiths.
Mr. President has fought several policy inconsistency as one with Multiple Personality Disorders, for example, just one term, 2015, still far, 2015 is a distraction, 2015-I have a right.
I think its rude to say the President lies, but his several half-truths and misinformation by his aides, tells you of the group he heads and how they are running the nation on an ‘any-how-belly-face basis’.
From ‘Ma-Dame’s vacation turned ill health, to Power contracts, his friendship with questionable characters and more.
He’s removal of fuel subsidy, his invention of unSURE, renaming of University of Lagos and security challenges on several fronts have left the canoe maker who mastered in hydrobiology and fisheries biology bewildered.
For the Zoology doctor who joined politics in 1998, treating Nigerians this way while masquerading as the soul provider of fresh air has become a hobby. His now many shoes seem to heavy to walk the path of reality.
A cursory look at the life, ways and manner Mr. President has run the affairs of the nation in the last one year leaves more to be desired. It leaves a bleak picture. The impact on Nigeria and Nigerians has been dire.
For a man who has watched his countrymen suffer fuel queues due to some few persons and he’s done barely nothing. I dare say we must patiently watch with hope that the party lounge for Aso Rock, the VPs house, City within city centenary project, million naira toilet building parastatals will benefit Nigerians.
If he does recall, we were promised dividends come 2013, however for an expectancy fatigued people and promising shattering leader. For my person of the year, it may still be meme, meme like the french say.
I say Nigerians are hurting, 2013 provides another opportunity for goodluck to smile towards Nigerians, for now its cruel patience…we have to keep waiting, for how long…time will tell.
For a man who has watched his countrymen suffer fuel queues due to some few persons and he’s done barely nothing. I dare say we must patiently watch with hope that the party lounge for Aso Rock, the VPs house, City within city centenary project, million naira toilet building parastatals will benefit Nigerians.
ikom mothers accept immunisation and exclusive breast feeding
For some, it sounds so strange, but for the vast majority who knows the importance of exclusive breastfeeding and immunization, it is a welcome development and wished it will continue on monthly basis. These were the impressions of over 1,000 mothers who gathered at the Ikom Council Headquarters to witness the last phase of the flag-off of the Cross River State 2012 Maternal, New Born and Child Health week celebration.
The mothers who had arrived the venue of the ceremony several hours were seen concentrating in either feeding their babies, caring and caressing them until there was signal that the Deputy Governor, Barrister Efiok Cobham, was close to the venue of the ceremony.
The Deputy Governor on his arrival was received by a standing ovation from the mothers, babies and council officials before officially declaring the event open.
Earlier, the Chairman of Ikom Local government council, Dr. Tony Ngban said “I feel highly humbled and privileged by the choice of Ikom local government as the venue for the flag-off of the state 2012 Maternal NewBorn and Child Week. Your Excellency, the choice of Ikom as a launching pad for the event has provided me with the rare opportunity to bring into sharp focus our passion for a healthy people and environment. Since the effectual take off of my administration in 2011, ikom local government has passionately shared and keyed into His Excellency’s vision to “make Cross River a leading Nigerian state, with prosperous, healthy and well educated citizens living in harmony with people, nature, and pursuing legitimate interest in freedom moderated by good governance.”
Interestingly, he said, “access to qualitative and affordable health care services has been our central focus. The council has for the past two years allocated considerable percentage of its budget to health and health related activities. In collaboration with the state government, Tulsi Chanria Foundation and other Development Agencies, the Council purchased and took delivery of an ambulance, a Hilux Jeep, 13 motorcycles and 12 giant power generating sets, all these to strengthen the health delivery system in the local government area.”
Dr. Mgban said that in the area of Maternal Newborn Child and Immunization, using Vitamin ‘A’ as a key target indicator, during the 2011 first round immunization, 98 per cent success was recorded while and during he second round 2011 in December 2011, the council recorded 104 percent success.
Accordingly, he said, in June 2012 immunization exercise, 107 percent success was recorded when a total of 37,043 children were immunized. Also to the credit of the council, a Task Force Team for the purpose of enhancing immunization activities had since been inaugurated. Regrettably, he said, the failure to achieve the target in regard to pregnant women is due to the fact that most of them live in Riverine and hard-to-reach areas, thereby recording only 48 per cent while 4,663 children were immunized out of a projected target of 9,638.
However, he said, the council in the area of infrastructural development in addition to existing primary health care facilities in each of the 11 council wards, the council has completed three new health centres in Ayughasa, Ekukunela and Akorofono while work at Nde 3 Corners health centre is on-going. Also, he added, that a drugs store has also been renovated in the Primary health care centre,Ikom and Eight solar panels repaired for the enhancement of government free medical health scheme.
Meanwhile in other to compliment all these efforts and achievements, the council in collaboration with Tulsi Chanria and the state government employed a resident doctor, trained 96 chews of save motherhood and midwifery skills at School of Midwifery Ogoja and employed 76 community health workers. The council during the period under review has established 32 new health posts bringing the total of such health facilities to 60.
The council Chairman, never pretended that inspite of the modest achievements recorded by the council, said it is faced with certain constrains against the total realization of the Free Health Scheme and called on the state government to assist in the areas of authorizing the recruitment of more labour and security staff, pharmacist and laboratory technicians, provide diagnostic Re-agents in the laboratory facilities, provide functional bore-holes and power plants or electricity in all health facilities, provide Ikom with a General Hospital as well as provide access roads and speed boats to enhance the provisions of free medical services and immunization hard-to-reach, and Riverine areas.
Addressing the over 1,000 mothers with their babies, the Deputy Governor, Barrister Efiok Cobham, who represented the Governor Senator Liyel Imoke, said “government will continue to mobilize resources to sustain the maternal newborn and child week celebration in the state.”
He expressed supports so far received from Development agencies and assured them that government will continue to complement their efforts towards the sustainability of the exercise. He announced a donation of a helix van to the council to support all health centres in the state to drive the maternal newborn and child week.
He warned mothers to refrain from going to private birth attendants and churches to give birth when there are so many health facilities provided by the state government and the treatments are free.
The Governor commended the development agencies especially UNICEF for all their supports and sued for more.
In his goodwill message, the UNICEF’s Assistant Representative Mr. Charles Nzuki, who was represented by Mrs. Mureen Zobi Okolo, commended the state government for the massive flag-off campaign for the Maternal Newborn and Child Health Week (MNCHW) in the state.
Unicef, he said, is particularly pleased with the Maternal, Newborn Child Health Week innovation, which was endorsed three years ago by the National Council for Health (NCH) at Asaba, aimed at delivering in an integrated manner, proven high impact maternal, newborn and child interventions, twice annually.
Unicef, he added, is delighted by the high level of commitment shown by Chief Executives and policy makers at all levels of government in the delivery of better health outcomes for children and women in Nigeria. In the past three years, (MNCHWs) has been a platform through which millions of children, mothers and pregnant women have received life-saving interventions for the improvement of the health status of women and children in the country towards the achievement of Health MDGs 4,5, and 6.
Accordingly, he said, “the overall goal of the MNCHW is pivoted on providing universal access to preventive and promotive care to every woman of child bearing age as well as every newborn baby and all children under-five during the exercise in health facilities and communities through outreach services.”
This campaign no doubt provides a robust platform to aggressively deliver high impact and cost effective interventions to a very large population in a short space of time with concomitant results. UNICEF and WHO as development partners remain committed to this campaign, adding that “these campaigns do not replace the routine immunization activities, aimed at increasing the coverage and ensure that none of our children are missed.”
In her own remarks, the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Angela Oyo-Ita, reminded the mothers that the state government has not cancel the free medical treatment for mothers and their babies.
She urged mothers to make use of the free medical services in all the health facilities in the state, adding that we will defeat the purpose of this event if mothers do not get the services free. She warned health workers to desist from collecting money, adding that “quality service will pay you. Please let us stop these shabby businesses and give mothers free health services as directed by the state government.”
In their remarks, some of the mothers interviewed at the ceremony expressed satisfaction on the programme. They wished it will be a monthly event so as to carry all mothers along especially those who have not embraced the programme.
In her remarks, Mrs. Elizabeth Tawey (28) said that she is happy to have brought her baby to witness the immunization exercise in the council. Mrs. Cecilia Felix (22) a mother of two children called on the state government to offer free education to their babies to compliment the immunization efforts. Mrs. Monica Esom (18) years, said that she is extremely happy bringing her baby for the immunization. Immunization has made my babies to be free from contacting diseases.
Earlier, the Director of Public Health Services in the Ministry of Health, Dr. John Odok, said the Ikom Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Week is the last phase of the exercise in the state.
He said that over 30,000 children were immunized in the state, involving 2,300 health workers all over the state, adding that 600,000 children were yet to be reached.
The highlight of the event was the welcome song rendered by mothers and the distribution of gifts to mothers and their babies.
FSA ‘misgivings’ over carbon credits investments
The City regulator says it has “deep misgivings” about high-pressure sales of carbon credit investments.
The average investor is spending £10,000, but the Financial Services Authority (FSA) is concerned that these people are failing to get any return.
A carbon credit is a permit giving a firm the right to emit a tonne (1,000kg) of carbon dioxide (CO2), and it can be traded for money.
The FSA has warned investors about 13 firms offering credits this year.
This was the same number as the whole of 2011. Some 78 enquiries into carbon credit firms were opened by the FSA last year, and another 77 were opened this year.
Sales tactics
Carbon credits are designed to combat climate change and cash paid for them is usually invested in environmentally friendly and ethically responsible projects. They can also be traded.
Investors are usually called out of the blue by salespeople promoting carbon credits, but contact can also come by email, post, word of mouth or at a seminar or exhibition.
They may be offered carbon credit certificates, or an opportunity to invest directly in a green scheme or project that generates carbon credits as a return on investment.
However, the FSA said that trading on carbon credit markets requires skill and experience.
Inexperienced investors were putting in an average of £10,000, the regulator said.
“We continue to have deep misgivings about carbon credits and have yet to see any convincing evidence that investors can make money from investing in them,” said Jonathan Phelan, of the FSA.
“We are very interested to hear from anybody that has invested in carbon credits to understand how the market is working for them, how they were sold the investment, and whether or not it has actually made them any money.”
Honey bees’ genetic code unlocked
Researchers say they have unlocked the genetic secrets of honey bees’ high sensitivity to environmental change.
Scientists from the UK and Australia think their findings could help show links between nutrition, environment and the insects’ development.
It could, they suggest, offer an insight into problems like Colony Collapse Disorder, a mysterious cause of mass bee deaths globally.
The findings appear in Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.
“Honey bees live in complex societies comprising tens of thousands of individuals,” explained study co-author Paul Hurd from Queen Mary, University of London.
“Most of these are female ‘worker’ honeybees that are unable to reproduce and instead devote their short lives to finding food in flowers… and other tasks such as nursing larvae inside the hive.”
But the hive has a queen as well – the much longer-lived, reproductive head of the hive,
“When the queen bee lays her eggs, worker bees can determine whether the resulting larvae are to become an adult worker bee or an adult queen bee,” Dr Hurd said.
“The type of food the larvae is fed dictates the developmental outcome – larvae destined to become workers are fed a pollen and nectar diet, and those destined to become queens are fed royal jelly.
“This difference in feeding is maintained over the entire lifetime of the worker or queen bee.”
The change is suggested to be the result of a “histone code” – a process that sees genetic changes made to proteins called histones within cells’ nuclei. Rather than “genetic” changes that are locked into DNA, these are known as “epigenetic” changes.
The report marks the first time such effects had been recorded in honey bees.
“The development of different bees from the same DNA in the larvae is one of the clearest examples of epigenetics in action – mechanisms that go beyond the basic DNA sequence,” said co-author Mark Dickman from the University of Sheffield.
“From our knowledge of how the histone code works with in other organisms, we think the marks on the histone proteins might act as one of the switches that control how the larvae develop.”
Porcupine’s prickly defence mystery solved
Porcupine quills easily penetrate flesh but prove hard to remove due to microscopic barbs, say scientists.
North American porcupines are famed for their unique defence as they carry 30,000 quills on their backs.
Researchers studied the structures to understand how they effortlessly enter flesh but do not leave as smoothly.
Tiny backward-facing barbs studding the tip of each quill were found to reduce penetration force and maximise staying power.
The team, including Dr Jeffrey Karp from the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, US and Dr Robert Langer from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, US, suggests the discovery could revolutionise medical equipment for human use.
The findings are published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
“We were surprised that no one had previously reported the forces required to remove quills from tissue,” said Dr Karp.
“And I think [we were] most surprised to find that not only do the backwards-facing barbs make the quills difficult to remove, they significantly reduce the penetration force.
“To our knowledge this is the first demonstration of a highly engineered system that achieves polar-opposite dual functionality.”
In terms of the potential applications of such barbed structures, Dr Karp suggested they could help in the design of both needles that cause less injury and adhesives to help hold tissue together.
“For needles, we envision we could use ‘swell-able’ or degradable barbs, to enable easy penetration and easy removal,” said Dr Karp.
“Alternatively, our work could lead to next-generation medical adhesives that could replace staples or sutures.
“Tissue must be aligned with each pass of the suture or placement of staples, which can be time-consuming, and the greater the procedure time the greater the risk of complications,” he explained.
Porcupine quill under the microscope with rhodamine dye. Scientists dyed the quill tips to reveal the barb structures under a microscope
“An adhesive porcupine mimetic patch could be quickly placed, which would be especially useful under emergency conditions.”
In order to understand how the quills performed their remarkable dual function, researchers analysed them under a microscope.
Using a fluorescent dye to highlight the cell structure, they observed tiny barbs on the conical black tip of the quills.
To test how these barbs worked, the team used natural quills and synthetic replicas to pierce a variety of tissues.
Dr Karp compared the barbs to serrated knife blades that localise the penetration force at the tip of the teeth rather than along the length of the blade.
“Think of slicing a tomato – it is much easier to slide with a serrated versus non-serrated knife, and use of a serrated knife imposes less damage,” he explained.
“We found the same result with the quills. We pushed them into tissue with and without barbs, left them in [and examined] the tissue.
North American porcupine North American porcupines sport a mixed coat of quills and fur
“We found far less tissue damage when the barbs were present.”
The team found that the quills required 60-70% less force to penetrate muscle tissue than quills without barbs.
But when it came to removing the quills, the barbs played the opposite role with the microscopic structures acting as anchors in the tissue.
North American porcupines are the most northerly species of porcupine and are the second largest rodents found on the continent after beavers.
Their quills, which can reach 10cm in length, are shorter than those of their African cousins, which can be three times as long.
“Porcupines are slow-moving nocturnal creatures. Since they don’t run towards a predator to attack, their quills must easily detach and penetrate tissue,” explained Dr Karp.
“Importantly, porcupines do not shoot their quills through the air, which Aristotle once proclaimed.”
European Parliament votes for a unified patent scheme
Euro MPs have voted to introduce a unified patent system.
The system would allow inventors to register their innovation with a single European Union (EU) authority rather than in each of its 27 member states, and is designed to save time and money.
There would also be a unified patent-court system. The move is due to be introduced in 2014.
But Spain and Italy continue to oppose the change, saying the new regime would discriminate against their languages.
The new rules would say applications and approvals need only to be made available in one of three languages, English, French and German.
At present, applicants are spending thousands of pounds translating their paperwork into each country’s native language.
Italy and Spain suggest that as a result “commercial trade in innovative products will be favoured for undertakings which work in German, English or French”.
But a senior adviser to the European Court of Justice has advised that it reject their plea. A panel of judges has still to consider the case.
Software patents
Eurochambres – an organisation that represents EU countries’ chambers of commerce – called the vote in favour of the scheme a “breakthrough”.
“[It] will significantly reduce administrative burdens and boost European innovation,” it said in a statement.
However, April – a French free software-advocacy group – has warned the move could open the door to software-patent litigation on a scale recently seen in the US.
It says the European Patent Office (EPO) has shown itself willing to grant thousands of software patents – and worries the EU could end up with a system in which appeals against such judgements are decided according to the EPO’s own rules.
“MEPs voted in favour of a legally uncertain system that does not not provide any checks and balances against threats to innovation such as software patents,” said spokeswoman Jeanne Tadeusz.
“The European Patent Office will gain amazing powers, even though its governance has been highly criticised, especially with regard to its practice of granting software patents, against the letter and the spirit of European patent law.”
Robot ‘race’ to fix damaged Fukushima nuclear plant
Japanese company Mitsubishi has unveiled a radiation-resistant robot aimed at cleaning up the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant.
Other firms, among them Hitachi and Toshiba, have also rolled out their own remote-controlled bots recently.
The plant was damaged during the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
Robots are already working inside the plant, but none has been specifically designed for this kind of work.
One UK expert said that working inside a nuclear reactor was “a challenge for robotics”.
Dubbed MEISTeR (Maintenance Equipment Integrated System of Telecontrol Robot), Mitsubishi’s “tankbot” is about 1.3m (4ft) tall and has two arms with seven degrees of freedom each, able to hold loads of up to 15kg (33lb).
The robot is equipped with various tools and has electronics hardened to withstand radiation.
But Jeremy Pitt, deputy head of the Intelligent Systems and Networks Group at Imperial College London, said it was still a challenge for a remotely controlled machine to successfully replace humans in such harsh conditions.
“Operating in extreme environments requires a remarkable range of human skills that might otherwise be taken for granted,” he said.
Qinetiq Talon robot Robots produced by Qinetiq are currently inside the damaged plant
“Fundamentally, instead of programming a robot to follow a precise series of actions, in open environments the requirement is to programme it to improvise.
“This requires a fusion of conscious reasoning mechanisms, like learning, with subconscious reasoning mechanisms.”
Different design
Although currently there are several robots inside the plant, they have not been designed to repair a nuclear reactor.
For instance, the devices made by Qinetiq, introduced at Fukushima immediately after the disaster, were built to search for mines, said the firm’s spokesman Mark Clark.
Using machines not made for such conditions was “always a compromise”, he said, and better robots were needed.
“The operational environment within a large complex such as a power station poses high demands on these robots, which they were never designed to accommodate.
“If you are wishing to operate robots 24/7 inside a debris-filled power station in a radioactive area, it is much better to design the custom robot from the outset to meet specific tasks.”
For instance, Toshiba says its robot has a wireless network that can be controlled in high radiation, looking for a better signal when reception is weak.
Mr Clark explained that the biggest problem associated with robots deployed into such zones was maintenance, because if repairs were needed, it would be difficult for humans to get anywhere near.
The solution would be to fix everything remotely, or while wearing heavy protective clothing.
To simplify the task, robots made to work inside a reactor would have to be “stripped of all unnecessary items”, he said.
“If nuclear robots start leaking hydraulic fluid, they send an alarm before they fail so they can be quickly recovered. Others have the capability to shed or drop off parts of their manipulators so if they get caught up in debris they jettison the trapping section of robot, thus freeing them from the obstruction.
“Most nuclear robots operate on power provided by a trailing umbilical. This means there are no batteries to change and no refuelling issues to contend with.”
Climate compensation row at Doha
Frustration at slow progress of the UN climate talks bubbled over when a spokesman for small island states (AOSIS) rounded on rich nations.
US representative Jonathan Pershing had been discussing plans to compensate poor nations for losses due to damage from climate change.
But AOSIS spokesman Ronald Jumeau condemned wealthy countries for their lack of urgency.
The UN talks are into their second week in the Qatari capital.
Mr Jumeau said that there would be no need for talk about compensation if the rich had cut their emissions in previous meetings.
“The Doha caravan seems to be lost in the sand,” he told a joint news conference. “As far as ambition is concerned, we are lost.
“We’re past the mitigation (emissions cuts) and adaptation eras. We’re now right into the era of loss and damage. What’s next after that? Destruction? Disappearance of some of our islands?
“We’re already into the era of re-location. But after loss and damage there will be mass re-locations if we continue with this loss of ambition.”
The issue of compensation for climate losses looks set to become a major focus for negotiations at the conference.
The task of the meeting is to wind up negotiations under talks associated with the existing Kyoto Protocol on cutting emissions of greenhouse gases, and move towards a new treaty in 2015 binding all nations, rich and poor in tackling climate change.
Developing countries are attempting to bolt down as many commitments as possible and they sense that there may be some movement on a new mechanism for loss and damage.
The idea is being backed in a petition to governments by 44 NGOs representing millions of people concerned about the impacts of climate change. It has been led by Care.
“The first and foremost response must be to immediately and dramatically cut emissions and help vulnerable countries and ecosystems adapt to new climate realities, “ it says. “Governments must now also recognize that we are in a “third era” and redress the permanent loss and damage from climate impacts.
“Given historic inaction by developed countries we are heading for the biggest social injustice of our time.”
They urge governments to establish a formal mechanism for loss and damage (the word “compensation” is being avoided; some nations, including the US won’t countenance it because of the implication of guilt). They also want the UN to monitor and assess losses, and to find new approaches for addressing loss and damage, particularly for slow-onset events like, say, sea level rise.
Nick Mabey from the think-tank E3G told BBC News it was useful that the issue of long-term risk might become embedded in the negotiations. There were costs, he said, to avoiding action to cut emissions:
“The debate on loss and damage brings an important new dimension to the climate negotiations. The costs of failing to reduce climate risk must be internalised in the negotiations or agreement will be reached merely by lowering ambition for mitigation .”
“With a truly global agreement now possible in 2015, countries must now decide how much climate risk they are willing to take and what they are willing to do to reduce their exposure.”
Mr Jumeau, from the Seychelles, went out of his way to praise the UK for its leadership on climate change, especially for its re-stated pledges of increased finance to help poor nations get clean energy – £1.8bn by 2015.
Germany followed by promising to increase its contributions further.
“The UK is still taking part in important negotiations around loss and damage. So far, we have indentified a number of areas where parties agree and we are working hard to find common agreement on the way forward.”
Back in the UK, the Chancellor George Osborne was facing complaints from some Conservatives that money was going on climate finance when budgets were being cut for services in Britain.
His gas strategy, published alongside the Autumn Statement, confirms that he wants to review and maybe scrap the UK’s unilateral targets on reducing 6emissions.
Draft Communications Data Bill to be redrafted – No 10
No 10 says the PM remains committed to giving police and security services new powers to monitor internet activity, despite criticism of current plans.
The prime minister’s spokesman said he accepted the criticism from MPs and peers of the draft Communications Data Bill and would re-write it.
Deputy PM Nick Clegg had threatened to block it unless there was a “rethink”.
No 10 said bringing in new powers was a “government commitment” and everyone was “committed to fixing this problem”.
He said: “We recognise this is a difficult issue. We will take account of what the committee said.”
The deputy prime minister had earlier said he would block the draft Communications Data Bill and push for plans ensuring “the balance between security and liberty”.
His comments came as a committee of MPs and peers criticised the bill’s scope.
Civil liberties campaigners have described the proposals as a “snoopers’ charter”, but Home Secretary Theresa May insists they are vital for countering paedophiles, extremists and fraudsters.
The Conservative and Liberal Democrat leaderships agree on the need for new measures, but they disagree over their scope.
Nick Clegg: ‘’We need a fundamental rethink, go back to the drawing board’’
The plans in the draft bill include:
Internet service providers having to store for a year all details of online communication in the UK – such as the time, duration, originator and recipient of a communication and the location of the device from which it was made.
They would also be having to store for the first time all Britons’ web browsing history and details of messages sent on social media, webmail, voice calls over the internet and gaming, in addition to emails and phone calls
Police not having to seek permission to access details of these communications, if investigating a crime Police having to get a warrant from the home secretary to be able to see the actual content of any messages Four bodies having access to data: the police, the Serious and Organised Crime Agency, the intelligence agencies and HM Revenue and Customs
A report from the Joint Committee on the Draft Communications Bill, made up of MPs and peers, accepted a new law was needed to help police fight crime and tackle security threats organised online.
But it warned ministers would be able to demand “potentially limitless categories of data” unless the draft bill was amended.
But they would not need the permission of a judge to see details of the time and place of messages, provided they were investigating a crime or protecting national security
Four bodies would have access to data: the police, the Serious and Organised Crime Agency, the intelligence agencies and HM Revenue and Customs
Local authorities would face restrictions on the kinds of data they can access
It called for “safeguards” over the new powers to prevent abuse and accused the government of producing estimates of the cost of implementing the plans which were not “robust” enough.
The “net benefit figure” was “fanciful and misleading”, it said.
The MPs and peers added that the draft bill paid “insufficient attention to the duty to respect the right to privacy” and went “much further than it need or should for the purpose of providing necessary and justifiable official access to communications data”.
Mr Clegg, the Liberal Democrat leader, said the committee had raised “a number of serious criticisms – not least on scope, proportionality, cost, checks and balances, and the need for much wider consultation”.
“It is for those reasons that I believe the coalition government needs to have a fundamental rethink about this legislation. We cannot proceed with this bill and we have to go back to the drawing board.”
But he added: “The committee did not, however, suggest that nothing needs to be done. They were very clear that there is a problem that must be addressed to give law enforcement agencies the powers they need to fight crime. I agree.
“But that must be done in a proportionate way that gets the balance between security and liberty right.”
‘Secret notices’
In its report, the committee said the home secretary would be given “sweeping powers to issue secret notices to communications service providers, requiring them to retain and disclose potentially limitless categories of data”.
But it added: “We have been told that she has no intention of using the powers in this way. Our main recommendation is therefore that her powers should be limited to those categories of data for which a case can now be made.”
If these powers needed to be enhanced in future, this should be done with “effective parliamentary scrutiny”, it said.
The home secretary wants the bill in place next year.
The previous Labour government came up with the first plans after the intelligence and security community said it needed modern tools to combat modern threats – threats organised online rather than through invisible ink messages left under park benches.
So the controversy is not about the bill’s aim, but its scope – something we have seen in other pieces of security legislation since the coalition took office. Powers to hold terror suspects in their own home and the current bill to protect state secrets in courts were both cut back as part of coalition compromise. In each case ministers aimed to protect the primary purpose.
The question is whether this particular bill will be able to do its job if it goes through the same exercise – and that’s why Nick Clegg will face claims of playing politics with security.
For Labour, shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said the government was “making a complete mess of a very important issue”.
“It is important that the police and security services can keep up to date with modern technology, but this bill is too widely drawn, is unworkable and gives far too much power to the home secretary without proper safeguards.”
She added: “It is astonishing that the Home Office have had so little discussion with the internet companies who need to deliver this legislation. The Government have been slipshod with this bill from the word go.”
A Home Office spokesman said: “This legislation is vital to help catch paedophiles, terrorists and other serious criminals and we are pleased both scrutiny committees have recognised the need for new laws.
“We have now considered the committees’ recommendations carefully and we will accept the substance of them all. But there can be no delay to this legislation. It is needed by law enforcement agencies now.”
The Intelligence and Security Committee, which has sent a classified report on its findings to Prime Minister David Cameron, after speaking to the security services, called for more detail to be included in the draft bill.
It recommended that it be “future-proofed” to ensure extra powers are not added without scrutiny, adding that there had been “insufficient consultation” between ministers and internet providers.
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