Corps Commanders conference reaffirms support to democracy

#GNN - #RAWALPINDI: The Corps Commanders conference chaired by Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif ended with the decision that “further use of force will only aggravate the problem”.

The conference was originally planned to take place on Monday but due to the security situation in the Capital and the unrest in the country the meeting was held on Sunday.

According to a press release from the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), the conference “reviewed with serious concern, the existing political crisis and the violent turn it has taken, resulting in large scale injuries and loss of lives.”

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The meeting once again reiterated that the “situation should be resolved politically without wasting any time and without recourse to violent means.”

The ISPR statement ended on the note that the “army remains committed to playing its part in ensuring security of the state and will never fall short of meeting national aspirations.”

Apple’s New Spaceship HQ Doesn’t Look Like A Spaceship Yet, But It’s Huge

#GNN Tech - #Apple’s new spaceship-style campus is one of the last things on the company’s mind right now, with the iPhone launch looming just over the horizon. However, that hasn’t stopped some curious folks from peeking around over at the construction site.

YouTuber jmcminn has captured video on a GoPro Hero 3+ using a Phantom 2 drone, and the end result shows us the foundation of this building for the first time. Earlier shots of the construction site were pretty much just pictures of crop circles in the dirt.

This video not only takes a look at the circular building structure, but shows just how big the campus is in relation to the neighboring buildings.

Apple has been planning this new campus for a long time, with the city of Cupertino giving the company permission to get started back in 2012.

Of course, compared to the mockups we saw back in November, the video can be a bit of a let down. But it’s Labor Day weekend, which gives you a bit more time to use your imagination.

Check out the video here:

Heart drug launch could be 'most exciting ever', says Novartis

#GNN - The expected launch of #Novartis's new heart failure drug next year promises to be the company's most exciting ever and profit margins on the medicine will be good, its head of pharmaceuticals said on Sunday.

The Swiss drugmaker impressed doctors at the European Society of Cardiology meeting in Barcelona at the weekend by unveiling strikingly good clinical trial results for the drug, known as LCZ696, in a keenly awaited clinical trial.

Investigators working on the study and the company itself believe it has potential to replace drugs that have been central to treating heart failure for a quarter of century, opening up a multibillion-dollar sales opportunity.

"It will be possibly the most exciting launch the company has ever had," David Epstein told an investor meeting.

The profitability of the drug would also be higher than Novartis achieved when its blockbuster hypertension medicine Diovan was still patent-protected, since the cost of marketing LCZ696 will be lower. That reflects the more specialized nature of heart failure, which requires a smaller sales force.

As a result, LCZ696 should become profitable relatively quickly, though Novartis will be investing to ensure a strong launch. Epstein said he did not expect any increase in the overall sales force because staff would be switched from promoting some older drugs.

In a research note issued by investment bank Leerink on the back of the strong trial results, analyst Seamus Fernandez said that LCZ696 could rack up annual sales of $6-8 billion, with further upside in emerging markets and from new indications.

The study unveiled in Barcelona targeted heart patients with reduced ejection fraction, where the heart muscle does not contract effectively. However, Novartis is also starting a trial in a similar-sized group with preserved ejection fraction, where the ventricles do not relax as they should.

(GNN)(Reuters)(AIP)(Reporting by Ben Hirschler; Editing by David Goodman)

California passes plastic bag ban, would be first such law in U.S

#GNN - The #California state legislature enacted a ban on plastic grocery bags on Friday near the end of its two-year session, a measure that if signed into law would become the first of its kind in America.

A number of cities and counties in California and other U.S. states, including Hawaii's Maui County, have made it illegal for grocery stores to pack purchases in plastic. But at the state level, opposition from plastic bag makers has usually prevailed.

The California Senate voted 22-15 for the bill, which must be signed into law by Sept. 30 by Democratic Governor Jerry Brown, who has not signaled a position on the measure.

"Single-use plastic bags not only litter our beaches, but also our mountains, our deserts, and our rivers, streams and lakes," said state Senator Alex Padilla, who sponsored the bill.

Padilla backed a similar measure last year but it failed by three votes. The fate of this bill was uncertain until the waning hours of the session after falling three votes short in the state's Assembly on Monday.

But after picking up the support of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, the bill passed a second vote in the Assembly.

The measure would ban grocery stores from handing out single-use grocery bags with customers' purchases, and provide money to local plastic bag companies to retool to make heavier, multiple-use bags that customers could buy.

Environmentalists have pushed for banning plastic bags, which are cheaper for supermarkets to use than paper bags, but create mountains of trash that is difficult to recycle. In California, there is particular concern that the bags, when swept out to sea, could harm ocean life.

After the defeat of his earlier bill, Padilla won the support of some California-based bag makers by including the funding for retooling. But in recent months, out-of-state manufacturers campaigned against the bill, even producing television advertisements targeting Padilla, who is running for secretary of state.

Cathy Browne, general manager at Crown Poly, a plastic bag manufacturer in Huntington Park, California, said the bill would lead to layoffs at companies like hers.

More than 10 billion plastic bags are used in California each year, according to an estimate by Californians Against Waste, an advocacy group supporting the bill.

(GNN)(Reuters)(Writing by Eric M. Johnson; Editing by Sharon Bernstein and Mark Heinrich)