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Uncertainty over the direction of US pension reform is leading some companies to scale back their contributions despite a deficit of more than $100bn among the top 100 schemes. Milliman, a firm of actuaries, said a number of companies had privately admitted postponing voluntary payments for fear they would lose flexibility over their contributions in future. This comes as Congress considers rule changes to make companies more responsible for their pension promises to employees. Changes to accounting standards are also expected to give investors more visibility of pension liabilities. Schemes which promise a guaranteed percentage of salary at retirement are...

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Southern California clean air regulators adopted a plan Friday to reduce emissions at about 300 power plants, factories and refineries by 20 percent over five years. The plan, which takes effect beginning 2007, amends a program started 10 years ago by the South Coast Air Quality Management District and seeks to reduce smog-causing emissions by a total of 7.7 tons per day over the five-year period. "We believe the changes meet state law requirements and maintain the integrity of the program, while continuing to move closer to the region's air quality goals," Barry Wallerstein, executive officer...

Evidence Cigarette Tax Hikes Increase Crime, But Don't Reduce Teenage Smoking Between 1984 and 1993, Canada doubled its tax on cigarettes with the aim of reducing smoking and increasing tax revenues. Last December, Sgt. Alain Giroux testified on the effects of those tax increases before a U.S. Senate subcommittee on behalf of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. * He reported that only did underage smoking fail to decrease, but an estimated 40 percent of Canada's cigarettes are now sold on the black market -- most of which are smuggled over the U.S.-Canadian border. * The growth in the black market...

Nearly four years have elapsed since the Oslo process (1993-2000) between Israelis and Palestinians foundered in bloodshed. Over that period, two U.S. administrations have tried to forge policies that would reduce the violence and point toward a solution to the conflict.It has not been a single-minded pursuit. Since September 11, 2001, the prime focus of Washington has been the management of unprecedented U.S. military interventions in the region, which removed regimes from power in Afghanistan and Iraq. The notion of Israeli-Palestinian peace as the key to regional stability has been replaced by the war on terror and the insistence on...

Turmeric may reduce leukaemia risk - expert September 09 2004 at 04:22PM London - Turmeric, a spice used extensively in Asia as a key ingredient of curry, may be protecting children against leukaemia, a scientist said on Thursday. Rates of the blood cancer have been rising steadily for the past 50 years but its incidence in Asia is much lower than in the West. Professor Moolky Nagabhushan, of the Loyola University Medical Centre in Chicago, told a conference that factor could be due, at least partly, to turmeric. "Some of the known risk factors that contribute to the high incidence...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry (news - web sites) wants to increase American energy production and reduce American reliance on foreign oil with a $20 billion fund to finance research and development of alternative and renewable fuels. "That's what I want to talk about today — how to make our country stronger and safer by working together to build an energy-independent America," Kerry said in remarks prepared for delivery Friday. The fund would promote energy sources like natural gas, coal, nuclear and renewable energy generated from corn, soybeans and other crops, the campaign said. "America will...

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Air quality regulators are proposing what they say would be the first attempt in the country to regulate smog-forming emissions from cow manure. Cows in Southern California dairies, especially around the farm community of Chino, produce 1 million tons of manure every year, according to the South Coast Air Quality Management District, which is proposing the new rules. As it decomposes, the manure releases more than 20 tons of pollutants daily - mostly ammonia - and combines with pollution blown downwind from Los Angeles and Orange counties, aggravating Southern California's worst-in-the-nation smog problem. Dairy farmers use...

WASHINGTON (AP) - A White House commission will recommend that NASA overhaul its Apollo-era relationships with private industries, giving corporations a broader role in upcoming space launches to ensure President Bush's goal of ultimately flying to Mars, according to documents obtained Monday. The role of NASA "must be limited to only those areas where there is irrefutable demonstration that only government can perform the proposed activity," according to a summary obtained by The Associated Press that was prepared by the president's commission. Its final report is expected later this week. The commission determined that NASA should recognize "a far larger...

WASHINGTON (Talon News) -- The United Nations officially came into being on October 24, 1945 with the United States as one of the 51 founding member nations. Now, at least one group is questioning how much Americans spend on the international body. Citizens Against Government Waste is calling for deep cuts in the $1.8 billion the U.S. sends to the U.N. The United States pays an estimated 25 percent of the total cost to run the United Nations according to CAGW President Thomas Schatz. "And what do we get for these tens of billions of dollars? We provide a platform...

<p>CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - NASA may have to live with a risk factor of two catastrophes for every 113 shuttle flights, so it should limit its crew size and use robots and unmanned rockets whenever possible, a missile and rocket expert said Tuesday.</p>

Wednesday, March 19, 2003 Panel urged to LOWER VOTING AGE (In Maine) By PAUL CARRIER, Portland Press Herald Writer Copyright © 2003 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc. AUGUSTA — A legislative committee heard plenty of arguments Tuesday for lowering the voting age in Maine from 18 to 17.