nigeria oil

Chief Sunday Inengite remembers the day the foreigners who had come to his village in Nigeria's Niger Delta struck oil.

"They made us be happy and clap like fools, dance as if we were trained monkeys," he says.

Years later, the 74-year-old now looks back on his youthful enthusiasm with sour regret.

Nigeria has become Africa's biggest oil producer, but the people of Oloibiri complain they have not seen much of the money made in the 52 years of oil production.

"It smacks of wickedness, hard-heartedness," he says.

Inquisitive

Mr Inengite was 19 years old when the foreign engineers came looking for oil in 1953.

An inquisitive young man, he made friends with the British, German and Dutch engineers during the years they were exploring the area around Oloibiri, now in Bayelsa State.

"I was trying to know why they were all here, going into the forests and into the swamps."

Colonial administrators and oil workers used houseboats to explore the Delta

The village elders thought they were looking for palm oil - a valuable edible oil that had been exported from West Africa since the first European traders arrived hundreds of years before.

"It wasn't until we saw what they called the oil - the black stuff - that we knew they were after something different," Mr Inengite said.

The explorers threw a party at their house-boat and invited everyone from the village to see samples of the oil they had been looking for.

"You can imagine the jubilation, after all they had been looking for oil in commercial quantities for years."

But now he says the environment has been damaged, affecting fish catches, and the small plots of land where people had grown crops are polluted by oil spills and gas flares.

"You see fish floating on the surface of the water, something we didn't know before."

"It may be difficult to make a catch that will be enough for your family for one day."

Government corruption

But the problem is not caused just by the oil companies.

The government gets tax and royalties on the oil the companies produce.

Nigeria's Prime Minister Tafawa Balewa is shown round an oil ship c 1960

The government is also a majority shareholder in Nigeria's oil industry and has made over $1.6trillion in revenue over the last 50 years, according to analysts at Standard Bank.

"I don't only blame the whites that came here, what about the government?" Mr Ingenite says.

"People in the government get nearly all the money from the economy."

When the BBC visited the first oil well a few kilometres down the road, we were approached by men working as commercial motorcycle taxis.

They all insisted oil companies, especially Royal Dutch Shell, should give them money as compensation for taking the oil.

But as we spoke, a local government official drove up in his brand new luxury four-wheel-drive car, an expensive gold watch dangling on his wrist.

Why don't people ask their leaders where their money is?

"They have hearts as black as coal, they are evil people - what would be the point?" said Julius Esam, 27.

'Oil museum'

A nearby mosquito infested swamp was being cleared to build a 300-bed hotel and conference centre with an oil "museum".

The contractor told the BBC the project was costing the state government 90billion naira ($592million, £298million.)

NIGERIA'S OIL Oil struck in June 1956 Government has made $1.6trillion since discovery Rivers state budget in 2006 was $1bn (£776milion at 2009 rates) Most Nigerians live on less than $2 a day

Dimeari Von Kemedi, in charge of scrutinising contracts made by the Bayelsa state government said he would stop the project.

"But it's very difficult to prevent every badly conceived or corrupt contract going through," he said.

The access to corrupt money allowed by political office in the Niger Delta is also responsible for the emergence of violent groups in the area.

Groups of "boys" were armed by government during the 2003 elections.

Their job was to ensure the ruling People's Democratic Party held onto power and therefore the oil money.

These groups later got involved in oil theft, stealing tens of thousands of barrels a day for powerful syndicates, kidnapping and extortion.

Although groups like the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (Mend) use their contacts with journalists to promote a political agenda, most armed groups are criminal gangs who want their own share of the money being divided among the powerful.

Mr Ingenite says in his old age, he now understands what the militancy wants.

"We frowned at violence because we are very hospitable to those that come," he said.

"But it can't be so today, and if they act the way they do, you can't blame them, because their blood is hot, not like old men's that is cool."

Nigerian untouchables

The story of Nigeria's 'untouchables'

By Andrew Walker BBC News, Enugu, Nigeria

Cosmos Aneke Chiedozie wants to break the stigma of being 'Osu'

Pastor Cosmos Aneke Chiedozie is about to make an admission that virtually no Nigerian like him would be prepared to make.

"My grandfather was an Osu," he says.

He is standing outside his church in Enugu, south-eastern Nigeria, clutching his Bible which he believes has saved him from being a marked man.

Among the Igbo people of eastern Nigeria the Osu are outcasts, the equivalent of being an "untouchable".

Years ago he and his family would be shunned by society, banished from communal land, banned from village life and refused the right to marry anyone not from an Osu family.

Marriage

The vehemence of the tradition has weakened over the last 50 years.

I remember when I was a child, seeing the Osu and running away Prof Ben Obumselu

Nowadays the only trouble the Osu encounter is when they try to get married.

But the fear of social stigma is still strong - to the point that most would never admit to being an Osu.

They fear the consequences for their families in generations to come or at the hands of people who still believe in the old ways.

It took the BBC a long time track down an Osu willing to talk, Igbo journalists, human rights advocates, academics and politicians could suggest no-one.

It was only by chance that Cosmos admitted his family were Osu after an interview with the Pentecostal church - known to oppose the tradition.

Now a born-again Christian, he has had a hard fight to escape the stigma of the Osu.

Sacrifice

People say the Osu are the descendants of people sacrificed to the gods, hundreds of years ago.

The village said the reason I was ill was I was being possessed by the spirit of my grandfather, and he was angry that we had rejected the old ways Cosmos Aneke Chiedozie

But an academic who has researched Igbo traditions says he believes the Osu were actually a kind of "living sacrifice" to the gods from the community.

"I remember when I was a child, seeing the Osu and running away," says Professor Ben Obumselu, former vice-president of the influential Igbo organisation Ohaneze Ndi Igbo.

"They were banned from all forms of civil society; they had no land, lived in the shrine of the gods, and if they could, would farm the land next to the road."

"It was believed that they had been dedicated to the gods, that they belonged to them, rather then the world of the human," he said.

Nigeria's growing cities began to break down such traditions of village life, he says.

"If someone lives in Lagos these days, the only time a person may come into contact with it is when they are planning to get married. They go home to tell their families, their parents turn around and say, 'No you can't marry because they're Osu.'"

Initiated

Cosmos' father had denounced the traditional beliefs that made him an outcast from society.

The Osu are considered to be 'living sacrifices" to spirits

He raised Cosmos to be a Christian too, hoping the bloodline of the Osu would be broken.

But when Cosmos was a child his grandfather died and at around the same time Cosmos fell sick.

"The village said the reason I was ill was I was being possessed by the spirit of my grandfather, and he was angry that we had rejected the old ways," he said.

The village elders put pressure on his father to initiate Cosmos into the old traditions and culture.

It was either that, or he would die, they said.

So he left church, learnt about the spirits and his status in the village.

Outlaw

But this ostracism, he now believes, left him without "moral direction".

He became an itinerant smuggler and outlaw, bringing in goods illegally over Nigeria's northern border from Niger.

The continued belief in ritual avoidance has caused great harm to society Prof Ben Obumselu

Eventually he was arrested and thrown in jail.

"It was in the prison yard that I was born again," he said.

"When I believed in the old ways, I could not marry or be part of my community," he said.

"Now I've been born again, I have rejected all that, and my wife, she is born again too, and doesn't care about it either."

His wife's family had also rejected the traditions of the Osu and did not object to their daughter's choice of husband.

Education advantage

Other Osu have been able to use the ostracism to their advantage, says Mr Obumselu.

Unable to make a way in village life, some Osu embraced "Western" education and became Nigeria's first doctors and lawyers, he says.

Consequently many of modern Igboland's prominent families are Osu.

So why does the stigma remain?

Mr Obumselu says the traditions have a lingering hold on people because they are not sure how much power the "old ways" still have.

Traditionally the Osu are treated as a people apart, but were never the victims of violence.

But today some community conflicts have erupted between people each accusing the other of being Osu, Mr Obumselu says.

"The continued belief in ritual avoidance has caused great harm to society, especially in Enugu."

Pentecostal churches, like Mr Chiedozie's, are having an effect and a growing population may also drown out the stigma of being Osu, says Mr Obumselu.

"After all, if in 1800 there might only be a handful of Osu in any place, in 2000 it may be a third of the village!"

suspect sciece

Oldest dinosaur burrow discovered

Matt Walker Editor, Earth News

A burrow photographed from above, showing a cross section, with the entrance on the right side and chamber on the left

The world's oldest dinosaur burrows have been discovered in Australia.

Three separate burrows have been found in all, the biggest 2m long, each built to a similar design and just big enough to hold the body of a small dinosaur.

The 106-million-year-old burrows, the first to be found outside of North America, would have been much closer to the South Pole when they were created.

That supports the idea that dinosaurs living in cold, harsh climates burrowed underground to survive.

The only other known dinosaur burrow was discovered in 2005 in Montana, US.

Described two years later, this burrow dated from 95 million years ago and contained the bones of an adult and two juveniles of a small new species of dinosaur called Oryctodromeus cubicularis.

It provides an alternative explanation for how small dinosaurs might have overwintered in polar environments Palaeontologist Anthony Martin

Now the older burrows have been found by one of the researchers who made the original Montana discovery.

"Like many discoveries in palaeontology, it happened by a combination of serendipity and previous knowledge," says Anthony Martin of Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, US.

"In May 2006, I hiked into the field site with a group of graduate students with the intention of looking for dinosaur tracks. We did indeed find a few dinosaur tracks that day, but while there I also noted a few intriguing structures."

Martin returned to the site, a place dubbed Knowledge Creek that lies 240km from Melbourne, Victoria, to study these structures, once in July 2007 and again in May this year.

His first reaction was one of astonishment.

"I was scanning the outcrop for trace fossils, and was very surprised to see the same type of structure I had seen in Cretaceous rocks of Montana the previous year," says Martin.

That original structure turned out to be the burrow of O. cubicularis, which Martin described with colleagues David Varricchio from Montana State University, Bozeman, US, and Yoshi Katsura of Gifu Prefectural Museum in Seki City, Japan.

"So to walk up to the outcrop and see such a strikingly similar structure, in rocks only slightly older, but in another hemisphere, was rather eerie."

Twisting structures

Within the rock, which forms part of the so-called Otway group of rocks that have yielded a rich diversity of vertebrate fossils, Martin found three separate burrows less than 3m apart, which he describes in the journal Cretaceous Research.

Two of the burrows formed a semi-helix, twisting down into the rock that was once soil.

The largest and best preserved, dubbed tunnel A, turns twice before ending in a larger chamber. In total, it is more than 2.1m long.

Martin calculates that an animal around 10kg in size would have made each burrow.

Modern animals which create such burrows include aardwolves, alligators, coyotes, gopher tortoises and striped hyenas. Twisting burrows can help stop predators getting in and keep the temperature and humidity constant.

Martin can't be sure which species of dinosaur made the burrows, but he is struck by how similar their designs are to the burrow made by O. cubicularis.

A variety of small ornithopod dinosaurs were also known to have lived in the area during the same time in the Cretaceous. These ornithopods stood upright on their hind legs and were about the size of a large, modern-day iguana.

Surviving the cold

Martin has ruled out a variety of other factors that could have created the burrows.

The fact that they were made by dinosaurs makes sense, he says.

Twenty years ago, researchers in Australia, including Patricia Vickers-Rich of Monash University in Clayton and Thomas Rich of the Museum of Victoria, first proposed that some dinosaurs may have climbed into burrows to survive harsh climates they couldn't escape from by migrating.

"It gives us yet another example of how dinosaurs evolved certain adaptive behaviours in accordance with their ecosystems," Martin says.

"Polar dinosaurs in particular must have possessed special adaptations to deal with polar winters, and one of their behavioural options was burrowing. It provides an alternative explanation for how small dinosaurs might have overwintered in polar environments."

Martin now hopes that palaeontologists will be on the look out for a range of different types of dinosaur burrow, and for dinosaurs that are physically adapted to burrowing into soil

dr.parkinson

The origins of the shaking palsy

Michael J Fox of Back to the Future fame has Parkinson's Diseasehttp://www.richimag.co.uk/parkinsons/

Dr James Parkinson was better known in his time for his work on fossils than for his essay on "the shaking palsy".

But it was this that would make his name famous around the globe two centuries after he was born.

The multi-talented GP is the name behind Parkinson's disease, the progressive neurological disorder whose sufferers include Muhammad Ali and film star Michael J Fox.

It can affect all aspects of a person's life and occurs when cells in the part of the brain which controls movement are lost.

Shaking palsy

Born in London in 1755, Dr Parkinson studied Latin, Greek, natural philosophy and shorthand - subjects which he considered as important basic tools for a physician.

His father was a GP and he took over his practice.

Dr Parkinson was by no means a typical GP. He had wide-ranging interests and, in his day, was probably better known for his three volume work on fossils than for his essay on the "shaking palsy".

Other medical works included a treatise on gout and he also published books on social, political and geological subjects.

He was extremely interested in bringing medicine to the masses and published a selection of self-help manuals aimed at encouraging people to adopt better sanitary standards.

His political beliefs were fairly revolutionary.

At a time when the French revolution was taking place, he advocated universal suffrage and an annual parliament.

However, it is for his "Essay on the shaking palsy", published in 1817 - 11 years before his death, that he has become universally known.

Symptoms

He was the first person to make an accurate description of the disorder which affects one in 500 people in the UK.

Its symptoms include shaking, slowness of movement and muscle stiffness.

Despite Dr Parkinson's success in describing the condition, his work was only recognised by French neuropathologist Dr Jean Martin Charcot 60 years after it was first published.

And it was not until the second half of the 20th century that scientists discovered what caused the disease.

They found that the lack of a chemical messenger called dopamine was responsible.

The symptoms of Parkinson's only appear after the death of 80% of the cells which produce dopamine which is linked to co-ordination.

Currently, the condition is treated with drugs which mimic the action of the chemical messengers.

Patients also often turn to alternative therapies. For example, massage has been found to be very helpful in the treatment of the disease.

Liz Cockerill, who has Parkinson's, told Radio Four's A Name to Remember programme: "It has been a life saver for me. Otherwise my muscles would just seize up."

In the last few years, there have been significant advances in the treatment of late stage Parkinson's.

For example, dopamine can now be injected and pacemakers have been fitted into some patients' brains with interesting results.

Some doctors predict there could be a cure or a preventive treatment for the disease in the next 20 years once scientists understand its genetic and environmental triggers.

They believe "a window of opportunity" exists between the time the cells start dying and the time symptoms begin to show.

This week has been named Parkinson's Awareness Week by the Parkinson's Disease Society

Parkinson's linked to insecticide

Parkinson's linked to insecticide use

Parkinson's causes muscle tremor

Exposure to insecticides in the home may double a person's risk of developing Parkinson's disease, say researchers.

Scientists suspect insecticide chemicals damage nerve cells in a vulnerable region of the brain, but cannot fully explain the link.

Certain chemicals that an individual is exposed to in the environment may cause selective death of brain cells

Dr Lorene Nelson, Stanford University

Dr Lorene Nelson and colleagues at the Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, California, questioned 496 people newly diagnosed with Parkinson's disease about their past use of pesticides, herbicides and fungicides in the home and garden.

Another group of 541 people without the disease were asked similar questions and the two sets of answers compared.

Use of insecticides at home was associated with the greatest risk of developing the disease. Parkinson's patients were more than twice as likely to have been exposed to the chemicals than the healthy participants.

There was also an association with herbicides. However, exposure to insecticides in the garden, and fungicides, were not found to be risk factors.

The findings were presented at the American Academy of Neurology's annual meeting in San Diego, California.

Association

Dr Nelson said: "It is the first study to show a significant association between home pesticide use and the risk of developing Parkinson's disease.

"Certain chemicals that an individual is exposed to in the environment may cause selective death of brain cells or neurons."

Damage to nerve cells in a part of the brain called the basal ganglia leads to the muscle tremor and stiffness characteristic of the disease.

Parkinson's is caused when brain cells that produce an important neurotransmitter, or message-carrying chemical, are destroyed.

Dr Nelson said. "If we could understand why these neurons are being killed in certain circumstances, we can then try and prevent it."

Professor Adrian Williams, chairman of the Parkinson Disease Society's medical advisory panel, said: "This is the latest in a line of research which shows a suspected but as yet unproven link between pesticide exposure and development of Parkinson's disease.

"We welcome any further research on this subject."

parkinsons who gets it

Jobs 'linked to Parkinson's'

Mechanics are one of the at risk groups http://www.richimag.co.uk/parkinsons/

People who work with solvents such as petrol or rubber have a high risk of developing Parkinson's disease, according to a study.

They are also more likely to show symptoms of the disease early in life and risk developing a more severe form of the disease than those who do not work with solvents.

The study, carried out by researchers in Italy, suggests that the risks are greatest among people who work with hydrocarbon solvents.

These solvents are found in common petroleum-based products such as paints, glues and rubber.

As a result, the researchers suggest that painters, mechanics and printers are some of the most "at risk" jobs.

"Risky" jobs

Mechanics Printers Painters People working with petroleum, rubber or plastic

Others at risk of developing the disease are people working with petroleum, rubber and plastic.

Doctors at the Parkinson Institute in Milan studied almost 1,000 patients with the disease.

It found that people who had worked with hydrocarbon solvents were likely to develop symptoms of Parkinson's three years before somebody who did not.

They also revealed that the severity of the disease was greatest among those who worked in "at risk" jobs.

The study found that most of those who had been exposed to hydrocarbon were mostly male and less educated than those who were not exposed.

The doctors said their findings showed a need for further research.

Dr Gianni Pezzoli, of the Parkinson Institute, said the study raised serious questions.

Further study call

"These findings raise serious questions about specific occupational risk.

"This study more than merits further investigation into job-related Parkinson's risk factors."

Parkinson's disease is generally regarded as a brain disorder.

It is a progressive disease which attacks the part of the brain which controls movement.

Drugs are currently used to treat the disease but their success is limited and the side-effects can be significant.

There is no cure and treatments only last a few years.

The symptoms are caused by the loss of cells in a certain part of the brain that produce dopamine - an important message-carrying chemical or neurotransmitter linked with movement.

But no one has been able to find out why those cells get destroyed in the first place.

Around 120,000 people in the UK have Parkinson's disease

parkinsons cure

Hope of Parkinson's 'cure'

Parkiinson's causes shaking and muscle stiffness http://www.richimag.co.uk/parkinsons/index.html

Scientists have successfully reversed the spread of Parkinson's disease in monkeys.

The results have raised hopes that scientists could be close to stopping the disease in humans.

Researchers from the US and Switzerland used gene therapy techniques to reverse damage in the brains of monkeys caused by Parkinson's.

They used a special virus to boost nutrients in the brain. These nutrients increase the production of dopamine.

This study suggests a new approach to forestall disease progression in newly diagnosed patients

Dr Jeffrey Kordower

Dopamine sends signals in the brain to help individuals move smoothly and normally. The loss of dopamine has been linked to the symptoms of associated with Parkinson's.

Parkinson's is a brain disease and causes severe difficulty in performing movements including walking, talking, swallowing and smiling. This causes sufferers to shake and experience muscle stiffness.

Each person with Parkinson's is affected differently and to different degrees. Their ability to perform movements may vary from one day to the next.

Sufferers eventually die from secondary complications such as pneumonia, urinary tract infection, pressure sores, septicaemia and stroke.

The condition is treated with drugs and there is no cure. It affects around 120,000 people in the UK.

It usually strikes people between the ages of 50 and 60 although it can also affect younger people.

Latest research

This latest research was carried out on two groups of monkeys. The first group involved eight older monkeys with early Parkinson's disease. The second included younger monkeys with no signs of the condition.

The first group received six injections of the special virus called lenti-GDNF to boost nutrients in their brain.

After three months the level of dopamine in their brains had dramatically increased and were similar to those found in younger monkeys.

The second group were injected with a chemical to cause Parkinson's disease. They developed the condition but this was reversed once they received lenti-GDNF.

Dr Jeffrey Kordower, from Rush Presbyterian St Luke's Medical Centre and one of those involved in the study, said: "By giving GDNF, we can stimulate dopamine production and prevent both the structural and functional consequences of cell degeneration that are characteristic of Parkinson's disease."

The scientist are hoping to use this special virus on humans in clinical trials within five years. The virus was developed by researchers at the Lausanne University in Switzerland.

Dr Kordower added: "This study suggests a new approach to forestall disease progression in newly diagnosed Parkinson's disease patients.

dardarin/parkinsons

Target found for Parkinson's test

A gene mutation which could be behind one in 25 cases of Parkinson's disease has been discovered by scientists. It is hoped the findings could lead to the earlier detection of the disease and the development of treatments. Three separate studies by US, UK and Dutch research teams are published in The Lancet medical journal. Parkinson's, for which there is no cure, is a degenerative disease in the part of the brain controlling movement and affects 3% of people over 75. 'Dardarin' protein Each of the three studies looked at genetic faults in the LRRK2 gene. It controls the action of a protein named dardarin by researchers, after the Basque word dardara, which means tremor. Scientists do not yet fully understand what the protein's intended function is. This could lead to new improved treatments and potentially a cure for some people with the condition Linda Kelly, Parkinson's Disease Society The mutation of the gene, found on a region of chromosome 12, is called PARK8. It was identified in a study of five families with a history of Parkinson's disease who lived in the Basque region of northern Spain, and in England The US study, by scientists from Indiana University and Cincinnati Children's Hospital, involved 767 Parkinson's disease patients from 358 families across America. It was found that 34, or just under 5%, of patients carried the same gene mutation. In an Institute of Neurology study, 482 people from families without a known history of Parkinson's were studied and eight were found to have the same mutation. In the third study, by researchers from Erasmus MC in the Netherlands, the mutation was present in four out of 61 families with a history of Parkinson's disease. From the results of all three studies the researchers concluded that the mutation appears to be responsible for up to 5% of Parkinson's in people with a family history of the disorder and up to 2% of cases in people who do not have a family history of the disease. 'New treatments' Andrew Singleton, of the National Institute of Aging's said: "Knowing that this mutation is not only important in familial forms of disease, but in typical sporadic disease, where there is no strong family history, could lead to earlier detection of Parkinson's disease. "Further study of how this gene works also might help scientists identify new treatments." Dr William Nichols, of the Cincinnati Children's Hospital suggested screening for the mutation would soon become a key part of genetic testing for Parkinson's. And Linda Kelly, the chief executive of the UK's Parkinson's Disease Society, said: "If further research could uncover why this leads to neurodegeneration and the symptoms of Parkinson's then this could lead to new improved treatments and potentially a cure for some people with the condition.

parkinsons

Depression risk with Parkinson'shttp://www.richimag.co.uk/parkinsons/

Parkinson's disease is a degenerative, neurological condition Over 80% of people with Parkinson's disease frequently experience depression, a European survey finds. But the poll of 500 patients with mild-to-moderate forms of the disease found 40% rarely - or never - talked to their doctors about depression. And two thirds of doctors polled said they considered other symptoms were more important than depression. But Parkinson's experts said depressive symptoms were as important as motor problems for people with the disease. In many cases, it's not the symptoms that one normally associates with Parkinson's disease that cause the most distress Mary Baker, European Parkinson's Disease Association Around one in 500 people in the UK have Parkinson's disease. Around 10,000 new cases are diagnosed annually, with one in 20 affected someone under 40. The most well-known symptom is tremors in the arms and legs. But depression can stem from people's feelings about their condition, or as another symptom caused by the neurological effects of the disease. This survey covered patients in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK. Normal outlook 'difficult' Researchers also spoke to 500 specialist doctors in the same countries. Virtually all said the majority of their patients "often" or "sometimes" experienced symptoms of depression. But 49% said such symptoms were difficult to recognise. Doctors said the main reason they did not discuss depression was that they felt that patients did not rate these symptoms as being as important as other aspects of their condition. But patients said depression was almost as significant for them as movement problems. Mary Baker, president of the European Parkinson's Disease Association, said: "This survey has confirmed what we've been hearing from people with PD, and the people who care for them, for some time. "In many cases, it's not the symptoms that one normally associates with Parkinson's disease that cause the most distress. "When your mood is affected, it can be very difficult to maintain a normal outlook on life." She added: "Those who are caring for people with PD often report that seeing their loved one feeling depressed is one the hardest aspects of the condition to deal with."

Flint criticised in 'sexism row'

An angry Caroline Flint waved goodbye to ministerial office on Friday

Labour MP Caroline Flint has been criticised for her attack on Gordon Brown's style of government and his treatment of female ministers.

Ms Flint resigned as Europe minister on Friday, claiming he operated a "two-tier" government via an "inner" circle.

Senior female figures were regarded as "little more than window dressing" by the prime minister, Ms Flint argued.

Fellow MP Geraldine Smith said Ms Flint would "regret" her comments, saying she should have thought twice about them.

'A bit of a strop'

In her resignation letter, Ms Flint said Mr Brown's government was not "inclusive" and suggested she had been ignored when she attended cabinet meetings.

"Several of the women attending cabinet - myself included - have been treated by you as little more than female window dressing." Ms Flint stated.

She should have counted to ten before she wrote that letter Geraldine Smith, Labour MP Storm far from over for Brown Brown focused on "tasks in hand"

Her comments have been questioned since less than 24 hours earlier, in the wake of former Work and Pensions Secretary James Purnell's resignation from the cabinet, she had proclaimed her loyalty to Gordon Brown.

As a close friend of former communities secretary Hazel Blears, she had been widely expected to follow Ms Blears' example and resign as soon as polls closed for England's local elections on Thursday night.

But, instead, she insisted she was "proud" to serve Mr Brown and would stay in government.

Geraldine Smith said Ms Flint had been expecting a promotion in Friday's reshuffle and had been disappointed.

"She's been upset and she has had a bit of a strop," she told the BBC.

"She should have counted to ten before she wrote that letter. I think she will regret it."

'Progress needed'

Deputy Labour Leader and Minister for Women and Equality, Harriet Harman, also rejected Ms Flint's comments while acknowledging "progress" needed to be made in getting more women into senior positions in government.

She said it was untrue that Mr Brown "doesn't take women in politics seriously".

Several high-profile female ministers, including Ms Blears, former Home Secretary Jacqui Smith and housing minister Margaret Beckett, left government in Friday's reshuffle.

But Mr Brown insisted there was still a strong female representation in his cabinet, pointing to the promotion of Yvette Cooper to work and pensions secretary.

Ms Flint has been replaced by ex-MEP Glenys Kinnock, wife of former Labour leader Neil Kinnock.

feminists of labour

Labour women attack 'laddish' PM

Mr Brown appointed just four women to full cabinet posts

Senior female Labour MPs have hit out at Gordon Brown for a government style that they say excludes women.

Ex-Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt told BBC Radio 4 that there was a "laddish" culture inside No 10.

And Caroline Flint, who resigned saying Mr Brown treated women as "window dressing", said female ministers were "picked out" for hostile briefings.

But Business Minister Baroness Vadera said Mr Brown was committed to getting more female MPs into Parliament.

Former children's minister Beverley Hughes said she was "shocked" at the lack of women in cabinet.

Former minister Jane Kennedy said she agreed with suggestions that Mr Brown dealt with colleagues like a "mafia boss".

Ms Hughes also reignited speculation about a possible leadership contest by suggesting that Mr Brown had three or four months at most to improve Labour's standing in the polls.

'Overwhelmingly male'

Mr Brown has faced criticism for appointing only four women as full members of the cabinet.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Gordon's Women programme, several prominent female MPs criticised the lack of women in senior positions as well as the prime minister's style of conducting government business.

Ms Hewitt said she was "surprised as well as disappointed" by the lack of women in senior jobs.

She added that, with the exception of adviser Sue Nye and Baroness Vadera, "Gordon Brown's inner circle has always been small, almost entirely men and as far as I can see really rather laddish in its culture".

Ms Hewitt added that the prime minister "needs to get a move on" with fulfilling his pledge to the Parliamentary Labour Party to change his style of government.

I don't think he trusted me and we never got a chance to really get to develop our relationship Caroline Flint Former Europe minister

Ms Flint - whose "window dressing" remarks in her resignation letter as Europe minister threw the spotlight on Mr Brown's relationship with women - said the cabinet "power base" was "overwhelmingly male".

She said female ministers had been offered roles which merely entitled them to attend cabinet "to give an impression that women are there and are equal" when they were not.

"When Tony (Blair) left government I think a third of his cabinet were women and I'm talking a third of cabinet - proper cabinet," Ms Flint added.

She said of the present prime minister: "For one reason or another I don't think he trusted me and we never got a chance to really get to develop our relationship.

"I don't think he really knows me and what makes me tick."

Asked about Mr Brown, former Lords leader Lady Jay admitted that "personally I find him quite intimidating" because he "doesn't make it easy to feel that you've established a personal connection".

Ms Kennedy - who resigned saying she could not support Mr Brown - said the prime minister lacked "clarity and willingness to listen to what the voters are telling us about policy", describing this as a "a behavioural trait that you keep being promised is going to change and doesn't".

She added that, as a result, "I fear that with Gordon as leader we don't have much chance" of winning the next general election.

Asked by presenter Martha Kearney whether it was true that the prime minister acted like a "mafia boss" who "might not pull the trigger but he knows who's getting bumped off", Ms Kennedy replied: "Yes, that's how I would characterise it - that's my perception of it."

'Good enough'

However, some prominent Labour women defended the prime minister.

Discussing the number of women in front-line politics, Lady Vadera said that "Gordon worries about that - and that's why we work so hard to get women into parliament".

Angela Smith said the number of women ministers compared favourably with "any party's alternative government".

She added: "I have never, ever felt held back by the Labour party because I am a woman."

Pollster Deborah Mattinson said Mr Brown had made clear he did not know that hostile briefings had taken place and had put a stop to them, adding: "That's good enough for me."

swines

Concern over Ebola virus in pigs

Ebola can cause deadly disease in some forms

A form of Ebola virus has been detected in pigs for the first time, raising concerns it could mutate and pose a new risk to humans.

Ebola-Reston virus (REBOV) has only previously been seen in monkeys and humans - and has not caused illness.

But researchers are concerned that pigs might provide a melting pot where the virus could mutate into something more menacing for humans.

The new discovery - in the Philippines - is featured in the journal Science.

However, the researchers, from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, stress that the virus at present appears to pose no risk to humans.

It has been detected in farm workers who tend the infected pigs, and they have shown no signs of illness.

However, writing in Science, the researchers said: "REBOV infection in domestic swine raises concern about the potential for emerging disease in humans and a wider range of livestock.

"There is concern that its passage through swine may allow REBOV to diverge and shift its potential for pathogenicity."

REBOV belongs to the family of filoviruses which usually target primates.

Deadly bleeding

These viruses cause viral haemorrhagic fevers, which cause extensive internal bleeding, and can be fatal.

The latest study examined tissue samples taken from pigs from different parts of the Philippines suffering from unusually severe respiratory infections.

Analysis showed that the animals were infected with widely varying strains of the virus, suggesting it may have circulated widely in pigs even before it was first discovered in monkeys exported to the US from the Philippines in 1989.

The researchers said it was possible that REBOV originally emerged in another, as yet unidentified, host. Fruit-eating bats have been suggested as one possibility.

Pigs are known to provide an ideal host for viruses to mutate. Experts say the potential risk is magnified because they are an essential part of the human food chain, and come into close contact with people.

Researcher Dr Michael McIntosh said: "We know this family of viruses are associated with fatal illnesses in humans.

"Even though there is no evidence at this time to suggest REBOV causes diseases in humans it does seem that it can infect humans, and be transmitted from swine to humans.

"The effect of such an infection on an immuno-compromised host - humans or swine - is also an unknown factor of concern."

The World Health Organization says that pork is still safe to eat, provided it is prepared and cooked properly