MCLEAN, Virginia, July 9 --

For the first time in its history, the French National Commission for Data
Protection and the Liberties (CNIL) has granted approval to a private testing
company -- the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) -- to collect
biometric data as part of its efforts to ensure the highest level of security
for the GMAT exam. No other private examination has obtained this permission.

The public looks up to scientists but scientists tend to look down on the public; and science journalism gets a lot of the blame.  So say the findings of a new report by the Pew Research Center for the People&the Press which finds that overwhelming majorities of Americans believe that science has had a positive effect on society and that science has made life easier for most people. The public - even those skeptical of climate change and evolution - rates scientists highly and believes government investments in science pay off in the long term. 

LONDON, July 9 --

Planalytics, Inc. announced today that Cott Beverages Ltd. (Cott UK) has
subscribed to Planalytics’ Consumer Insights(SM) Platform. Cott UK, a
subsidiary of Cott Corporation, one of the world’s largest non-alcoholic
beverage companies, is using the service to analyze and plan for weather’s
impact on consumer demand for its products.

WARSAW, Poland, July 9 --

The current economic slowdown has affected many industry sectors but not all
investments have been put on hold. EU compliance deadlines, growing energy
consumption, an ageing infrastructure and EU funding are the major factors
stimulating the Energy and Water and Wastewater sectors in Poland in the Central
Eastern European (CEE) region.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20081117/FSLOGO)

To highlight the significant investment growth opportunities in the Energy and
Water industries and to examine major market drivers and restraints, Frost
Sullivan recently hosted a well-attended breakfast briefing at the Warsaw
office.

LONDON, July 9 -- The Road Haulage Association has reacted strongly to the news
that supermarket giant ASDA is to slash the cost of a litre of unleaded and
diesel to less than GBP1.

Michael White recently blogged about Rock Stars of Science (July 8), which is an educational effort to attract kids to careers in science.  (Michael characterized this as “another hopeless attempt to make nerds look cool.”) 

PARIS, July 9 -- Ben Verwaayen, CEO of Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE:
ALU) and Paul Tufano, Chief Financial Officer will present the second quarter
2009 results on July 30, at 1:00 pm CET (12:00 pm GMT, 7:00 am EST). The press
and analyst conference will be held in the company’s headquarters, 54 rue
La Boétie, Paris. If you are a journalist, please confirm your attendance at
press@alcatel-lucent.com. If you are an analyst, please confirm your attendance
at investor.relations@alcatel-lucent.com.

This conference will be available live at the following address:
http://www.alcatel-lucent.com/2q2009

PARIS, July 9 -- Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext and NYSE: ALU) will hold a live web
press conference on Thursday July 16, 2009 to announce groundbreaking technology
which addresses the explosive growth in video traffic. Alcatel-Lucent will also
discuss its IP strategy and how it fits into the overall company direction.

The web conference will take place on July 16, 2009 8AM PST/ 11AM EST / 5PM CET
and will be hosted by Basil Alwan, President of Alcatel-Lucent’s IP
Division and head of Carrier Group Portfolio Strategy.

DUBLIN, July 9 -- For this new branch, 100 beta testers who own a Kimsufi L
dedicated server will provide OVH with a better understanding of
country-specific details. The aim is to refine the line of products and services
of the Irish branch and to guarantee the same service quality as in the ten
other countries where OVH is already present.

OVH continues to gain ground across Europe

Already well established in its native French market as the country’s
leading web hosting company, OVH quickly wanted to expand onto the global
market.

Several branches have already begun operating. Today, OVH is breaking into
Ireland with the presence of a local team based in Dublin.