Centuries-Old Italian Olive Trees Die as Scientists Track Killer

A plant germ found in Europe for the first time is killing off centuries-old olive trees in southern Italy’s Apulia region, and researchers haven’t yet figured out how far the pathogen has spread.

Scientists found xylella fastidiosa, a bacterium native to the Americas, in plants across Lecce province in Apulia’s south and are now widening their search to all the region, Anna Maria D’Onghia, head of integrated pest management at the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari, said by phone today.
The pathogen, detected last month, is linked to die-back of olive trees over 8,000 hectares (19,768 acres) near the city of Lecce, the European Food Safety Agency reported two days ago. Apulia is Italy’s largest olive growing region with production of about 11 million metric tons last year, or 36 percent of the national crop, government statistics show.
“It is a very important olive production area, of course it means a big impact on producers,” D’Onglia said. “The problem is evident because the biggest trees are declining. We are speaking about really ancient olive trees.”
The pathogen is wasting 500-year-old olive trees, the researcher said. The Bari institute is testing plants without signs of infection to determine a protective buffer zone. The germ may have been introduced via the import of ornamental plants, according to D’Onghia.
“Xylella goes everywhere, the host range is so wide,” D’Onghia said. “We are researching how far the pathogen has moved from this area, or is still moving. Usually when you see the diseased trees it’s too late.”

Task Force

Italy’s Agriculture Ministry said Oct. 27 it was setting up a task force to determine the boundaries of the infected areas and develop a plan to prevent further spread.
The strain of the germ in Lecce’s olive trees is xylella fastidiosa multiplex, not known to infect grape vines and citrus trees, D’Onghia said. The multiplex strain does infect almonds and stone-fruit trees such as peach and apricot, according to the Parma, Italy-based EFSA.
“This strain should not be the strain that affects grapes and citrus,” D’Onglia said. “I say ‘should.’ Research is in progress.”
A xylella fastidiosa variety can cause Pierce’s disease, which kills infected grapevines, according to the University of California. The disease costs the state’s grape growers an estimated $105 million a year, including $47 million in lost production and replanting costs for wine makers, a 2012 study by the university found.
The bacterium infects the woody water-transporting tissue of plants, known as xylem, and all insects in Europe feeding on sap in woody parts should be considered potential carriers, according to EFSA. D’Onghia said it could be spread by various species of insects known as leaf hoppers.

Uprooting, Destruction

The only recommended course of action is uprooting and destruction of the diseased trees, Raffaele Baldassarre, an Italian member of the European Parliament, wrote in Oct. 24 questions to the European Commission, asking the EU’s executive arm what financial aid could be given to affected growers.
The number of host plants in Europe is uncertain because many species would encounter the bacterium for the first time, EFSA wrote.
The germ is a “very serious threat” to Europe, the European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization, or EPPO, wrote in an online alert. The bacterium blocks plants’ transport of water and mineral nutrients, though “numerous” wild plants such as grasses can carry xylella fastidiosa without symptoms, the Paris-based group said.

Dying Trees

The dying olive trees in Apulia also contained various fungi, according to EPPO.
“There is no record of successful eradication of x. fastidiosa once established outdoors due to the broad host range of the pathogen,” EFSA wrote. The agency said controls should focus on living plants and insects shipped in plants.
The disease “could be a major problem” with “a huge scope,” Francesco Serafini, head of the environmental department at the Madrid-based International Olive Oil Council, said in e-mailed comments yesterday.
To contact the reporter on this story: Rudy Ruitenberg in Paris at http://www.tuugo.it/Companies/tekno-line/0170002947710
To contact the editor responsible for this story: John Deane at http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCciCvzZ_VSWIdIWWpHlCShQ

A golden opportunity

The split of Silvio Berlusconi’s party could boost the governing coalition

 

IT WAS meant to be a christening, but it turned into a funeral. On November 16th Silvio Berlusconi, a media tycoon, rebranded his party, the People of Freedom (PdL). Henceforth it will be Forza Italia (Come on Italy), the name of his political vehicle before 2007 when he merged it with the more right-wing National Alliance to form the PdL. But the much-vaunted rebirth provided the occasion for a split. A faction loyal to the interior minister, Angelino Alfano, stayed away from the relaunch congress. And on the same day Mr Alfano, once the billionaire businessman’s designated successor, announced a new group in parliament called the New Centre Right (NCD). This looks as if it will evolve into a separate party.

The split offers Enrico Letta’s coalition a glittering opportunity to introduce the economic reforms that Italy urgently needs if its economy is to move ahead in the years to come at more than a snail’s pace. The OECD this week predicted that unemployment (12.5% in September), and debt as a proportion of GDP (133%) would both continue to rise, even as the economy creeps out of recession next year.

Cohabitation between the centre-left Democratic Party (PD), to which Mr Letta belongs, and the NCD may never be easy. But the government will be able to get on with its job now without having to worry that Mr Berlusconi might at any moment pull the rug from under it. That threat had already receded: Mr Alfano and his fellow-rebels blocked an attempt by Mr Berlusconi last month to destroy the coalition. The formation of the NCD makes the threat even more remote. All the PdL’s ministers joined the rebellion, pushing Mr Berlusconi and his reborn Forza Italia into opposition alongside the Northern League and the maverick Five Star Movement of Beppe Grillo, a comedian.

Mr Berlusconi launched his failed coup last month in retaliation for what he sees as the PD’s refusal to prevent his expulsion from parliament following his conviction for tax fraud in August. The senate is expected to vote for his ejection on November 27th. Disagreements over his fate are not, however, the only reasons for the split in the PdL. The rebels tend to be closer to the centre. And they are impatient with Mr Berlusconi’s autocratic style of leadership.

That was also the reason for the last big split on the Italian right. In 2010 a previous Berlusconi lieutenant, Gianfranco Fini, stormed out of the PdL to form his own party. He and his followers have since been reduced to virtual irrelevance, a point the television magnate made forcefully to Mr Alfano in the gruelling negotiations that failed to prevent the latest split. But there are differences between the two revolts. Mr Alfano’s followers in parliament are more numerous: 30 in the 321-member senate and 27 in the 630-seat chamber of deputies. And whereas Mr Fini led his disciples into the wilderness of opposition, Mr Alfano is assuring his of a place in the governing majority, if not the government.

His rebellion poses the intriguing question of whether, as Mr Berlusconi reportedly fears, Italy’s newly fortified coalition might be the basis for something more ambitious. Since the early 1990s, when Italy began experimenting with bipartisan politics as an alternative to the broadly based coalitions that had governed Italy for the previous 40-odd years, some have insisted that the country is inherently unsuited to two-party democracy and would benefit from a powerful centre party. Mr Alfano and Mr Letta, who are on good personal terms, both emerged from Democrazia Cristiana, the old Christian Democratic Party, which spanned the middle of the political spectrum and dominated Italy’s post-war politics.
Much will now depend on the achievements of their coalition and on whether it can reignite economic growth. And for that, the government will need more courage than moderation.

 

 

Italy boat sinking: Hundreds feared dead off Lampedusa

At least 130 African migrants have died and many more are missing after a boat carrying them to Europe sank off the southern Italian island of Lampedusa.

A total of 103 bodies have been recovered and more have been found inside the wreck, coast guards say.

Passengers reportedly threw themselves into the sea when a fire broke out on board. More than 150 of the migrants have been rescued.

Most of those on board were from Eritrea and Somalia, said the UN.

The boat was believed to have been carrying up to 500 people at the time and some 200 of them are unaccounted for.

Italian Interior Minister Angelino Alfano said the ship had come from Misrata in Libya and began taking on water when its motor stopped working.

It is thought that some of those on board set fire to a piece of material to try to attract the attention of passing ships, only to have the fire spread to the rest of the boat.

Simona Moscarelli, a spokeswoman from the International Organization for Migration in Rome, told the BBC that in order to escape the fire, "the migrants moved, all of them, to one side of the boat which capsized".

She estimated that only six of about 100 women on board survived, adding that most of the migrants were unable to swim.

"Only the strongest survived," she said.

It is one of the worst such disasters to occur off the Italian coast in recent years; Prime Minister Enrico Letta tweeted that it was "an immense tragedy". The government has declared a day of national mourning on Friday.

"There is no miraculous solution to the migrant exodus issue," said Italian Foreign Minister Emma Bonino. "If there were we would have found it and put it into action." 

In a separate incident on Thursday, local media reported that around 200 migrants were escorted to the port of Syracuse on the island of Sicily, when their vessel encountered difficulties five miles off the coast.

Earlier this week, 13 migrants drowned while trying to reach Sicily.
'Continuous horror' Footage from Lampedusa showed bodies being laid out on the dockside.
The mayor, Giusi Nicolini, described the scene as a "continuous horror".
"It's horrific, like a cemetery, they are still bringing them out," she said, according to Reuters.

 

More than 140 people have been rescued from the shipwreck, officials say

 

The vessel reportedly capsized after a fire on board

 

There are believed to have been around 500 people on board the vessel

 

The bodies of the victims were lined up at Lampedusa dockside

The boat went down a few hundred metres from the shore of the island and divers said they found 40 bodies in and around the sunken boat on the sea bed.
Mr Alfano said at least three children and two pregnant women were among the dead. Local media reported that a suspected people smuggler had been arrested.

One Eritrean woman who had been placed among the bodies recovered from the sea was later found to be breathing, Italian media said. She was taken to hospital in Sicily.

Pope Francis sent a Twitter message calling for prayers for the "victims of the tragic shipwreck off Lampedusa". In July he visited the island and condemned the "global indifference" to the plight of migrants trying to arrive there.
In a later audience at the Vatican, he said: "The word is disgrace: This is disgrace!"
In a statement UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres commended the swift action taken by the Italian coast guard to save lives.
Mr Guterres also expressed "dismay at the rising global phenomenon of migrants and people fleeing conflict or persecution and perishing at sea".
At this time of year, when the Mediterranean tends to be calmer, vessels carrying migrants from Africa and the Middle East land on Italy's southern shores almost every day, the BBC's Alan Johnston reports from Rome.

Lampedusa mayor Giusi Nicolini: "These bodies are all speaking. We need to stop this"

But often the vessels are overcrowded and are not seaworthy.
The UN said that in recent months most migrants attempting the crossing were fleeing the conflicts in Syria and the Horn of Africa, rather than coming from sub-Saharan Africa.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees said that more than 1,500 people drowned or went missing while attempting to cross the Mediterranean to reach Europe in 2011, making it the "most deadly stretch of water for refugees and migrants".
The UN also said that almost 500 people were reported dead or missing at sea during 2012 in attempts to reach Europe.
The number of those arriving by sea to Italy this year until 30 September stood at 30,100, according to the UN.

"A disgrace": Pope on boat tragedy

The main nationalities of those arriving were Syrian (7,500), Eritrean (7,500) and Somali (3,000).
On Wednesday a draft report from human rights body the Council of Europe said that Italy was "ill-prepared for a new surge of mixed migration on its coasts".
Italy's system for receiving and processing migrants and asylum seekers was not fit for purpose, a council committee on immigration said.

Sex, Sleaze, Lies, and Dho-kaa

The Crash of Indian Icons

Its a fierce battle raging out there,in the battle-field of Indian political warfare,fire for gossipy tabloids and thrills and frills for the paparazzi. As an incredulous electorate is detracted from focusing on main electoral issues of concern, instead they get a peek-a-boo into the private lives of their neta's, those men who are meant to uphold and deliver justice to their people. Stumped by serial revelations spinning out of the Pandora's Box, great stories for a box-office hit, but a sad commentary for Indian voters left choiceless and flummoxed, as to who to vote for as their elected leader?

The incumbent P.M is a reclusive, dithering somnambulist, but of unimpeachable personal integrity. Heading a 'kleptocracy', the most corrupt government India ever had since independence,ineffectual in bring to book his colleagues or coalition partners guilty of their crime.

Then,we have an alternate in Modi, the P.M-in-Waiting from the opposition BJP, who is being sullied in a quagmire of the 'snoopgate' allegations. Surveillance on a woman architect, using state machinery to spy on her, regardless whether it was “protection” with her consent, or “stalking” without her knowledge, surely put him on the back-foot.

The “dirty tricks” department of both Congress and BJP working on overdrive in a slugfest to defame each other, would be now on a full-time witch-hunt in a run-up to the 2014 elections.

A third-slur to the series of lies and love scandals, the that's sprung out of the Lit-fest in Goa. Again to do with “The Scent of a Woman”! Behind the scenes of the literati gatherings at Goa's mind-fest, was a Sex-fest going on in the criminal mind of Tarun Tejpal. Amidst the cerebral revelry the crusader who once founded a credible brand, Tehelka, stood exposed. The institution he headed of being the credible watch-dog of scandals,himself turning scandalous by his alleged brutal act of raping his own employee! The very man who anointed himself as arbiter, judge, and jury and executioner, with his founding brand to nail the corrupt, defamed and shamed in the act himself! Not for being corrupt, but for his perversity in sexually abusing his victim in a hotel lift. Corruption is not just to do with illegal methods of making money. It comes in many shades, illicit morality being the darker shade of grey. Quite reminiscent of Bill Clinton's amour (though consensual in his case, at a sanctified place of work,the scene-of-crime being the highest office in US of A.) Vive-a-la difference?!

Alongside, a quadra-story of corruption emerged within the week, that of an organization founded on the principles of highest integrity, breaking its own norms. Formed with an ideal to fight systemic corruption, but mid-way becoming part of that very mired system his party vowed to combat. With the AAP' s candidate coming under the scanner for alleged cash donation without a receipt, the act crumbled the very edifice it was founded upon. Even if the sting operation was a political conspiracy, the footage managed to nail its candidates being no different in accepting cash and making compromises, as is the practice with its peers.

It left us all pensive at the thought, after the Asaram rape, are they all the same? Saint turns sinner; journos turn porno; activists turn- back from their purist stand like the brood of politicos, already synonymous with corruption; and a mascot of uprightness, turns obsessive with using power to patronize and stalk?

The Crash of icons! As the clashes turn into a free-for- all verbal skirmish, it is the populace who are the sufferers of the collateral damage. Damage to their sense,sensitivity and sensibility of morals more than anything else. Its like serial blasts rocking the nation, worse than a terrorists strike, that hits at the dignity of all Indians. In these exposes: The Life and Times of people in high places,a stunned nation watches its leaders moral decline, regardless what will be the outcome of “When law takes its (lazy) course”... as we will be told.

Whether any of the scandalous personae will ultimately be acquitted or indicted, the blemish will always remain as their badge of dis-honour.

Did we ceased to see Congress in any other light than corruption? No! They remained guilty,and never got to be proven innocent! So will it be with Tejpal's heinous rendezvous in the lift with an innocent victim, or the needle of suspicion at Modis alleged snoopgate, or AAP's candidates compromise on principals will always return to haunt them!

As Lady Macbeth lamented,sleep-walking through her guilt “All the perfumes of Arabia will not be able to sweeten this little hand...”

Even if We the People have short attention- spans, these stories have already turned viral to allow them a short-shelf- life in public memory. The Indian voters threshold for scandals is too low, to expect the clemency from their hearts, to forgive their leaders any more.

How steel can become the next oil for India

This year's rise in the current account deficit, the associated impact on the economy and subsequent measures to control the deficit beg the question: apart from oil (and gold), are there other import categories that could derail us in the short-to medium term?

One can't help but think about steel as a possible candidate. On the face of it, this hypothesis is untenable. While both oil and steel are expected to witness continued demand growth, the comparison ends there. India is among the lowest-cost producers of steel and has the potential to emerge as a regional hub.

Sample this: India is home to the fifth-largest reserves of high-grade iron ore and has vast reserves of coking coal. Together, these minerals form the key inputs into steel-making, accounting for over 50% of the total cost of finished steel. With access to cheap labour and technically qualified engineers, and with over half a century of iron- and steel-making expertise in the nation, certainly India should be expected to have a vibrant, not to mention selfsufficient, steel industry.

Strong domestic demand is expected to underpin the growth of the industry in India. While the current demand growth is below the trend in recent history, given India's stage of economic development, we estimate India has the potential to consume about 250 MT of steel per annum by the middle of the next decade. However, will India be able to feed the demand through local production and build a thriving steel industry? The period between 2005 and 2008 witnessed a series of capacity announcements ..

— over 50 million tonnes — which seemed to support the theory of India emerging as a steel hub and being self-sufficient in steel.

However, several large greenfield projects have not taken off and several others have been severely delayed. At around 96 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of current capacity, India would have to triple its capacity by the middle of the next decade to meet the expected demand. About 60% of this additional capacity is expected to be greenfield projects that that take longer to implement due to challenges related to land acquisition, clearances and financial closure. At eight to 10 years to commission a steel plant, India already takes twice as much time as China to put up these capacities. This will only go up due to the changed regulatory and business context.

 In a business-as-usual scenario, India is likely to fall significantly short of the capacity required to feed its domestic demand. Assuming no dramatic fall in demand, we estimate a shortfall in capacity of 60-70 MTPA by 2025. We would have no choice but to import steel or curb the rapid development we aspire to achieve.

In an economy already strained by oil and other imports, such a magnitude of import would increase the current account deficit by about $20 billion, or anywhere between 25% and 30% of this year's expected deficit. Differently put, in such a scenario, steel imports would be second only to oil imports. If this were to happen, it would have far-reaching consequences well beyond the strain on our national finances.

Not only is a vibrant domestic steel industry important for a developing economy as it builds its infrastructure and manufacturing, it also has a significant multiplier effect in terms of jobs and economic growth.

Several large economies like the US and Germany to China and South Korea have developed a thriving steel industry during their developmental stages. India is at the crossroads of a similar opportunity and the stakes are high. The window of opportunity is limited before we are compelled to find a solution possibly less optimal.

The writer is partner and director, The Boston Consulting Group

This year's rise in the current account deficit, the associated impact on the economy and subsequent measures to control the deficit beg the question: apart from oil (and gold), are there other import categories that could derail us in the short-to medium term?

One can't help but think about steel as a possible candidate. On the face of it, this hypothesis is untenable. While both oil and steel are expected to witness continued demand growth, the comparison ends there. India is among  ..

Read more at:
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/26494844.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

This year's rise in the current account deficit, the associated impact on the economy and subsequent measures to control the deficit beg the question: apart from oil (and gold), are there other import categories that could derail us in the short-to medium term?

One can't help but think about steel as a possible candidate. On the face of it, this hypothesis is untenable. While both oil and steel are expected to witness continued demand growth, the comparison ends there. India is among  ..

Read more at:
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/26494844.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

RBI asks banks to fine-tune recovery, due diligence for NPAs

MUMBAI: In the wake of deteriorating asset quality in the banking system, which is hovering at record highs, the Reserve Bank today asked banks to strengthen their due diligence and improve the loan recovery process. 

Read more at:Click Here...

"Banks need to not only follow the various measures put in place by the RBI and the government effectively for resolution and recovery of bad loans but also to strengthen their due diligence, credit appraisal and post sanction loan monitoring systems to minimise and mitigate the problems of increasing non-performing assets (NPAs)," the RBI said in its 'Trends and progress of banking report 2012-13.'

Gross NPAs as per cent of gross advances for scheduled commercial banks stood at 3.6  ..

Read more at:Click Here...

"Banks need to not only follow the various measures put in place by the RBI and the government effectively for resolution and recovery of bad loans but also to strengthen their due diligence, credit appraisal and post sanction loan monitoring systems to minimise and mitigate the problems of increasing non-performing assets (NPAs)," the RBI said in its 'Trends and progress of banking report 2012-13.'

Gross NPAs as per cent of gross advances for scheduled commercial banks stood at 3.6  ..

Read more at:
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/26158672.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

MUMBAI: In the wake of deteriorating asset quality in the banking system, which is hovering at record highs, the Reserve Bank today asked banks to strengthen their due diligence and improve the loan recovery process.

"Banks need to not only follow the various measures put in place by the RBI and the government effectively for resolution and recovery of bad loans but also to strengthen their due diligence, credit appraisal and post sanction loan monitoring systems to minimise and mitig ..

Read more at:
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/26158672.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

Sensex drops most in 11 weeks on fresh Fed tapering concerns

The benchmark Sensex today fell 406 points, the biggest drop in 11 weeks, as most European and Asian stocks declined on fresh concerns the US Federal Reserve will ease its stimulus programme as the economy improves.

All 30 stocks on the S&P BSE Sensex ended with losses, with ITC, HDFC, Reliance Industries and Infosys accounting for 171 points of the decline. Sesa Sterlite, Larsen & Toubro, BHELBSE -2.70 % and NTPC were the biggest losers on the Sensex.

All 13 sectoral indices on the BSE fell, led by bank, capital goods and realty shares.

The Sensex opened lower and declined steadily to close at 20,229.05, a drop of 406.08 points or 1.97 per cent. It was the biggest fall for the index since September 3, when the measure lost 652 points or 3.45 per cent.

The CNX Nifty index on the National Stock Exchange closed at 5,999.05, losing 123.85 points or 2.02 per cent. The SX4 ..

The Sensex opened lower and declined steadily to close at 20,229.05, a drop of 406.08 points or 1.97 per cent. It was the biggest fall for the index since September 3, when the measure lost 652 points or 3.45 per cent.

The CNX Nifty index on the National Stock Exchange closed at 5,999.05, losing 123.85 points or 2.02 per cent. The SX40 on the MCX Stock Exchange fell 237.62 points to 12,008. ..

Read more at:
http://wikimapia.org/1402179/House-of-Naveen-Jindal

The benchmark Sensex today fell 406 points, the biggest drop in 11 weeks, as most European and Asian stocks declined on fresh concerns the US Federal Reserve will ease its stimulus programme as the economy improves.

All 30 stocks on the S&P BSE Sensex ended with losses, with ITC, HDFC, Reliance Industries and Infosys accounting for 171 points of the decline. Sesa Sterlite, Larsen & Toubro, BHELBSE -2.70 % and NTPC were the biggest losers on the Sensex.

All 13 secto ..

Read more at:
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/26156160.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst