Killer Whale Tilikum drowns SeaWorld tutor Dawn Brancheau in front of assembly -

Dawn Brancheau, a maestro trainer, died Wed. (Feb. 24) at Sea World in Orlando, Florida, after being dragged underneath the H2O by a torpedo whale.&Tilikum, nicknamed Tili, reportedly grabbed the tutor in his jaws from a poolside platform, shook her and dragged her underwater. The whale charged by the pool carrying her in his jaws. Other workers attempted to assistance but could not free her in time and she drowned.& According to reports, Tili was formerly behaving bizarre during the opening by not receiving citation by the trainers.&This is the third human genocide Tilikum has been related to. Tili killed a tutor in 1991 and killed a man during play ground after hours in 1999. &If this whale is so dangerously lunatic or unhappy, because keep him at the park? Dont let him nearby humans or set him free. Unfortunately, the whale might right away be as well contingent on humans for food to tarry in the wild.For any one who has seen the implausible documentary,&"The Cove," this distressing situation is no surprise. Dolphins, that are simply not as big whales, are driven insane in chains in piece due to the miss of leisure to float as they can in the wild and the deafeningly shrill sound levels in those parks.&Heres what&"Cove" star Richard O"Barry, the strange Flipper tutor who has outlayed the rest of his hold up fighting to forestall dolphin constraint and free serf dolphins, has to contend about hold up in chains for these whales&"Working behind in the 1960s for Miami Seaquarium, I prisoner and lerned dolphins - together with the five dolphins who played the purpose of Flipper in the renouned American TV array of the same name. I have witnessed firsthand the struggling and pang imposed on dolphins during the aroused constraint routine and their successive lifelong confinement.&I have additionally seen a good majority captive-born dolphins die in these murdering tanks. And I have additionally privately buried large dolphins at Miami Seaquarium; so many, in fact, that we ran out of room to cover up any more. &When Cathy, the dolphin who played Flipper majority of the time, died (he says she forced herself to stop breathing) &in my arms, I satisfied that capturing dolphins and precision them to perform stupid tricks was simply wrong."SeaWorld has dangling the torpedo whale shows at all of the parks, that additionally embody locations in San Diego and San Antonio, to examination "procedures."&What are your thoughts on this unfortunate? Should whales still be kept serf at Seaworld for party purposes?& FollowDish Rag on Twitter and Facebook for the ultimate headlines and buzz.

Wells Fargo will assistance on some-more loans

MINNEAPOLIS -- Facing critique over the delayed swell of the foreclosure-prevention efforts, the Obama administration department department has struck deals with dual hulk banks that would magnify debt use to homeowners with second mortgages.

Wells Fargo & Co. on Wednesday concluded to cgange home-equity loans in cases where borrowers have already competent for use underneath the U.S. Treasurys mortgage-modification program. Wells Fargo assimilated Charlotte-based Bank of America, that done a identical proclamation in January. Together, the dual banks comment for twenty-five percent of the second-mortgage marketplace in the United States, according to the U.S. Treasury.

Consumer advocates contend a key debility with the governments $50 billion foreclosure-prevention module is that debt modifications leave second loans unchanged. Borrowers subordinate for revoke debt payments risk default since of large payments on a home-equity loan. Some homeowners owe some-more on a second debt than the first.

The U.S. Treasury, noticing the second-mortgage problem, last summer began propelling large banks to cgange those loans, too.

"Our idea is to yield an additional good to business who might be in distress," pronounced Kevin Moss, the senior manager clamp boss in assign of Wells Fargos home-equity group, that has a $124 billion home-equity portfolio with 2.3 million customers. "The housing marketplace is display a small certain signs of stabilizing in a small markets, but there are still as well majority foreclosures, and as well majority people who are still struggling out there."

The move by dual hulk banks might enforce alternative lenders to follow suit, pronounced Celia Chen, a housing economist at Moodys Economy.com. Even so, she said, the alteration module will do small to revoke foreclosures this year and might simply carry over them.

The Obama administration department department is underneath vigour to urge the Home Affordable Modification Program, or HAMP, that aims to delayed the surge in foreclosures. The idea of the module is to revoke the remuneration on a initial debt to about 31 percent of a borrowers sum income.

Borrowers have complained of disintegrating office work and delayed use by the banks, that have the last contend over loan changes. So far, 168,708 mortgages have been henceforth mutated with revoke payments or longer boon periods, according to a Treasury Department inform last week. Thats only a small fragment of the 3.4 million people who validate for the program.

Extending use to second mortgages improves the contingency that borrowers will equivocate default, contend consumer groups.

"This is a step in the right direction," pronounced Tara Twomey, an profession with the National Consumer Law Center, a nonprofit advocacy organisation that has tracked the sovereign governments mortgage-modification efforts. "Its a approval that people with second mortgages are struggling, too, and that ignoring seconds was problematic."

As of Feb. 28, Wells Fargo, the nations largest home lender, had henceforth mutated 24,975 loans underneath the program, the majority of any lender, sovereign interpretation say. The San Francisco-based bank had 114,090 borrowers still in hearing amends plans and has mutated some-more than 365,000 mortgages outward of the sovereign program.

Reliance to compensate Atlas $1.7 billion for Marcellus interest

Pratish Narayanan and Michael Erman MUMBAI/NEW YORK Fri Apr 9, 2010 5:50pm EDT Related News UPDATE 1-India"s Reliance finds some-more gas in KG basin-sourcesFri, Apr 9 2010India"s Reliance finds some-more gas in KG basin-sourcesFri, Apr 9 2010UPDATE 3-India"s Essar to lift $2.5 bln in London appetite IPOThu, Apr 8 2010UPDATE 3-EOG boosts oil and gas reserves, shares up 7 pctWed, Apr 7 2010UPDATE 1-India Reliance confronting hurdles to strike rise D6 outputTue, Apr 6 2010

A gas training site on the Marcellus Shale is seen in Hickory, Pennsylvania Feb 24, 2009.

Credit: Reuters/ Jason Cohn

MUMBAI/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Indian appetite hulk Reliance Industries will compensate $1.7 billion to form a corner try at one of the infancy earnest healthy gas deposition regions in the U.S. with Atlas Energy, apropos the ultimate unfamiliar association to deposit in shale plays that are approaching to be really lucrative.

Deals

Reliance, tranquil by billionaire Mukesh Ambani, has been operative tough to enhance the participation outward India, mangle in to new markets and enlarge the assorted businesses together with refining, oil and gas scrutiny and petrochemicals.

India"s largest listed organisation will collect up a 40 percent seductiveness in Atlas"s operations in the sepulchral Marcellus Shale -- a gas plan that spans tools of Pennsylvania, West Virginia and New York in the United States and which, according to a little geologists, could hold sufficient healthy gas to prove U.S. direct for a decade.

With this move it joins a series of general oil companies together with BP Plc, Total, Statoil and Mitsui Co who have paid for in to shales, stone formations that could hold immeasurable amounts of healthy gas.

While the shale formations have proven to be lucrative, they are additionally really costly to rise and environmentally sensitive. The corner ventures have since the eccentric oil companies who own majority of the acreage in these areas entrance to collateral and should concede unfamiliar oil companies to collect up imagination in new training techniques grown for the shales.

"This outlines Reliance"s incursion in to a all new try altogether. Reliance is going to beget a lot of money flows going forward and investments in shale gas could be a great expansion opportunity," pronounced Deepak Pareek, oil and gas researcher with Angel Broking.

Reliance Chairman Ambani, who according to Forbes is the world"s fourth-richest man with a net value of $29 billion, has finished no tip of the firm"s abroad ambitions as the association has lifted a fight chest of $2 billion by offered batch in new months.

But Reliance, founded by Ambani"s father Dhirubhai, a propagandize teacher"s son, had not met with majority success until right away in the unfamiliar takeover attempts.

Bankrupt petrochemicals organisation LyondellBasell not long ago deserted a bid from Reliance that valued the aim at about $14.5 billion, and the Indian organisation additionally lost a competition for Canadian oil sands organisation Value Creation, in that it longed for to take a infancy seductiveness for $2 billion.

Shares in Reliance sealed up 1.8 percent on Friday, whilst the Mumbai marketplace rose 1.2 percent.

Atlas Energy shares jumped $6.44, or 20.3 percent, to $38.25 on the Nasdaq on Friday.

Shares of alternative companies with acreage in the Marcellus Shale, together with Exco Resources and Range Resources, were additionally increased by the news.

More corner ventures in the segment can be approaching to follow, bankers said. Exco, in particular, should be closely watched. Chief Executive Doug Miller pronounced in Feb that the association was in discussions for a intensity corner try with the acreage there.

JOINT VENTURE

Atlas"s core Marcellus on all sides consists of about 300,000 acres, mostly in southwestern Pennsylvania, out of that about 120,000 acres will go to Reliance, the companies said.

Upon shutting Reliance will compensate about $340 million in money and contingency additionally minister $1.36 billion to the corner try to rise the shale project, Atlas pronounced in a statement.

Reliance is profitable around $14,000 an hactare for the share of the Marcellus acreage, that is in line with what Japan"s Mitsui paid for the corner try with Anadarko Petroleum Corp voiced in Feb [ID:nN16229402]. Still, the cost is some-more costly than infancy of the formerly voiced deals.

The members of Atlas"s government group have a credentials in monetary and are well known for their understanding creation skills, pronounced Marshall Carver, appetite researcher at Capital One Southcoast in New Orleans.

Atlas Energy Chairman Edward Cohen is additionally authority of Resource America Inc, a publicly traded item government company, and Chief Operating Officer Richard Weber was head of appetite investment promissory note at KeyBanc Capital Markets from Jun 1997 to Mar 2006.

"This understanding was positively finished at a great price" for Atlas, Carver said.

Atlas will suggest as the growth user for the corner venture, and will keep a 60 percent amount seductiveness in the acreage.

Reliance will have the choice to buy 40 percent in all new acreages, and additionally has the right to initial suggest for intensity destiny sales by Atlas of about 280,000 one more Appalachian acres tranquil by the U.S. firm.

Debate over training in the segment has sensory in new months. Environmentalists explain the training fluids indispensable to crack the stone and free the gas can pervert celebration water, an avowal the industry hotly disputes.

Jefferies Co was the lead monetary advisor, whilst J.P. Morgan Securities was an additional confidant to Atlas.

Barclays suggested Reliance on the deal, that is approaching to close by the finish of April.

(Additional stating by Indulal P.M. in Mumbai and Anna Driver in Houston; Editing by Rupert Winchester, Phil Berlowitz and Bernard Orr)

Deals

Carlos T�vez and Manchester City glow a timely notice to the locals Manchester City

George Caulkin & ,}

A red minute day in the blue half of Manchester and, prior to subsequent weekends little internal skirmish, a couple of some-more things for Sir Alex Ferguson to snarl and gurn over, together with the relentless form of a sure centre forward.

Carlos Tvez, the man deemed as well dear for Manchester United, increasingly looks a really dear mistake. Typical Argentinians.

Manchester City combined a covering of concrete to their hold on fourth place in the Barclays Premier League and supposing an differently somnambulant Sunday with a blistering matter of intent.

They mount 4 points transparent of Tottenham Hotspur, whose diversion in palm might feel more a duty after their FA Cup disappointment, and 6 on top of Liverpool.

Related LinksCity creation swell with longed for list Given: reaching up Mancini confronting up to Hart dilemma

In trouncing Birmingham City 5-1 a week after knocking 6 goals past Burnley, Roberto Mancinis players are in the halest health compared with a little delicate competitors for a Champions League place and right away have an additional inducement to fuel them. Victory over United at the City of Manchester Stadium on Saturday would not usually accelerate their own ambitions it would put an additional large hole in those of their rivals.

Tvez will have a really personal agenda. The striker has scored twenty-eight goals in all competitions for City this deteriorate and, at a time when Uniteds overreliance on Wayne Rooney has turn painfully viewable (literally so in the past couple of weeks), the Argentina brazen has mustered twenty in his past eighteen league appearances. They are the census data of a player who deserves to be recognised as pivotal.

Ferguson, who authorised Tvezs depart last summer, plainly did not agree. Asked about United, Tvez responded with a chirpy Bye-bye, cheerio! but if the impugn still rankles, City have it in their energy to conform a response. First we have to redeem and afterwards we will think about the United game, Mancini said. Theyre an critical team, but we wish to win.

While there was a excess of excitement, it was someway suitable that, in an differently empty afternoon, majority of it should have been congested in to less than five mins of blurred, peppery and bemusing activity. If the rest did not live up to those moments of mayhem, it could frequency goal to, since that the diversion was effectively staid in the process.

And, of course, once Tvez became involved, afterwards City knew they were treading on the securest of territories. This hunker pugilist has turn an extraordinary talismanic figure for his club, who have won each joining match in that he has scored, a statistic that was occasionally in danger from the second that he stroked his 38th-minute chastisement over Maik Taylor.

If the endowment was debatable, with Scott Dann ruled to have bundled over Emmanuel Adebayor It looked soft, but Ive seen them given, Alex McLeish, the Birmingham manager, pronounced the greeting was the opposite.

Tvez scored a second when Nedum Onuoha wriggled in front of Lee Bowyer and met Adam Johnsons cranky with a diving header, the round receiving a small scrape off the strikers foot.

Tvez did not crop up a man impressed by doubt. For me, I scored two, he said. I overwhelmed the ball, I saw it. Onuoha relented with the great beauty of an strange goalscorer.

Page 1 of 2&Next Page

ECB champions Twenty20 plea to assuage counties

By Nick Hoult 956PM GMT twenty-six March 2010

The suggest has been done to assuage counties who fright they will be incompetent to experience in this year"s $6million (4 million) Champions League contest due to the strife with the finish of the English made at home season.

The one-off mini-tournament would underline a semi-final theatre and last and is one of multiform plans put brazen by the ECB to compromise the scheduling strife that at the impulse will forestall counties from receiving piece in the second Champions League.

Kumar declared in Twenty20 squad Twenty20 is a vicious low mark for fast bowlers similar to Brett Lee Afridi to captain Pakistan for World Twenty20 Tendulkar manners out World T20 Tendulkar has marinated my IPL blues Sport on television

However, the Indian house have not responded to the suggest creation it doubtful the contest will go ahead. That leaves the counties anticipating that a shift in the dates of the India-Australia one-day array in October, that forced the Champions League to be rescheduled to the center of September, will compromise the issue.

Middlesex have since up on their bid to pointer Makhaya Ntini as a Kolpak player for subsequent summer.

Ntini has concluded a new executive stipulate with the South African house and Middlesex do not wish to pointer him as an abroad player.

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U.N. inform on probable Iran explosve work factual: Amano

Mark Heinrich VIENNA Mon Mar 1, 2010 1:53pm EST Related News Iran launches extreme conflict on West in U.N. rights forumMon, Mar 1 2010Iran says plans to exam glow new guided-bomb soonMon, Mar 1 2010Iran to concur with IAEA, go on talks: MottakiMon, Mar 1 2010Iran moves enriched uranium batch behind undergroundMon, Mar 1 2010 Related Video Iran: sanctions "counter productive" Mon, Mar 1 2010

International Atomic Energy Agency IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano smiles during a headlines discussion after a house of governors assembly in Vienna Mar 1, 2010.

Credit: Reuters/Stringer

VIENNA (Reuters) - The new U.N. arch group arch pronounced on Monday his inform Iran could be perplexing to rise a nuclear-armed barb was poignant and impartial, rejecting Iranian suggestions he was inequitable toward Western powers.

World

Yukiya Amano spelled out a "clear" proceed to Iran"s arch wake up after what diplomats pronounced was the hostility of his prototype Mohamed ElBaradei to confront Iran due to his doubt about the sincerity of Western comprehension on Tehran.

Amano"s blunter line on Iran could be poignant if it increases movement toward harsher United Nations sanctions on Iran. Six universe powers have started deliberations on some-more sanctions at U.N. Security Council turn in New York. In an residence to the U.N. agency"s house of governors and a headlines conference, Amano did not repeat a politically supportive anxiety in a Feb eighteen inform on Iran about "the probable life in Iran of past or stream undisclosed activities associated to the growth of a arch cargo for a missile."

Diplomats pronounced Amano"s privacy on Monday might have been a gesticulate to moderate tensions inside of the IAEA"s ruling physique after a building republic bloc, to that Iran belongs, referred to his inform was not amply balanced.

"In my view, this inform is poignant and positively impartial. That is the hint ... it took batch of the total picture. I longed for the inform to be clear, straightforward, easy to review and understand," Amano told reporters.

He pronounced comprehension inform that tougher or stronger the IAEA"s fluster about probable arch weapons-relevant wake up in Iran was picked up from mixed sources and was unchanging in detail, timeline, and Iranian officials and agencies cited.

"We have an integrated group of experts, we have experience. And the inform is extensive. We cross-check it. After this process, we are observant that exactly it raises concern."

"CHOSE OUR WORDS CAREFULLY"

Asked to residence Iranian accusations of bias, he said: "My inform does not contend that Iran (indisputably) has or had a arch weapons program. I wish to have that clear. We have selected the difference carefully," Amano said.

He pronounced it was obligatory for Iran to diffuse suspicions by suspending arch fuel production, permitting unobstructed U.N. inspections and opening up to IAEA investigators.

Iranian officials have portrayed Amano as not in experience, cunning and autonomy from Western powers, something IAEA officials and Western diplomats strongly deny.

Iran denies ever looking arch explosve capability, observant the uranium improvement expostulate is usually for pacific appetite purposes.

Iran increasing fluster in the IAEA about the function last month by, according to Amano"s report, starting enriching uranium to higher, twenty percent virginity prior to inspectors could get to the stage and raise notice methods.

Iran"s move heightened suspicions that the finish diversion is a save of bomb-grade uranium enriched to 90 percent.

A comparison shrewd person close to the IAEA pronounced safeguards opposite unlawful escalation of improvement over municipal uses remained diseased and the group was dire Iran to concede snap inspections, "within mins of notice," at the twenty percent prolongation site.

(Additional stating by Sylvia Westall; Editing by Myra MacDonald)

World

Jo Glanville: Unanimous subsidy for genuine leisure of the press

At the press discussion rising the name committees inform on press standards, remoteness and libel, all that any one longed for to speak about was the News of the World and phone hacking. The cabinet bloody News International and the witnesses for their "collective amnesia" in on condition that justification to the exploration and lamented the "substantial repairs to the journal industry as a whole" of the phone hacking fiasco. Less courtesy was since to the inquirys call for defame remodel nonetheless the recommendations are maybe the majority poignant component of the inform and an undeniable await for press freedom.

Over the past eighteen months, there has been an rare groundswell for reform, as scientists, academics, NGOs, the media and vigour groups have lobbied for action. The committees recommendations relate most of those due by Index on Censorship and English PEN in a inform published last Nov rebellious defame tourism, creation it harder for corporations to sue, building a open seductiveness defence, shortening costs, a one-year reduction on internet publication. There has frequency been such a joining of rendezvous by vigour groups and politicians on an issue. "Theres an event for a thoroughgoing remodel of the defame law," pronounced Paul Farrelly MP, an successful part of the committee.

When Jack Straw gave justification to the cabinet last year, he appeared comfortable by the complaint of defame tourism. Yet the materialisation (where unfamiliar claimants move their defame actions to English courts) done a low sense on the committee. A series of states in the US have introduced legislation to strengthen their adults from being sued in the courts: "We hold it is some-more than an annoyance to the complement that legislators in the US should feel the need to take retaliatory stairs to strengthen leisure of speech," says the name cabinet report, recommending that the Government plead the incident with the US counterparts.

So will it go anywhere? Some of the issues are already underneath review, others are being carefully thought about by the Ministry of Justices operative organisation on libel. Theres small time left prior to the choosing and small denote that a Conservative supervision will be as understanding of reform. But we might never have an additional event similar to this for pardon the press, publishers and academics from the restraint of the UKs unaccompanied chilling defame laws and will have a larger stroke for press leisure than the stream flurry of seductiveness in the sins of News International.

Jo Glanville is editor of Index on Censorship and a part of the Ministry of Justice operative celebration on defame reform

Death follower proton causes inflammation after spinal connective tissue damage prevents healing

A integrate of years ago, Dr. Ana Martin-Villalba of the German Cancer Research Center already succeeded in shortening the goods of spinal connective tissue injuries in mice. She was means to urge the animals" capacity to move by neutralizing the signaling proton CD95L. In her investigate work right away published, Martin-Villalba and her group were study the subject of how CD95L exerts the deleterious outcome in harmed haughtiness tissue.

So far, scientists had insincere that the CD95L molecule, that is additionally well known as "death messenger", attaches to the genocide receptor, CD95, on the aspect of neurons, to illustrate triggering automatic cell death, or apoptosis, and serve deleterious harmed haughtiness tissue. After the new discoveries, this perspective needs to be revised.

Martin-Villalbateam noticed in mice that after spinal connective tissue injuries there is a enlarged inflammatory greeting in the surrounding tissue. Within twenty-four hours after an injury, large numbers of white red red red red red blood cells quit to the influenced site in the spinal cord. These are essentially cells of what is called the inherited shield -- macrophages and neutrophils. Researchers found out that during the same time the volume of CD95L on the cell aspect of white red red red red red blood cells in the red red red red red blood tide increases significantly -- assumingly as a outcome of a still unclear containing alkali vigilance sent out by the harmed tissue.

In their ultimate study, Martin-Villalbateam has proven that the signaling proton CD95L is obliged for the emigration of defence cells to the repairs site. When the investigators shut off the genocide follower utilizing specific agents, the emigration came to an end. The researchers identified a formerly different signaling pathway by that CD95L activates defence cells to turn mobile and quit from the red red red red red blood tide in to the harmed spinal cord. This mobilization is not limited to the inflammatory greeting in spinal connective tissue injuries; in mice with serious peritonitis, the researchers additionally found CD95L mediated emigration of defence cells in to the influenced tissue.

CD95L promotes tissue-damaging inflammatory reactions

What does CD95L means in harmed spinal connective tissue tissue? To try this question, the DKFZ researchers investigated genetically mutated mice whose defence cells are incompetent to form CD95L. If the spinal connective tissue of such animals is injured, their neurons are stable from death; the mice redeem and perform improved in successive mobility tests than normal mice.

It seems that the migrated defence cells progress the tissue-damaging inflammatory reaction. When the researchers switched off the CD95L proton on defence cells and subsequently complicated the gene wake up in the harmed tissue, they noticed a diminution in the wake up of genes compelling cell genocide and inflammation. In contrast, some-more genes that foster neuronal expansion were active.

Does genocide follower CD95L unequivocally strive the deleterious outcome in harmed spinal connective tissue by causing automatic cell genocide (apoptosis)? The investigators explored this subject in mice whose neurons miss the CD95 receptor, i.e. the advancing site for genocide follower CD95L. In these animals it became viewable that CD95L contributes to the passing of neurons by recruiting inflammation-promoting defence cells to the harmed spinal connective tissue and not by automatic cell death.

Blocking CD95L as a new diagnosis proceed for inflammatory diseases

We pretence that CD95L causes deleterious inflammatory reactions in the human body, too, pronounced plan personality Ana Martin-Villalba. An investigate of red red red red red blood samples from patients with spinal connective tissue injuries showed that here, too, the volume of CD95L on defence cells rises inside of a couple of hours after the injury.

This is an enlivening denote suggesting that restraint CD95L competence be a earnest diagnosis proceed for serious inflammatory diseases such as autoimmune disorders, e.g. rheumatoid arthritis or mixed sclerosis. An representative behaving opposite the genocide follower would forestall the emigration of inflammation-promoting defence cells in to the influenced tissue and the ensuing intensification of the tissue damage. Most new investigate formula even indicate that inflammatory reactions foster the invasive capacity of cancer cells, so that utilizing a CD95L blocker could be beneficial in such cases, too.

Such an representative competence shortly be available. On the basement of inventions from DKFZ, a biotech association is already building an inhibitor that privately switches off the human CD95L molecule.

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Israeli ubiquitous says all options indispensable on Iran

Michelle Nichols NEW YORK Tue Mar 9, 2010 10:49pm EST

NEW YORK (Reuters) - All options "should remain on the table" to force Iran to stop its nuclear program, Israel"s top general said on Tuesday during a visit to New York.

World

Gabi Ashkenazi, chief of staff of Israel"s armed forces, said Iran was the main threat to world peace and accused the Islamic Republic of trying to create instability in the Middle East by funding and equipping militants.

"These reflect the Iranian attempts to harvest regional instability through its proxies -- Hezbollah, Hamas and other terrorist organizations," Ashkenazi told a dinner hosted by the Friends of the Israeli Defense Forces,

"Therefore the international community must stop the Iranian nuclear program for its own sake, while all options should remain on the table," he said at the event, which drew about 100 pro-Palestinian protesters.

In November, an Israeli official said Ashkenazi told a parliamentary panel that Israel was readying all options to try to force Iran to halt its nuclear program and had suggested diplomatic or economic sanctions may also help.

During a visit to Israel on Tuesday, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said the United States was working with many countries to convince Tehran through diplomacy that it should not acquire nuclear weapons.

But world powers are mindful of Israel"s threats to attack its enemy pre-emptively as a last resort.

Israel, believed to be the Middle East"s only nuclear power, has called for sanctions to cripple Iran"s trade in oil and gas. Iran says its nuclear program is solely for power generation, denying accusations that it is seeking to develop a nuclear weapon.

(Editing by John O"Callaghan)

World

CANADA FX DEBT-C$ dips holds unvaried after bill

Thu Mar 4, 2010 4:23pm EST Related News CANADA FX DEBT-C$ extends gains ahead of budget, bonds slipThu, Mar 4 2010CANADA FX DEBT-C$ rises for fourth day on Greece movesWed, Mar 3 2010CANADA FX DEBT-C$ up, bonds down, as BoC tweaks stanceTue, Mar 2 2010CANADA FX DEBT-C$ up, bonds lower after Canada rate decisionTue, Mar 2 2010CANADA FX-C$ rises after quarterly GDP beats estimatesMon, Mar 1 2010

TORONTO, March 4 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar dippedagainst the U.S. dollar after the federal government presentedplans to slay the deficit once the recovery is entrenched. The currency slipped to C$1.0315 to the U.S. dollar, or96.95 U.S. cents, down from C$1.0306 to the U.S. dollar, or97.03 U.S. cents, just before the budget was published. Canadian bonds were little changed across the curve, with abias lower. Closing the stimulus tap and cutting spending sharply afterthe economy recovers will rein in Canada"s record budgetdeficit, the government said on Thursday. [ID:nCFB000108] (Reporting by Ka Yan Ng; editing by Peter Galloway)

Currencies&&&&Bonds

Currencies Bonds

East Coast rail loss plunges National Express in red

National Express made a 83.5million loss after counting the cost of handing back its East Coast rail franchise to the Government.

The termination of the flagship contract helped to pull down the transport group"s bottom-line result for 2009 by almost 200million compared to the 110million profit of the previous year.

Stripping out one-off charges such as East Coast, as well as other adjustments, the firm said it would have made a pretax profit of 116million.

Running on empty: A drop in discretionary travel forced National Express to end the East Coast Main Line contract

However, that still represents a 43pc drop in pretax profits - down from 202million in 2008.

National Express warned that 2010 would be another tough year amid "challenging economic conditions".

More...National Express Group share price (thisismoney.co.uk)How to get cheap train tickets (thsismoney.co.uk)

In the past year it had lost its chief executive, seen a boardroom struggle with its main shareholder and raised 360million from shareholders to cut its massive debts.

The coach, bus and train operator said it had paid off nearly half of its 1.2billion debt mountain.

It will now focus on its coach operation, which saw profits rise 27pc to 34million despite fewer passengers traveling in the recession.

Near-empty trains running on the East Coast long-distance rail line had forced National Express to return the franchise to the state.

It had overbid for the contract just before the recession and then had to keep running a fixed level of service despite a drop in discretionary travel.

National Express will also hand back its East Anglian and c2c rail routes when the contracts run out next year.