Pakistan faces risk of drug-resistant 'superbug' spread

 NEW DELHI: Urgent global action is needed to prevent the spread of a multi-drug-resistant "superbug" after it was found in water supplies in the Indian capital, doctors said in research published Thursday.

The study in The Lancet medical journal said that New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase 1 (NDM-1) producing bacteria were found in 51 out of 171 samples taken from water pools and rivulets and two out of 50 tap water samples in the city.

The authors said it was unclear whether the data could be applied to other Indian cities but there was an "urgent need" for follow-up studies, including in Pakistan and Bangladesh, which have also been identified as sources.

NDM-1, first identified in 2009, is a gene that enables some types of bacteria to be highly resistant to almost all antibiotics.

Positive samples included those collected in and around the commercial and business hub of Connaught Place and the Red Fort area.

"International surveillance of resistance, incorporating environmental sampling as well as examination of clinical isolates needs to be established as a priority," the team from Cardiff University in Britain wrote.

Mohammed Shahid, from the Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College and Hospital in India's northern Uttar Pradesh state, added that potential for a wider, international spread of the superbug was "real and should not be ignored."

"Coordinated, concrete, and collective efforts are needed, initially to limit widespread dissemination, and finally to combat this emerging threatening resistance problem," Shahid said.

The researchers conducted the study in September and October last year, soon after warning that the superbug could be spread by foreign nationals coming to India for medical treatment.

At the time, the Indian government dismissed the research as scaremongering and criticised the naming of the bug after the Indian capital.

But the World Health Organization later called for monitoring after cases of infection were reported around the globe.

In the latest study, the researchers said the presence of NDM-1-producing bacteria had "important implications" for New Delhi residents who were reliant on public water supplies and sanitation.

NDM-1 was found in the bacteria that cause cholera and dysentery, lending weight to the theory that it was not solely a hospital-acquired infection but present in the environment.

The research suggested that the transfer of NDM-1 between different bacteria was highest at 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) -- within the range of temperatures in New Delhi for seven months of the year.

"This period includes the monsoon season, when floods and drain overflows are most likely, which potentially disseminates resistant bacteria," the authors said.

"Oral-faecal transmission of bacteria is a problem worldwide, but its potential risk varies with the standards of sanitation.

"In India, this transmission represents a serious problem -- 650 million citizens do not have access to a flush toilet and even more probably do not have access to clean water."

Katrina replaces Priyanka in Dostana sequel

 MUMBAI: Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra might have won millions of hearts in ‘Dostana’, but she got the shock when she was kicked out of its much awaited sequel ‘Dostana 2’.Tarun Mansukhani’s ‘Dostana 2’, which stars Abhishek Bachchan, John Abraham and Katrina Kaif does not include Priyanka Chopra – the original heroine of ‘Dostana’.

Aussies clinch ODI series against Bangladesh

DHAKA: Shane Watson smashed a record 15 sixes in a career-best 185 not out as Australia clinched a three-match series against Bangladesh with a nine-wicket win in the second one-dayer on Monday.

The explosive opener gave a superb display of power-hitting as he also
cracked 15 fours in his 96-ball knock to help Australia achieve a 230-run target with 24 overs to spare for an unbeatable 2-0 lead.

West Indies' Xavier Marshall was the previous record-holder with 12 sixes against Canada in 2008.

Watson's knock was also the highest by an Australian in one-day internationals, the previous best being 181 not out by Matthew Hayden.

He completed his sixth one-day hundred off just 69 balls, the third-fastest by an Australia after Hayden (66 balls) and Gilchrist (67balls).

The final one-dayer will be played in Dhaka on Wednesday.

Watson looked in excellent touch from the beginning, hammering three fours in the opening over bowled by Shafiul Islam. He raced to his half-century off just 26 balls with the help of four sixes and five boundaries.

He then reduced Bangladesh's bowlers and fielders to a state of
helplessness with his onslaught, once hitting four sixes in an over from left-arm spinner Suhrawadi Shuvo.

Watson dominated an unfinished 170-run stand for the second wicket with former captain Ricky Ponting, who contributed an unbeaten 37.

Bangladesh were earlier struggling at 88-5 before crossing the 200 mark, thanks to wicketkeeper-batsman Mushfiqur Rahim's unbeaten 81 off 80 balls which contained one six and nine fours.

Rahim's best came in the closing stages of the innings when he smashed two fours and a six off successive deliveries from paceman Brett Lee before hitting two boundaries in seamer Mitchell Johnson's last over.

He played a major role in steadying the innings after Johnson (3-54)and leg-spinner Steven Smith (2-34) had put the hosts in trouble, adding 79 for the sixth wicket with Mohammad Mahmudullah (38).

Shahriar Nafees was the only top-order batsman to offer resistance, scoring 56 off 73 balls with six fours. He fell after completing his 12th half-century in one-dayers, offering a simple return catch to Smith.

Johnson did the early damage when he removed openers Tamim Iqbal and Imrul Kayes before paceman John Hastings accounted for Raqibul Hasan to reduce the hosts to 28-3 in the opening 12 overs.

Smith bowled skipper Shakib Al Hasan for nine runs and then dismissed well-set Nafees to send the hosts reeling at 88-5.

The textiles sector is one of the key drivers of the Pakistani economy, accounting for 55 per cent of all exports and 38 per cent of the workforce, according to official figures. Experts say 

rising global commodity prices, a government decision to prioritise power supply to industry and currency devaluation has made Pakistani products more competitive and fired an export boom.

Qadhafi accepts African Union peace plan

TRIPOLI: The regime of Libya’s Moamer Qadhafi has accepted an African Union (AU) peace plan designed to end the current conflict, South African President Jacob Zuma said in Tripoli on Sunday.

“The brother leader delegation has accepted the roadmap as presented by us,” Zuma said in a brief statement to journalists at Qadhafi’s Bab Al-Aziziya residence.

Details of the proposed settlement would be laid out in a communique, he added, without saying when it would be made public.

“We also in this communique are making a call on Nato to cease the bombings to allow and to give a ceasefire a chance.”

While other commitments meant he had to leave Libya Sunday evening, the other members of the African Union delegation would be staying over in Tripoli overnight before travelling east to rebel-held Benghazi, he continued.

There they would put the AU plan, which involves an immediate ceasefire, to the opposition leaders.

So far, the leaders of the uprising have rejected any ceasefire plan that involves leaving either Qadhafi or his sons in power.

As well as Zuma, the AU delegation includes three other African leaders: Mali’s Amadou Toumani Toure, Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz of Mauritania and Congo’s Denis Sassou Nguesso.

Ugandan Foreign Minister Henry Oryem Okello, representing President Yoweri Museveni, completes the AU team.

Earlier Sunday, the African Union mediators joined Moamer Qadhafi for a photocall outside his Bedouin tent in his Bab al-Aziziya compound in the capital.

Meeting Saturday in the Mauritanian capital Nouakchott, the mediators had reaffirmed the aims of their mission: an “immediate cessation of hostilities,” bringing in humanitarian aid, and opening of a dialogue between the regime and the insurgents.

All stakeholders should be consulted on HEC devolution: PM

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said Monday that all political parties and stakeholders should be consulted to develop a consensus in the devolution of the Higher Education Commission (HEC).

The Prime Minister met with Senator Raza Rabbani and emphasised that the devolution process was in spirit of the 18th amendment and would benefit the common man.

Rabbani briefed the prime minister on the progress in regards to the implementation of the 18th amendment.

Meanwhile protests continued in Karachi and other urban centers over the governments proposed plans. Students and Professors claim that the devolution will be a major setback for higher education in Pakistan.

CJ asks officials not to follow ` illegal orders`

ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry said on Saturday bureaucrats were not obliged to follow `illegal orders` of their superiors and instead they must abide by their conscience and the law.

He also called for strengthening national institutions to avoid anarchy in an address to a delegation of civil servants undergoing training at the National School of Public Policy, Lahore. The delegation called on him at the Supreme Court.

The Chief Justice referred to what he called a “permanent principle of bureaucracy” to maintain mutual respect and follow the orders of superiors, but said that “on the other hand officers are not obliged to follow illegal order of their superiors. They have to take all decisions according to their conscience and in accordance with the rules and the law, knowing well that they might have to suffer in the process”.

Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry said the rule of law required both citizens and government officials to be subject to laws. “However, even an independent judiciary cannot guarantee that government officials necessarily abide and respect the rule of law.”

He said the universal solution to induce executive compliance with the law was to invest the judiciary with the power to define legal limits of executive actions, but added that the judiciary itself cannot solve the fundamental problem of enforcing compliance with laws and rulings.

An independent bureaucracy meant “a civil service not beholden to the executive”, the Chief Justice observed. “Even if the executive has no costs for forming illegal policies, the civil servants have a preference for working on legal policies mainly for the reason that they have different time horizons. “There is a possibility that the government may not be in office in future to provide protection to them against their illegal actions. They have to serve under a future elected government that might have a different policy view. “The uncertainty over who will control the government in future makes them reluctant to implement an illegal policy.”

Another important factor, he added, which could restrain civil servants from implementing illegal decisions was the impact on their career opportunities.

The chief justice cited “political fragmentation” and public support as crucial factors for an efficient mechanism to enforce the rule of law. ”If the executive does not comply with law, the legislature must take action against arbitrary non-compliance. Where the legislature does not have the willingness or the power to react to illegal executive behaviour, political fragmentation does not help enforcing the rule of law.

“In systems such as ours, where the executive has the majority in legislature, the legislature may not induce executive to observe legal limits on their actions. In such a situation, the role of public support for judicial ruling becomes most valuable enforcement mechanism.

“If the general public wants the executive to comply with judicial rulings then the executive will have to comply with the same while anticipating the electoral reaction.”

The Chief Justice said when people lost trust in national institutions, they tended to resolve their problems through other means. “This leads to anarchy in the country. Therefore, it is in the interest of the nation to strengthen institutions by strict and unequivocal recourse to the Constitution and law.”