Higgs boson party to pay off for Melbourne

THE challenge in running cost-benefit analysis on publicly funded major events surfaced again this week with the announcement in Melbourne that the basic building block of matter, the Higgs boson particle, had been found after almost 50 years of searching.

Australia boxes above its natural weight in the world of physics, but it was only a small part of a massive multinational effort to find the Higgs boson using the $US10 billion Large Hadron Collider, a 27-kilometre-long particle accelerator that lies beneath the French-Swiss border near Geneva.
There are about 10,000 particle physicists in the world, and about 30 Australians worked on one of two experiments aimed at finding the particle that were run by CERN, the European Organisation for Nuclear Research.

            The lead local was Professor Geoff Taylor, a University of Melbourne physicist who runs the Australian Research Council Centre for Excellence for Particle Physics at the Tera-scale (a Tera is a million million units, and in this case it signifies that the scientists are looking at very small particles indeed).

He and a small government-private sector-funded vehicle, the Melbourne Convention and Visitors Bureau (MCVB), joined forces to mount an Olympics-style campaign that resulted in Melbourne and Australia being linked to one of most important scientific announcements in history.
The MCVB is tiny. It generated revenue of $11.5 million in the 2010-2011 financial year, including $7.3 million of annual state government funding that survived this year's Victorian budget cuts and is secure until 2014. The City of Melbourne contributes another $1 million year in a funding deal that will be renegotiated next year, and the rest comes mainly from subscription fees from over 250 companies that resource conference projects, and profit from them.
The business convention market is the highest yielding segment of the tourism industry: MCVB's latest estimate is that convention delegates spend $757 a day.
MCVB is too small, however, to take on commercial risk on the conventions it helps attract to the city, 210 of them in 2011-2012. Instead, it identifies convention opportunities, scopes them, and joint-ventures projects with convention hosts. The hosts take the commercial risk, and MCVB and its member organisations provide expertise in bidding for events, and designing and running them.
MCVB approached Geoff Taylor in 2005 and successfully proposed a bid to host the 34th International Conference on High Energy Physics that would see the University of Melbourne take on the commercial risk.
The conference is held every two years by the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics and is an event that has to be won, in a competitive tender that lays out the scientific and commercial cases for the proposed host city.
Taylor's group and the MCVB pitched for the 2006 conference as a learning exercise. It was awarded to Moscow. They launched a serious bid for the 2008 conference but lost to Philadelphia, and lost the 2010 conference narrowly to Paris.
High-end research is an industry like any other. Funding is a function of progress, and the pressure on CERN was intense by 2010 given that the Large Hadron Collider had been operating for two years. Speculation that the Higgs boson would be unveiled in Paris was rife - but no announcement was made, and after going so close in the 2010 contest, Melbourne was in the box seat. It was confirmed as the 2012 host last year.
There is obviously some luck in the timing of Melbourne's capture of this conference, which began this week with co-ordinated announcements in Melbourne and Geneva that the Higgs boson had been identified.
The conference is also not going to shift Australia's economic dial. Financially it may only break even, because the strong Australian dollar and the European recession held numbers to about 800, that is 200 less than initially expected. MCVB is organising other conferences that are 10 times larger.
But there's an intangible dividend from this latest iteration of a public-private project. It's history now that Melbourne was where the Higgs boson discovery was revealed, and reported in thousands of stories around the world. That's publicity you can't buy, and there could be longer term dividends in research, say, post-graduate enrolments or perhaps eventually in commercially applied science. There should be more intelligently designed and skilfully executed projects like these.
GINA Rinehart's sale of 86.5 million shares in Fairfax yesterday cuts her stake from almost 19 per cent to just under 15 per cent, but it is only a tactical retreat. She still wants board seats, and the buyer, Perpetual, appears to think that fresh faces are needed.
Her company, Hancock Prospecting, said last night that it did not intend to ''make an offer'' for Fairfax. But it also renewed its request for the appointment of two of its nominees and a new independent director to the media group's board, and called again for chairman Roger Corbett's tenure to be tied to performance milestones.
The board's requirement that she sign off on the group's independence charter and its belief that the board presence she seeks would give her too much influence are the big stumbling blocks: there has been no sign that Fairfax or Mrs Rinehart are prepared to give ground.
By moving below 15 per cent she may have more tactical options, however. If she were above 15 per cent and on the board, an exclusion clause in Fairfax's directors and officers insurance policy would be triggered, leaving other directors exposed to personal liability in the event of legal action by her. Rather than indemnify them, she has chosen to move down below 15 per cent, to a point where the exclusion clause is neutralised.
If she runs a successful campaign with shareholders for her appointment, in an extraordinary meeting or at Fairfax's next annual meeting, there is less risk now that her appointment would result in a wave of board departures. Rinehart still wants a say inside Fairfax, and she is still manoeuvering to get it: the Game of Thrones continues.

UEFA Euro 2012 Poland-Ukraine 'Germany running scared'

Italian playmaker Andrea Pirlo believes Euro 2012 semifinal opponents Germany are running scared ahead of their clash with Italy in Warsaw on Thursday.
Germany have never beaten Italy in a competitive match, losing three times and drawing as many in World Cup finals and European Championships.
They also met in a World Cup qualifier in 1962 with the game ending in a draw.
And Pirlo, 33, believes that history will give Italy the edge.
"Germany are definitely scared of us, they know we can create difficulties for them given what's happened in the past and they will have to be careful to avoid a repeat of what happened in 2006," said the Juventus midfielder.
The two sides met at the same stage of the World Cup in Germany six years ago and Italy won 2-0 - Pirlo's stunning pass setting up their first in the final stages of extra-time - before going on to beat France on penalties in the final.
Italy also triumphed over West Germany in the 1970 World Cup semifinal and the final in 1982.
While Italy came into the tournament in the midst of a crisis of form and confidence as well as surrounded by ugly match-fixing headlines, they have steadily improved during the competition.
And Pirlo believes they just need to continue playing the same way and success will come.
"We'll play in the same way because it's the only way we know. We'll try to have possession and make the most of our strengths.
"Germany play differently to England, they play (rather than just defend) and can create chances but we're ready, we've come here to win the Euros.
"We're strong in every department but it's not just been in this competition, it was the same in other years.
"It will be a great game and worthy of a semifinal."
Italy have always played after Germany throughout the tournament meaning they had the chance to watch their opponents' matches and Pirlo has been impressed with Mesut Ozil.
"We've seen all their games because they played before us so we were all in front of the television.
"They're a great team, in the last 20 years they've reached six semifinals, they always go far.
"They're a great team but we've studied them.
"They have many great players but Ozil is very important both for Germany and Real Madrid.
"He's a great player and has proved that on the pitch."
That Italy have come this far is intriguing for a pair of reasons.
The first being their poor form in friendlies before the competition as they had lost three games in a row, including a 3-0 defeat to Russia on June 1 in Zurich.
The second reason being the Calcioscommesse football-betting scandal back home.
The last two times Italy have won a major international competition, the World Cups in 1982 and 2006, they did so following domestic match-fixing scandals.
Few people gave them a chance of going all the way when they turned up in Poland but history is on the brink of repeating itself.

Prince William Helps Kate Middleton's Parents Buy $7 Million House!

Prince William, who inherited $15.5 million on his 30th birthday last Thursday June 21, has already parted with some of that cash to help buy something special for Kate Middleton's parents: a house!
Carole and Michael Middleton (parents to Duchess Kate, Pippa and James) are in the process of buying a sumptuous estate in Berkshire -- featuring 18 acres and a Georgian manor with seven bedrooms -- worth about $7.3 million. And their royal son-in-law has put down some of the deposit money "as a gift," a source reveals to Us.
"He sees them as his own family and wants to help out in any way he can," explains the source.

Michael and Carole Middleton
Credit: STEFAN ROUSSEAU/AFP/Getty Images

(A Palace rep has no comment, noting only that it's a "private matter.")
Indeed, William (whose 30th birthday windfall was from the estate of his late mother Princess Diana) has grown close to Carole, 57, and Michael, 63, during his nearly decade-long romance with Kate, 30, whom he wed in April of last year -- recently joining the entire Middleton clan on vacations in Mustique and the French Alps.

As for the Middletons' home-to-be, which they reportedly have scooped up in a bidding war with other interested buyers? Located near their current home in Bucklebury, the home (with ties to the royal family back in the 1500s) features a grand entrance hall, 17th century fireplace, topiary shrub and "fantastic views," according to the Daily Mail. "It's a quiet, secluded property along a country lane."

Carole and former flight dispatcher Michael are the self-made entrepreneurs behind Party Pieces, a hugely successful mail-order party supply business that employed Kate herself before she became the Duchess of Cambridge.

Syria imminent threat to Turkey

Turkey's prime minister branded Syria an imminent threat yesterday, vowing to retaliate over the "heinous" downing of one of its jets, as Russia downplayed the incident and Nato rallied behind Ankara.
Amid reports of fierce clashes between Syrian rebel forces and army units around elite Republican Guard posts in Damascus, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced his country had changed its rules of engagement and would now treat any Syrian security threat as a military target.
Friday's downing of a Turkish Phantom F-4 fighter jet has split Moscow and the West, with Nato condemning Syria and voicing its solidarity with member state Turkey while Russia, an ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime, said the incident should not be seen as intentional.
"We believe it is important that the incident is not viewed as a provocation or an intentional action, and that it does not lead to destabilising the situation," the Russian foreign ministry said in its first comment on the incident.
But Erdogan raised the heat on the Assad regime by accusing it of shooting down the jet while it was in international airspace, without warning.
"This is a hostile act... a heinous attack," Erdogan told a parliamentary meeting of his ruling AKP party.
"Turkey will exercise its rights, born out of international law, with determination, and take the necessary steps by determining the time, place and method by itself."
Erdogan, once a close ally of Assad, has become one of the Syrian leader's biggest critics and his reaction to the downing of the jet is his fiercest outburst to date.
The premier admitted the Turkish plane had violated Syrian airspace but said it was only for a short time and "by mistake". He insisted it was not in Syrian airspace when it came under attack.
Any security or military risk posed by Syria on the Turkish border would be "considered a threat and treated as a military target."
After a request from Turkey, Nato's secretary-general Anders Fogh Rasmussen hosted talks with ambassadors of the alliance's 28 members in Brussels.
"Allies have expressed their strong support and solidarity with Turkey," he told reporters after the meeting, which lasted about 90 minutes.
"We consider this act to be unacceptable and condemn it in the strongest terms.
"It is another example of the Syrian authorities' disregard for international norms, peace and security, and human life.
"Let me make this clear. The security of the alliance is indivisible. We stand together with Turkey in the spirit of strong solidarity."
And Iran, an ally of Turkey and Syria, called yesterday for regional countries rather than outside powers to help resolve the row.
Damascus has defended the downing of the jet, saying it was a response to "a gross violation" of its sovereignty.
In Syria , Syrian armed rebel forces and regime army units were locked in fierce clashes around elite Republican Guard posts in the suburbs of Damascus, according to pro-opposition activists.
The Britain-based Observatory said 58 people had been killed across the country yesterday: 24 soldiers, 30 civilians and four rebels.
Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov yesterday said that Iran should be invited to an international meeting on the Syria conflict in Geneva on Saturday.
"We believe it (Iran) has to be invited. It should certainly be done," Lavrov told reporters after Russian President held talks with Jordan's King Abdullah II on the shores of the Dead Sea.
Lavrov said he would take part in the summit, but indicated that the talks without Iran would be less productive.

Probe outcome of RHD shootout Will the lessons be learnt?

After probing the shootout incident at the Roads and Highways Department (RHD), the three-member committee has confirmed that it was a turf war between two pro-Awami League groups over assuming full control of the lucrative tender business. The probe report says that the RHD workers' union leaders assailed and shot at some Swechchhasebak Lague men in what was a retaliatory act on the part of the former. This is outrageous, to say the least, and a clear demonstration of the extent to which a section of unscrupulous RHD officials and pro-AL political groups are involved in corruption and tender manipulations. Now that the culprits have been identified, we demand of the incumbent communications minister to take legal actions against them and give them exemplary punishment.
As we know it, the RHD is responsible for repairing and maintaining all the run-down roads and highways of the country and every year a huge amount of money is allocated to this department to accomplish its work. In the backdrop of frequent road accidents claiming hundreds of innocent lives due to faulty construction and dilapidated conditions of highways, this department's work in the form of timely repair and structural reinforcement has become all the more important.
In fact, the probe report has brought to glaring light why the seriously potholed, dilapidated roads still remain so to the peril of commuters even after hefty amount of allocated funds and even after repeated outcries from media and different public quarters. Most of the fund is misappropriated by the corrupt coteries leaving the roads either very poorly repaired or entirely unchanged.
Therefore, we think the communications minister's response to the report should not be confined to punishing the shootout culprits only; he should rather break the nexus between corrupt RHD officials, influential political quarters and greedy contractors. In addition to containing the corrupt elements in the RHD, he must cleanse this department of the influence of all ruling party elements and thereafter make sure that the contracts are awarded to reputed and eligible contractors.

Egypt's trajectory to democracy The need is to consolidate first

In what must be a most historic event Mohamed Morsi has been declared elected president of Egypt. In fact he is truly the first democratically elected president of the country, filling a vacuum left by the ouster of Hosni Mubarrak. Morsi defeated former general Ahmed Shafik in a run-off last weekend by taking 51.7 percent of the total 52 percent of votes cast.
The turnout was low and the margin of his victory slightly above 1 percent. Given such a mandate, reconciliation would be the golden path for him. It is good to see the vanquished take the defeat in good grace and even offer to serve under the newly elected President.
We congratulate the new President, leader of the Islamic Brotherhood, which has struggled for more than three decades to come to this level of public acceptance. We are sure that he is aware of the challenges that face him and his country. It is important that a fractured nation is given the time to recover and heal from the wounds suffered not only during the long years of autocratic rule but also during the period before the overthrow of Mubarrak and nearly one year and a half of political unrest after that.
Surely the first task ahead of President Morsi would be to consolidate the gains, first by rallying a disparate nation and then to accommodate the aspirations of all the people, even those that do not conform to his political philosophy. An inclusive state policy that allows for a holistic development of the country is what the new government of President Morsi should strive for not forgetting his commitment to work with all the political parties if elected.
Also, the world is waiting to see how the equation between the president and the military council is worked out. There will be need to compromise and one would hope that the military will see the wisdom in having an unfettered democracy which, given the power that have been arrogated to itself by the council, seems rather challenging. It will be interesting to see how the new president accommodates the public demand for the military to go.
While there are challenges, this must be a good opportunity for Morsi to ensure that the anxiety of those who see the victory of the Islamist party with trepidation are proved wrong by bringing about a liberal, moderate and tolerant society which can be an example to other countries in the region. The onus is now as much on the new president to deliver as it is on the army.

Clashes erupt in Kashmir after shrine fire

A fire destroyed a revered Muslim shrine in Indian-administered Kashmir yesterday, prompting anti-government protests by residents angered over what they said was a slow response by firefighters.
At least 30 protesters and 10 policemen were injured in clashes, police said. Shops and businesses remained closed.
The cause of the fire at the 200-year-old shrine of Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jeelani in the heart of Srinagar city was not immediately known. The blaze started from the roof shortly after morning prayers and quickly engulfed the wooden structure, a police official said. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

Putin talks Syria, Iran on rare Israel trip

Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday met Israeli leaders on a rare trip to the Jewish state for discussions that focused on continuing violence in Syria and Iran's disputed nuclear programme.
In statements to the press after their meeting, Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised ties between their two countries, and pledged cooperation on a range of domestic and international issues.
Their talks touched on the situation in Syria, where a bloody uprising has divided the international community, pitting the West against Moscow, which has refused to support sanctions against its Soviet-era ally.
"From the very beginning of the so-called Arab Spring, Russia has been persuading its partners that democratic changes should take place in a civilised manner and without external intervention," Putin said.
Russia is pushing for an international Syria conference and has already discussed the plan with Jordan as well as the European Union, Iran and Iraq.
And it has shown little enthusiasm for regime change, despite multiple international calls for President Bashar al-Assad to step down.
Putin said he had also discussed Iran's nuclear programme with Netanyahu, but gave no details about the talks.
Israel and much of the international community believes Iran's nuclear programme masks a weapons drive, and the United States has led a push for tough sanctions against Tehran.
Israel, which is widely believed to have the Middle East's sole if undeclared nuclear arsenal, has said Iran's programme poses an existential threat and has warned it reserves itself the right to use all means necessary to respond, including military.

Congress bids farewell to Pranab

India's ruling Congress party yesterday bade a warm farewell to Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who is set to become the country's president, with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh saying the veteran leader will be missed.
He is expected to resign from the government and the party today.
At a special meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC), party chief Sonia Gandhi personally bade farewell to 76-year-old Mukherjee, the chief troubleshooter of the party and UPA led by it and expressed confidence that he would win the July 19 presidential election with a huge margin.
Mukherjee will file nomination for the presidential poll on June 28, AICC General Secretary Janardan Dwivedi told reporters after the CWC meeting.
Sonia Gandhi hailed Mukherjee as the senior most member of the CWC and said it was a matter of great pleasure that the UPA has made him a presidential candidate.
Singh said Mukherjee's absence will be felt as he discharged many duties in the government.
A visibly emotional Mukherjee, who had held a number of key posts in the party and the government, said he has got much more from the party than what he had given.
He said he always considered himself a true Congressman and did whatever is good for the party.

Biden, in leaked memo, told Obama war plan flawed

As President Barack Obama considered adding as many as 40,000 US forces to a backsliding war in Afghanistan in 2009, Vice President Joe Biden warned him that the military rationale for doing so was flawed, a new book about Obama's expansion of the conflict says.
The book, "Little America: The War Within the War for Afghanistan," also says that in planning the drawdown of troops two years later, the White House intentionally sidelined the CIA. Obama purposely did not read a grim CIA assessment of Afghanistan that found little measurable benefit from the 30,000 "surge" forces Obama eventually approved, the book quotes a US official as saying.
A copy of the book by Washington Post correspondent Rajiv Chandrasekaran was obtained by The Associated Press. It will be released today.
A previously undisclosed Biden memo to Obama in November 2009 reflects his view that military commanders were asking Obama to take a leap by adding tens of thousands of forces whose role was poorly defined.
Although Biden's doubts have become well known, the new book details how Biden used a months-long White House review of the war to question the basic premise that the same "counterinsurgency" strategy that had apparently worked in Iraq could be applied to Afghanistan.
"I do not see how anyone who took part in our discussions could emerge without profound questions about the viability of counterinsurgency," Biden wrote to Obama. To work, the counterinsurgency or "COIN" doctrine requires military gains to be paired with advances in government services, a "credible" Afghan government and Afghan security services that can take over, Biden's memo said.
Although the US military could accomplish any technical assignment related to the new strategy, such as sweeping insurgents from a village, "no one can tell you with conviction when, and even if, we can produce the flip sides of COIN," Biden wrote. He supported a buildup of 20,000, half the number requested by then-war commander Gen. Stanley McChrystal.
The memo echoed a secret message to Washington from then-US Ambassador Karl Eikenberry that had called Afghan President Hamid Karzai an unreliable partner for the proposed surge. Eikenberry, a former top Army general who had served in Afghanistan, said more forces would only delay the time when Afghans would take over responsibility for their own security.

Syrian soldiers defect to Turkey

Dozens of Syrian soldiers defected overnight to Turkey, crossing the border with their families as tensions between the two countries soared three days after Syrian forces shot down a Turkish military plane.
The state-run Anadolu news agency said 33 soldiers defected, including a general and two colonels. But a Turkish government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with government rules, said the group included three colonels and there was no general.
The two accounts could not immediately be reconciled.
Thousands of soldiers have abandoned the Syrian regime, but most are low-level conscripts. The rebel Free Syrian Army - which is based in Turkey - is made up largely of defectors.
Anadolu said a total of 224 people crossed into Turkey overnight, the latest blow to Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime. Activists say more than 14,000 people have been killed since the uprising began in March 2011, and the death toll mounts every day.
There are widespread fears that the conflict could spark regional unrest - and those fears mounted Friday when Syrian forces shot a Turkish military plane out of the sky.
Syria insists that the Turkish plane violated its air space. But Turkey disagrees, saying that though the plane had unintentionally strayed into Syria's air space, it was inside international airspace when it was brought down.
In recent days, both sides appeared to be trying to calm tensions over the incident.
Syria's Foreign Ministry spokesman said yesterday his country has "no hostility" toward Turkey.
"We behaved in a defensive and sovereign way," Jihad Makdissi said in the Syrian capital. He said the search was still underway for two missing Turkish airmen who were on the plane.
Ankara has called a meeting of Nato's governing body today to discuss the incident. Allies can request such consultations if they feel their territorial integrity or security are threatened.

Malaysia detains 33 Bangladeshis

Malaysian authorities have detained 81 illegal immigrants, including 33 Bangladeshis, in the first joint enforcement drive by the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) and 11 other government agencies.
The illegal immigrants were held on June 21 from the construction sites in the Kuala Lumpur Federal Territory, namely, Sri Hartamas, Cheras and Sentul, said Federal Territory Immigration Department (enforcement) Assistant Director James Musa Singa.
Of the other detainees, 41 were from Indonesia, three from Myanmar, two from Pakistan and one each from India and Sri Lanka, reports Malaysian official news agency Bernama.
"The number of illegal immigrants nabbed could have been higher if we had intelligence on the areas earlier," he told reporters.
Among the departments involved were the Malaysian Immigration Department, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and Department of Environment.
Kuala Lumpur Federal Territory CIDB Assistant Director Nur Iskandar Zulkefli said four notices of notifications were issued to sub-contractors for not having certificates of registration.
A fine of RM 50,000 would be imposed and the construction works could be stopped, he said.

Govt of Bangladesh to award Indian former army officer for 1971 role

The government of Bangladesh will confer "Friends of Bangladesh Award" on a retired Indian army officer for his outstanding contributions to the Liberation War of Bangladesh in 1971.
The decision was made at the weekly cabinet meeting at the Prime Ministers' Office yesterday.
The awardee is Col (retd) Ashok Tara who rescued Begum Fajilatunnesa Mujib, Sheikh Hasina, Sheikh Rehana and Sheikh Russel, who were confined by the Pakistani military to a house at Dhanmondi on December 17, a day after the liberation was won.
Begum Fajilatunnesa Mujib was the mother of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Sheikh Rehana and Sheikh Russel.
Ashok Tara risked his life to save the family members of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Cabinet Secretary M Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan told reporters after the meeting.
Ashok, who was the commander of 14 Guard Regiment during the war, negotiated with the Pakistani army who had cordoned off the house of the family members of Bangabandhu and forced them to surrender, Musharraf said.
The Indian army officer also fought in the battlefield against the Pakistani occupation forces in Dhaloi, Gangasagar, Bhairob and Brahmanbaria areas of the then East Pakistan, he added.
On his return from Pakistan jail on January 10, 1972, Bangabandhu called the officer and thanked him for his bravery, said the cabinet secretary.
Asked when the award would be handed over, the secretary said it would be done at a convenient time in consultation with the awardee.
The cabinet also endorsed the draft of Disaster Management Act, 2012.
According to the draft, a disaster management council will be formed under the leadership of the prime minister whenever a disaster strikes, the cabinet secretary said, adding that a directorate would be formed to this end.
The proposed law specifies the responsibilities of the armed forces, law enforcement agencies and other government organisations during a disaster.
The cabinet also approved Bangladesh Silk Development Board Act, 2012 for the overall development of the sector.