India's biggest annual technology festival launched in Mumbai

MUMBAI, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) -- Techfest 2009, the biggest annual international science and technology festival of India was launched Saturday in Mumbai.

The Techfest 2009, with over 45,000 university students and 1,500 corporate executives from all over India and abroad being part of it, is organized by India Institute of Technology Mumbai(IIT-B),which is located in Powai, suburb of Mumbai.

During the three-day event, a wide range of events including robot competitions, workshops, lectures and exhibitions will be held in the campus of IIT B.

Indian Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) Saturday showcased some of its achievements, including newly designed submachine gun, unmanned vechil, carbon steel platform and tank carrier.

Robot competition catches most eyes, with 42 teams from all over India to compete in seven categories of Awards.

A competition for legged robots for the first time named the "arthrobot" is being introduced by the organizers. The participants are expected to build a legged robot which can pass through a designated path in the least possible time.

"The concept of legged robots at institute competition level is alien. This year, we are expecting a great response from the foreign participants," said Sushil Shintre, an organizer of Techfest.

Apart from the competitions, Techfest 2009 also offered a platform for innovative ideas. "Prayaas", one of their competitions, allowed participants to present their ideas on how to use renewable sources of energy.

Malaysia alert on U.S. peanut butter

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia has been alert on all peanut butter products from the United States, putting them on stringent testing, local media reported on Saturday.

The measure called Level Five alert was placed by the Malaysian government after several salmonella-linked deaths found in the United States, local newspaper The Star said on its website.

Malaysian Health Minister Liow Tiong Lai said that some particular batches of contaminated products had been withdrawn from the shelves.

The Malaysian Health Ministry said possibly contaminated dough, which uses peanut butter and peanut paste, has entered Malaysia from Peanut Corporation of America (PCA).

The company has recalled the dough from three sales outlets here and at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, the ministry said.

Liow said that the Malaysian government had raised the alert to Level Five just to ensure that the incoming batches are free of salmonella contamination.

The United States Friday said seven people had died from a nationwide outbreak of salmonella associated with tainted peanut butter and paste sourced to the PCA plant in Blakely, Georgia.

The bacterial strain as Salmonella Typhimurium was found in them, the report said.

Another 10 U.S. firms Friday reportedly also recalled products which use PCA peanut butter or paste, ranging from snack bars to crackers and pre-packaged meals and even pet food.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has said it has no evidence to suggest the contamination originated with any other major manufacturing facility other than the PCA plant, the newspaper said.

Earthquake hits Timor region

HONG KONG, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) -- An earthquake measuring 5.2 on the Richter scale occurred in Timor region at 9:52 Saturday (0152 GMT Saturday), according to a bulletin released by the Hong Kong Observatory.

The epicenter was initially determined to be 8.4 degrees south latitude and 125.1 degrees east longitude, about 620 kilometers south-southwest of Ambon, Indonesia.

There were no reports of casualties or damage so far.

Cambodian slum dwellers [in Dey Krahorm] evicted

Police have been overseeing

The land on which Dey Krahorm stood was bought by a property developer
Housing rights workers said the eviction was unnecessarily violent

Saturday, 24 January 2009
By Guy De Launey
BBC News, Phnom Penh

Police have been overseeing the eviction of hundreds of people from a slum community in the centre of the in the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh.

Residents of Dey Krahorm, who have been fighting eviction for the best part of three years, say they have a legal right to the land.

But the local authorities signed it over to a property developer.

It is the latest in a series of evictions, which have accompanied a dramatic increase in land values.

Dawn operation

As the bulldozers moved into Dey Krahorm at dawn on Saturday, residents had little chance of resisting.

Hundreds of military and civilian police accompanied workers from the property developer which bought the land from the city.

At first, they would not allow journalists or human rights workers to observe the eviction, and forcibly removed those who had made it through the barricades.

Dey Krahorm had been the heart of Cambodia's artistic community. Traditional musicians and dancers held classes there in an effort to pass on their skills to the younger generation.

Their instruments could be seen among the rubble, along with the other belongings of the former residents.

'Excessive force'

Housing rights workers criticised the way the eviction was carried out, saying it was unnecessarily violent.

"They cannot stand again because of the excessive use of force, of tear gas. A few of my colleagues got hurt more than me," said Yeng Virak of the Community Legal Education Centre (CLEC).

The evicted residents will be taken to land on the outskirts of Phnom Penh.

The local authorities and the developers say they will find better living conditions there, with running water, electricity, health centres and schools.

Phnom Penh's deputy governor, Mann Chhoeun, insists the city has been generous to the people of Dey Krahorm.

But the residents say the negotiations had not finished and that they have not received fair compensation for their land.

They add that moving outside the city centre will stop them from earning a living.

The demise of Dey Krahorm will also cause concern among several other communities threatened with eviction.