World News joined 2

[OMEN]

Authorities in India's remote northeast said they were increasing security in the world's biggest reserve for the endangered great one-horned rhinoceros to save them from poachers.

Poachers have killed at least 10 rhinos in two national parks in Assam state since January, eight of them at the Kaziranga National Park.

"We are increasing the number of guards in Kaziranga because of a recent increase in poaching, and a probe has also been ordered," Rockybul Hussain, Assam's forest minister said.

Last year, two dozen animals lost their horns to poachers in Assam, for their medicinal value in the international black market.

Horns fetch up to 400,000 rupees ($NZ12,780) and demand is soaring in China and Southeast Asian countries, wildlife experts say.

After failing to check poachers for years, officials at Kaziranga have asked the national police's Central Bureau of Investigation to investigate.

But conservationists now say the new steps will be meaningless unless the government improves the working conditions of the existing guards.

"The guards do not have proper training, face harassment from senior forest officials and are blamed when things go wrong," said Soumyadeep Datta, director of Nature's Beckon, a conservation group working for protection of rhinos in the region.

The thick-skinned, one-horned Indian rhinoceros is one of the five surviving rhino species in the world.

The global conservation group WWF estimates there are less than 3000 animals left in the world. They are found mostly in northeastern India, with a few hundred in neighbouring Nepal.

Inside Kaziranga, 1800 of them live in swamps, forests and tall thickets of elephant grass, where poachers hide before trapping them with poison or just shooting them dead.

Morale among forest guards, often engaged in a lonely battle against poachers, is low.

"There is no coordination between the foresters and police," Hare Krishna Deka, a former police chief in Assam said.

Forest guards are poorly paid and often forced to patrol barefoot without raincoats.

They have old rifles and asked to counter poachers who have modern automatic weapons, some officials and conservationists said.

As a result, it has become easier for poachers to sneak into the park without worrying much about the guards.

Reuters

[JohnCenaFan28]

Thanks for the story.

[OMEN]

The federal government is being pressed to fast-track a national scheme for recycling Australia's growing pile of electronic waste.

Major consumer electronics manufacturer Panasonic is concerned the problem is spiralling out of control without a co-ordinated national programme for dealing with "e-waste".

Two million old televisions will end up in Australian landfill this year, releasing a toxic mix of substances including lead and mercury into the environment, the company estimates.

"E-waste is one of the most significant environmental issues facing Australia and the time to begin implementing a national television recycling scheme is now," said Panasonic Australia managing director Steve Rust.

"The more a national initiative is delayed, the more dire the consequences for the Australian environment."

Panasonic has joined industry groups such as Product Stewardship Australia in calling for a national scheme.

A number of small-scale e-waste recycling programs are operating in Australia, including Victoria's Byteback scheme.

But a co-ordinated national programme is imperative, Mr Rust says.

"It is unrealistic for the burden of this problem to be borne by individual local councils, manufacturers or recycling organisations," he said.

"This is a significant logistical and educational challenge that needs the full attention of the federal government."

Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett said the government is currently working towards a solution for Australia's e-waste.

"The Australian government and Environment Protection and Heritage Council are actively working with industry on a range of product stewardship options such as voluntary codes of conduct and recycling schemes," Mr Garrett said.

"Considerable effort is being made with groups like Consumer Electronics Suppliers Association to address issues such as the use of hazardous substances in electronic equipment.

"Industry is also working with staff from the Commonwealth Environment Department on the development of a voluntary code of conduct for the industry to move away from using hazardous materials in their products."

AAP

[JohnCenaFan28]

Electronic waste should be recycled, so I hope Australia fixes their situation.

[OMEN]

Cannabis should remain on the lowest "C" classification of illegal drugs, an independent advisory body said, in a conclusion expected to be rejected by the government.

The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) said in a report there is insufficient evidence to regrade cannabis to the more serious class B.

"After careful scrutiny of the available evidence, the ACMD considers - based on its harmfulness to individuals and society - that cannabis should remain a class C substance," said Chairman Michael Rawlins.

However, Prime Minster Gordon Brown is widely expected to ignore the advice and insist on a reclassification because of fears over the mental health effects of stronger "skunk" strains of the narcotic.

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith was due to announce the government's decision later on Wednesday.

Government officials declined to comment ahead of the announcement but Brown said last month he wanted to send a strong message that use of the drug was "unacceptable".

Cannabis was downgraded to Class C - which includes substances such as anabolic steroids - on the ACMD's advice in January 2004.

That means possession of the drug is treated largely as a non-arrestable offence.

But proponents of a tougher drugs policy say its Class C status ignores cannabis' potential health impacts.

Mental health criminal lawyer Grahame Stowe, a partner at law firm Grahame Stowe Bateson, said reclassification of cannabis is long overdue.

"Those of us who work in the criminal and mental health spheres of the legal industry are acutely aware of the danger cannabis poses and the long-term damage it causes," the lawyer, who has 35 years' experience, said in a statement.

"Reclassification is the only way to address this problem and make concrete progress on tackling cannabis use."

The ACMD was asked by Brown shortly after he took office last June to review the drug's classification and it reported to ministers last week.

Going against the council's advice would be controversial given it plays a major role in drugs policy, but Brown would also come under fire from those who say the current policy is too soft if he decides to keep the drug in Class C.

Last month, Brown hinted he favoured reclassification.

"I don't think that the previous studies took into account that so much of the cannabis on the streets is now of a lethal quality and we really have got to send out a message to young people - this is not acceptable," he said.

He added he was particularly worried about the growing use of skunk cannabis, which he described as "more lethal".

Reuters

[JohnCenaFan28]

That's interesting, thanks for the news.

[OMEN]

MEET THE NEW BOSS: New Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen.
Brian Cowen, who takes over as Irish prime minister, has a reputation as a tough fighter - something he will need if he is to deal with a turbulent economy and a challenging EU referendum campaign.

Bertie Ahern, who resigned on Tuesday after a corruption investigation began to overshadow his government's work, leaves as his legacy one of Europe's richest countries and a more stable Northern Ireland next door.

After a decade of construction-fuelled expansion, however, Ireland now faces much slower or negative growth.

Analysts hope Cowen will keep the discipline he showed as Ahern's finance minister and not overspend or agree to inflationary wage rises, which would hurt the competitiveness of exports and might tip Ireland into a recession.

"Cowen gives the impression that he has a sort of bulldog strategy in that he may take a tougher line with the unionists than Bertie Ahern," said Alan McQuaid, economist at Bloxham stockbrokers.

Cowen will also need to convince Irish voters to support the European Union's "Lisbon" reform treaty on June 12, in the only referendum planned on the issue among 27 member states. A recent poll showed most voters do not understand the treaty.

A cartoon in the Sunday Business Post newspaper likened Cowen's position to that of Giovanni Trapattoni, the star Italian coach hired recently to get the team into the 2010 World Cup finals after they missed out on Euro 2008.

"How do you fancy our chances in the big Lisbon match?," a reporter asks Cowen in the cartoon.

"No bother. If we don't get a result in June ... we'll replay in November," Cowen replies in an apparent reference to 2002, when Ireland staged an embarrassing repeat of a referendum on the Nice Treaty on EU enlargement.

Cowen, already elected leader of the main governing party Fianna Fail, is expected to be confirmed by fellow deputies as prime minister around 1330 GMT and to unveil his new cabinet later in the day.

Although Cowen has dismissed all speculation as unfounded, Irish media named Enterprise and Trade Minister Micheal Martin as favourite to become finance minister. Bookmaker Paddy Power however listed Foreign Minister Dermot Ahern as more likely.

Reuters

[JohnCenaFan28]

Interesting story, thanks.

[OMEN]

Fiji police are taking seriously a death threat made against Australian High Commissioner James Batley last night.

Police spokeswoman Ema Mua said their Special Branch had increased security around the Australian High Commission in Suva, as well as other foreign embassies and commissions in the country.

She said the threat was contained in a taxi-delivered letter handed to high commission security staff last night.

"At the moment, we are very much concerned about looking after the safety of the foreign workers. That is paramount," Mua said.

"We are taking this very, very seriously."

Although details of what was in the letter have not been released, Mua said the threat may have had political implications.

"We are getting this implication that perhaps people are trying to sabotage what government is trying to do and in the process doing these kind of things," she said.

Fiji has been ruled by military commander Frank Bainimarama since a bloodless coup in December 2006.

Australia has sanctions against Fiji and has been a staunch critic of Bainimarama's regime.

"I don't think it is people upset with Australians. I should think it would be some people trying to sabotage what our government is trying to do," Mua said.

A statement from the Australian High Commission said two copies of an anonymous threatening letter primarily directed at Batley were delivered early yesterday evening.

"The threat appears to be politically motivated by a person or persons who object to the Australian government's current policy on Fiji," it said.

"Needless to say, neither the high commission nor the Australian government will be intimidated by threats."

The commission gave thanks for the speedy response by Fijian police and assurances made by senior government officials.

Appropriate security arrangements had been made and the commission remained open for business, the statement said.

AAP

[JohnCenaFan28]

Thanks for the story.