'Over 870 kg of banned polythene bags and packing materials were seized from a shop,' a Chandigarh administration spokesman said.

The use and sale of polythene bags in Chandigarh has been banned with effect from Oct 2, 2008.

The airports of Santiago de Compostela, La Coruna, Vigo Asturias, Santander, Burgos, Valladolid, Salamanca and Leon were affected by the closure which was set to last until 2 p.m. (1200 GMT), the aviation authority AENA said.

The cloud of ash arrived overnight and is affecting part of Portugal as well.

According to the Meteorological Institute in London Saturday, the ash cloud could linger over northern Spain through Sunday and spread eastwards towards the Mediterranean region and Italy.

Friday, Iceland's Department of Civil Protection and Emergency Management reported that volcano under the Eyjafjallajoekull glacier, 120 km south-east of Reykjavik, was again spewing increased amounts of ash.

In the preceding days the volcano was 'producing less lava and more volcanic ash', agency spokesman Agust Gunnar Gylfason said.

Between 2004 and 2008, the global number of child labourers declined from 222 million to 215 million, according to ILO data from the report 'Accelerating action against child labour.'

The small three percent drop was seen by the agency as being slow and uneven across the globe.

The Dutch government, along with the ILO, is next week due to hold a conference, which in part will focus on the goal of eliminating the worst forms of child labour by 2016.

According to the ILO, 'a staggering 115 million are still exposed to hazardous work'.

The best progress was made amongst young girls in the labour markets, while boys' participation decreased by smaller levels and minors between 15 and 17 actually increased their presence by 20 percent.

Asia Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean saw continued reductions in child labour, but sub-Saharan Africa saw increases.

'The situation calls for a re-energized campaign against child labour. We must scale up action and move into a higher gear,' said ILO chief Juan Somavia.

The euro has no rules that would allow the rescue of ailing members because its existing rules are meant to make it unnecessary. But last week the group was forced to approve a record 110-billion-euro ($140 billion) bail-out for Greece.

The bail-out was not enough to calm markets as traders feared that Spain and Portugal might follow Greece's example. The euro slumped to a 14-month low this week.

'Taking into account the exceptional circumstances, the European Commission will propose a European stabilization mechanism to preserve financial stability in Europe,' the president of the EU, Herman Van Rompuy, read from a joint declaration by leaders.

In a sign of the extreme urgency of the situation, the commission will present its plans on Sunday morning, and the finance ministers of the EU's 27 member states are set to take a decision on them the same afternoon, Van Rompuy said.

That is an unprecedented move in the EU, where member states usually take months to decide on such weighty issues.

'All the heads of state and government of the euro area are fully aware that we face a serious situation in the eurozone. It's about responsibility and it's about solidarity: we will face this situation together,' Van Rompuy said.

While the proposals would cover the eurozone, they would require the approval of all 27 EU member states to be put into action.

No details of the proposals were available, but diplomats said that options included setting up rules to activate loans from member states quickly, and allowing the commission to borrow on world markets so that it could fund individual states - something the EU executive can already do for non-euro countries.

The Akali Dal-led Punjab government had recently lashed out at the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government for making Punjab a highly taxed island surrounded by hill states enjoying a tax holiday. Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal accused the UPA for destroying the industrial base in the state.

Refuting the allegations, Sharma said: 'They are just exaggerating the issue. We are committed to an overall growth of all states and we would provide help wherever it is required. There is no question of any state getting particular benefits.'

'Here we cannot satisfy those people who have narrow vision. We need to have larger perspective and global growth should be kept in mind,' he told reporters here.

On the issue of industries shifting out of Punjab, Sharma said: 'I do not think that many industries have shifted out of here. If they have gone to Baddi (in Himachal Pradesh), then it is not too far from here. There are some special category hill states that have lack of infrastructure, poor connectivity and very less scope of development; we have to improve the situation.'

Sharma had come to this union territory Friday to take part in an interactive session with the industrialists of the region.

Officials from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Syria, Egypt, Algeria and Jordan will also participate. The meeting will coincide with a rail expo being organised in the UAE.

--IANS/WAM

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'We will have a new approach to find out a solution to the apprehensions of the people as far as impact on health and environmental issues vis-a-vis the proposed uranium mining,' Chief Minister Mukul M. Sangma told journalists here.

'If there are answers to these (health and environmental) concerns, we will also have to see whether the people and the state will really benefit from the proposed uranium mining,' he added.

Asked about the 'new approach', Sangma said it 'includes complete engagement of all cross sections of people to evolve a consensus on the uranium mining'.

Stressing that complete engagement of the people is necessary, he said that the people must discuss the uranium issue on the maximum benefit that the state and the nation as a whole can reap from it.

Sangma returned Thursday after discussing with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh the decade-old proposed open-cast mining in West Khasi Hills district and the proposed exploratory drilling for uranium deposits inside the Balpakram National Park in South Garo Hills district.

The Rs. 1,046-crore open-cast uranium mining and processing plant at Mawthabah area in West Khasi Hills district has been hanging fire since 1992 after several groups cited radiation effect on human health and environmental degradation.

The UCIL plans to produce 375,000 tonnes of uranium ore a year and process 1,500 tonnes of the mineral a day.

In South Garo Hills, the western region of Meghalaya bordering Bangladesh, the atomic energy department has got the clearance from the standing committee of the National Board for Wildlife, headed by the prime minister, to conduct exploratory drilling in the ecologically fragile Rongcheng plateau of the national park.

Last year, the Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL) decided to invest Rs.209 crore to start their pre-mining developmental projects in 422 hectares of the uranium-rich areas of West Khasi Hills in southern Meghalaya.

The then government was forced to keep the project in abeyance following violent protests from various groups.

The country's investment needs are estimated to be more than $1.25 trillion over the next three years to support 7-8 percent annual growth.

A KPMG-CII report said PE and VC investments need to be increased three-fold from $10 billion annually to $30 billion.

'India has a very vibrant Venture Capital/Private Equity (VC/PE) industry with over $32.5 billion invested across more than 1500 VC/PE deals from January 2006 till date. PE funding is expected to provide capital to fund the much needed infrastructure projects to support GDP growth of 7-8 percent per annum in India,' it said.

The report found that PE-backed companies had performed better than non-PE and listed firms in terms of revenue, profit growth and sales. Besides, they also paid more to their employees.

'Annual sales of PE-backed companies grew at almost 25 percent, a significantly higher rate than the 16 percent growth rate of non PE-backed companies. Profit-After-Tax (PAT) of PE-backed companies grew at almost 35 percent, a significantly higher rate than the 25 percent growth rate of non PE-backed companies,' it said.

According to the report, PE/VC investments help fund the growth of those small promising companies which cannot tap equity and debt markets initially.

Over 1,500 companies have collaborated with PE firms in India so far and have excelled in several key sectors like IT/ITES, telecommunication, retail, infrastructure and manufacturing, the report said.

'We have emerged well out of the financial meltdown and we are growing at an encouraging pace. We aims to maintain the momentum and to double our exports in 2014 as compared to the figure in 2008,' he told reporters here.

'We have also fixed a target to double our share, in percentage terms, in the world trade by 2020. We have taken many steps in this direction. In our foreign trade policy, which was released last year on Aug 28, we had taken many important decisions pertaining to various schemes and incentives,' he said.

Sharma was in this union territory to participate in an interactive session with industrialists of the region.

He also emphasised bringing in innovative ideas and making India's workforce more employable.

'All growth is meaningless until and unless we make our people more employable through proper training. India has to fulfil the global shortage of talent. Fortunes of growth should be equally distributed in all sections,' Sharma said.

'We have to make India a hub of new technologies and we have to make more investment in innovations, which is currently very less,' he added.

Firgilo Sosa, general commissioner of Panama's pavilion, said the UAE pavilion showcases history and current urban landmarks of the UAE.

Tenj Kong, one of the visitors, told WAM that although he knows about the Islamic country, he was surprised at how well the pavilion showcased the country's progress.

Another visitor said she was looking forward to travelling to the country after visiting the pavilion.

Wan Lee expressed her admiration about films on UAE's education, economy, communications and entertainment sectors.

Bahrain's Sarah Al Awadhi, who is studying medicine in one of the Chinese universities, said the UAE always looks forward to excellence, adding that its pavilion highlights tourism, economic and environmental landmarks of the UAE.

She said the pavilion would woo more tourists to the UAE.

--IANS/WAM

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