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Zimbabwe cargo plane crashes at Shanghai airport BEIJING — A Zimbabwe-registered cargo plane crashed shortly after taking off Saturday from a Shanghai airport with seven crew members aboard, state media and witnesses said. The official Xinhua News Agency reported that four crew members, all foreigners, were injured. The status of the other three was not immediately clear. China Central Television showed billowing thick black smoke at the scene, with police officers blocking closer access. A reporter from Shanghai's Oriental Satellite Television told CCTV that the tail of the plane had broken in two or three parts, and hundreds of firefighters were spraying fire retardants on the plane. The reporter said the four injured people were conscious. A man answering phones at the Pudong International Airport cargo information office who requested anonymity confirmed the crash but had no details. Xinhua said the crash occurred at 7:40 a.m. (2340 GMT Friday). In June 2006, a Chinese military plane crashed in eastern China's Anhui province, killing all 40 people aboard. Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. ||||| Why did this happen? Please make sure your browser supports JavaScript and cookies and that you are not blocking them from loading. For more information you can review our Terms of Service and Cookie Policy. ||||| Beijing, China (CNN) -- Three American crew members died when a Zimbabwean cargo plane crashed early Saturday at Shanghai's Pudong International Airport, the U.S. Embassy in Beijing said. The embassy said one of the injured crew members was also an American. The crash happened at about 8:15 a.m. (7:15 p.m. ET Friday) during takeoff in Shanghai, according to the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board. The plane was destined for Harare, Zimbabwe, said the agency. The NTSB is sending an investigation team to site of the accident. Four other people on the plane were seriously injured, and the cause of the crash is not yet known, the NTSB said. Earlier, China's official Xinhua news agency reported that the plane was on its way to Kyrgyzstan and caught fire on takeoff. Thick smoke was seen billowing from the crash site. | A cargo aircraft registered in Zimbabwe crashed today at Shanghai International Airport in China. Three of the crew have been killed. Another four people were taken to the Pudong Xinqu People's Hospital after the plane went down on takeoff and burst into flame. Firefighters responded with retardant foam and thick smoke could be seen rising from the airport. The plane, which had been flying to Bishkek in Kyrgyzstan, broke apart in the accident. The crash occurred between 7:40 a.m. and 8:12 a.m. The four surviving crew are reported to be conscious. None are Chinese citizens. Police are currently securing the scene. |
(Adds details and interview with company official starting at paragraph 5) By Scott Hillis SAN FRANCISCO, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Activision Inc (ATVI.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) on Friday unveiled a new "Guitar Hero" video game focusing on the American rock band Aerosmith, taking the billion-dollar franchise in a new direction. Called "Guitar Hero: Aerosmith," the new game will arrive in stores this summer, a surprise to many analysts and fans who had expected the next title to come out closer to the year-end holiday shopping season. Aerosmith, known for hits such as "Dream On" and "Sweet Emotion," is the top-selling American rock band of all time, with sales of 66.5 million albums in the United States alone. The game will feature about 30 Aerosmith songs as well as others from various acts that have opened for the band. The price has not yet been set. "The premise is that it's going to cover the 30-plus years of the band, from high school all the way through the rock superstardom of today," Kai Huang, head of Activision's RedOctane unit, which guides development of the franchise, told Reuters in an interview. In the "Guitar Hero" games, players try to press colored buttons on a guitar-shaped controller in time with notes cascading down the screen. If the notes are hit, the song plays properly, and the player earns points. Since the original "Guitar Hero" was released in late 2005, the series has gone on to sell more than $1 billion. Depending on the version, a bundle including the game and a controller costs from $80-$100, while the stand-alone game costs $40-$60. When Activision reported quarterly earnings last week, analysts grilled the company on its plans for the franchise, expressing concern that sales would slow this year because many players who bought earlier versions with guitars would opt to buy the lower-price stand-alone game disks. Huang said Activision had not yet decided whether it would offer a special controller with the Aerosmith game. NEW DIRECTION The focus on a single band marks a new twist for the franchise, whose three main titles featured dozens of artists spanning classic rock, grunge, metal, punk and other rock subgenres. Last year, Activision also released "Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s" with songs from that decade. "It's just a completely new way to interact with this music and with Aerosmith, and we think there's more opportunity to do that in the future," Huang said. By spotlighting a single band, the company has also come up with a way to counter rival music game "Rock Band" from Viacom Inc (VIAb.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) unit MTV and Electronic Arts Inc (ERTS.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Activision's top competitor. "Rock Band", which includes drums and a microphone as well as a guitar, each week has offered new songs that can be downloaded to consoles like Microsoft Corp's (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) Xbox 360 and Sony Corp's (6758.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) PlayStation 3. The music industry is eyeing "Guitar Hero" and "Rock Band" as a way to revive flagging sales. "Rock Band" and "Guitar Hero 3," both launched last fall, have together sold millions of songs at about $2 each via download. Speaking of Aerosmith's willingness to work on the project, Huang said: "They recognize that it can deliver their music in an innovative and new way. It's a new distribution platform for them." To recreate the sense of attending an Aerosmith concert, developers held motion-capture sessions with band members, including energetic frontman Steven Tyler and lead guitarist Joe Perry. "As you play," Huang said, "you're going to be seeing Joe and Steven doing their moves onstage." (Editing by Lisa Von Ahn) ||||| Epic Collaboration Creates First Music-Based Game to Feature One Band Free Download of ''Dream On'' Offered to Commemorate Alliance SANTA MONICA, Calif., Feb 15, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Fire up the fret board, crank the amp to 11 and get ready to rock this way with Activision, Inc.'s (Nasdaq:ATVI) Guitar Hero(R): Aerosmith(R), the first game built around the legendary music of America's Greatest Rock 'N Roll Band: Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, Brad Whitford, Tom Hamilton and Joey Kramer. Slated for release this June, this latest installment from the franchise with the #1 best-selling video game in 2007, puts players in the shoes of Perry (guitar), Whitford (guitar) and Hamilton (bass), as they rock out alongside frontman Tyler and drummer Kramer. Gamers will experience Aerosmith's GRAMMY(R) winning career, from their first gig to becoming rock royalty, in a way that no other entertainment vehicle offers. To celebrate this historic, ground-breaking collaboration, Guitar Hero(R) III: Legends of Rock fans will have the opportunity to download and jam to Aerosmith's "Dream On." The song will be available for free from February 16-18 on Xbox LIVE(R) Marketplace for the Xbox 360(R) video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PLAYSTATION(R)Store for the PLAYSTATION(R)3 computer entertainment system. For more information, please visit www.guitarhero.com. "Having a game built around Aerosmith has been a huge honor and really a great experience for us," says Joe Perry. "We've put a lot of ideas into the game so that fans can have fun interacting with our music, getting inside our body of work and learning about the band's history." Steven Tyler says, "Any band that can go from 'Don't Want to Miss A Thing' (Aerosmith's #1 smash hit) to the ass-kicking 'Sweet Emotion' to the cheekiness of 'Love in an Elevator,' to the classic ballad 'Dream On' shows why Activision chose us to headline this game based on the diversity of the Aerosmith catalog. Not only is songwriting a bitch, but then it goes and has puppies." Perry adds, "On a larger scale, it's cool for us to be pioneers helping to rebuild the music industry through a format like video games. It's great for rock since the record companies are struggling to make sense of how things are changing. Fans want to get and experience music in new formats--and there are going to be some of them who will play the game, then pick up the guitar for real and start bands. It's what's happening now, and it's only going to build more momentum in the future. It's a massive change for the music business." "We are extremely excited that Aerosmith chose to team up with Guitar Hero, bringing one of the world's all-time best-selling artists together with one of the biggest video game brands, to deliver a new and unique interactive way for our customers to connect with artists and their music," said Dusty Welch, head of publishing for Activision/RedOctane. "This partnership will give Aerosmith, a band that has sold more than 150 million albums worldwide, a powerful and innovative platform to reach their fans and new audiences." Guitar Hero: Aerosmith brings these quintessential rock legends to the interactive realm to create the ultimate gaming experience. As fans progress through their careers in the game, they can rock out to scores of Aerosmith's greatest hits, as well as songs from celebrated artists that the band has either performed with or has been inspired by in some way. Venues from historical moments during the band's illustrious career offer the experience of "sweet emotion" and further capture the essence of the band's rise to fame. Guitar Hero: Aerosmith is being developed by Neversoft Entertainment for the Xbox 360(R) video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PLAYSTATION(R)3 computer entertainment system. The Wii(TM) version is being developed by Vicarious Visions. The PlayStation(R)2 computer entertainment system version is being developed by Budcat. The game is not yet rated by the ESRB. About Aerosmith For more than 30 years AEROSMITH has defined American Rock 'n' Roll. Just a brief overview of their remarkable career is truly mind-boggling: over 150 million albums sold, induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, countless awards (four GRAMMY Awards, eight American Music Awards, six Billboard Awards, and 12 MTV Awards), electrifying sold-out concerts around the world and a diehard "Blue Army" fan-base numbering in the millions worldwide. Described by Mojo editor Phil Alexander in a May '07 cover story as "America's greatest hard rock act," the members of AEROSMITH--STEVEN TYLER (vocals), JOE PERRY (guitar), BRAD WHITFORD (guitar), TOM HAMILTON (bass) and JOEY KRAMER (drums)--remain creatively vital, and are the platinum standard for artistic and commercial success in the music business. Through it all they have defeated the odds, silenced their critics and have undeniably withstood the test of time. AEROSMITH are beginning to work on their next studio album, the follow-up to 2004's critically acclaimed HONKIN ON BOBO, which received a four-star Rolling Stone review. About Activision, Inc. Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision, Inc. is a leading worldwide developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and leisure products. Founded in 1979, Activision posted net revenues of $1.5 billion for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2007. Activision maintains operations in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Spain, the Netherlands, Australia, Japan and South Korea. More information about Activision and its products can be found on the company's World Wide Web site, which is located at www.activision.com. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements: Information in this press release that involves Activision's expectations, plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future are forward-looking statements that are not facts and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Activision generally uses words such as "outlook," "will," "could," "would," "might," "remains," "to be," "plans," "believes," "may," "expects," "intends," "anticipates," "estimate," "future," "plan," "positioned," "potential," "project," "remain," "scheduled," "set to," "subject to," "upcoming" and similar expressions to help identify forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause Activision's actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements set forth in this release include, but are not limited to, sales of Activision's titles, shifts in consumer spending trends, the seasonal and cyclical nature of the interactive game market, Activision's ability to predict consumer preferences among competing hardware platforms (including next-generation hardware), declines in software pricing, product returns and price protection, product delays, retail acceptance of Activision's products, adoption rate and availability of new hardware and related software, industry competition, rapid changes in technology and industry standards, protection of proprietary rights, maintenance of relationships with key personnel, customers, vendors and third-party developers, international economic and political conditions, integration of recent acquisitions and the identification of suitable future acquisition opportunities the timing and successful completion of the combination of Vivendi Games with Activision, the combined companies' success in executing planned strategies and achieving assumed synergies and cost savings, and foreign exchange rate changes. Other such factors include additional risk factors identified in Activision's most recent annual report on Form 10-K and subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. The forward-looking statements in this release are based upon information available to Activision as of the date of this release, and Activision assumes no obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements believed to be true when made may ultimately prove to be incorrect. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond our control and may cause actual results to differ materially from our current expectations. Guitar Hero: Aerosmith (C) 2007-2008 Activision Publishing, Inc. Guitar Hero, Activision, and RedOctane are registered trademarks of Activision Publishing, Inc. The Aerosmith name and wings logo are trademarks of Rag Doll Merchandising, Inc. All Aerosmith trademarks and related rights have been provided pursuant to a license from Rag Doll Merchandising, Inc. The Guitar Hero controller shapes are trademarks of Gibson Guitar Corp. All Gibson marks, logos, trade dress, guitar models, controller shapes, and related rights provided pursuant to license from Gibson Guitar Corp. The ratings icon is a registered trademark of the Entertainment Software Association. All other trademarks and trade names are the properties of their respective owners. All rights reserved. "PlayStation", "PLAYSTATION" and "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Used with Permission. Microsoft, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox LIVE, and the Xbox logos are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies. SOURCE: Activision, Inc. Activision/RedOctane Ryh-Ming Poon, PR Director, 310-255-2226 rpoon@activision.com Copyright Business Wire 2008 News Provided by COMTEX Close window | Back to top ||||| Activision today announced that it will continue the Guitar Hero craze with Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, due out in June for PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii.The game will put you in the shoes of the five member band, following their career from the first performance up till Aerosmith's current status of "rock royalty". As with Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions will be developed by Neversoft, with Vicarious Visions behind the Wii edition and Budcat handling the PlayStation 2 iteration."Not only is songwriting a bitch, but then it goes and has puppies," commented Aerosmith lead singer Steven Tyler. Reports of an Aerosmith-centered Guitar Hero appeared last fall , with Activision recently confirming that three new Guitar Hero titles are due out this year "We've put a lot of ideas into the game so that fans can have fun interacting with our music, getting inside our body of work and learning about the band's history," added guitarist Joe Perry.To commemorate the announcement, owners of the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 editions of Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock will be able to download the Aerosmith song "Dream On" for free from the Xbox Live Marketplace and PlayStation Network Store between February 16-18. ||||| By Philip Kollar, 02/15/2008 UPDATE: RedOctane contacted 1UP to let us know that Neversoft is, in fact, developing the 360 and PS3 versions of Guitar Hero: Aerosmith. The story has been changed to reflect this. ORIGINAL STORY:Last month EGM's Quartermann made a bold prediction about the future of the Guitar Hero franchise: four new Guitar Hero games in 2008. Today Activision announced the first of those four, and one which the Q-Man totally called: Guitar Hero: Aerosmith. The new game, planned for a June 2008 release, will place virtual rockers into the shoes of Aerosmith guitarists Joe Perry and Brad Whitford and bassist Tom Hamilton. Sadly Steven Tyler and Joey Kramer will not take up the axes. The game will apparently put players on the same track as Aerosmith's career, going from small club shows all the way up to rock legends. So, basically, the same "story" as all the other Guitar Hero games, but with a more recognizable face on it. Aerosmith leader Steven Tyler, humble guy that he is, took the opportunity to explain why they were chosen as the first band to receive a full Guitar Hero game all to themselves: "Any band that can go from 'Don't Want to Miss A Thing' (Aerosmith's #1 smash hit) to the ass-kicking 'Sweet Emotion' to the cheekiness of 'Love in an Elevator,' to the classic ballad 'Dream On' shows why Activision chose us to headline this game based on the diversity of the Aerosmith catalog. Not only is songwriting a b*tch, but then it goes and has puppies." Yes, Tyler just called his own band's song "Aerosmith's #1 smash hit." And yes, we have no idea what that last sentence means either. To celebrate the announcement, Activision has revealed that Guitar Hero III owners will be able to download Aerosmith's "Dream On" for the game starting tomorrow, February 16 until Monday, February 18. Activision's press release was unclear as to whether or not the song would be removed completely on Monday or would be turned into a paid download, but until then it should be up on both Xbox Live Marketplace and the PlayStation Store. Guitar Hero: Aerosmith will be available this June for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, and Wii. Guitar Hero III developer Neversoft will be working on the PS3 and 360 versions, while the Wii version is being worked on by Vicarious Visions (who did the Wii port for GH3), and the PS2 version is being created by Budcat Creations (who also did the PS2 version of GH3). | Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry. The ''Guitar Hero'' version of Perry. Activision, publisher of the popular ''Guitar Hero'' series of video games which simulate the playing of rock music, has unveiled the next title in the franchise: ''Guitar Hero: Aerosmith''. The game, which will focus entirely on the top-selling American rock band Aerosmith, is set to be released this June. The soundtrack will be composed of songs performed by Aerosmith or otherwise related to the band. Venues featured in the game will highlight different points in the band's career. "The premise is that it's going to cover the 30-plus years of the band, from high school all the way through the rock superstardom of today," said Kai Huang, head of RedOctane, a subsidiary of Activision. Developers even held motion-capture sessions with members of the band so they can appear in-game. "We've put a lot of ideas into the game so that fans can have fun interacting with our music, getting inside our body of work and learning about the band's history," said Aerosmith guitarist, Joe Perry. Perry also commented on the effect he hopes the game will have on the music business. "On a larger scale, it's cool for us to be pioneers helping to rebuild the music industry through a format like video games. It's great for rock since the record companies are struggling to make sense of how things are changing. Fans want to get and experience music in new formats--and there are going to be some of them who will play the game, then pick up the guitar for real and start bands. It's what's happening now, and it's only going to build more momentum in the future. It's a massive change for the music business." The game will be released for Xbox 360, Playstation 3, Wii, and Playstation 2. It has not yet been rated by the ESRB. |
Knife found at O.J. Simpson's former L.A. home studied by police LOS ANGELES Police said on Friday they were examining a knife purportedly found at the former home of O.J. Simpson, the onetime football star acquitted of stabbing to death his ex-wife and her friend in the "Trial of the Century" two decades ago. | Supreme Court temporarily blocks Louisiana abortion law WASHINGTON The Supreme Court, two days after hearing a major abortion case from Texas, on Friday temporarily blocked a Louisiana law imposing regulations on doctors who perform abortions in a move that would allow two recently closed clinics to reopen. Exclusive: U.S. watchdog to probe Fed's lax oversight of Wall Street NEW YORK A U.S. watchdog agency is preparing to investigate whether the Federal Reserve and other regulators are too soft on the banks they are meant to police, after a written request from Democratic lawmakers that marks the latest sign of distrust between Congress and the central bank. Brazil's Lula detained in corruption probe; Rousseff objects SAO PAULO/BRASILIA Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was briefly detained for questioning on Friday in a federal investigation of a vast corruption scheme, fanning a political crisis that threatens to topple his successor, President Dilma Rousseff. | ||||| Mr Bashir has remained opposed to a large UN force In the letter to the secretary general, Mr Bashir says he wants to begin "immediately" to implement UN plans. However, diplomats note that Mr Bashir remains opposed to any large-scale UN deployment and has gone back on agreements on Darfur before. More than 200,000 people have died in the three-year conflict in Darfur. The UN envoy to Khartoum, Ahmedou Ould Abdallah, is expected to brief a Security Council meeting on Darfur on Wednesday afternoon. Hybrid force The main thrust of the three-part UN plan for Darfur is to strengthen the current 7,000-strong African Union force with UN troops. Mr Bashir has remained consistently opposed to any large UN deployment but now appears to have agreed to the strengthening of a hybrid force. Mr Bashir says Sudan agrees to the first two parts of the UN plan - deployment of new staff and equipment to the African Union force followed by a larger support package. However, the third part of the UN plan - the size and command of the new force - is not finalised in the letter. And UN diplomats expressed fears that carrying out plans through a special panel - the Tripartite Committee of Sudan, the UN and the AU - would give Khartoum an effective veto. Sudan's change of heart on its previous opposition to UN participation follows international threats of trade sanctions and of a ban on aircraft movements over Darfur, to stop bombing raids by government forces. The Darfur conflict began in 2003 after a rebel group began attacking government targets, saying the region was being neglected by Khartoum. The rebels say the government is oppressing black Africans in favour of Arabs. Arab militias responded to try to put down the uprising. The government denies accusations from the rebels it is backing the militias. | Mustafa Osman Ismail, Sudan's Presidential Advisor, opened the possibility of allowing some United Nations peacekeepers into its troubled Darfur region. Ismail admitted that the African Union Commander in Darfur could request non-African troops if he decides that current troop numbers are not sufficient. This would allow forces from organisations such as the UN to send troops there at the Commander's request. When asked whether this would lead to UN troops in Darfur, Ismail replied "You are right." While the region is currently overseen by 7,000 AU troops, hopes indicate that a joint venture might see as many as 17,000 UN and AU troops deployed, in addition to 3,000 police officers. Sudan had previously rejected UN Security Council Resolution 1706, which authorised 22,500 UN peacekeepers to handle the Darfur conflict. Since the start of the conflict, 200,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million driven from their homes. |
British engineer blows away land speed record for wind-powered vehicles after 10-year quest By Claire Bates Last updated at 5:23 PM on 27th March 2009 A British engineer has smashed the land speed record for wind powered vehicles, becoming the fastest naturally powered human on the planet. Richard Jenkins clocked 126.1mph in his Ecotricity 'Greenbird' powered only by 30mph winds. He eclipsed the previous record of 116 mph, set by American Bob Schumacher ten years ago. Record-breaker: The Greenbird clocked up 126.1mph The Greenbird, which looks like a stretched missile with a giant fin, is the most advanced wind powered vehicle on Earth. It uses technology found on Aircraft and Formula 1 cars to achieve staggering speeds without an engine. Eco-businessman Dale Vince OBE and Richard Jenkins had hoped to set a new record in Australia last August, but waited in vain for ideal dry conditions. Their record run finally took place yesterday morning at Lake Ivanpah just south of Las Vegas. The Greenbird accelerated from rest to record speed across the full 2-mile length of the lake. They were cheered on by over 100 land sailors, during the 'Americas cup' (land sailing) regatta. Delight: Richard Jenkins is congratulated after he breaks the land speed record Mr Vince said: 'The record is an amazing achievement. It shows what is achievable with great British engineering and the power of the wind. 'In the next twenty years I firmly believe that wind power will be our main energy source and wind-powered cars will no longer be the stuff of dreams.' He said Ecotricity would soon be revealing a wind-powered super car for everyday use. The Greenbird is the fifth generation in a line of vehicles designed and built by Richard Jenkins on his ten year quest to break the world speed record. The name is a nod to Donald Campbell's Bluebird, a fuel-powered car which achieved record speeds in the 60s. The Greenbird is prepared for its record attempt on the Californian/Nevada border Testing was carried out in the UK, Canada, America and Australia, in an attempt to track down the rare set of weather and natural surface conditions required to achieve maximum speed. 'It has been an incredibly difficult challenge,' Mr Jenkins said. 'Half the challenge is technical, having to create a more efficient vehicle than the previous record holder, then the rest is luck, being in the right place, at the right time, to get the perfect conditions, with the right people watching. 'I must have been on record standby at some remote location around the world for at least two months of every year for the past ten years. ||||| Wind powered Greenbird reached speeds of 126.1 mph A British engineer from Hampshire has broken the world land speed record for a wind-powered vehicle. Richard Jenkins reached 126.1mph (202.9km/h) in his Greenbird car on the dry plains of Ivanpah Lake in Nevada. Mr Jenkins told the BBC that it had taken him 10 years of "hard work" to break the record and that, on the day, "things couldn't have been better". American Bob Schumacher set the previous record of 116 mph in 1999, driving his Iron Duck vehicle. "It's great, it's one of those things that you spend so long trying to do and when it actually happens, it's almost too easy," Mr Jenkins told the BBC. The Greenbird is a carbon fibre composite vehicle that uses wind (and nothing else) for power. The only metalwork used is for the wing bearings and the wheel unit. Sail away The designers describe it as a "very high performance sailboat" but one that uses a solid wing, rather than a sail, to generate movement. Mr Jenkins, from Lymington, spent 10 years designing the vehicle, with Greenbird the fifth vehicle he has built to try to break the record. Richard Jenkins spent 10 years trying to break the record Due to the shape of the craft, especially at such high speeds, the wings also provide lift; a useful trait for an aircraft, but very hazardous for a car. To compensate for this, the designers have added small wings to "stick" the car to the ground, in the same way Formula 1 cars do. "Greenbird weighs 600kg when it's standing still," said Mr Jenkins. "But at speed, the effect of the wings make her weigh just over a tonne." Richard Jenkins spent much of his childhood sailing on the South Coast of England and from the age of 10 was designing what he calls "radical contraptions". He has also built a wind powered craft that travels on ice, rather than land. "Now that we've broken the record, I'm going back on to the ice craft. There's still some debate as to whether travelling on ice or land will be faster," he said "But I think we've got some time. 126.1 mph was a good margin to beat the record and I think it will be some time before anyone else breaks it." Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? E-mail this to a friend Printable version | Richard Jenkins, an engineer from the United Kingdom, broke a record for the fastest speed attained in a wind-powered land vehicle on Friday. Jenkins managed to reach a speed of 126.1 miles per hour (202.9 kilometres per hour) in his Greenbird car along the plains of Nevada's Ivanpah Lake. Jenkins said that he had worked for ten years to break the record, and that "things couldn't have been better" on the day he broke the record. "It's great. It's one of those things that you spend so long trying to do and when it actually happens, it's almost too easy," he said to the BBC. "It has been an incredibly difficult challenge. Half the challenge is technical, having to create a more efficient vehicle than the previous record holder, then the rest is luck, being in the right place, at the right time, to get the perfect conditions, with the right people watching. I must have been on record standby at some remote location around the world for at least two months of every year for the past ten years," he said. "Then everything came together perfectly and the Greenbird stepped up to the mark and performed amazingly. I am absolutely delighted." The previous record for the fastest wind-powered land vehicle belonged to Bob Schumacher from the United States, who reached 116 miles per hour in his Iron Duck machine. The Greenbird is a fifth generation in an array of vehicles created by Jenkins in his ten-year effort to break the speed record. It is composed out of carbon fibre composite, and powered only by wind. According to Jenkins, it weighs 600 kilograms. |
The McCanns received a public apology read in open court McCann spokesman In a statement the McCanns said they were pleased that the newspaper group had admitted the "utter falsity" of the "grotesque" stories written about them. The newspaper group has paid £550,000 to the Find Madeleine campaign. The Daily Express and Daily Star have issued front-page apologies admitting the stories were inaccurate. Under review The papers said: "We acknowledge that there is no evidence whatsoever to support this theory and that Kate and Gerry are completely innocent of any involvement in their daughter's disappearance. " The McCanns, from of Rothley, Leicestershire, have refused to rule out libel action against other publications. We are pleased that Express Newspapers have today admitted the utter falsity of the numerous grotesque and grossly defamatory allegations that their titles published McCann statement Full McCann case statements Is apology a turning point? Their solicitor, Adam Tudor, from media law specialists Carter-Ruck, said: "These are matters that are being kept under review." The couple reportedly hope the libel action against Express Newspapers will serve as a deterrent, but reserve the right to take action in the future. Acted 'reluctantly' The couple were not at London's High Court for the settlement of their action against Express Newspapers on Wednesday. But in a statement, they said: "We embarked on this course of action reluctantly, indeed with a heavy heart, as we did not wish the pursuit of it to become a distraction from our sole aim - finding Madeleine." They called on Portuguese police investigating her disappearance to end their status as suspects [in Portuguese, arguidos]: "We hope that the Portuguese authorities lift our arguido status in the very near future so that everyone can focus on finding our beautiful little girl." Utter falsity Madeleine disappeared days before her fourth birthday, during a family holiday in the resort of Praia da Luz, in the Algarve, on 3 May last year. The McCanns said: "We are pleased that Express Newspapers have today admitted the utter falsity of the numerous grotesque and grossly defamatory allegations that their titles published about us on a sustained basis over many months. "The exceptional publication of these apologies, together with today's statement of full apology in open court before Mr Justice Eady, was the only just and proper response by Express Newspapers following our complaint." The couple's representatives said that from the late summer of 2007 until February this year, the Daily Express, the Sunday Express, the Daily Star and the Daily Star Sunday published more than 100 articles which were seriously defamatory of the couple. Madeleine McCann went missing in Portugal in May 2007 In court Stephen Bacon, representing the newspapers, said: "Express Newspapers regrets publishing these extremely serious, yet baseless, allegations." Wednesday's editions of the Daily Express and Daily Star both carry front-page apologies under the headline, "Kate and Gerry McCann: Sorry". The Express said it accepted that a "number of articles in the newspaper have suggested that the couple caused the death of their missing daughter Madeleine and then covered it up". A similarly worded statement appears in the Daily Star. The Star said it was making a "wholehearted apology to Kate and Gerry McCann for stories suggesting the couple were responsible for, or may be responsible for, the death of their daughter Madeleine and for covering it up". ||||| The McCanns will receive a public apology, read in open court Express Newspapers' titles, including the Daily Express, Daily Star and Sunday Express, are also printing front-page apologies. They say they were wrong to suggest the couple, of Rothley, Leicestershire, were responsible for Madeleine's death. The McCanns say the money will go to the Find Madeleine campaign. In a statement read out on behalf of the McCanns at the High Court on Wednesday, they said they were pleased that Express Newspapers had admitted the "utter falsity" of the numerous stories written about them over many months. Their spokesman, Clarence Mitchell, added that the allegations had caused them "great distress". 'Wholehearted apology' It is understood that the sum donated to the campaign doubles the amount left in the fund. Madeleine disappeared, days before her fourth birthday, during a family holiday in the resort of Praia da Luz, in the Algarve, on 3 May last year. Her parents, Kate and Gerry, have been named as suspects in the case by Portuguese police but have always denied any involvement. Madeleine McCann went missing in Portugal in May 2007 The settlement was confirmed at a High Court hearing, although the amount of damages was not formally disclosed. It came after Wednesday's editions of the Daily Express and Daily Star both carried front-page apologies under the headline, "Kate and Gerry McCann: Sorry". The Express said it accepted that a "number of articles in the newspaper have suggested that the couple caused the death of their missing daughter Madeleine and then covered it up". It also acknowledged there was "no evidence whatsoever" to support that theory. The paper added that Mr and Mrs McCann are "completely innocent of any involvement in their daughter's disappearance". A similarly worded statement appeared in the Daily Star. The Star said it was making a "wholehearted apology to Kate and Gerry McCann for stories suggesting the couple were responsible for, or may be responsible for, the death of their daughter Madeleine and for covering it up". Further apologies are expected in the publications' sister Sunday titles at the weekend. The libel action related to more than 100 stories across the four titles, including 42 printed in the Daily Express. I think this is an amazing stand-down, u-turn, by the Express newspapers Media commentator Roy Greenslade All four titles are published by the Express Newspapers group, which has agreed to all the McCanns' requests. It is also paying all their costs. A spokesman for the company said: "We have nothing to add to what will be said in court and in our titles." The McCanns' lawyers said that some of the newspapers' articles were "grossly defamatory". 'Trust and credibility' Richard Bilton, BBC News special correspondent, said one of the couple's representatives had said the response of the newspaper group was "much more responsible than they were perhaps initially with these articles". Media commentator Roy Greenslade said that for two national newspapers to carry front-page apologies at the same time was "unprecedented". "I think this is an amazing stand-down, U-turn, by the Express newspapers," he said. The McCanns will receive a public apology, read in open court "I think when people realise that more than 100 stories have been complained about as being grossly defamatory, it will annihilate the Express' readers sense of trust and credibility in their newspaper." Media lawyer Paul Gilbert, from Finers Stephens Innocent, said the courts encourage early settlement of defamation cases. "Clearly the Express' lawyers felt this was a case they should settle without a high-profile trial - which it would be - and as a result have saved considerable costs," he said. "It certainly is a warning sign to newspapers in the future - if they're going to speculate, they've got to be very careful about what they speculate about." ||||| By Peter Griffiths LONDON (Reuters) - Two tabloid newspapers made unprecedented front page apologies on Wednesday to the parents of missing girl Madeleine McCann for suggesting they might have killed their daughter and covered up her death. The Daily Express and Daily Star admitted the allegations against Kate and Gerry McCann, whose daughter went missing on holiday in Portugal last May, were "baseless" and agreed in court to pay 550,000 pounds in libel damages. Madeleine's disappearance prompted intense international media coverage. "We accept that a number of articles in the newspaper have suggested that the couple caused the death of their missing daughter Madeleine and then covered it up," the Daily Express said. "We acknowledge that there is no evidence whatsoever to support this theory and that Kate and Gerry are completely innocent of any involvement in their daughter's disappearance." At a High Court hearing London, the McCanns' lawyer Adam Tudor said it was "difficult to conceive a more serious allegation than to be falsely accused of being responsible for the death of one's daughter." He told the court that the articles included a variety of false claims, including that the McCanns killed their daughter, sold her to pay off debts or were involved in "wife-swapping". A lawyer for the newspapers told the court: "Express Newspapers regrets publishing these extremely serious, yet baseless, allegations." The Sunday Express and the Daily Star Sunday are also expected to apologise in issues this weekend. Continued... | The parents of Madeleine McCann, the four-year-old British girl who went missing in May 2007, have won a court case against the Express Newspapers group in the settlement of a libel case regarding the group's coverage of their daughter's disappearance. In a statement read outside London's High Court on behalf of the McCanns, the couple say that the outcome was 'the only just and proper response' to the 'utter falsity' of the reports. The Express Newspapers' four publications, including the ''Daily Express'' and ''Daily Star'', will also print front-page apologies to the couple, in which the papers admit they were wrong to suggest the couple were responsible for their daughter's death. Kate and Gerry McCann explained they welcomed the outcome of the case, and that the £550,000 settlement will be paid to the ''Find Madeleine Campaign''. Madeleine's parents have been named as suspects by Portuguese police, but the Daily Express admits that they hold "no evidence whatsoever" to suggest that their reports that Madeleine's parents were involved in her death and disappearance were true. The front-page apology in the ''Daily Express'' reads "We accept that a number of articles in the newspaper have suggested that the couple caused the death of their missing daughter Madeleine and then covered it up," and goes on to explain that Madeleine's parents are "completely innocent" of any involvement. |
associated press The government's required switch from incandescent light bulbs to CFLs come with potential hazards: Improper disposal of the mercury-powered bulbs may pollute landfills and groundwater. Beginning today, it is a crime to manufacture or ship for sale a traditional 75-watt incandescent light bulb in the European Union. Autocrats in Brussels last year declared war on Edison's greatest invention with a ban on 100-watt lamps. Homes throughout the Old World will continue to dim until incandescent lighting of all types is snuffed out in 2012 - the same year the United States is scheduled to begin a phaseout schedule mirroring the European plan. The EU's final solution to the incandescent problem was sparked by bureaucratic irritation at a public that refused to accept the pale, flickering, cold light emanating from government-approved, expensive compact fluorescent bulbs. "Although energy-saving bulbs have been clearly labeled since 1998 as the most cost-effective bulbs, their relatively high purchase price has inhibited take-up," the European Commission website explains. "To remedy this, EU governments and the European Parliament asked the Commission to adopt minimum requirements phasing out the least-efficient bulbs." Consumers realize the warm glow of a cheap incandescent is superior in every way to the deadly, mercury-filled substitute being foisted upon them. In Finland, Helsingin Sanomat reported that the new ban has not resulted in a surge of sales for the new bulbs that the bureaucrats expected. Instead, 75-watt packages have been flying off the shelves as customers filled their closets, garages and attics with lighting supplies for the long term. Such hoarding has been the rule for more than a year. London's Daily Mail gave away 25,000 of the 100-watt bulbs as a prize in a January 2009 contest. Der Spiegel reported that German customers left hardware stores with carts jammed with enough incandescent bulbs to last 20 years. We can look forward to a similar reaction on these shores as our own Jan. 1, 2012, deadline approaches. President George W. Bush's signature on the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 condemned the traditional bulb in favor of the fluorescent lights rejected by the free market. Only eight senators and 100 House members opposed the bill. There is still hope that sanity could return before the U.S. ban on normal light bulbs takes effect. Two years ago, New Zealanders faced an imminent ban. The National Party, at the time in the minority, made overturning the light-bulb scheme a priority in its campaign against the ruling Labor government. The public responded favorably to the party that proclaimed that it "stands for freedom, choice, independence and ambition." In December 2008, the National Party government overturned the light-bulb ban. Republican challengers seeking an edge over Democrats in November could learn a few things from the Kiwis. © Copyright 2010 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission. ||||| Last year 100W incandescent light bulbs were outlawed, triggering the first wave of stockpiling by worried consumers who do not like the more expensive energy saving alternatives. Now it will be an offence to import or manufacture 75W bulbs, although shops can continue to sell the model until stocks run out. The European Lamp Companies Federation said shoppers around Europe are already snapping up the last remaining stocks, with a 35 per cent increase in sales across the EU. Demand is highest in Germany, Austria, Poland and central Europe. Although the powerful light is also popular in Britain as a reading lamp or for lighting portraits or chandeliers in historic homes. Airum, a Finnish producer of bulbs, has reported a doubling of demand for 75W bulbs in the country compared to what is normal for August. Veronique Skrotsky, a spokeswoman for General Electric Lighting’s French operations, said people do not like the energy saving alternatives. She said compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), which use a fifth of the energy needed for a conventional bulb, give off a sickly light. “It’s clear that customers find the light they give off ugly, it’s really terrible,” she said. CFLs have even been blamed for giving people headaches and skin rashes. Bobby Damney, a spokesman for the Light Bulb Company, a major British wholesaler and retailer, said the company has seen a 10 per cent rise since June. He said consumers do not like the "horribly shaped" CFLs, which also take longer to turn on and can flicker. "It has been a chore for some customers trying to replace the bulbs,” he added. Supermarkets in the UK have already phased out 75W bulbs but independent retailers and wholesalers reported an increase in demand. Robert Parker, technical adviser to the Historic Houses Association, said people who live in older homes are stock piling old fashioned lamps. Even halogen lamps, which give off a warmer glow and come in traditional shapes, will not fit into all old fashioned fittings. “It has been a concern of ours for quite some time particularly in small bayonet candle bulbs that fit into many chandeliers and ancient fittings,” he said. “The energy efficient bulbs that fit into small bayonets are deeply unattractive.” The panic buying of light bulbs is expected to get worse when 60W bulbs are banned next year and all incandescent bulbs are phased out by 2012. Incandescent light bulbs are being phased out in order to meet the EU’s ambitious climate change targets to cut greenhouse gases by 20 per cent by 2020. Advocates claim that replacing the old fashioned lamps with more efficient models will reduce domestic energy consumption for lighting by 60 per cent in the EU, equivalent to saving 30 million tons of CO2 pollution every year. Jurgen Sturm, general-secretary of the European Lamp Companies Federation, insisted that the energy saving alternatives not only last longer and save money in the long run, but will improve in quality and range over the next few years. ||||| Revolt! Robbed of their right to buy traditional light bulbs, millions are clearing shelves of last supplies By David Derbyshire Last updated at 9:30 AM on 07th January 2009 End of light as we know it: Millions of Britons are stocking up to grab the last of the traditional bulbs Millions of Britons are finally waking up to the fact that their beloved light bulb will disappear for good after 120 years. Traditional 100-watt bulbs are vanishing from the High Street because of a controversial European Union decision. Yesterday panic buyers were snapping up the remaining bulbs in a last-ditch attempt to stockpile the final supplies. Hundreds of leading supermarkets and DIY chains - including Sainsbury's, Asda and Homebase - have already sold their last remaining bulbs after a surge in panic buying. Other stores say they have enough stocks to last until the end of next week. The supplies are running out after the Government signed up to an EU decision to replace conventional 100w light bulbs with supposedly greener low energy alternatives. Ministers claim the switch will reduce carbon dioxide by around five million tons each year. But experts have questioned whether or not the new bulbs, far from being environmentally friendly, are actually harmful. The low-energy fluorescent bulbs can trigger skin rashes, migraines and epilepsy. There is also concern because the fluorescent bulbs contain mercury, which makes them dangerous to get rid of. They can also be more expensive. Currently, an average supermarket price for a six pack of standard 60w pearl light bulbs is £1.21, but a single 60w low energy stick light bulb already costs around £2.19. Retailers stopped replenishing supplies of conventional incandescent 100w bulbs at the start of the year under a 'voluntary' Government scheme to force people to buy green compact fluorescent lights. New light: Energy-efficient bulbs use less energy - but critics say they can cause skin rashes, migraines and epilepsy But concerns about the poor quality light of low energy bulbs - and the fact that most don't work with dimmer switches - has led to tens of thousands of people stockpiling supplies. Sainsbury's said it had 'virtually run out' of traditional 100w bulbs, while Homebase, John Lewis and Asda confirmed they no longer had them on their shelves. Tesco, Britain's biggest seller of bulbs, said it had enough for a few days. Smaller retailers and corner shops also reported running out of stock, while shoppers at branches of Waitrose and Argos left empty handed. One householder, Loretta Spottiswood, said she had stockpiled 50 conventional bulbs in a cupboard at her home in Ham, South-West London. 'I have such a horror of energy saving bulbs that every time I go to Sainsbury's I buy a couple of the conventional ones,' said Mrs Spottiswood, 62. 'My neighbour opposite has energy saving bulbs and the lights are horrible and they take ages to warm up. I also get quite depressed in the winter, particularly if the lighting is dim. I hate them.' One panic buyer, who asked not to be named, snapped up 20 traditional bulbs at a branch of Ryness. 'My husband went to Sainsbury's last week and couldn't get any, then we managed to buy a couple at Tesco,' she said. 'I bought some at a corner shop, but there were none at Waitrose or Homebase. My husband tried again at Tesco and they had sold out. 'I use them in about seven rooms. I have only got one energy saving light bulb and I hate it, the light is horrible and it makes me feel ill.' The death of the conventional incandescent bulb was announced by Gordon Brown in 2007. The Government wants people to switch to low energy compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) to help meet its climate change targets. A CFL uses a fifth of the energy of a conventional bulb and can save £7 a year in bills. The 100w bulbs being phased out are used in ceiling lights and are Britain's best seller. Last year retailers stopped selling 150w bulbs, while they will phase out 60w bulbs next year. The voluntary ban covers only high street chains and supermarkets; 100w bulbs will still be available from smaller independent stores for a few months. However, the EU will impose a ban on sales of 100w bulbs from September. It will also ban all types of frosted glass incandescent bulbs. Critics say the light from CFLs is harsh and flickery. Medical charities say they can trigger epileptic fits, migraines and skin rashes. Ordinary compact fluorescent lights also do not work properly in dimmer switches. Those with dimmer switches have to buy a specialist dimmable CFL, which costs around £12, or opt for a less efficient halogen light. Peter Hunt, of the industry body the Lighting Association, said the price of dimmable CFL bulbs would fall over the next few years. Dimmable halogen lamps, shaped liked conventional bulbs but which use around 70 per cent of the energy, were also available. 'There's a big problem with preconceptions about light bulbs,' he said. 'In tests, the Energy Saving Trust found that people preferred low energy bulbs.' The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs confirmed that it will have no power to enforce fines or legal proceedings until 2016. The 'voluntary' phase agreed by retailers is set to remain in place until 2012. Tougher measures could then be imposed on retailers who continue to stock traditional bulbs but criminal charges will not be possible until EU mandates are implemented in 2016. Reporter BETH HALE on the great bulb hunt: 'Yes I found some... but it wasn't light work' How many women does it take to change a 100watt bulb? Well, one, of course. But it does depend on whether she can find one. I set off on a quest to illuminate the issue of diminishing supplies. My journey begins in a small branch of Tesco where six-packs of 100w bulbs at £1.21 are on a buy-one-get-one free offer. I could have a dozen bulbs at 10p a piece - if only there wasn't a gaping hole on the shelf. Lightbulb moment! Reporter Beth Hale finds bulbs are still available at a Robert Dyas shop Success: Beth screws in her lightbulb, and she is not alone in stocking up before it's too late Energy saving bulbs are on special offer. But deciphering what bulb to buy is no easy task. In days gone by it was a straightforward process - there was clear or pearl, bayonet or screw cap, and then the wattage, usually 40, 60 or 100. Now there are different wattages, new shapes, information about carbon footprints... What I really want to know is which bulbs can be used with a dimmer switch as most normal low energy lightbulbs aren't compatible with a dimmer. Unfortunately, the only member of staff I find doesn't know. Next I pop into Argos. They too are out of stock. They do have three packs at a store in Victoria and two in Wembley but that's a bit far to go for a lightbulb. I ask an assistant: 'Do you know which one I need, if I have a dimmer switch?' 'I don't know, I thought they all worked,' comes the reply. At a branch of Ryness, the electrical supplies store, the shelves have again been emptied. 'People have been buying boxes and boxes at a time,' says a helpful assistant. If I can wait a few days he does assure me there will be more bulbs in - supplies are still high at the warehouse. The sales assistant is able to offer some help on the dimmer switch issue, pointing out a dimmer-compatible bulb. Unfortunately it's £17.99. At Waitrose a sign tells me there is no stock available and at a bigger branch of Tesco there is another empty space in light bulb corner. At Homebase it's even worse. A sign says the bulbs have been discontinued and a sales assistant tells me it's no longer legal to sell them from this year, which I'm sure isn't actually true. Then I walk into Robert Dyas - and there before me is a whole shelf laden with bulbs, two-packs, four-packs, bayonet or screwcap, enough to light up my small flat and probably the rest of my street. Unfortunately since old-fashioned bulbs are now selling quicker than hot cakes, they probably won't be around for much longer. ||||| EU national representatives voted yesterday (8 December) to phase out energy-guzzling incandescent light bulbs and inefficient halogen bulbs between 2009 and 2012 in an effort to cut greenhouse gas emissions and improve energy security. In October, the Commission unveiled the next batch of ten groups, including such product groups as air-conditioning and ventilating systems as well as food preparation and refrigeration equipment, for which energy standards will be established in the next three years. The first 19 energy-using product groups for which the EU executive wants energy-efficiency standards to be established - including heating equipment, lighting, domestic appliances and electric motors - was selected during a transitional phase after the adoption of the directive in July 2005. Actual measures under the directive are decided by the Commission on a product-by-product basis, under the supervision of a designated panel of EU member-state experts as part of the fast-track 'comitology' procedure. In October 2008, EU energy ministers invited the European Commission to draft a regulation to phase out the sale of all incandescent and poorly-performing light bulbs by 2010. This was to be done within the framework of the Eco-Design Directive, providing performance requirements for energy-using products. The decision taken by a national expert committee endorsed a proposal by the European Commission to switch to more energy-efficient lighting. The Commission estimates that it will allow EU households to reduce their electricity use by 10-15%, saving up to 50 euro a year, a "balanced, realistic figure". There has been concern about the higher costs of more efficient lamps, but a longer lifetime and price reductions expected from more production and lifting of excise duties is expected to render them competitive. "This draft legislation is important not only for the energy savings it offers but for the very symbolic character for the citizen," said French Minister of State for Transport Dominique Bussereau, who chaired the meeting of European transport, telecommunications and energy ministers on Monday. The decision is an implementing measure under the EU's 2005 Eco-Design Directive, which aims to reduce the energy consumption of consumer products running on electricity. "These decisions will confirm the EU's leadership in the transition to a more sustainable energy future," Bussereau commented. According to the conclusions adopted by the energy ministers on Monday, these rules on the energy use and efficiency of consumer items like washing machines and refrigerators should be extended to a range of 'energy-related' items like insulation. If approved by MEPs in the first months of 2009, the 'eco-design' requirements for energy-using products would be updated to include the new product list. The Commission recommended broadening the scope of the directive in its July 2008 strategy on sustainable consumption and production (SCP), part of a wider strategy to 'green' the EU's product line. Scope of the decision The phase-out scheme only covers non-directional lights, emitting light equally in all directions. It also makes exemptions for some technologies, including halogens with specific lamp caps and special purpose incandescent lamps such as traffic lights and infrared lamps. This was justified as ensuring that EU citizens have access to the same standards they are used to while taking care that they do not end up with empty luminaires, which can only take a certain type of lamps. The new directive thus only bans incandescent light bulbs, Thomas Edison's invention, which are now regarded as last-century's technology due to their energy wastage. It sets minimum standards for energy efficiency and functionality. This gives consumers the choice between long-life compact fluorescent lamps yielding up to 75% energy savings compared to incandescent lamps, or efficient halogen lamps, which have the same light quality as traditional bulbs but provide only 25-50% savings. The shift away from incandescent lighting is likely to move light bulb production away from the EU. According to estimates, around 2,000 to 3,000 jobs will become redundant, mainly in Eastern Europe, where Hungary and Poland have big factories. However, the Commission says that that some of these jobs will move to halogen production and savings of five to ten billion euro from energy bills can be injected back into the economy to create new jobs. Today, 85% of lamps in European homes are inefficient in terms of their energy consumption. Many countries are planning to switch off their incandescent lights with US draft legislation in place for a 2014 deadline and plans already decided for countries as diverse as Australia and Cuba. If Europe does not make its move now, "all incandescent lights will end up being dumped into the EU," the Commission warned. | Starting from 2012, energy saving lamps will replace all incandescent lamps in the EU Starting today, it is illegal to manufacture or import 75W in the European Union. The phaseout started last year when 100W light bulbs were outlawed. Bulbs of 60W will be phased out next year, and incandescent lighting of all types will be phased out in 2012. The is part of the EU's strategy to cut by 20% by 2020. Replacing the old lamps with more efficient models is expected to reduce energy consumption for lighting by 60% in the EU, equivalent to saving 30 million tons of CO2 pollution every year. Although were available since 1998, their relatively high purchase price has inhibited take-up. When the decision for the ban was taken in 2008, it was estimated that around 2,000 to 3,000 jobs would become redundant in the light bulb industry, in particular affecting Hungary and Poland. However, the also assumed that halogen production and savings of 5-10 billion euro from energy bills could be injected back into the economy to create new jobs. In its editorial yesterday, the conservative harshly criticized the ban, labelling it a result of "bureaucratic irritation" and a "war on Edison's greatest invention". General criticism of such bans includes panic buying prior to phase-out, environmental impacts of the which is contained in small amounts in all fluorescent lamps, and increased upfront costs for the consumer. Brazil and Venezuela started to phase out incandescent light bulbs in 2005, Switzerland in 2009, while Russia and Canada are planning it for 2012. The United States is scheduled to begin a phaseout similar to the European one from 2012. |
This feature requires the Flash 8 player. Click here to visit the Adobe website and download the latest Flash player. ||||| The date is March 26, 1973. Richard M. Nixon is two months into his second term as President of the United States. The Number One song on the pop charts is Roberta Flack's Killing Me Softly and the novel The Odessa File by Frederick Forsyth tops The New York Times best seller list. William J. Bell, head writer of the popular serial Days of our Lives, has just launched what is to become television's most successful and groundbreaking daytime drama ever - The Young and the Restless - on the CBS Television Network. The continuing drama takes place in the Midwestern town of Genoa City and revolves around the loves, enmities, hopes and fears of its residents. When The Young and the Restless premiered on March 26, 1973, it revolutionized the daytime drama genre with its emphasis on storylines geared to younger audiences, its frank sensuality, sleek production values and use of rock and popular music. The show has also been acclaimed for its socially conscious stories dealing with issues including alcoholism, smoking, breast cancer awareness, sexual harassment, date rape, illiteracy, HIV drug testing, domestic violence, drug addiction, Internet predators and foster care. The Young and the Restless was co-created by the late William J. Bell and his wife, Lee Phillip Bell. They also co-created the CBS daytime drama The Bold and the Beautiful, and Lee was a long-term story consultant on both serials. Their daughter, Lauralee, starred as Christine Blair Williams on The Young and the Restless for many years, while son William J. Bell is President of Bell Dramatic Serial Company and Bell-Phillip TV Productions, Inc. Bradley P. Bell, the Bell's second son, is executive producer and head writer of The Bold and the Beautiful. Truly a legend in the television industry, William Bell enjoyed a 25-year tenure as head writer and senior executive producer of The Young and the Restless -- the longest in the history of daytime drama. He wrote more than 15,000 episodes of daytime drama that aired continuously and without interruption since 1956. He created two of the eight serial dramas that currently constitute the daytime drama lineup and was a writer or head writer for three others. In fact, Bell once worked as head writer on two daytime dramas simultaneously: from 1966-1977 on NBC's Days of our Lives and from 1973-1977 on The Young and the Restless. Bell's writing trademarks have become the standards for the industry -- fascinating and complex characters, intricate relationships, heartfelt romance and sensitive, timely treatments of both serious and controversial social issues and topics. Bell received 10 Emmy Awards, four as a writer for The Young and the Restless, five as the show's producer and one Governor's Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) and the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (ATAS). Bell received the Editor's Award twice from Soap Opera Digest and was one of the inaugural inductees into Soap Opera Weekly's Hall of Fame. Bell and Lee Bell previously received the Nova Award from the Muscular Dystrophy Association. In 2007, Lee Phillip Bell was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 34th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards. More recently, Bell's two current daytime dramas have popularized the soap opera format to audiences in more than 100 countries, introducing a vast and appreciative new audience to the phenomenon of the American daytime drama. In fact, The Young and the Restless has a daily worldwide audience of more than 10 million viewers. In the United States, the broadcast reaches a daily audience of 5.6 million viewers. The show has been the Number One daytime drama, according to the Neilsen rankings, for the past 19 years. It also continues as the Number One rated daytime drama with African-American viewers in the United States since 1991, with an average daily audience of 1.6 million viewers. The Young and the Restless is a hit in international markets, including Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Greece, India, Israel, Italy, the Middle East, New Zealand, Romania, Slovenia, South Africa, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom. The Young and the Restless has been the recipient of numerous awards for artistic merit, program excellence and social responsibility. The show has won 100 Emmy Awards to date, including seven Emmy Awards in the category of Outstanding Daytime Drama. Additional honors include The People's Choice Award for Favorite Daytime Drama and seven NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Daytime Drama, the first daytime drama ever to be honored by the organization. In 1992, CBS dedicated Studio 43 at CBS Television City in Los Angeles to both William J. Bell and to The Young and the Restless. The dedication, in conjunction with the 5000th episode, marked the first time in the history of CBS that a studio has been dedicated to an individual and a series. ||||| 2007 34th Annual Daytime Entertainment Emmy Awards Outstanding Drama Series (tie with "Guiding Light") Outstanding Lead Actor In A Drama Series - Christian LeBlanc Outstanding Younger Actor In A Drama Series - Bryton McClure Outstanding Achievement In Live & Direct To Tape Sound Mixing 2006 33rd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards Outstanding Drama Series Writing Team Outstanding Achievement In Technical Direction/Electronic Camera/Video Control For A Drama Series Outstanding Original Song: "Sunshine" Outstanding Achievement In Music Direction And Composition For A Drama Series Outstanding Achievement In Make-up For A Drama Series 2005 32nd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards Outstanding Lead Actor In A Drama Series - Christian LeBlanc Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Drama Series - Greg Rikaart Outstanding Younger Actor In A Drama Series - David Lago Outstanding Art Direction/Set Decoration/Scenic Design For A Drama Series 2004 31st Annual Daytime Emmy Awards Outstanding Drama Series Outstanding Lead Actress In A Drama Series - Michelle Stafford Outstanding Achievement In Art Direction/Set Decoration/Scenic Design For A Drama Series Outstanding Achievement in Live & Direct To Tape Sound Mixing for a Drama Series Lifetime Achievement Award: Jeanne Cooper 2002 29th Annual Emmy Awards Outstanding Lead Actor In A Drama Series - Peter Bergman Outstanding Drama Series Directing Team Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction/Set Decoration/Scenic Design For A Drama Series Outstanding Achievement In Multiple Camera Editing For A Drama Series 2001 28th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards Outstanding Drama Series Directing Team Outstanding Achievement in Lighting Direction For A Drama Series 2000 27th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards Outstanding Drama Series Writing Team Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Drama Series - Shemar Moore Outstanding Younger Actor In A Drama Series - David Tom Outstanding Younger Actress In A Drama Series - Camryn Grimes Outstanding Achievement in Technical Direction/Electronic Camera/Video Control For A Drama Series Outstanding Achievement In Lighting Direction For A Drama Series Outstanding Achievement In Multiple Camera Editing For A Drama Series 1999 26th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards Outstanding Drama Series Directing Team Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Drama Series - Sharon Case Outstanding Younger Actress In A Drama Series - Heather Tom Outstanding Achievement In Art Direction/Set Decoration/Scenic Design for a Drama Series Outstanding Achievement In Technical Direction/Electronic Camera/Video Control For A Drama Series Outstanding Achievement In Live & Direct To Tape Sound Mixing For A Drama Series 1998 25th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards Outstanding Drama Series Directing Team Outstanding Lead Actor In A Drama Series - Eric Braeden Outstanding Achievement In Art Direction/Set Decoration/Scenic Design For A Drama Series Outstanding Achievement In Technical Direction/Electronic Camera/Video Control For A Drama Series 1997 24th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards Outstanding Drama Series Directing Team Outstanding Drama Series Writing Team Outstanding Lead Actress In A Drama Series - Jess Walton Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Drama Series - Michelle Stafford Outstanding Achievement In Art Direction/Set Decoration/Scenic Design For A Drama Series Outstanding Achievement In Technical Direction/Electronic Camera/Video Control For A Drama Series Outstanding Lighting Direction for a Drama Series 1996 23rd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards Outstanding Drama Series Directing Team 1995 22nd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards Outstanding Achievement In Art Direction/Set Decoration/Scenic Design For A Drama Series 1994 21st Annual Daytime Emmy Awards Outstanding Achievement In Lighting Direction For A Drama Series 1993 20th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards Outstanding Drama Series Outstanding Younger Actress In A Drama Series - Heather Tom Outstanding Achievement In Live And Tape Sound Mixing and Sound Effects For A Drama Series Outstanding Achievement In Costume Design For A Drama Series Outstanding Achievement In Technical Direction/Electronic Camera/Video Control For A Drama Series 1992 19th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards Outstanding Lead Actor In A Drama Series - Peter Bergman Outstanding Younger Actress In A Drama Series - Tricia Cast Outstanding Younger Actor In A Drama Series - Kristoff St. John Outstanding Drama Series Writing Team Outstanding Achievement In Live And Tape Sound Mixing And Sound Effects For A Drama Series Outstanding Achievement In Multiple Camera Editing For A Drama Series 1991 18th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards Outstanding Lead Actor In A Drama Series - Peter Bergman Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Drama Series - Jess Walton Outstanding Achievement In Technical Direction/Electronic Camera/Video Control For A Drama Series Outstanding Achievement In Live And Tape Sound Mixing And Sound Effects For A Drama Series Outstanding Achievement In Videotape Editing For A Drama Series 1990 17th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards Outstanding Achievement In Live And Tape Sound Mixing And Sound Effects For A Drama Series Outstanding Achievement In Videotape Editing For A Drama Series Outstanding Achievement In Makeup For A Drama Series Outstanding Achievement In Technical Direction/Electronic Camera/Video Control For A Drama Series 1989 16th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards Outstanding Achievement In Videotape Editing For A Drama Series Outstanding Drama Series Directing Team Outstanding Achievement In Art Direction/Set Decoration/Scenic Design For A Drama Series Outstanding Achievement In Music Direction And Composition For A Drama Series Outstanding Achievement In Live And Tape Sound Mixing And Sound Effects For A Drama Series 1988 15th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards Outstanding Achievement In Videotape Editing For A Drama Series Outstanding Drama Series Directing Team Outstanding Achievement In Live And Tape Sound Mixing And Sound Effects For A Drama Series 1987 14th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards Outstanding Drama Series Directing Team Outstanding Achievement In Costume Design For A Drama Series Outstanding Achievement In Technical Direction/Electronic Camera/Video Control For A Drama Series Outstanding Achievement In Art Direction/Set Decoration/Scenic Design For A Drama Series Outstanding Achievement In Live And Tape Sound Mixing And Sound Effects For A Drama Series 1986 13th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards Outstanding Drama Series Outstanding Drama Series Directing Team Outstanding Achievement In Live And Tape Sound Mixing And Sound Effects For A Drama Series Outstanding Videotape Editing For A Drama Series 1985 12th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards Outstanding Daytime Drama Series Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Drama Series - Beth Maitland Outstanding Ingenue In A Drama Series - Tracey E. Bregman Outstanding Achievement In Makeup Outstanding Achievement By A Drama Series Technical Team 1984 11th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards Outstanding Achievement In Any Area Of Creative Crafts 1983 10th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards Outstanding Daytime Drama Series 1978 5th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards Outstanding Individual Director For A Daytime Drama Series Outstanding Individual Achievement In Daytime Programming 1975 2nd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards Outstanding Daytime Drama Series Outstanding Individual Director For A Daytime Drama Series 1974 1st Annual Daytime Emmy Awards Outstanding Art Direction Or Scenic Design Outstanding Lighting Direction Lifetime Achievement Awards ( in addition to 100 Emmys total) William J. Bell (1992) Jeanne Cooper (2004) Lee Phillip Bell (2007) ||||| The Young and the Restless premiered on March 26, 1973. Originally a half-hour drama, it was extended to an hour in 1980. The Young and the Restless is broadcast weekdays (12:30-1:30 PM ET; 11:00 AM-12:00 Noon PT) on the CBS Television Network and is produced by Bell Dramatic Serial Company, in association with Sony Pictures Television. The Young and the Restless has been the Number One daytime drama series against regular scheduled programming, according to the Nielsen rankings, since December 1988. Beginning in June, 2001, The Young and the Restless was the first (and only to date) daytime drama to be broadcast in high-definition. The late William J. Bell and his wife, Lee Phillip Bell, co-created the series; he was head writer and senior executive producer. He also co-created Another World (1964 with Irna Phillips) and The Bold and the Beautiful (1987 with Lee Phillip Bell), served as head writer on Days of our Lives (1966-77) and was a writer for Guiding Light (1956) and As the World Turns (1957-66). The Young and the Restless is seen daily by more than 10 million viewers around the world. The U.S. daily audience is 5.6 million. The Young and the Restless international markets include Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Greece, India, Israel, Italy, the Middle East, New Zealand, Romania, Slovenia, South Africa, Switzerland, Turkey and the U.K. The Young and the Restless is currently distributed in nearly 30 foreign countries on five continents through Sony Pictures Television International. The episodes currently aired abroad are not concurrent with the episodes airing in the U.S. and Canada. The Young and the Restless is the top-rated daytime drama (M-F) in France. The Young and the Restless has been the Number One daytime drama among African-American viewers in the United States since 1991, with an average daily audience of approximately 1.6 million viewers. The Young and the Restless has been the recipient of numerous awards for artistic merit and program excellence. "Y&R" is the only daytime drama to receive 100 Daytime Emmy Awards, and has received a total of 334 nominations. "Y&R" has been awarded the Emmy for "Outstanding Daytime Drama" seven times. The Young and the Restless was the winner of the People's Choice Award for Favorite Daytime Drama in 1992 and 1993, and winner of the 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998 and 1999 NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Daytime Drama. The Young and the Restless remains as topical and revolutionary as it has been through 35 years (on March 26, 2008) and more than 8,800 episodes (as of January 2, 2008), entertaining as well as educating its audience daily on a variety of topics, which have included alcoholism, smoking, breast cancer awareness, sexual harassment, date rape, illiteracy, HIV drug testing, domestic violence, drug addiction, Internet predators and foster care. Unlike other fictional soap opera locales, Genoa City, Wisconsin, is a real place. The town is the setting for the popular soap opera The Young and the Restless, although the real and fictional towns are similar only in name. "Y&R" actors who have received stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame include Jeanne Cooper in 1995 (located at 1777 Vine Street) and Eric Braeden in 2007 (located at 7021 Hollywood Boulevard). Actors who got their start on The Young and the Restless and then rose to fame on other television shows or movies include Eva Longoria ("Desperate Housewives"), Tom Selleck, Shemar Moore ("Criminal Minds") and David Hasselhoff. The theme song was written by Barry DeVorzon and Perry Botkin, Jr. and was originally titled "Cotton's Theme" for the 1971 theatrical film "Bless the Beasts and the Children." It is also known as "Nadia's Theme." The Young and the Restless tapes episodes approximately four weeks in advance of the air date in two fully equipped sound stages at CBS Television City in Los Angeles. In 1992, CBS Television City dedicated Studio 43 to William J. Bell, the series co-creator, head writer and senior executive producer and the The Young and the Restless. The dedication, in conjunction with the 5000th episode, marked the first time in the history of CBS Television City that a studio has been dedicated to an individual and a television series. The series currently has approximately 30 stars under contract who belong to the AFTRA union. The Young and the Restless has a staff of approximately 175, including actors, directors, writers, producers and members of the technical and production crews and support staff. The Young and the Restless maintains its production office at CBS Television City, 7800 Beverly Blvd., #3305, Los Angeles, CA 90036. All correspondence and fan mail should be sent to that address. Questions and comments can be sent to yrbb@cbs.com. Official websites are http://www.theyoungandtherestless.com/ and www.cbs.com/daytime/yr. In honor of their 35th anniversary, http://www.theyoungandtherestless.com/ will be hosting a special 35th anniversary mini-site which includes a family tree, classic photos, screensavers, wallpaper, a trivia game and classic clips. 01/08 ||||| The Series is Number One in Viewers, W18-49 and W25-54 This Season Fan Favorite Michael Damian Returns for Several Episodes This week, CBS's THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS celebrates a record 1,000 weeks as the highest rated daytime drama. The series, which first hit Number One more than 19 years ago in December 1988, was the highest rated daytime drama in households (4.2/18) for the 1,000th week in a row for the week of February 25-29, 2008. The program also ranks first in viewers (5.78m), W18-49 (2.0/13) and W25-54 (2.6/16) this season. In addition, the show will celebrate 35 years on the air on March 26, 2008. THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS' 35th anniversary storyline revolves around Restless Style Magazine, a print and web-based magazine run by Nick and Phyllis Newman (Joshua Morrow and Michelle Stafford) and Jack and Sharon Abbott (Peter Bergman and Sharon Case). In the March 26 episode, a launch party is thrown by the magazine during which surprises occur, former favorites return and old rivalries are renewed. Fan favorite Michael Damian, who played "Danny Romalotti" from 1981-1990, 1993-1998 and 2002-2004, returns for several episodes, and actors Eileen Davidson and Lesli Kay cross over from sister show "The Bold and the Beautiful" as their characters attend the Restless Style party. "Reaching the milestones of 1,000 weeks at Number One and 35 years on the air simultaneously is unheard of in this industry, it is a testament to the work of an extraordinary team of storytellers both in front of and behind the cameras," said Barbara Bloom, Senior Vice President, Daytime Programs, CBS. "Our congratulations go out to the Bell Family, to Sony and to the entire cast and crew on these remarkable achievements." "My goal is to continue the tradition started by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell 35 years ago of telling powerful, passionate and romantic stories," said Josh Griffith, Executive Producer and Head Writer of THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS. "I am honored to be working with such an amazing cast and crew who, every day, bring Genoa City to life for the millions of viewers who have made THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS the Number One daytime drama for the past 19 years." "We have had the privilege of working with the most talented group of people, both on the show and at CBS, for the past 35 years. To see everyone at THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS recognized for this incredible achievement of 1,000 weeks at number one is a testament to all of their hard work and to our fans' loyalty to this incredible show," said Steve Kent, Senior Executive Vice President, Programming, Sony Pictures Television. Set in the Midwestern town of Genoa City, Wis., THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS originally premiered in 1973 as a half-hour drama, but was extended to an hour in 1980. The late William J. Bell and his wife, Lee Phillip Bell, co-created the series; he was head writer and senior executive producer. Beginning in June 2001, THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS was the first (and only to date) daytime drama to be broadcast in high-definition. THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS is the only daytime drama to receive 100 Daytime Emmy Awards, and has received a total of 334 nominations. The show has been awarded the Emmy for "Outstanding Daytime Drama" seven times. THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS remains topical and revolutionary, entertaining as well as educating its audience daily on a variety of topics, which have included alcoholism, smoking, breast cancer awareness, sexual harassment, date rape, illiteracy, HIV drug testing, domestic violence, drug addiction, Internet predators and foster care. THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS is broadcast weekdays (12:30-1:30 PM; 11:00 AM-12:00 Noon, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network and is produced by Bell Dramatic Serial Company, in association with Sony Pictures Television. On the Web: www.cbs.com/daytime/yr/ (NOTE TO EDITORS: To download photographic images from THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL, please visit http://www.cbspressexpress.com/) ||||| Y&R; Goes Off the Air -- in Australia Daytime drama series are an increasingly endangered species. With the announcement of Passions' cancellation last week still looming large, Australian soap fans are about to get their own dose of bad news. The top-rated American soap, The Young and the Restless, is about to end its 30-plus-year run on Australian television. The Young and the Restless has been airing on Australia's Channel 9 since 1974, just a little over a year after the show's March 26th, 1973 debut in The States. But even in Australia the soaps are fighting a ratings slump - and Y&R; is about to be replaced by a much cheaper fare: a talk show. Insiders in the Aussie television world hint that comedian Libbi Gorr will assume Y&R;'s 2:00pm timeslot with a talk show entitled "The Catch-Up." The talk show is scheduled to hit the airwaves as early as mid-February. A spokesperson for Channel 9 declined to comment on the possible demise of Y&R;, saying that the network was "looking at updating the schedule, which happens every year." Days of our Lives, which also airs in Australia on Channel 9, is not expected to be affected by the "cancellation" of Y&R.; The Australian cable-and-satellite television company, Foxtel, has picked up the rights to show Y&R; and will begin doing so on April 2nd. While there will be a one-month break between the last episode on Channel Nine and the first episode on Foxtel, a Foxtel rep tells soapcentral.com that there will be no lost episodes. Australian fans will just have to get used to being a month behind -- which is certainly better than having no Y&R; at all! Speaking of "The Catch-Up," in most of the world, American soaps are broadcast several months - sometimes even several years - behind the broadcast dates in The U.S. In 2004, Channel 9 made the decision to get caught up with American audiences. The network aired a program in which they crammed several years' worth of storylines into a two-hour special. EMAIL THIS ARTICLE Send this article to a friend PRINTABLE VERSION View a printer friendly version of this article RELATED INFORMATION News and More: Return to soapcentral.com's Y&R; FrontPage | The Young and the Restless logo The popular American soap opera ''The Young and the Restless'', currently the reigning Emmy Award-winner for best daytime drama, celebrated 35 years on the air Wednesday. The 35th anniversary also comes after the series, known colloquially as ''Y&R'', marked its 1,000th straight week as the highest-rated soap opera in a daytime slot. In addition to keeping the #1 spot every week since December 1988, ''Y&R'' has also been the top-rated soap in the African-American demographic since 1991. A trend-setter since the beginning, ''Y&R'' relied on character-driven storytelling, accentuated with understated sexuality from its cast, which at that time was mostly young, in order to bring in teenage and twentysomething viewers who were ignored by soap producers and networks up to that time. These traits immediately set ''Y&R'' apart from other soap operas, and other soaps have since mimicked '''''s formulaic approach to offering something for everyone, especially younger viewers. Since premiering on March 26, 1973, ''Y&R'' has become a worldwide cultural institution in its own right, racking up an impressive 100 Emmy Awards between the writers, producers, cast and crew since 1974. The show has aired in over 100 countries, including Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, Italy, and Turkey, and reaches a worldwide audience of ten million daily. So far-reaching was '''''s appeal that Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci chose the serial's theme song as accompanying music to her floor exercises at the 1976 Summer Olympics. In Australia, where ''Y&R'' has aired since 1974, the show was canceled by the original network that aired it in 2007, prompting a widespread fan backlash in that country. It was quickly moved to a pay channel. Over the past 35 years, countless characters, marriages, divorces, births, deaths, and every joy and trauma in between have visited the residents of Genoa City, where ''Y&R'' is set. To commemorate the milestone, Mike Halterman from ''Wikinews'' interviewed three actresses who have played long-running characters on ''Y&R'', and asked them to share their memories. All three responded to questions about what being on ''Y&R'' means to them, what their favorite storylines were, what they perhaps would have wanted to do all over again, and what they'd love to tell their fans directly. Below are portions of all three interviews. |
TEHRAN – Seyed Mohammad Mirmohammadi, a member of the Expediency Council, died on Monday morning at Masih-e Daneshavari hospital in Tehran, Tasnim reported. He was 71. Some source have claimed that he has died from the coronavirus disease. However, his family has not confirmed it yet. Mirmohammadi’s mother, the sister of Grand Ayatollah Shobeiri Zanjani, also died in the past few days. Mirmohammadi was the representative of Qom in the parliament. PA/PA ||||| Seyed Mohammad Mir-Mohammadi, a member of Iran’s Expediency Discernment Council, a body that advises Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, died on Monday from coronavirus , Sputnik News reported.Some 66 people have died from coronavirus and over 1,500 have been infected in Iran as of Monday morning, Reuters reported.Several high-ranking officials, including a vice minister, deputy health minister and five lawmakers, have tested positive for the coronavirus."The definite latest numbers we have are 523 new infections and 12 new deaths so the total number of those infected until now is 1501 and the number of deaths is 66," said Iran's Deputy Health Minister, Alireza Raisi.One lawmaker, elected in Iran's February 21 polls, has died of the coronavirus, Iranian media reported last week.Iran's Health Minister Saeed Namaki warned on Friday of "a very difficult week" ahead in the country, which only announced its first infections and deaths from the coronavirus on February 19 and where the death rate among confirmed cases has been around 10%, compared to around 3% elsewhere.Saudi Arabia is now the only Arab Gulf state not to have reported any cases of the coronavirus, which has infected about 80,000 people and killed more than 2,800, mostly in China. ||||| A pedestrian wearing a face mask crosses a street in northern Tehran, Iran, Sunday, March 1, 2020. While the new coronavirus has extended its reach across the world, geographic clusters of infections were emerging, with Iran, Italy and South Korea seeing rising cases. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi) A pedestrian wearing a face mask crosses a street in northern Tehran, Iran, Sunday, March 1, 2020. While the new coronavirus has extended its reach across the world, geographic clusters of infections were emerging, with Iran, Italy and South Korea seeing rising cases. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi) TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — A member of a council that advises Iran’s supreme leader died Monday after falling sick from the new coronavirus, state radio reported, becoming the first top official to succumb to the illness that is affecting members of the Islamic Republic’s leadership. Expediency Council member Mohammad Mirmohammadi died at a Tehran hospital of the virus, state radio said. He was 71. The council advises Khamenei, as well as settles disputes between the supreme leader and parliament. His death comes as other top officials have contracted the virus in Iran, which has the highest death toll in the world after China, the epicenter of the outbreak. Trying to stem the outbreak of the new coronavirus, Iran on Monday held an online-only briefing by its Foreign Ministry as Britain began evacuating nonessential staff and families from the country. Iran has reported 978 confirmed cases of the new virus with 54 deaths from the illness it causes, called COVID-19. Across the wider Mideast, there are over 1,150 cases of the new coronavirus, the majority of which are linked back to Iran. Experts worry Iran’s percentage of deaths to infections, around 5.5%, is much higher than other countries, suggesting the number of infections in Iran may be much higher than current figures show. Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi opened the online news conference addressing the outbreak, dismissing an offer of help for Iran by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Iran and the U.S. have seen some of the worst tensions since its 1979 Islamic Revolution in recent months, culminating in the American drone strike that killed a top Iranian general in Baghdad and a subsequent Iranian ballistic missile counterattack against U.S. forces. “We neither count on such help nor are we ready to accept verbal help,” Mousavi said. He added Iran has always been “suspicious” about America’s intentions and accused the U.S. government of trying to weaken Iranians’ spirits over the outbreak. The British Embassy meanwhile has begun evacuations over the virus. “Essential staff needed to continue critical work will remain,” the British Foreign Office said. “In the event that the situation deteriorates further, the ability of the British Embassy to provide assistance to British nationals from within Iran may be limited.” While Iran has closed schools and universities to stop the spread of the virus, major Shiite shrines have remained open despite civilian authorities calling for them to be closed. The holy cities of Mashhad and Qom in particular, both home to shrines, have been hard-hit by the virus. Shiites often touch and kiss shrines as a sign of their faith. Authorities have been cleaning the shrines with disinfectants. Police have arrested one man who posted a video showing himself licking the metal enclosing the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad, the most-important Shiite saint buried in the country, according to reports by semiofficial news agencies. In the video, the man said he licked the metal to “allow others to visit the shrine with peace of mind.” Meanwhile Monday, the virus outbreak saw itself dragged into the yearslong boycott of Qatar by four Arab nations over a political dispute. A prominent columnist at Dubai’s government-owned Al-Bayan newspaper on Twitter falsely described the virus as being a plot by Qatar to hurt the upcoming Expo 2020 world’s fair in Dubai and Saudi Arabia. Noura al-Moteari later described the tweet as “satire” to The Associated Press after it gained widespread attention. The Dubai Media Office similarly described the tweet as being written in a “cynical style” while distancing the Arabic-language daily from al-Moteari. “Noura is a freelance writer and is not an employee of Al-Bayan nor does she represent the publication’s views,” it told the AP. “That being said, this has no relevance to any social media policy being practiced by the publication nor the state.” The tweet comes after Qatar expressed disappointment Sunday that nearly all of its Gulf neighbors snubbed invitations to attend the weekend peace signing ceremony between the U.S. and the Taliban . ___ Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. ||||| A top adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei died of coronavirus on Monday. Mohammad Mirmohammadi, 71, is among a growing number of government officials to contract the virus. He is the first to die. Iran has logged more deaths than anywhere outside of China, with 54 confirmed fatalities and 978 infections. Some news reports suggest the number is far higher, and that Iran is covering up the true extent of its outbreak. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. A close adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has died of the coronavirus, as the country continues to record a higher death toll than anywhere outside of China. Mohammad Mirmohammadi, 71, died in hospital in Tehran on Monday, The Associated Press (AP) reported, citing Iranian state radio. Mirmohammadi had been a member of Khamenei's Expediency Council since 2017. As of Monday morning, Iran had confirmed 978 infections and 54 deaths. China, which has reported more than 80,000 cases and 3,048 deaths, sent a delegation of experts to Iran to help fight the outbreak. The situation in Iran is cause for concern, according to the AP, as more than half of the 1,150 cases confirmed across the Middle East can be traced back to the country. Iranian women wear protective masks to prevent contracting coronavirus, as they walk in the street in Tehran. Reuters There are also fears that the death toll amd recorded infections are far higher than the official numbers. The actual number of infected could be closer to 23,000, according to researchers at the University of Toronto and Dalla Lana School of Public Health. On Friday, the BBC, citing sources in the country's health system, said the real number of deaths was at least 210. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on said last Tuesday he was "deeply concerned" that Iran "may have suppressed vital details about the outbreak." "All nations, including Iran, should tell the truth about the coronavirus and cooperate with international aid organizations," Pompeo said. Iran has also been criticized for its efforts to combat the outbreak. In this picture released by the office of Iranian supreme leader, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks in a meeting with Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and the country's diplomats in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2015. Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP Major Shiite shrines in two of the country's worst hit areas, Mashhad and Qom, have been kept open, despite calls for their closure. "We have no plan to quarantine any district or any city. We only quarantine individuals," Iran's president Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday, according to BBC Monitoring. The situation worsened significantly since his comments. The World Health Organization said last Monday that the situation in Iran is "deeply concerning." A number of Iranian government officials have contracted this virus, though Mirmohammadi's death is the first amongst them. On Tuesday, Iran's deputy health minister Iraj Harirchi revealed he had contacted the virus. The day before he was seen sweating and looking unwell at a press conference. On Thursday, it was reported that one of Iran's vice presidents, Masoumeh Ebtekar, had contracted the virus. Ebtekar was in a meeting with Rouhani and the Iranian cabinet as recently as Wednesday. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. Reuters As Business Insider's John Haltiwanger reported, Ebtekar is best known as the English-language spokesperson known to the media as "Mary" during the 1979 Iranian hostage crisis, when Iranian students stormed and occupied the US Embassy in Tehran. On Friday, it was announced that Iran's first-ever ambassador to the Vatican, Hadi Khosroshahi, had died of coronavirus at the age of 81. | , a council member of Iranian , died of COVID-19, the government announced yesterday. Mir-Mohammadi was 71 years old. According to the report by , he died at the Masih-e-Daneshavari hospital in the capital city Tehran. File photo of Mohammad Mir-Mohammadi Mir-Mohammadi served as one of the advisors of the . He had served Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in that capacity since 2017. Mir-Mohammadi had previously represented Iran's in the . A few days back, Mir-Mohammadi's mother died after contracting COVID-19, '''' reported. She was sister of . Multiple Iranian government officials including deputy health minister Iraj Harirchi and vice president of women and family affairs had also contracted COVID-19. Offering his condolence, speaker of the parliament wrote on : Ali Reza Raisi, speaking for the country's Health Ministry, reported yesterday, "The definite latest numbers we have are 523 new infections and 12 new deaths so the total number of those infected until now is 1501 and the number of deaths is 66". According to Johns Hopkins Center for Systems Science and Engineering late today, 291 patients have recovered from the virus in Iran. |
Plane crashes in Jo'burg 18/12/2006 21:23 - (SA) Johannesburg - The pilot of a light aircraft was killed when he flew into a block of flats in Yeoville in central Johannesburg on Monday night, said Johannesburg emergency services. Divisional commander Malcolm Midgley said the plane, believed to be a Piper Cherokee 140, crashed into the basement of the four-storey building at the corner of Harley and Hendon streets around 21:00 during a thunderstorm. Midgley said the pilot, who was believed to be the only person on the plane, was killed on impact. Nobody on the ground was injured, although the occupant of the flat which was hit was shaken. "You can imagine an aeroplane landing in your bedroom..," said Midgley. It is not yet known where the plane was coming from or going to, but Midgley said it appeared to be on course for the Lanseria airport area in northern Johannesburg. News24 is now available on your cellphone. Sign up and win a Samsung phone! ||||| The pilot of a light aircraft was killed when he flew into a block of flats in Yeoville, in central Johannesburg, during a storm on Monday night, said Johannesburg emergency services personnel. Divisional commander Malcolm Midgley said from the scene that the plane, believed to be a Piper Cherokee 140, crashed into the basement of the four-storey building at the corner of Harley and Hendon streets at about 9pm during a heavy thunderstorm. Midgley said the pilot, who was believed to be the only person in the plane, was killed on impact. Nobody on the ground was injured although the occupant of the flat which was hit was shaken. 'You can imagine an aeroplane landing in your bedroom' "You can imagine an aeroplane landing in your bedroom..." said Midgley. Emergency services personnel rushed to the scene and blocked off the building from crowds of curious onlookers. Chief Superintendent Wayne Minnaar of the Johannesburg Metro Police said at the scene that the plane was believed to have come from the south of Johannesburg, over the watertower in the Yeoville area before crashing. Police suspect the heavy storm caused the crash. Residents were asleep in the building when the plane crashed into it. "I was sleeping and I heard the crash," said one resident, a man who did not want to be named. It is not yet known where the plane was coming from or going to, but Midgley said it appeared to be on course for the Lanseria International Airport area in northern Johannesburg. Officials at Lanseria would not comment. Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) accident investigator Frank Masoga said he was driving through heavy rain to get to the scene on Monday night. CAA spokesperson Phindiwe Gwebu said the aircraft was reported to the CAA to have been a helicopter, registration ELU. "The cause of the accident is still unknown but bad weather is suspected to have contributed to the accident." Sergeant Sanku Tsunke said from the scene that witnesses said it had been raining heavily when the aircraft crashed. - Sapa | During a heavy thunderstorm at around 19:00 GMT, a plane crashed into a block of flats in the suburb of Yeoville in Johannesburg. The pilot was killed on impact. No one on the ground was injured. The plane is believed to be a Piper Cherokee 140 that was probably heading towards Lanseria Airport. |
Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play. Advertisement The president of Mongolia has declared a four-day state of emergency in the capital amid violent protests over claims the general election was rigged. Crowds torched the HQ of Mongolia's governing party - the former Communists - and attacked a police station. Over 60 people were hurt - around half of them police - as officers used tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannon against stone-throwing protestors. The unrest went on into the night, with reports of bank robberies and looting. Rioters set fire to the Cultural Palace, home to a theatre, museum and national art gallery in the capital, Ulan Bator. 'Robbed of victory' Thousand of protesters defied a 2200 curfew by refusing to disperse. The unrest far surpasses previous poll disorder in Mongolia Violence erupted as preliminary results from Sunday's poll give the governing Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP) a clear victory. Returns suggested the ruling MPRP had taken at least 43 seats in the 76-seat parliament, or Great Hural. But the opposition Democrats allege fraud. The state of emergency, which was announced in a decree from President Nambaryn Enkhbayar on state TV, came into effect late on Tuesday. Prime Minister Sanjagiin Bayar made a TV address during which he insisted the election had been both free and fair. He claimed Democratic Party leader Tsakhia Elbegdorj was "misleading people and inciting violence". Mr Elbegdorj earlier said the Democrats had been robbed of victory and claimed most voters had chosen his party. "If most people voted for us why did we lose? We lost because... corrupt people changed the results," Mr Elbegdorj said. Competing for resources Mongolia's government used to be modelled on the Communist system of the neighbouring Soviet Union, until 1990 when multi-party politics were introduced. With an economy based on nomadic herding, Mongolia was heavily reliant on support from Moscow, but when this was withdrawn its financial systems quickly collapsed. During the difficult intervening period, the former Communists, the MPRP, and the emergent Democratic Party have competed for power. Four years ago, they were obliged to form a coalition, but in 2006 they broke apart again acrimoniously. Since then the MPRP has hung on to power through alliances with splinter parties. Despite years of political unease, politics in Mongolia was relatively calm as long as the country was poor, the BBC's David Bamford says. But that has changed, as recently unearthed deposits of copper, gold and coal in the vast Mongolian plateau start to be exploited, our correspondent says. Have you been caught up in events? Are you in the area? If you have any information you would like to share with the BBC you can do so using the form below: You can send pictures and video to: yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to >+44 7725 100 100. If you have a large file you can upload here. Click here to see terms and conditions At no time should you endanger yourself or others, take any unnecessary risks or infringe any laws. Name: Email address: Town and Country: Phone number (optional): Comments: The BBC may edit your comments and cannot guarantee that all emails will be published. E-mail this to a friend Printable version Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? ||||| ULAN BATOR, July 2 (Reuters) - Five people were killed and more than 300 injured in a riot in Mongolia's capital, among people alleging fraud in a weekend election, the country's justice minister said on Wednesday.At least one foreigner, a Japanese citizen, was among those injured, the minister told a news conference. Some 700 people were detained for their part in the violence, which led to the president declaring a state of emergency. (Reporting by Irja Halasz, writing by Lindsay Beck, editing by Benjamin Kang Lim) ||||| Search Нүүр Бидний тухай Холбоо барих Үндсэн цэс Нүүр Мэдээ, мэдээлэл Сонгуулийн тухай Нэр дэвшигчид Нам эвсэлүүд Монгол Улсын Ерөнхийлөгч Н.Энхбаярын “Онц байдал тогтоох тухай” зарлигийн дэлгэрэнгүй Өгүүллүүдийн гарчиг руу очих Монгол Улсын Ерөнхийлөгч Н.Энхбаярын “Онц байдал тогтоох тухай” зарлигийн дэлгэрэнгүй Хуудас 2 Хуудас 1 - 2 “Онц байдал тогтоох тухай” Монгол Улсын Ерөнхийлөгч Н.Энхбаяр “Онц байдал тогтоох тухай” Зарлиг гаргалаа. Уг зарлигт “2008 оны 7 дугаар сарын 1-ний өдөр нийслэлийн Сүхбаатар дүүргийн нутаг дэвсгэрт бүлэг хүмүүсийн хүч хэрэглэсэн хууль бус үйл ажиллагааны улмаас нийтийн эмх замбараагүй байдал үүсч, хууль сахиулах байгууллагын ажилтнуудад халдан амь насанд нь заналхийлж, эд хөрөнгө устгах, галдан шатаах үйл ажиллагаа даамжирч нийтийн эмх замбараагүй байдал бий болсон тул энэхүү онцгой нөхцөл, үр дагаврыг арилгах , хүн ам, нийгмийн амьдралыг хэвийн болгох зорилгоор Монгол Улсын Үндсэн хуулийн 33 дугаар зүйлийн 1 дэх хэсгийн 12-т заасан бүрэн эрхийнхээ дагуу, Онц байдлын тухай хуулийн 5 дугаар зүйлийн 3, 6 дахь хэсгүүдийг баримтлан нийслэл Улаанбаатар хотын нутаг дэвсгэрт 2008 оны 7 дугаар сарын 01-ний 24.00 цагаас эхлэн 4 хоногийн хугацаанд онц байдал зарласугай. Онц байдлыг зарласан хугацаанд дараахь арга хэмжээ авч хэрэгжүүлсүгэй: 1.Улсын онц чухал болон хүн амын амьжиргааны хангамжийн объектуудыг хүч нэмэгдүүлэн хамгаалах, 2.Хууль тогтоомж зөрчиж зохион байгуулсан жагсаал, цуглаан, олон нийтийн бусад арга хэмжээг хуульд заасан арга, хүч хэрэгслээр шууд албадан тараах, 3.Улаанбаатар хотын төвийн хэсэгт тээврийн хэрэгслийн хөдөлгөөнийг хязгаарлах, тэдгээрт үзлэг хийх, 4.Нийтийн эмх замбараагүй байдал бий болгож хүч хэрэглэсэн үйл ажиллагаа явуулсан буюу явуулж байгаа бүлэг хүмүүсийг албадан тараах, албадан саатуулах, тэдгээрийн зэвсэг, техник хэрэгслийг хураан авах, 5.Улаанбаатар хотын төвийн хэсэг/ Бага тойруу/ 22.00- 08.00 цагийн хооронд хөл хорьж, зөрчсөн этгээдийг цагдаа буюу цэргийн эргүүл хөл хорих цаг дуустал, иргэний үнэмлэх, түүнтэй адилтгах баримт бичиггүй бол хэн болохыг нь тогтоох хүртэл, гэхдээ 72 цагаас илүүгүй хугацаагаар албадан саатуулах, 6. Дуу авиаг чангаруулах техник хэрэгслийн ашиглалтыг хориглох, шаардлагатай бол түр хураан авах, Үндэсний олон нийтийн радио телевизээс бусад телевизийн үйл ажиллагааг онцгой байдлыг цуцлах хүртэл зогсоох, 7.Согтууруулах ундааны зүйл худалдах, тараахыг хориглох, 8.Иргэдийн эзэмшилд байгаа галт болон хүйтэн зэвсэг, галт хэрэгсэл, аж ахуйн нэгж, байгууллагын үйлдвэрлэлийн технологид хэрэглэдэг тэсэрч дэлбэрэх, хүчтэй үйлчлэх химийн хорт болон цацраг идэвхт бодис, сургалтын зориулалттай байлдааны зэвсэг, техник хэрэгслийн ашиглалтад хяналт тогтоох. 9.Энэхүү зарлигийг хэрэгжүүлэхэд шаардагдах арга хэмжээг Онц байдлын тухай хууль болон бусад хуулийн хүрээнд холбогдох байгууллагуудын хүч хэрэгслийг дайчлан удирдан зохион байгуулж ажиллахыг Хууль зүй дотоод хэргийн сайд /Ц.Мөнх-Оргил/-д үүрэг болгосугай.” гэжээ. Онц байдал тогтоосонтой холбогдуулан өнөөдрөөс хотын төв хэсэг рүү тээврийн хэрэгсэл оруулахгүй байна. Зарим нэг тойрог дээр танк бэлэн байдалд байрлуулсан байна. Одоогийн байдлаар Улаанбаатарт ямар нэгэн үймээн самуун гарах зүйлгүй, өндөржүүлсэн бэлэн байдалтай байна. Ингээд холбогдох байгууллагуудаас ард иргэдийг онцын шаардлагагүй бол 22.00 цагаас хойш гадагш гарахгүй байхыг анхааруулж байна. 1. Бичсэн AN mandtugau, on 02-07-2008 11:56 enhbayr muu awilgach uil laigaa edleh chini ene 2. Бичсэн Энэ имэйл хаяг нь spam bot-оос хамгаалагдсан тул үзэхийн тулд Javascript-ийг зөвшөөрөх хэрэгтэй. , on 02-07-2008 15:07 onts baidal togtooson ni mash zov engiin ard irged bidend haldahiig ygyisgehgyi ezediig ni olj hariutslaga hyleelgetel onts bdaliig heveer ni bailgah hyseltei bna tanhaichuud end mash iheer yavj bna 3. Бичсэн IRGEN, on 02-07-2008 17:46 Onts baidliig arai erthen zarlasan bol humuusiin ami ersdehgui ch baisan yum biluu gej bodoh yum.Tor tomor nuuree ene ued gargaj uvaigui humuust uhamsriin shanaa ogoh heregtei.Huuli gej baidag bol jagsaal nereer busarmag uil yavdal hiigshded eruu uusgeh heregtei.Ardchillaar bambai hiij ard tumnii neriig barij niigemd emh zambaraagui baidal gargagchdiig barij horih ni zov.Elbegdorj bol turhiragch mon. 4. Onts baidal bol analgin Бичсэн Энэ имэйл хаяг нь spam bot-оос хамгаалагдсан тул үзэхийн тулд Javascript-ийг зөвшөөрөх хэрэгтэй. , on 02-07-2008 23:14 uvduj bgaa shudend analgin zuuhaar heseghen namdaad dahin buur ch huchtei uvddug sh dee. HU NAM mongolchuudiin shudiig ih uvtguj bn daa. Muusain avilgachdiig shorond hataaval taarna 5. Fucking MAXH Бичсэн Bat, on 03-07-2008 08:46 hey Enhbayar aaa MAXH-iig shinechlmeer ymaa....arai denduu baina ta nariig zasgiin erhed baihad ard tumnii amidral doriodson uu gehees bish deerdeegui....Odoo bol MAXH bolon Enhbayar-iig demjihgui......FUCKING ASSHOLE ENHBAYAR!!!!!!!!!!!!! 6. gants namiin togtoltsoo togtoj baina !!! Бичсэн Bulguun, on 03-07-2008 08:51 ard tumen zugeer taivan zamaar shudarga songuuliig husej baigaa malnuudaa.....ard tumnii durguig ih hurgevel yu boldgiig medne biz dee....Enhbayar-aa.....odoo chi Mongoliin ard tumend ymar ch ner hundgui bolson ireh eronhiilogchiin songuulaas hoij chi good bye bolno.... 7. Mogolchuud min, on 03-07-2008 10:10 Бичсэн, on 03-07-2008 10:10 MAXHamiig demjigch nar ta buhendyamar ch buruu bhgui ee. Ta nar bol uuriin erhee edelj bgaa uls.Zarim neg ni mungu alban tushaal harj tus namd bgaad bgaag ch usuisgehgui, Gehdee ta buhen huvia bodolgui ulsaa bodoj bolj bgaa uil yavdliig tungaagaarai. Ur huuhed ireedyigee haraarai. Iim hotsrogdson buzar niigmeer hoich ue min yah yum be? Mongol tsus mongol saihan setgelee hugjij bui bolovsrol soyoltoi hosluulj hamgiin gol ni bid ch gesen evtei bh ni huhal shuu dee. Ter darga shunaltanguudiin tuluu Mongol uls hagarah Mongol hun hoorondoo tsus gargaj bolohgui biz de. Maxn uneheer yalzarsan zaluusiig heel hahuuli, alban tushaal sadar samuund oruulsan uudgui bodlogo yavagdaad bgaa il bgaa biz de. Udur tutam iim jishee garch bgaa unen shtee. Boliil do 8. bodoltoi baiya Mongolchuudaa Бичсэн sam, on 03-07-2008 10:29 Yaharaa hevlel medeelliin uil a/gaag zogsooj bgaan? HU nam buzar uildlee ilchilchine gej sanaa ovoo yu? Ali ch namiin bai Mongol humuus min hoorondoo bitgii muudaarai. Jagsaal hiisen humuus ch mongol humuus shuu de bidnii neg. Getel yagaad tedniig arhichin bolovsrolguigeer duudaj bgaan Tertei tergui bid tsuuhuulee. Yadarch bgaa negendee tusaldag Mongol zan ZADARCH BGAA NEGEND DOLIGNODOG HUJAA zangaar soligdoh yosgyi biz de. Tsaana chin bidng alaltsaj bhad hujaa nar bayarlaad ezleh geed suuj bgaa. HU nam HUJAA 2 ih sujireed bgaa uuniig huseed bgaa yum bolov uu? Tedend mungu bgaa MONGOLOO gesen stgel bhgui yum shig bna. Manai ulsiin erunhiilugch MONGOL hun mun bj magad gehdee hujaad hudaldagdsan bhaa. 9. bodoltoi baiya Mongolchuudaa Бичсэн sam, on 03-07-2008 10:30 Yaharaa hevlel medeelliin uil a/gaag zogsooj bgaan? HU nam buzar uildlee ilchilchine gej sanaa ovoo yu? Ali ch namiin bai Mongol humuus min hoorondoo bitgii muudaarai. Jagsaal hiisen humuus ch mongol humuus shuu de bidnii neg. Getel yagaad tedniig arhichin bolovsrolguigeer duudaj bgaan Tertei tergui bid tsuuhuulee. Yadarch bgaa negendee tusaldag Mongol zan ZADARCH BGAA NEGEND DOLIGNODOG HUJAA zangaar soligdoh yosgyi biz de. Tsaana chin bidng alaltsaj bhad hujaa nar bayarlaad ezleh geed suuj bgaa. HU nam HUJAA 2 ih sujireed bgaa uuniig huseed bgaa yum bolov uu? Tedend mungu bgaa MONGOLOO gesen stgel bhgui yum shig bna. Manai ulsiin erunhiilugch MONGOL hun mun bj magad gehdee hujaad hudaldagdsan bhaa. 10. Бичсэн SOKO, on 03-07-2008 11:51 Hevlel medeelliin heregsliig tur haah ni zov yum.Tegehgui bol ali neg TV neg namiig heterhii muulj nogoog ni het ih magtah tuilshrah handlaga haragddag.Humuusiin setgel sanaag yanz buriin hudal medeelleer uimuuleh hereggui yum.Tiimees humuusiin setgel sanaag taivshirtal hevlel medeelliin heregsliig tur haah ni zov gesen bodoltoi baina daa.Harin Zam haadag ni hundreltei yumaa.Sagsuu zaluusiig hoorogdson humuus ih omgoolj yarih yum.Dahin uimeen samuun buu garaasai.Etssiin etsest ard tumen bid hohirol amsana snuu dee.HU Namiin bair ch gesen ard tumnii omch horongoor barigdsan.Tuuniig dahin sergeehed bas l ard bidnii halaasnaas mongo garna gedgiig oilgohgui baina gejuu.Uujuu uhaan gargatsgaa humuus mini.Evlevel butehgui zuil baihgui.Evdreltsneeree gadaad dotoodiin humuusiin zuush hel amnii bai boloh bishuu..Saitar bodoh l heregtei shuu....... < Өмнөх Дараахь > Буцах | A four-day state of emergency has been declared in the capital of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar after violent protests occurred after allegations of vote rigging and fraud in Sunday's elections. Reports state that 5 people have been killed, and over 300 injured. The injured were police and protesters alike, suffering from smoke poisoning, rubber bullets, and stoning. Among the injured was a Japanese citizen, who was reportedly flown to Japan in the morning. President Nambaryn Enkhbayar declared a state of emergency. Peaceful protests began on Monday evening, however, they were dispersed in the night. The protests on Tuesday began peacefully on Sukhbaatar Square, however as they moved toward the headquarters of ruling party Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party, they were joined by many more people, who began attacking the building with stones, knocking out the windows. Riot police were deployed, and as the protests escalated with protesters setting the building on fire with alcoholic beverages and petrol, they reacted with tear gas and rubber bullets. As the Party Headquarters was almost completely set ablaze, the protesters began looting the vicinity, with reports of bank robberies. A wooden extension to the nearby Culture Palace, also known as the Art Gallery, also caught fire, with many priceless artifacts either looted or damaged by fire and water. As the police and army were deployed, about 700 protesters were detained. In the aftermath, a four-day state of emergency was declared in Ulaanbaatar by President Nambaryn Enkhbayar. Measures include: *All protests or demonstrations are banned *The city center will be sealed off, with a curfew between 10pm and 8am *All TV channels and radios except the Mongolian National Broadcaster will be temporarily shut down. *No alcohol will be sold or consumed. *Use of weapons or any object capable of causing bodily harm will be banned. Preliminary election results indicated that the MPRP had a clear majority in parliament. Police chief said on the state TV that the situation is now under control, but it should be necessary to leave armored vehicles and the troops on their current positions in the capital. An emergency session of parliament also began at around 18:00 Local Time (July 2), however the session was closed to the media by vote, with the basis of high levels of tension erupting in case of disagreements during the session. All TV channels have been cut off except for the Mongolian National Broadcaster. However some, like Eagle TV, and other internet-based news sites have been reporting on the Internet. A video on their site shows interviews with citizens claiming that their relatives have been detained while coming home from work, although having no part in the protests. The interviewees also allege that the investigators are brutally detaining them. The Government has made no reports about this. The four days of emergency rule will be the first in the history of Mongolia. |
Clottey won by unanimous decision after the fight was halted Ghana's Joshua Clottey beat American Zab Judah after nine rounds to win the IBF welterweight title in Las Vegas. The fight ended after Judah said he could not see because of a cut above his right eye. Referee Robert Byrd had ruled the cut was caused by an accidental clash of heads, so the result was then decided by the scorecards. Two of the judges scored it 86-85 for Clottey and the other scored it 87-84 for the African fighter. Afterwards, Clottey said he was "very hopeful" of meeting WBA champion Antonio Margarito, who knocked out Miguel Cotto last week, in his next bout. In 2006, Clottey lost a close decision to Margarito in a fight he was winning until he broke a knuckle in his right hand in the fifth round. On Saturday, Judah began the busier fighter, showing fast hands and throwing effective combinations behind a stinging southpaw jab. However, Clottey kept a tight defence and blocked many of Judah's punches on his arms and gloves. Clottey began steadily closing the distance between himself and his opponent from the third round, landing an increasing number of heavy blows that took their toll on the New York fighter. And although Judah staged a comeback in the sixth, circling Clottey and landing flurries, his output dropped in the seventh and his right eye began to swell in the eighth. Clottey appeared to be dominating the ninth round when the bout was stopped. ||||| Joshua Clottey beats Zab Judah to win vacant IBF welterweight belt LAS VEGAS — Joshua Clottey and Antonio Margarito certainly know what it's liked to be ducked and dodged by the best fighters in their division. They also know that they'd better take advantage of their precious few opportunities. A week after Margarito stopped Miguel Cotto for the WBA title in one of the best fights of the year, Clottey captured the vacant IBF welterweight championship Saturday night with a ninth-round stoppage over Zab Judah. Clottey (35-2) connected with a right hand to Judah's left eye in the ninth round that immediately sent blood rushing down his face. Ringside physician Dr. James Game examined Judah, who claimed he couldn't see, and the fight was called at the 1:22 mark. Clottey was ahead 86-85 on two of the judges' scorecards and 87-84 on the other. "He really hit with a lot of uppercuts, but I never felt anything," Clottey said. "He never hurt me, trust me. In my boxing life, nobody has hurt me." The decision left the roughly 1,800 fans in an uproar. The confident Judah, despite being dominated through parts of the earlier rounds, had landed several combinations in the seventh and eighth and seemed to have momentum on his side. "This just hurts, man. Everyone here knows who won," said Judah, who has struggled to shake the perception that he's never lived up to his potential. "Zab Judah is the peoples' champion." Game examined Judah after the punch and said the battered fighter failed numerous eye tests. It was initially ruled an accidental head butt, but replays clearly showed Clottey landing a hard right hand. "He couldn't identify two or three fingers three times," Games said. It was just the third title shot for Clottey, who lost a bizarre disqualification to Carlos Baldomir in 1999 and a unanimous decision to Margarito two years ago, after Clottey broke both of his hands in a fight he appeared to be dominating. Clottey has won six straight since then, building up name recognition that could help him land a unification fight with Margarito. "The promoters are the ones you need to ask," Clottey said of a potential rematch. "Whatever they say I will accept." It certainly seems like a strong possibility after Margarito's bloody victory over the previously unbeaten Cotto. There's an outside chance that Margarito could fight Oscar De La Hoya in the Golden Boy's farewell bout, but it's more likely that he'll be ducked - again. "If I fight Antonio again it would be a different story," Clottey said, "because I am a better fighter." The 30-year-old Judah (36-6) was attempting a comeback after his career was derailed by a string of losses and a one-year suspension by the Nevada Athletic Commission for hitting Floyd Mayweather Jr. under the belt in a 2006 bout that started a melee between the two camps. He also has a checkered history with Clottey. Judah claims he sparred with Clottey at the famed Gleason's Gym in Brooklyn several years ago, but Clottey insists it was his brother, Emmanuel, who worked out with Judah. Joshua Clottey also says Judah offered him US$2,500 to spar four years ago, but he angrily turned it down in a dispute that spilled into the streets. When the two finally met in the ring Saturday night, Clottey showed more aggressiveness early. He rocked Judah with an uppercut a few seconds in that caused Judah to lose his balance, and by the end of the round, Judah had blood running down his nose from the relentless jabs that he couldn't fend off. Judah responded with solid combinations in the middle rounds, the fight turning into an entertaining back-and-forth affair. One that Judah thinks shouldn't have been stopped. "I sacrificed myself for this camp and did my best," Judah said. "He thought I was going to break down, but I didn't. I went ahead and did my best." | Boxer Joshua Clottey of Ghana is the new International Boxing Federation welterweight champion. He beat Zab Judah of the United States Saturday night in Las Vegas, Nevada after the fight was stopped in the ninth round. The IBF title was vacant ahead of this fight. Clottey won by a technical knockout after Judah was declared vision impaired. Judah had suffered a cut above his right eye, which was ruled an accidental headbutt by referee Robert Byrd. Boxing analysts, however, say replays show it was caused by a punch. Since it was past the eight round, the rules of the fight called for a decision from the ringside judges. Clottey was declared the winner 86-85 according to two judges and 87-84 by the third judge's card. Clottey has had two previous title attempts. One ended with what the The Canadian Press calls a "bizarre disqualification" to Carlos Manuel Baldomir in 1999. The other was a unanimous point defeat to current World Boxing Association champion, Antonio Margarito after he broke his right hand in the fifth round. |
UN and women MPs say Karzai bowed to Islamic fundamentalists before poll By Jerome Starkey in Kabul Afghanistan's President, Hamid Karzai, has signed a law which "legalises" rape, women's groups and the United Nations warn. Critics claim the president helped rush the bill through parliament in a bid to appease Islamic fundamentalists ahead of elections in August. In a massive blow for women's rights, the new Shia Family Law negates the need for sexual consent between married couples, tacitly approves child marriage and restricts a woman's right to leave the home, according to UN papers seen by The Independent. "It is one of the worst bills passed by the parliament this century," fumed Shinkai Karokhail, a woman MP who campaigned against the legislation. "It is totally against women's rights. This law makes women more vulnerable." Related articles US and Iran meet at Afghan conference The law regulates personal matters like marriage, divorce, inheritance and sexual relations among Afghanistan's minority Shia community. "It's about votes," Ms Karokhail added. "Karzai is in a hurry to appease the Shia because the elections are on the way." The provisions are reminiscent of the hardline Taliban regime, which banned women from leaving their homes without a male relative. But in a sign of Afghanistan's faltering steps towards gender equality, politicians who opposed it have been threatened. "There are moderate views among the Shia, but unfortunately our MPs, the people who draft the laws, rely on extremists," Ms Karokhail said. The bill lay dormant for more than a year, but in February it was rushed through parliament as President Karzai sought allies in a constitutional row over the upcoming election. Senator Humeira Namati claimed it wasn't even read out in the Upper House, let alone debated, before it was passed to the Supreme Court. "They accused me of being an unbeliever," she said. Details of the law emerged after Mr Karzai was endorsed by Afghanistan's Supreme Court to stay in power until elections scheduled in August. Some MPs claimed President Karzai was under pressure from Iran, which maintains a close relationship with Afghanistan's Shias. The most controversial parts of the law deal explicitly with sexual relations. Article 132 requires women to obey their husband's sexual demands and stipulates that a man can expect to have sex with his wife at least "once every four nights" when travelling, unless they are ill. The law also gives men preferential inheritance rights, easier access to divorce, and priority in court. A report by the United Nations Development Fund for Women, Unifem, warned: "Article 132 legalises the rape of a wife by her husband". Most of Afghanistan's Shias are ethnic Hazaras, descended from Genghis Khan's Mongol army which swept through the entire region around 700 years ago. They are Afghanistan's third largest ethnic group, and potential kingmakers, because their leaders will likely back a mainstream candidate. Even the law's sponsors admit Mr Karzai rushed it through to win their votes. Ustad Mohammad Akbari, a prominent Shia political leader, said: "It's electioneering. Most of the Hazara people are unhappy with Mr Karzai." A British Embassy spokesman said diplomats had raised concerns "at a senior level". ||||| Hamid Karzai has been accused of trying to win votes in Afghanistan's presidential election by backing a law the UN says legalises rape within marriage and bans wives from stepping outside their homes without their husbands' permission. The Afghan president signed the law earlier this month, despite condemnation by human rights activists and some MPs that it flouts the constitution's equal rights provisions. The final document has not been published, but the law is believed to contain articles that rule women cannot leave the house without their husbands' permission, that they can only seek work, education or visit the doctor with their husbands' permission, and that they cannot refuse their husband sex. A briefing document prepared by the United Nations Development Fund for Women also warns that the law grants custody of children to fathers and grandfathers only. Senator Humaira Namati, a member of the upper house of the Afghan parliament, said the law was "worse than during the Taliban". "Anyone who spoke out was accused of being against Islam," she said. The Afghan constitution allows for Shias, who are thought to represent about 10% of the population, to have a separate family law based on traditional Shia jurisprudence. But the constitution and various international treaties signed by Afghanistan guarantee equal rights for women. Shinkai Zahine Karokhail, like other female parliamentarians, complained that after an initial deal the law was passed with unprecedented speed and limited debate. "They wanted to pass it almost like a secret negotiation," she said. "There were lots of things that we wanted to change, but they didn't want to discuss it because Karzai wants to please the Shia before the election." Although the ministry of justice confirmed the bill was signed by Karzai at some point this month, there is confusion about the full contents of the final law, which human rights activists have struggled to obtain a copy of. The justice ministry said the law would not be published until various "technical problems" had been ironed out. After seven years leading Afghanistan, Karzai is increasingly unpopular at home and abroad and the presidential election in August is expected to be extremely closely fought. A western diplomat said the law represented a "big tick in the box" for the powerful council of Shia clerics. Leaders of the Hazara minority, which is regarded as the most important bloc of swing voters in the election, also demanded the new law. Ustad Mohammad Akbari, an MP and the leader of a Hazara political party, said the president had supported the law in order to curry favour among the Hazaras. But he said the law actually protected women's rights. "Men and women have equal rights under Islam but there are differences in the way men and women are created. Men are stronger and women are a little bit weaker; even in the west you do not see women working as firefighters." Akbari said the law gave a woman the right to refuse sexual intercourse with her husband if she was unwell or had another reasonable "excuse". And he said a woman would not be obliged to remain in her house if an emergency forced her to leave without permission. The international community has so far shied away from publicly questioning such a politically sensitive issue. "It is going to be tricky to change because it gets us into territory of being accused of not respecting Afghan culture, which is always difficult," a western diplomat in Kabul admitted. Soraya Sobhrang, the head of women's affairs at the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, said western silence had been "disastrous for women's rights in Afghanistan". "What the international community has done is really shameful. If they had got more involved in the process when it was discussed in parliament we could have stopped it. Because of the election I am not sure we can change it now. It's too late for that." But another senior western diplomat said foreign embassies would intervene when the law is finally published. Some female politicians have taken a more pragmatic stance, saying their fight in parliament's lower house succeeded in improving the law, including raising the original proposed marriage age of girls from nine to 16 and removing completely provisions for temporary marriages. "It's not really 100% perfect, but compared to the earlier drafts it's a huge improvement," said Shukria Barakzai, an MP. "Before this was passed family issues were decided by customary law, so this is a big improvement." Karzai's spokesman declined to comment on the new law. ||||| Photo: AFP/GETTY The law, which has not been publicly released, is believed to state women can only seek work, education or doctor's appointments with their husband's permission. Only fathers and grandfathers are granted custody of children under the law, according to the United Nations Development Fund for Women. Opponents of the legislation governing the personal lives of Afghanistan's Shia minority have said it is "worse than during the Taliban". Mr Karzai has been accused of electioneering at the expense of women's rights by signing the law to appeal to crucial Shia swing voters in this year's presidential poll. While the Afghan constitution guarantees equal rights for women, it also allows the Shia community, thought to represent 10 per cent of the population, the right to settle family law cases according to Shia law. The Shiite Personal Status Law contains provisions on marriage, divorce, inheritance, rights of movement and bankruptcy. The bill passed both houses of the Afghan parliament, but was so contentious that the United Nations and women's rights campaigners have so far been unable to see a copy of the approved bill. Shinkai Zahine Karokhail, a female MP, said the law had been rushed through with little debate. She told the Guardian newspaper: "They wanted to pass it almost like a secret negotiation, "There were lots of things that we wanted to change, but they didn't want to discuss it because Karzai wants to please the Shia before the election." The Afghan justice ministry confirmed the law had been signed, but said it would not be published until technical difficulties had been overcome. A spokesman for President Hamid Karzai would not comment. ||||| WASHINGTON, March 30 (Xinhua) -- The United States on Monday welcomed the ruling by Afghanistan's Supreme Court that allows President Hamid Karzai to stay in office until holding the presidential polls and handing over authority to the next president. "The United States strongly supports and welcomes this ruling," State Department deputy spokesman Gordon Duguid said in a statement. "We believe that continuity of government in the critical period before elections is vital and contributes to creating stability." Afghanistan's Supreme Court on Sunday, in a ruling, extended the term of Karzai until the presidential election is held. Karzai's term as president expires on May 21 and a national election to choose his successor is due to be held on Aug. 20, 2009. | An act signed into law by Afghan President Hamid Karzai last month dramatically rolled back the rights of women in that country, according to human rights groups and a United Nations report on the bill by the United Nations Development Fund for Women. The Afghan government has not provided a copy of the text of the Shia Family Law to the UN or to other outside groups requesting it, citing "technical problems", however, the UN and opposition politicians say that the bill contains numerous provisions restricting the rights of women, such as giving their husbands priority in court; requiring the husband's permission to leave the house, obtain education or employment, or to see a doctor; and reserving the custody of children to male relatives. In its most controversial provision, though, the law's Article 132 requires wives to submit to their husbands' sexual demands, and says that a husband can expect sex with his wife once in every four days except in the event of illness. The United Nations argues that this is equivalent to spousal rape. Spousal rape is specifically prohibited in 45 countries worldwide and may be prosecutable by existing rape statutes in others. The circumstances of the bill's passage have raised questions as well, with Senator Humeira Namati saying that the bill was not read out or debated in the House of Elders, the Afghan National Assembly's upper house and Shinkai Zahine Karokhail of the House of the People stating the bill received only limited debate in the lower chamber. "They wanted to pass it almost like a secret negotiation," Karokhail told the ''Guardian''. "There were lots of things that we wanted to change, but they didn't want to discuss it because Karzai wants to please the Shia before the election." Namati calls the new law "worse than the Taliban". burqas cross a market in Parwan Province, Afghanistan.According to Karokhail and others, the law received Karzai's support in order to boost his popularity among Afghanistan's Shi'a population, which comprises an estimated ten per cent of the country, ahead of an upcoming election in August. A Monday ruling by the Afghan Supreme Court has allowed Karzai to remain in power in the interval between the expiration of his term on May 21 and the upcoming Afghan presidential election in August. It is unclear whether the law would apply only to Shi'a persons or to all Afghans. Nonetheless some changes were made to the bill; the proposed minimum age of marriage for girls was raised to 16 from aged 9 and temporary marriage is not provided for. MP Shukria Barakzai says that "before this was passed family issues were decided by customary law" and that the new law, while not perfect, is an "improvement". MP Ustad Mohammad Akbari defended the bill as well, saying it protects women's rights: "Men are stronger and women are a little bit weaker; even in the west you do not see women working as firefighters." A spokesman for Mr. Karzai gave reporters no comment. |
Protests over the cartoons continue in Pakistan Instructions were issued to internet service providers across Pakistan on 27 February to block about a dozen websites of various origins. The ban comes amid protests in several Muslim countries against the cartoons, first published in Denmark last year. Islamic tradition prohibits depictions of the Prophet. Hosted site Bloggers in Pakistan first became aware of the ban on 28 February when they were unable to access a popular blog hosting site, Blogspot. One of the blocked sites is hosted on Blogspot, which led to the blocking of all web journals hosted on the site. The Pakistan bloggers found their blogs blocked, even though their blogs are not connected with the cartoons. They say they have still been able to edit and update their blogs, but not able to read them. Blogspot, which hosts web logs, has been blocked Many are using anonymizers - a service which allows people to surf sites without being identified - to access their sites, while the US blogging community has sent out suggestions for ways in which Blogspot can be accessed. The BBC's Aamer Ahmed Khan in Karachi says the blocking is unlikely to turn into a major freedom of expression issue in Pakistan as there seems to be a consensus against allowing such freedom to extend to irreverent treatment of religious figures. Pakistani bloggers agree the blocking of Blogspot cannot be intentional, but are hoping the authorities realise the problem soon and rectify it, he said. There are many ways of blocking specific sites without letting it affect the entire hosting facility, bloggers say. Pakistan, meanwhile, is seeking an internationally applicable law against blasphemy. ||||| Fresh Picks 03 Mar 2006 07:55 GMT Blogger Black Out in Pakistan For Bush Visit International Bloggers Community reports blackout All weblogs on blogspot.com are not accessible from Pakistan to coincide with US President George Bush visit to the region, according to reports earlier today. Blogger Neha Viswanathan from Globalvoicesonline.org reported a blackout that prevented users in Pakistan to see her weblog, and reported the issue to her online community earlier today. Rebecca MacKinnon, founder of the same group confirmed that according to her information " for people currently located in Pakistan, it may not be possible to access any blogs on blogspot.com, because it appears that the Pakistani government might have ordered local ISP's to block access to all URL's with blogspot.com. However if you are in the UK you will not be affected and you will be able to access everything, because this blockage would be implemented at the ISP (internet service provider) level. " Blogger Angelo Embuldenya suggests a hack to get around the blockage "there are 6 nodes on nyud open and near to users in Pakistan (4 in India, 2 in Lebanon) " he says "and these aren't nodes that aren't likely to go down. You could view the network of operational nodes here: http://mapcenter.in2p3.fr/planetlab/ .All you need to do is append the url like: your blogi.blogspot.com.nyud.net:8080 or yourblog.blogspot.com.nyud.net:8090" he suggests. PDM www.globalvoicesonline.org http://opennet.net Dont Just Blog it International Bloggers Community reports blackoutAll weblogs on blogspot.com are not accessible from Pakistan to coincide with US President George Bush visit to the region, according to reports earlier today.Blogger Neha Viswanathan from Globalvoicesonline.org reported a blackout that prevented users in Pakistanto see her weblog, and reported the issue to her online community earlier today.Rebecca MacKinnon, founder of the same group confirmed that according to her information " for people currently located in Pakistan, it may not be possible to access any blogs on blogspot.com, because it appears that the Pakistani government might have ordered local ISP's to block access to all URL's with blogspot.com. However if you are in the UK you will not be affected and you will be able to access everything, because this blockage would be implemented at the ISP (internet service provider) level. "Blogger Angelo Embuldenya suggests a hack to get around the blockage "there are 6 nodes on nyud open and near to users in Pakistan (4 inIndia, 2 in Lebanon) " he says "and these aren't nodes that aren't likely to go down. You could view the network of operational nodes here:http://mapcenter.in2p3.fr/planetlab/ .All you need to do is append the url like: your blogi.blogspot.com.nyud.net:8080or yourblog.blogspot.com.nyud.net:8090"he suggests.PDMwww.globalvoicesonline.orghttp://opennet.net [back] ||||| « Bathtub Antics | Main | Gizmodo's Phake Photo Phun » March 03, 2006 Pakistan Blocking Bloggers Because of Bush Visit? Over the last few days, Pakistani bloggers have been reporting through the Global Voices email list that the Pakistani government is now blocking all access to Blogger.com. This particular blogging tool is one of the most popular in Pakistan - all blogs ending with the domain name blogspot.com are managed using Blogger.com - resulting in large numbers of bloggers no longer being able to update their blogs. Some bloggers are beginning to speculate that the virtual blockade of Blogger.com is directly related to President Bush's visit to Pakistan this week. With so many Pakistani bloggers critical of Bush, perhaps the government decided to place a gag order on them so they could roll out the red carpet without any "embarrassing" critiques from the local blogosphere. Others wonder if the timing of the move is just a coincidence, and simply the first signs of a larger censorship campaign by the government. "Truth is - it may have very little to do with Bush's visit," writes Indian blogger Neha Viswanathan on the Global Voices e-list. "The anti-Bush protest has hardly found a voice online. I really do think this might be the first of other blocks. This might be on a very experimental basis to see how far they go. The Pakistani govt has hardly had any dialogue with bloggers at all. " "The other theory is of course the one on Danish cartoons- which is likely," she continues. "But there is so much content on that outside of the blogosphere (the limited one at Blogpsot) that it doesnt' seem to fit together. I wouldn't be surprised if the govt of Pakistan comes up with an IT censorship policy." Pakistani bloggers are still pondering the motivation behind the censorship campaign. "I have communicated with several bloggers and friends back in Pak[istan]," writes UAE-based Pakistani blogger Omer Alvie. "So far there's no resolution to this problem. Bush's visit in Pakistan is resulting in protests, strike (in Lahore city) and curfew areas in Islamabad. The feeling among bloggers is this is all rather suspect. Neha, might be right this might be on experimental basis. I feel this a a precursor to what the government can do in the future." Given all the rhetoric Bush has been spouting about free and open democracies in the Islamic world, I wonder if Mr. Bush would take a moment with Pakistan's President Musharraf this weekend and remind him of the connection between democracy and respecting free speech. If he doesn't, I'm sure Pakistan's blogging community will find a way around the blockade and make the point themselves. -andy Posted by acarvin at March 3, 2006 09:39 AM | Pakistani bloggers have been reporting this week that the Pakistani government has started blocking local access to the blogging tool Blogger.com. Blogger.com, along with its companion domain blogspot.com, is one of the most widely used blogging tools in Pakistan. Because of the government's decision to block the site, many Pakistani bloggers are now unable to update their blogs. Bloggers are debating whether the move by the Pakistani government is a sign of a long-term online censorship campaign, or a temporary move to prevent potentially embarrassing blog coverage of U.S. President George W. Bush's visit to the country this weekend. "Truth is — it may have very little to do with Bush's visit," writes Indian blogger Neha Viswanathan on the Global Voices email list, run by the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School. "The anti-Bush protest has hardly found a voice online. I really do think this might be the first of other blocks. This might be on a very experimental basis to see how far they go. The Pakistani govt has hardly had any dialogue with bloggers at all. " "The other theory is of course the one on Danish cartoons- which is likely," she continues. "But there is so much content on that outside of the blogosphere (the limited one at Blogspot) that it doesn't' seem to fit together. I wouldn't be surprised if the govt of Pakistan comes up with an IT censorship policy." Other bloggers see a more direct connection with the Bush visit. "I have communicated with several bloggers and friends back in Pakistan," writes UAE-based Pakistani blogger Omer Alvie. "So far there's no resolution to this problem. Bush's visit in Pakistan is resulting in protests, a strike in Lahore and curfew areas in Islamabad. The feeling among bloggers is this is all rather suspect. Neha, might be right this might be on experimental basis. I feel this a a ''sic'' precursor to what the government can do in the future." To date, the Pakistani government has offered no comment on the decision to block online access to Blogger.com. |
El maratonista etíope Haile Gebrselassie, recordman mundial de la prueba mayor del atletismo, anunció hoy su retiro de las competencias, después de abandonar por lesión la maratón de Nueva York. "Me estoy retirando... Permítanme hacer otra cosa", dijo Gebrselassie en conferencia de prensa después de su abandono a los 25 kilómetros de carrera, afectado por problemas en su rodilla derecha. Con su devastador sprint en la vuelta final y su sonrisa imborrable, Gebrselassie fue uno de los fondistas más populares y exitosos de las últimas dos décadas. Gebrselassie, de 37 años, ganó el oro olímpico en 10.000 metros en Atlanta 1996 y Sydney 2000 y cuatro títulos mundiales de la misma prueba entre 1993 y 1999. También marco récords mundiales en los 5.000 y 10.000 metros y finalizó su trayectoria en pistas con el bronce en los 10.000 metros en el Mundial de 2003. Tras pasarse a las competencias de maratón, batió el récord mundial de los 42 km en Berlín en 2007 y lo mejoró a 2hs 3min 59seg en la misma carrera en 2008. ||||| NEW YORK (AP)—World-record holder Haile Gebrselassie stunned the running world by announcing his retirement Sunday after dropping out of the New York City Marathon. The 37-year-old Ethiopian great, widely considered the greatest distance runner ever, pulled out at the 16-mile mark with a right knee injury. “I never think about to retire. But for the first time, this is the day,” Gebrselassie said at a brief news conference afterward. “Let me stop and do other work after this.” Gebrselassie runs two schools and several businesses in Ethiopia, including a car dealership, a movie theater and a newly opened hotel. He spoke passionately Friday about improving lives in his country, about the responsibility that comes with employing others. He’s thought about entering politics—he just needs to figure out how he can best help the most people. In the days leading up to his NYC Marathon debut, Gebrselassie insisted his training was going well. But in a TV interview minutes before Sunday’s race, he revealed his knee was bothering him. He had an MRI on Saturday that showed fluid and tendinitis in the joint. “I don’t want to complain anymore after this, which means it’s better to stop here,” he said. Running with the large lead pack, Gebrselassie pulled up grimacing on the downhill of the Queensboro Bridge. NYC Marathon organizers had been recruiting Gebrselassie for a decade. He finally agreed to come, saying a win in New York was one achievement missing from his brilliant career. As of Saturday, it was unlikely Gebrselassie would even start the race, New York Road Runners President Mary Wittenberg said. She said he had his knee drained and was given cortisone. “At that point you realize you might not have the dream finish,” she said. Gebrselassie set the marathon world record of 2:03:59 in Berlin in 2008. He won two Olympic gold medals in the 10,000 meters. In an interview with The Associated Press in Addis Ababa late last month, Gebrselassie insisted he wanted to compete through at least the 2012 London Games. “Why should I retire? Why should I say I will retire in three or four years? You retire the very moment you utter those words,” he said then. “I still think about doing more.” Just as this Ethiopian star was retiring, a new one was emerging. Gebre Gebremariam won Sunday’s race in his marathon debut at the age of 26. “Haile is special. Haile is king,” Gebremariam said. “So even Haile’s retiring, we have to learn so many things from Haile. Haile’s a good guy, even in business and in athletics. So I think we have to push to run more. I’m so disappointed when I hear this one. Maybe in my country just I have to do something about this.” ||||| NYC Marathon: Guts From Chile, Glory For Ethiopia Enlarge Associated Press New York Road Runners president Mary Wittenberg, center, congratulates Chilean miner Edison Pena as Pena joins his wife, Angelica Alvarez, right, after Pena finished the New York City Marathon in New York, Sunday, Nov. 7, 2010. Associated Press Enlarge Associated Press Runners approach the finish line at the New York City Marathon in New York's Central Park, Sunday, Nov. 7, 2010. Associated Press Associated Press Chilean miner Edison Pena approaches the finish line after running in the New York City marathon in New York, Sunday, Nov. 7, 2010. Enlarge Associated Press Angelica Alvarez, right, the wife of Chilean miner Edison Pena, embraces her husband after he crossed the finish line in the New York City Marathon in New York, Sunday, Nov. 7, 2010. Associated Press Associated Press Gebre Gebrmariam, of Ethiopia, runs in Central Park during the New York City Marathon on Sunday, Nov. 7, 2010, in New York. Gebrmariam won the men's division. Enlarge Associated Press World record holder Haile Gebrselassie, center, of Ethiopia, runs with the men's pack during the New York City Marathon, Sunday, Nov. 7, 2010, in New York. Gebrselassie dropped out at mile 16 with a right knee injury. Associated Press Enlarge Associated Press Runners cross the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge at the start of the New York City Marathon Sunday, Nov. 7, 2010 in New York. Associated Press Enlarge Associated Press David Weir, of Great Britain, gets a hug from his girlfriend Emily Thorne after winning the men's wheelchair division at the New York City marathon in New York, Sunday, Nov. 7, 2010. Associated Press Enlarge Associated Press Runners cross the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge at the start of the New York City Marathon Sunday, Nov. 7, 2010 in New York. Associated Press Enlarge Associated Press Gebre Gebremariam, of Ethiopia, crosses the finish line first in the men's division at the 2010 New York City Marathon in New York, Sunday, Nov. 7, 2010. Gebremariam has won the men's title at the New York City Marathon in his debut at the distance. Associated Press Gebre Gebremariam saw his country's greatest marathoner pull up in pain on the Queensboro Bridge, at the 16th mile. He urged Haile Gebrselassie to keep going, but what the world-record holder felt in his right knee told him his career was over, and it was time for a new Ethiopian star. "I can't, Gebre. You have to move," the 37-year-old told Gebremariam as the leaders of the New York City Marathon ran on. "You have to reach them." Gebremariam, who started the race certain he couldn't win it, soon became a believer. The 26-year-old pulled away from Kenya's Emmanuel Mutai in the 24th mile to win in 2 hours, 8 minutes, 14 seconds, becoming the first man to win New York in his marathon debut since Alberto Salazar in 1980. Kenya's Edna Kiplagat was another surprise winner, while Shalane Flanagan, making a marathon debut of her own, became the first American woman in two decades to finish second. But it could be said that the marathon's greatest display of endurance and determination came hours later. Edison Pena, who less than a month ago was in a collapsed Chilean mine awaiting rescue, ran and walked on a bad knee to complete the 26.2 miles about 20 minutes ahead of his 6-hour goal. Pena, who jogged regularly underground during the 69-day ordeal, covered the last 12 miles of the race with bags of ice on his swollen knees. At the finish, the 34-year-old was draped in a Chilean flag as his favorite music — Elvis — played over the speakers. "I'm here because I want people to feel free," Pena said. "I want them to strive for their own freedom. That's why it was worthwhile for me to come this far to run a marathon. ... I struggled with myself, I struggled with my own pain, but I made it to the finish line." Gebrselassie, the only runner on Earth to finish a marathon in less than 2 hours, 4 minutes, announced his retirement after dropping out of the race. Not even Gebremariam, the 2009 cross-country world champion, expected that he would be the next Ethiopian winner. "Even I told my wife, 'I can finish this race, but I can't win,'" Gebremariam said. "When I saw in 19 or 17 miles, you know, I can win. I saw the pace and listen to my body too, so I can win." His wife, Werknesh Kidane, is an elite distance runner herself, who also planned to make her marathon debut in New York. But she had to pull out because of injury and watched the race back in Ethiopia with their two young sons. "So maybe next year she'll come and she'll win too," Gebremariam said with a smile. Another Kenyan, Moses Kigen Kipkosgei, was third. Defending champion Meb Keflezighi of the United States finished sixth. The 31-year-old Kiplagat, who like Gebremariam takes home $130,000, won her first major marathon title in 2:28:20. "When we were in the 24th mile, I tried to put more effort," she said. "I found myself pulling away from the field, so I was excited when I reached 25 miles because that's when I found I was ahead of the other ladies. "When I crossed the finish line, I was so happy." Flanagan, the 2008 Olympic bronze medalist in the 10,000 meters, was 20 seconds back. Kim Jones in 1990 was the last American woman to finish in the top two. With the event doubling as the U.S. women's championship, Flanagan earned a $40,000 bonus. "I'm very grateful for second, first of all. But as soon as I finished I thought about what I could have done to have won it," Flanagan said. "So I think that's why the marathon is so addicting, because you always want more to do it again." Kenya's Mary Keitany, also making her marathon debut, was third. Defending champion Derartu Tulu of Ethiopia finished 14th. More than 45,000 runners started the 41st edition of the race through the city's five boroughs. | New York, in 2003. , a 37-year-old Ethiopian road-running athlete, announced his retirement from the sport on Sunday, after leaving the with an inflamed knee. Gebrselassie is widely considered "one of the greatest distance runners in history." "I never think about to retire. But for the first time, this is the day. ... Let me stop and do other work after this," Gebrselassie said during a press conference. The athlete dropped out of the competition after running 25 kilometers. "Why should I retire? Why should I say I will retire in three or four years? You retire the very moment you utter those words," he added. New York Road Runners President Mary Wittenberg said on Saturday that "he had his knee drained and was given cortisone," and that "it was unlikely Gebrselassie would even start the race." |
President Donald Trump has set out a bleak portrayal of a nation under siege, vowing to end “American carnage” in an inaugural address that fired up his supporters but did little to ease the fears of American liberals or an anxious world. 'American carnage': Trump's vision casts shadow over day of pageantry Read more Moments after being sworn in as the 45th president of the United States, Trump described a country in crisis and pledged an isolationist and protectionist cure, declaring: “From this day forward, it’s going to be only America first.” Former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton looked stone-faced during the speech, while George W Bush at times appeared uncomfortable. But there were cheers from Trump’s supporters on a rainy National Mall in Washington. The crowd was largely white and notably smaller than for many past inaugurations. Under the dome of the US Capitol, the billionaire businessman hailed the “historic movement” that swept him to a shock victory over Hillary Clinton in last November’s presidential election, claiming it was unique in world history. Citizens expect great education, safe neighbourhoods and good jobs, the 70-year-old continued. “But for too many of our citizens, a different reality exists: mothers and children trapped in poverty in our inner cities; rusted out factories scattered like tombstones across the landscape of our nation; an education system flush with cash, but which leaves our young and beautiful students deprived of all knowledge; and the crime and the gangs and the drugs that have stolen too many lives and robbed our country of so much unrealised potential. “This American carnage stops right here and stops right now.” It was a grim account of the most prosperous nation on earth from a man denounced by critics as an authoritarian populist. Trump’s aides had indicated that one of his inspirations for the speech was John F Kennedy’s inaugural address in 1961. But there were closer echoes of a 1968 speech by Richard Nixon that described “cities enveloped in smoke and flame” and hearing “millions of Americans cry out in anguish”. 'He has already let America down': the reaction to Trump's first speech as president Read more As America’s political elite looked on, Trump went on to blame past US governments for decades favouring other nations at the American people’s own expense, from the military to infrastructure to factories. “We’ve defended other nations’ borders while refusing to defend our own,” he said. “But that is the past. And now, we are looking only to the future. We assembled here today are issuing a new decree to be heard in every city, in every foreign capital, and in every hall of power. From this day forward, a new vision will govern our land. From this day forward, it’s going to be only America first, America first.” For some, the phrase “America first” has disquieting associations with a 1940s movement that aimed to keep America out of the second world war and came to be accused of antisemitism. But on Friday the crowd, many wearing “make America great again” baseball caps and other regalia, applauded and cheered. Trump continued: “Every decision on trade, on taxes, on immigration, on foreign affairs will be made to benefit American workers and American families. We must protect our borders from the ravages of other countries making our products, stealing our companies and destroying our jobs. “Protection will lead to great prosperity and strength. I will fight for you with every breath in my body and I will never ever let you down. America will start winning again, winning like never before. We will bring back our jobs. We will bring back our borders. We will bring back our wealth. And we will bring back our dreams.” Breaking with Republican orthodoxy, Trump promised a massive infrastructure building programme including roads, bridges, airports and tunnels, potentially creating thousands of jobs and costing billions of dollars. “We will follow two simple rules; buy American and hire American.” In pledging to put 'America first', Trump holds the world at his mercy Read more Trump’s longshot candidacy has proved uniquely divisive ever since he launched it in June 2015 by denouncing Mexican immigrants as criminals and rapists. He also proposed a temporary ban on Muslims entering the country and earned the support of white nationalists. His speech is unlikely to have assuaged the concerns of progressive activists who intend to march in protest on Saturday. “At the bedrock of our politics will be a total allegiance to the United States of America, and through our loyalty to our country, we will rediscover our loyalty to each other,” Trump said. “When you open your heart to patriotism, there is no room for prejudice. “The Bible tells us how good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity. We must speak our minds openly, debate our disagreements honestly, but always pursue solidarity. When America is united, America is totally unstoppable.” Trump had said in advance he hoped to emulate Ronald Reagan’s 1981 inaugural address. And there were clear echoes in his blunt 16-minute address of Reagan’s creed that government is not the solution but rather the problem. “Today, we are not merely transferring power from one administration to another or from one party to another, but we are transferring power from Washington DC and giving it back to you, the people,” Trump said. “For too long, a small group in our nation’s capital has reaped the rewards of government while the people have borne the cost. Washington flourished, but the people did not share in its wealth. Politicians prospered, but the jobs left and the factories closed. “The establishment protected itself, but not the citizens of our country. Their victories have not been your victories. Their triumphs have not been your triumphs. And while they celebrated in our nation’s capital, there was little to celebrate for struggling families all across our land. “That all changes starting right here and right now because this moment is your moment, it belongs to you. It belongs to everyone gathered here today and everyone watching all across America. This is your day. This is your celebration. And this, the United States of America, is your country. Inauguration day schedule of events: Trump's first engagements as president Read more “What truly matters is not which party controls our government, but whether our government is controlled by the people. January 20, 2017, will be remembered as the day the people became the rulers of this nation again. The forgotten men and women of our country will be forgotten no longer.” Trump lost no time in sitting down at the US Capitol to sign a waiver for his defence secretary nominee, James Mattis, as well as documents for his other cabinet nominations and a proclamation for a national day of patriotism. There was some light banter with leading Democrats over pens. The physical transfer of power was mirrored online. A “top issues” section of the White House website moved priorities of the Obama administration – including civil rights, climate change and the Iran nuclear deal – to an archival website and replaced them with headings such as “America first energy plan”, “America first foreign policy,” “Bringing back jobs and growth” and “Making our military strong again”. Additional reporting by Tom McCarthy ||||| CLOSE Skip in Skip x Embed x Share Donald Trump will be sworn in as the 45th president of the United States on Inauguration Day. Here are some of the nuances of this historical day. USA TODAY Buy Photo Governor and Vice President Elect Mike Pence acknowledges the crowd after entering the room, before the swearing in of the new Indiana Governor, Eric Holcomb, at the Indiana State Fairgrounds, Monday, January 9, 2017. (Photo: Kelly Wilkinson/IndyStar)Buy Photo WASHINGTON — Vice President-elect Mike Pence, unlike Donald Trump, won’t address the crowd after he’s sworn into office Friday. Instead of a speech, Pence has two other ways to send a political message. He’s chosen conservative Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, a man of few words on the bench, to administer the oath of office, and will swear the oath with his hand on Ronald Reagan’s Bible. Reagan is the politician who inspired Pence to leave the Democratic Party of his youth. Pence made continuous references to Reagan throughout the campaign, including arguing that Trump has much in common with “the great communicator.” And he told IndyStar Wednesday he finds himself drawn more and more to Reagan’s vice president, George H. W. Bush, as a role model for the job of No. 2. “Because then, as now, there was a transformational leader,” he said. “It just informs me that the last administration that revived the country and literally changed the world is a good place for me to look for an example of a vice president who supports a president like that,” Pence said. Reagan also changed Pence’s life. Raised in an Irish Catholic family, Pence’s early political heroes were the Kennedys. He was a youth coordinator for the Bartholomew County Democrats and voted for Jimmy Carter for president. Pence doesn’t know what it was that later made him connect with Reagan. “But there was something about the man,” he said during a campaign speech he gave at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. “I don’t know if it was the fact that he was an unambiguous Irishman, his Midwestern roots, but he inspired me.” Reagan biographer Craig Shirley isn’t surprised by Pence’s feeling of kinship with Reagan. “The both came from the Midwest. They are both very firm conservatives in their conviction, but very gentle in their manner,” he said. “And they both got their start in radio.” Reagan’s first job out of college was as a radio announcer in Iowa. Pence was a radio talk show host for much of the 1990s before his 2000 election to Congress. One of his favorite stories — one that he says his children have heard 1,001 times — is how he met Reagan during an unsuccessful bid for a House seat in 1988. “I felt like I was talking to Mount Rushmore,” he’s said in one of his many retellings of that encounter. By the time Pence made it to Congress more than a decade later, however, he felt like a late arrival to the Republican Revolution. But Pence remained guided by the principles of a strong military, less government, less taxes and traditional moral values during his 12 years in Congress and four years as Indiana’s governor. When Pence became Trump’s running mate, one of his favorite campaign events was traveling to the Reagan Library to draw comparisons between Reagan and Trump. Republican vice presidential nominee Mike Pence and his daughter Charlotte place a wreath on the memorial and grave site of Ronald and Nancy Reagan at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif., on Thursday, Sept. 8, 2016. (Photo: MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images) Pence was given the rare privilege of being allowed to work out of Reagan’s last office as he finished up the speech he would deliver that September day. “The most straight talking candidate since Ronald Reagan is running against one of the most dishonest candidates ever,” Pence said in that speech. Both Reagan and Trump, he said, shared the same “broad-shouldered leadership and common-sense conservative principles.” Shirley said there are similarities between Reagan and Trump, but there are also a lot of differences. Both were “outside status quo” candidates who were threats to the establishment. But Reagan campaigned and governed more as a philosophical conservative, Shirley said, whereas Trump didn’t campaign “in the traditional American conservative style and not in the Reagan style.” Reagan’s children spoke out against Trump during the campaign. Both Michael Reagan, a conservative, and Ron Reagan, a liberal, said their father would have been appalled by Trump’s candidacy. President Ronald Reagan being sworn in January 20, 1981 by Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Warren Burger, Mrs. Reagan stands in the center. (Photo: BETTMANN-UP) The Reagan family Bible Pence will use Friday was owned by Reagan's mother, Nelle. It’s kept under bulletproof glass at the Reagan museum and is the first artifact a visitor sees. “You can’t miss it,” said John Heubusch, executive director of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute. There are comments written throughout the margins of the book, put there by both Nelle and her son. Reagan used the Bible for his inaugurations as governor and president, with the book open to this underlined verse: “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14) Shirley said it was one of Nelle Reagan’s favorite verses. “That’s in part why Reagan chose that passage,” he said. Pence, who likes to describe himself as a “Christian, a conservative and a Republican — in that order,” coincidentally closed many of his campaign speeches with those words. “It’s an ancient verse that encourages people to pray with a promise that God will hear from heaven and heal their land,” he told IndyStar. The more than 100-year-old Bible, which has never been out of the possession of the Reagan family or foundation, will be transported to Washington by one of Reagan’s first advance men who is on the foundation’s board. It will be locked in a safe in the Senate until minutes before the inauguration ceremony. There’s even a plan for how to protect the Bible from the rain which has been forecast for Friday. “It’s very fragile,” Heubusch said. Trump will be sworn in on his own Bible, as well as the Bible Abraham Lincoln used at his first inauguration. In addition to Reagan’s Bible, Pence will also use the Bible he opens every morning. Pence personally called Thomas to ask him to administer the oath. He’s said he admires Thomas’ philosophy and his “courage on the bench.” When he takes the oath, Pence told Fox News Sunday, he will be thinking about “what an honor it is to stand next to a man who I know can restore and revive this country.” “I’ll also be thinking, as the grandson of an Irish immigrant, what a great country this is,” he said. Contact Maureen Groppe at mgroppe@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter: @mgroppe. Read or Share this story: http://indy.st/2jEhMuh ||||| “We will no longer accept politicians who are all talk and no action, constantly complaining but never doing anything about it,” he said. “The time for empty talk is over. Now arrives the hour of action. Do not allow anyone to tell you that it cannot be done.” Mr. Trump’s view of the United States was strikingly grim for an Inaugural Address — a country where mothers and children are “trapped in poverty in our inner cities,” where “rusted-out factories” are “scattered like tombstones across the landscape” and where drugs and crime “have stolen too many lives.” “This American carnage,” he declared, “stops right here and stops right now.” He got started right away with rolling back the policies of his predecessor, former President Barack Obama, by issuing orders freezing new regulations from recent weeks and ordering agencies to “ease the burden” of the Affordable Care Act during the transition from repealing to replacing the law. More orders are planned for next week. Wearing a dark suit and red tie and accompanied by his wife, Melania, in a powder-blue suit and matching gloves, Mr. Trump took the 35-word oath administered by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. precisely at noon. Michael Richard Pence, a former governor and congressman from Indiana, was sworn in minutes before as vice president by Justice Clarence Thomas. ||||| TRUMP: Chief Justice Roberts, President Carter, President Clinton, President Bush, President Obama, fellow Americans and people of the world, thank you. (APPLAUSE) We, the citizens of America, are now joined in a great national effort to rebuild our country and restore its promise for all of our people. AD (APPLAUSE) Together, we will determine the course of America and the world for many, many years to come. We will face challenges, we will confront hardships, but we will get the job done. AD Every four years, we gather on these steps to carry out the orderly and peaceful transfer of power, and we are grateful to President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama for their gracious aid throughout this transition. They have been magnificent. Thank you. (APPLAUSE) Today's ceremony, however, has very special meaning because today, we are not merely transferring power from one administration to another or from one party to another, but we are transferring power from Washington, D.C. and giving it back to you, the people. AD (APPLAUSE) For too long, a small group in our nation's capital has reaped the rewards of government while the people have borne the cost. Washington flourished, but the people did not share in its wealth. Politicians prospered, but the jobs left and the factories closed. The establishment protected itself, but not the citizens of our country. Their victories have not been your victories. Their triumphs have not been your triumphs. And while they celebrated in our nation's capital, there was little to celebrate for struggling families all across our land. AD (APPLAUSE) That all changes starting right here and right now because this moment is your moment, it belongs to you. AD (APPLAUSE) It belongs to everyone gathered here today and everyone watching all across America. This is your day. This is your celebration. And this, the United States of America, is your country. (APPLAUSE) What truly matters is not which party controls our government, but whether our government is controlled by the people. (APPLAUSE) January 20th, 2017 will be remembered as the day the people became the rulers of this nation again. (APPLAUSE) The forgotten men and women of our country will be forgotten no longer. (APPLAUSE) Everyone is listening to you now. You came by the tens of millions to become part of a historic movement, the likes of which the world has never seen before. AD (APPLAUSE) AD At the center of this movement is a crucial conviction, that a nation exists to serve its citizens. Americans want great schools for their children, safe neighborhoods for their families, and good jobs for themselves. These are just and reasonable demands of righteous people and a righteous public. But for too many of our citizens, a different reality exists: mothers and children trapped in poverty in our inner cities; rusted out factories scattered like tombstones across the landscape of our nation; an education system flush with cash, but which leaves our young and beautiful students deprived of all knowledge; and the crime and the gangs and the drugs that have stolen too many lives and robbed our country of so much unrealized potential. AD This American carnage stops right here and stops right now. AD (APPLAUSE) We are one nation and their pain is our pain. Their dreams are our dreams. And their success will be our success. We share one heart, one home, and one glorious destiny. The oath of office I take today is an oath of allegiance to all Americans. (APPLAUSE) For many decades, we've enriched foreign industry at the expense of American industry; subsidized the armies of other countries, while allowing for the very sad depletion of our military. We've defended other nations' borders while refusing to defend our own. (APPLAUSE) And spent trillions and trillions of dollars overseas while America's infrastructure has fallen into disrepair and decay. We've made other countries rich, while the wealth, strength and confidence of our country has dissipated over the horizon. AD One by one, the factories shuttered and left our shores, with not even a thought about the millions and millions of American workers that were left behind. The wealth of our middle class has been ripped from their homes and then redistributed all across the world. AD But that is the past. And now, we are looking only to the future. (APPLAUSE) We assembled here today are issuing a new decree to be heard in every city, in every foreign capital, and in every hall of power. From this day forward, a new vision will govern our land. From this day forward, it's going to be only America first, America first. (APPLAUSE) Every decision on trade, on taxes, on immigration, on foreign affairs will be made to benefit American workers and American families. We must protect our borders from the ravages of other countries making our products, stealing our companies and destroying our jobs. AD (APPLAUSE) Protection will lead to great prosperity and strength. I will fight for you with every breath in my body and I will never ever let you down. (APPLAUSE) America will start winning again, winning like never before. AD (APPLAUSE) We will bring back our jobs. We will bring back our borders. We will bring back our wealth. And we will bring back our dreams. (APPLAUSE) We will build new roads and highways and bridges and airports and tunnels and railways all across our wonderful nation. We will get our people off of welfare and back to work, rebuilding our country with American hands and American labor. (APPLAUSE) We will follow two simple rules; buy American and hire American. AD (APPLAUSE) We will seek friendship and goodwill with the nations of the world, but we do so with the understanding that it is the right of all nations to put their own interests first. We do not seek to impose our way of life on anyone, but rather to let it shine as an example. We will shine for everyone to follow. (APPLAUSE) We will reinforce old alliances and form new ones and unite the civilized world against radical Islamic terrorism, which we will eradicate from the face of the Earth. AD (APPLAUSE) At the bedrock of our politics will be a total allegiance to the United States of America, and through our loyalty to our country, we will rediscover our loyalty to each other. When you open your heart to patriotism, there is no room for prejudice. (APPLAUSE) The Bible tells us how good and pleasant it is when God's people live together in unity. We must speak our minds openly, debate our disagreements honestly, but always pursue solidarity. When America is united, America is totally unstoppable. (APPLAUSE) There should be no fear. We are protected and we will always be protected. We will be protected by the great men and women of our military and law enforcement. And most importantly, we will be protected by God. (APPLAUSE) Finally, we must think big and dream even bigger. In America, we understand that a nation is only living as long as it is striving. We will no longer accept politicians who are all talk and no action, constantly complaining, but never doing anything about it. AD (APPLAUSE) The time for empty talk is over. Now arrives the hour of action. (APPLAUSE) Do not allow anyone to tell you that it cannot be done. No challenge can match the heart and fight and spirit of America. We will not fail. Our country will thrive and prosper again. We stand at the birth of a new millennium, ready to unlock the mysteries of space, to free the earth from the miseries of disease, and to harness the energies, industries and technologies of tomorrow. A new national pride will stir ourselves, lift our sights and heal our divisions. It's time to remember that old wisdom our soldiers will never forget, that whether we are black or brown or white, we all bleed the same red blood of patriots. (APPLAUSE) We all enjoy the same glorious freedoms and we all salute the same great American flag. (APPLAUSE) And whether a child is born in the urban sprawl of Detroit or the wind-swept plains of Nebraska, they look up at the same night sky, they fill their heart with the same dreams, and they are infused with the breath of life by the same almighty creator. (APPLAUSE) So to all Americans in every city near and far, small and large, from mountain to mountain, from ocean to ocean, hear these words: You will never be ignored again. (APPLAUSE) Your voice, your hopes, and your dreams will define our American destiny. And your courage and goodness and love will forever guide us along the way. Together, we will make America strong again. We will make America wealthy again. We will make America proud again. We will make America safe again. And yes, together we will make America great again. (APPLAUSE) Thank you. God bless you. And God bless America. (APPLAUSE) Thank you. (APPLAUSE) God bless America. (APPLAUSE) Further reading: ||||| Trump habría consultado con algunos historiadores y en compañía de asesores ha analizado los discursos de otros presidentes. "Pero será un texto de Trump. Él lo está escribiendo, él lo edita y él lo corrige", dijo Sean Spicer, quien será vocero de la Casa Blanca. ||||| Continue reading the main story Foto Encuentra aquí las noticias y los análisis más recientes sobre la toma de posesión de Donald Trump. Para más información síguenos en Twitter y en Facebook. WASHINGTON — Del Medio Oeste estadounidense a la capital, en el este, los manifestantes llegaron para manifestarse en una celebración que no podían detener pero estaban desesperados por interrumpir: la toma de posesión de Donald Trump. Portaban diversos carteles: “Rechaza y resiste”, “Solo es el títere naranja de Putin”, “Enfurécete contra la muerte de nuestros derechos”. La principal consigna era “somos manifestantes pacíficos”, pero, conforme se acercaba el mediodía, habían sido reventadas varias ventanas en el centro de Washington y en el aire se olía el gas pimienta lanzado por la policía. En diferentes puntos de acceso a la ceremonia de inauguración, los manifestantes se unieron de brazos para intentar bloquear el paso. “Este es nuestro derecho, plantarnos aquí”, dijo Mica Reel, de 21 años. La resistencia ya había empezado cuando Trump prestó juramento al mediodía. Algunos se reunieron desde la madrugada para protestar contra las políticas migratorias propuestas por el ahora presidente durante la campaña, todos portando gorras negras con la leyenda: “No es mi presidente”. “Es importante que dejemos claro que vamos a pelear contra su agenda desde el primer día”, dijo Ramah Kudaimi, de 30 años y parte de la junta de directores del Centro para la Paz de Washington, que ayudó a organizar la protesta. Este sábado también está planeada una marcha de mujeres masiva en Washington, con réplicas alrededor del país e incluso en diversas ciudades del mundo. — MATT FLEGENHEIMER Continue reading the main story Foto El presidente presta juramento sobre la Biblia de Lincoln Donald Trump prestó juramento de su cargo con dos biblias: una propia y una usada por Abraham Lincoln en 1861. Solo otro presidente estadounidense ha usado esa biblia para la ceremonia de juramento: Barack Obama, el predecesor de Trump. Thomas Barrack Jr., presidente del comité inaugural de Trump, dijo en una declaración a principios de esta semana que el presidente electo “está muy orgulloso de poner su mano en las biblias que tienen un significado tan especial, tanto para su familia como para nuestro país”. Lincoln juró sobre esa biblia en su primera toma de posesión en 1861, cuando Estados Unidos estaba en el clímax de la Guerra Civil. No volvió a ser utilizada hasta la elección de Barack Obama, quien la usó en sus dos juramentaciones, tanto en 2009 como en 2013. Los funcionarios de la Biblioteca del Congreso de Estados Unidos dijeron que el libro estaba listo para el gran día, aunque eran cautelosos por el pronóstico del tiempo que sugería la posibilidad de lluvia. “Siempre tenemos en nuestra mente que eso podría pasar”, dijo Elmer Eusman, quien es el jefe de conservación. “Estamos preparados para cualquier eventualidad”. — ERIN McCANN Un nuevo presidente para un país dividido Al tomar posesión como el presidente número 45 de Estados Unidos, Donald Trump dará inicio a una nueva era, más impredecible, en la que ha prometido romper con el orden establecido y restaurar la grandeza estadounidense. Desde el Capitolio, mientras mira lo que parecen ser cientos de miles de admiradores y espectadores, Trump planea usar su discurso inaugural para prometer que dedicará los próximos cuatro años a reconstruir la economía estadounidense, reafirmar el control de las fronteras y recuperar el respeto del mundo. Trump no planea desperdiciar nada de tiempo después de pronunciar el juramento, de 35 palabras, que será administrado por el líder de la suprema corte, John Roberts Jr. Prevé dedicarse a deshacer las políticas de su predecesor, Barack Obama, apenas horas después de tomar posesión. El nuevo presidente podría empezar a firmar órdenes ejecutivas que congelen regulaciones implementadas durante las últimas semanas del mandato de Obama y reviertan políticas en materia de salud, migración y otras áreas. “¡Todo empieza hoy!”, escribió Trump en Twitter. “EL MOVIMIENTO CONTINÚA, EL TRABAJO EMPIEZA”. Aunque Trump demostró su estilo combativo durante la transición, sus asesores dijeron que hará un llamado por unidad en la ceremonia. “En su discurso inaugural, escucharán a un Donald Trump inspirador, aspiracional y visionario que nos pedirá tomar acciones audaces bastante rápido”, dijo a CBS News Kellyanne Conway, su próxima asesora en la Casa Blanca. “Eso es lo que hacen los empresarios”. El hijo de Trump Donald Trump Jr. dijo que el nuevo presidente todavía estaba procesando la gravedad de su nuevo cargo, aunque no parezca ser el caso cuando está en público. “El proceso lo ha vuelto más humilde”, dijo a MSNBC. “Y, sabes, lo demuestre o no, es otra cosa”. – PETER BAKER Y MICHAEL D. SHEAR ||||| Empiezan las protestas contra la investidura de Donald Trump en Washington Entre vítores de su nombre, a las 13:30 horas de Chile, Donald Trump bajó las escaleras del Capitolio pára ser investido como el 45° Presidente de Estados Unidos. Acompañado por el hoy vicepresidente Mike Pence, el empresario juró como nuevo mandatario ante la biblia de Abraham Lincoln (como es tradición) y la propia, la que le regaló su madre. La ceremonia empezó con la presentación de los invitados ilustres, entre los que se cuentan los expresidentes George W. Bush y Bill Clinton, junto a sus esposas Laura y Hillary, quien precisamente fue la rival de Trump en las elecciones del 8 de noviembre y salió derrotada por el magnate. Al asumir, Trump expresó que "hoy no solo transferimos el poder , sino que le entregamos el poder a ustedes, a la gente". "Los olvidados ya no lo seguirán siendo, todos los están escuchando. Este día será recordado como el día en que el pueblo se convirtió en gobernante nuevamente", agregó. El incómodo regalo de Melania Trump a Michelle Obama Asimismo, recalcó que "nade me detiene ahora". Barack Obama, por su parte, se despidió a través de Twitter haciendo un llamado a sus compatriotas a "seguir creyendo" en que se pueden desarrollar cambios en el país. La cuenta en la red social @POTUS, en tanto, ahora pasa a ser administrada por Trump. [VIDEO] Así fue el cambio de mando de Obama a Trump en Estados Unidos Revisa a continuación cómo se desarrolló el "Minuto a Minuto" de la jornada y las mejores imágenes: | Donald Trump taking oath on the Bible at the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C. At 12:00 p.m. local time (1700 ) on Friday, took the oath of office and was sworn in as the 45th president of the United States in the nation's capital, Both the Obamas, and , and other previous presidents were present. and his wife were welcomed in the morning by outgoing president and first lady . At 12:00 local time (17:00 ), Chief Justice swore in Donald Trump as the new President of the United States. Donald Trump took his oath on the , and on his own bible that his mother had given him. Vice President was sworn in on the Bible. After assuming the presidency, Donald Trump made his first speech as President of the United States, including the words "January 20, 2017 will be remembered as the day the people became the rulers of this nation again. The forgotten men and women of our country will be forgotten no longer." Barack Obama left a letter to his successor on the nineteenth-century presidential desk in the . |
Correction Appended A strain of avian flu that is resistant to the antiviral drug oseltamivir has been isolated from two family members in Egypt, the World Health Organization said yesterday. The development is potentially dangerous because oseltamivir, commonly sold under the name Tamiflu, is the chief weapon against the flu strain, H5N1, which many worry could mutate into a strain that could set off a worldwide pandemic. The health organization emphasized that it was too early to tell whether the resistant strain had developed independently in the two patients, who were both under treatment with the drug, or whether they had picked it up from birds or from each other. The resistant strain did not spread to anyone else, including a third family member who also had avian flu. “Given the information we have, we don’t see any broad public health implications,” said Dick Thompson, a spokesman for the organization. Mr. Thompson was unsure which Egyptian cluster of flu infections the patients were part of. But another source said it was one in Gharbiya Province, roughly 50 miles north of Cairo, in which flu killed three people last month in a 33-member family living in one compound. Oseltamivir-resistant strains were found in three unrelated patients in Vietnam in 2005 but did not spread. The development “is not a big surprise, but it certainly is disheartening,” said Dr. Anne Moscona, an expert on flu treatment at Weill Cornell Medical College. The oseltamivir-resistant strain in Egypt was susceptible to zanamivir, which is sold as Relenza, and to amantadine, which is from an older, cheaper and easier-to-use class of drugs but is not normally used as a first-line treatment because many avian flu strains are resistant to it. The development, Dr. Moscona said, suggested that doctors might have to consider switching to a cocktail of drugs as first-line treatment, as is done with AIDS medications and sometimes with antibiotics. Dr. Andrew T. Pavia, chairman of the pandemic influenza task force of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, said it was theoretically possible that resistant strains of the flu had developed simultaneously in two related patients, especially if they were very sick and had been treated with doses of oseltamivir that were too low. But if one transmitted it to the other, “it would be very worrisome,” he said, because previous resistant strains had been very weak at infecting new victims. Scientists do not know exactly which mutations or how many of them would make the avian flu virus more dangerous, but they have some clues. The virus now circulating in birds does not attach easily to cells inside human noses or throats. It reproduces more slowly at human temperatures than at bird temperatures, which are slightly higher. It does not detach easily from cells to infect new ones, and it is usually killed by oseltamivir. Scientists are keeping an eye on the genes that code for those aspects of the virus — for example, the shape of the spikes on its outer coating, where it binds to cells. If an oseltamivir-resistant strain spreads, it will complicate the public health response. Governments have been stockpiling oseltamivir, not zanamivir. Zanamivir is more expensive and also harder to use and to ship, because it is typically sold not as a pill but as a powder that comes in an inhaler resembling a small hockey puck. An intravenous form exists but has not been approved for use in some countries, including the United States, Dr. Moscona said. ||||| The Associated Press Thursday, January 18, 2007; 4:29 PM LONDON -- Mutations in the bird flu virus have been found in two infected people in Egypt, in a form that might be resistant to the medication most commonly used to treat the deadly disease, the World Health Organization said Thursday. The mutations in the H5N1 virus strain were not drastic enough to make the virus infectious enough to spark a pandemic, WHO officials said. But more such mutations could prompt scientists to rethink current treatment strategies. REPORTER'S QUERY The Washington Post is looking for challenging medical cases--ones that have been resolved but in which the patient's symptoms were puzzling to doctors or suggested an immediate diagnosis that would have been wrong. Patients must have medical records documenting their care, and must be willing to share them with a reporter. Please include day and evening phone numbers and an e-mail address. E-mail The Washington Post is looking for challenging medical cases--ones that have been resolved but in which the patient's symptoms were puzzling to doctors or suggested an immediate diagnosis that would have been wrong. Patients must have medical records documenting their care, and must be willing to share them with a reporter. Please include day and evening phone numbers and an e-mail address. E-mail medicalmysteries@washpost.com with your name and details. Please put "Medical Mystery" in the subject line. In Depth Obesity Special report on obesity in America 2010. Special report on obesity in America 2010. AIDS/HIV Virus that causes AIDS passes between U.S. and Mexico. Inside Your Body Find graphics, galleries and more that explain what's happening in your body. Your Co-Workers Like McSteamy? We can help you find the right work environment with competitive benefits. Nursing, Allied Health: Get a New Job Save & Share Article What's This? Digg Google del.icio.us Yahoo! Reddit Samples taken from two bird flu patients in Egypt _ a 16-year-old girl and her 26-year-old uncle _ were not as responsive as regular H5N1 viruses to Tamiflu, a drug also know as oseltamivir that is used to treat the disease, the officials said. The girl and her uncle died in late December, as did the man's 35-year-old sister, although she has not yet been confirmed as having had H5N1. The three _ who lived together in Gharbiyah province, 50 miles northwest of Cairo _ fell ill within days of one another after being exposed to sick ducks. "Based on the information we have, we can't yet rule out human-to-human transmission," said Dr. Fred Hayden, a WHO bird flu and antivirals expert. "We need to better understand the dynamics of this outbreak." Although people have passed the virus on to other people, such infections are rare, and most patients have been infected by direct contact with sick birds. Scientists fear, however, that the virus could mutate into a form more easily passed between people, which could spark a flu pandemic. The drug-resistant strains found in Egypt likely developed after the patients were hospitalized and treated with Tamiflu, with the virus responding directly to the drug, Hayden said. It was not proven, however, that that was the case, and a more worrying scenario would be if drug-resistant strains were already circulating among birds. Although Tamiflu remains the drug of choice to treat H5N1, experts may have to consider other options if they find more resistant viruses. Because flu viruses evolve constantly, mutations are only worrisome if they make the virus more infectious, lethal or drug-resistant. "What the resistance tests look for are markers associated with antiviral resistance," though finding the markers did not necessarily mean Tamiflu would not work, said Dr. Angus Nicoll, flu director at the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. Hayden said the mutations found in Egypt were different from Tamiflu-resistant H5N1 viruses found in patients two years ago in Vietnam. The Vietnamese strains were definitely resistant to Tamiflu, whereas the Egyptian viruses have only proven they are not as susceptible to the drug, he said. Tamiflu-resistant viruses such as those found in Vietnam are often treatable with an older, less expensive class of antivirals, known as amantadanes. Some bird flu virus strains from Indonesia and China have also proven susceptible to amantadanes. H5N1 first hit Egypt last year, and has since infected 18 people, 10 of whom have died. Since the H5N1 outbreak first began in late 2003, it has decimated the Asian poultry industry and infected at least 265 people worldwide, 159 of whom have died, according to WHO. ||||| printable version Avian influenza - situation in Egypt - update 18 January 2007 Viruses with a genetic mutation, linked in laboratory testing to moderately reduced susceptibility to oseltamivir, have been discovered in two persons previously reported with H5N1 infections in Egypt. Both patients had been on treatment with oseltamivir for two days before the clinical samples that yielded the viruses were taken. The two patients from whom samples were taken were a 16 year-old female and a 26 year-old male from Gharbiyah Province, Egypt.1 They were a niece and uncle, respectively, who lived in the same house. The girl was admitted to a hospital on 19 December 2006, while the man was admitted on 17 December. On 21 December they began receiving 2 tablets per day of oseltamivir. On 23 December they were moved to a referral hospital. The samples which have so far been tested were taken from the two patients on 23 December. The girl died on 25 December and the man died on 28 December 2006. In this and all other H5N1 investigations there is close, ongoing coordination between Egypt's Ministry of Health and Population (MOH&P;) and WHO. It was Egypt's monitoring and rapid virological analysis conducted at the Central Public Health Laboratory in Cairo that initially allowed the diagnoses of H5N1 to be made. Confirmatory testing and genetic sequencing was done at NAMRU-3 and at two WHO Collaborating Centres located in Atlanta, USA and London, UK. At this time there is no indication that oseltamivir resistance is widespread in Egypt or elsewhere. WHO is not making any changes in antiviral treatment recommendations for H5N1-infected persons published in June 2006 because the clinical level of resistance of these mutations is not yet well established. Current laboratory testing suggests that the level of reduced susceptibility is moderate. This mutation has previously been identified in Viet Nam in one case in 2005. Moreover, these mutations are not associated with any known change in the transmissibility of the virus between humans. Based on these considerations, the public health implications at this time are limited. Finally, these findings do not indicate a need for a change in phase level. The WHO pandemic preparedness level remains at three. The Egyptian authorities, WHO and its Collaborating Centres will continue to share with the public all relevant information from the on-going investigations and analyses as soon as it becomes available. 1The ages and dates in this update related to the two patients, may differ slightly from earlier reports, but reflect the most recent information provided to WHO. ||||| printable version Cumulative Number of Confirmed Human Cases of Avian Influenza A/(H5N1) Reported to WHO 15 January 2007 Country 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 Total cases deaths cases deaths cases deaths cases deaths cases deaths cases deaths Azerbaijan 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 5 0 0 8 5 Cambodia 0 0 0 0 4 4 2 2 0 0 6 6 China 1 1 0 0 8 5 13 8 0 0 22 14 Djibouti 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 Egypt 0 0 0 0 0 0 18 10 0 0 18 10 Indonesia 0 0 0 0 19 12 56 46 4 3 79 61 Iraq 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 2 0 0 3 2 Thailand 0 0 17 12 5 2 3 3 0 0 25 17 Turkey 0 0 0 0 0 0 12 4 0 0 12 4 Viet Nam 3 3 29 20 61 19 0 0 0 0 93 42 Total 4 4 46 32 97 42 116 80 4 3 267 161 Total number of cases includes number of deaths. WHO reports only laboratory-confirmed cases. All dates refer to onset of illness. | A mutation in the H5N1 avian flu or bird flu virus has been found in two humans infected with the virus located in the Gharbiyah Province of Egypt which is located about 50 miles outside of Egypt's capital Cairo. The victims, a 16 year-old girl and her 26 year-old uncle both died in December of 2006 and both patients were administered the Bird Flu treatment oseltamivir (Tamiflu®), had shown to be less effective against their illnesses. The virus was also tested against the drugs zanamivir (Relenza®) and amantadine, and is was found that these drugs were still effective against the mutated form of this virus. A sister of the 26 year-old also died of Bird Flu in December of 2006, but health officials have yet to determine if she died from the mutated form of the virus. The World Health Organization is also stating that the three cases may be human to human transmission, but further tests are needed. The three cases are being treated as an outbreak and officials have yet to determine if the victims received the illness from chickens, or from one another. "Based on the information we have, we can't yet rule out human-to-human transmission. We need to better understand the dynamics of this outbreak," said Bird Flu antivirals expert for the WHO, Doctor Fred Hayden. "It would be very worrisome" if human to human transmission did occur. The WHO however is not concerned that this outbreak may be the start of a world-wide pandemic and it is unknown how many times Bird Flu will need to mutate before it becomes more dangerous to humans. "Given the information we have, we don’t see any broad public health implications," said a spokeman for the WHO, Dick Thompson. Egypt was added to the list of countries where the H5N1 virus has been found just last year. Since then the virus has only infected 18 people. Of those people, 10 have died so far, including these three cases in December. The WHO reports that 267 people have been infected with Bird Flu in the entire world and that of those people, 161 have been confirmed to have died from the H5N1 virus. Mutated Strains of Bird Flu have been found in Vietnam in 2005 and in Turkey in 2006. |
Sochi 2014: Millie Knight picked as ParalympicsGB flagbearer Fifteen-year-old skier Millie Knight will carry the Great Britain flag at Friday's Paralympic Winter Games opening ceremony in Sochi. Knight, who is the youngest member of the ParalympicsGB team at the event, said the honour was "the best feeling ever". "This was such a surprise but I'll try and make the team proud," she added. Knight, whose vision was impaired by a parasitic infection she picked up as a baby, will compete with a guide. GB Winter Paralympics team Great Britain's 15 athletes will compete in wheelchair curling events at Ice Cube Curling Centre and in alpine skiing events at Rosa Khutor. The first Winter Paralympics were held in Sweden in 1976 when GB had six competitors. She first tried skiing at the age of seven on a family holiday and joined the Great Britain development squad in November 2012 at the age of 13. "Millie is a very talented athlete and an exciting prospect for the future," said ParalympicsGB chef de mission Penny Briscoe. "She is the perfect representative for the team on this occasion." Knight will be joined for the ceremony in the Fisht Stadium by guide Rachael Ferrier and fellow skiers Ben Sneesby and James Whitley, while the rest of the 15-strong British team stay in their accommodation in preparation for events that start the next day. The skiers who will miss the opening ceremony, including medal prospect Kelly Gallagher and her guide Charlotte Evans, compete in downhill races on Saturday, while the wheelchair curling team face Canada that morning. Knight will compete in the slalom and giant slalom events on 14 and 16 March respectively. Despite concerns caused by pro-Russian military forces assuming control of the Ukrainian region of Crimea, about 400 miles from Sochi, ParalympicsGB chief executive Tim Hollingsworth says the athletes feel safe at the Games. ||||| Sign-up to receive the weekly top stories, contest and promotion announcements every Tuesday Thanks for signing up! A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it please check your junk folder. The next issue of Canada.com Newsletter will soon be in your inbox. | leftFile photo of Sonja Gaudet Sochi, Russia — Yesterday, of , Colorado was named the United States flag bearer for the 2014 Winter Paralympics opening ceremony scheduled to take place tomorrow in Sochi, Russia. Lujan is a veteran, and will be competing in the at this year's Games. In Sochi, Lujan is rooming with , the United States flag bearer. Like Lujan, Calhoun is also a veteran, having served in the army. In 2003, while serving in Iraq, Lujan ruptured two discs in his back. Following a back surgery in 2005 that attempted to fix the discs, he had complications that resulted in permanent nerve damage and paralysis in his lower legs. Also yesterday, was named the flag bearer of the Canadian delegation. Earlier today, skier Millie Knight was selected as the flagbearer for . At 15 years of age, Knight is the youngest member of Team GB. == Sources == * * |
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed willingness to join Ehud Olmert's government in 2007 if Israel initiated an attack on Iran, a document from the Israeli WikiLeaks collection has revealed. On July 20, 2007, Marc J. Sievers, the political counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv, sent a telegram to the State Department in Washington on the matter. The telegram was classified "Confidential," the level between "Unclassified" and "Secret." Ehud Olmert and Benjamin Netanyahu, March 31, 2009. Photo by: AP Sievers' message dealt with the formation of a new Israeli government and was written on the eve of the release of the state comptroller's report on the Second Lebanon War, a year after it started. Ehud Olmert was still prime minister and headed the Kadima party. The Labor Party was his senior partner in the ruling coalition. Two days before Sievers sent his message, Defense Minister Amir Peretz, the head of Labor, resigned as defense minister and deputy prime minister. Part of the telegram was devoted to the possibility of the establishment of a national unity government, in which the Likud Party would join Kadima, with Olmert as prime minister. One of Netanyahu's advisers, whose name was not revealed in the message, spoke with American officials on the matter. "The adviser commented that the possibility of a national unity government, bruited in the press, is a possibility, but only if Olmert initiated such a move in order to galvanize Israel for action against Iran. He said that in such a scenario, Netanyahu would probably accept an offer of the Foreign Ministry," wrote Sievers. This was the second time Netanyahu expressed willingness to support the prime minister if he initiated an attack against Iran. In the summer of 2005, Netanyahu resigned as finance minister in Ariel Sharon's cabinet over the Gaza disengagement plan. In December that year, Sharon left the Likud and founded Kadima. At the time, Netanyahu told Sharon he would "support him if he acted against Iran before the elections," reported Aluf Benn in Haaretz two years ago. ||||| Report: Netanyahu supported striking Iran Published: April 21, 2011 at 7:41 AM JERUSALEM, April 21 (UPI) -- Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu was willing to join former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's government if Israel initiated an attack on Iran, a report says. The details of Netanyahu's stand appeared in a confidential cable sent by Marc J. Sievers, a political counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv, to the State Department in Washington in June 2007, a report released by WikiLeaks exclusively to Haaretz said. The cable also dealt with the various options related to the forming of a new government and the possibility of forming a national unity government under Olmert's rule, the newspaper said. At the time, Netanyahu was reportedly willing to accept the post of foreign minister in the event of a military strike on the Islamic Republic of Iran. It was the second time Netanyahu said he was willing to support an Israeli prime minister in the event an attack was launched on Iran, the newspaper said noting that in December 2005, when then prime minister Ariel Sharon formed the Kadima party, Netanyahu said he would support him if he acted against Iran before the elections. An additional document handed over by WikiLeaks to the Hebrew daily revealed concern by the United States about the Chinese company Zibo Chemet supplying vital equipment to Iran's chemical weapons program. A cable drawn up by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2009 instructed the U.S. Embassy in Beijing to take action against the Chinese company, Haaretz said. "We have new information indicating that Zibo Chemet transferred technology for the production of glass-lined reactor equipment to Iranian customers, significantly enhancing Iran's ability to produce indigenously chemical equipment suitable for a chemical warfare program," Haaretz quoted the cable saying. ||||| The United States and Israel are behind the computer worm Stuxnet designed to hurt Iran's controversial nuclear programme, state news agency IRNA reported Saturday quoting a military officer. "Investigations and studies show that the source of Stuxnet originates from America and the Zionist regime," the commander of the Iranian civil defence organisation, Gholam Reza Jalali, said. Jalali was the first Iranian official to accuse Tehran's two arch-foes over the Stuxnet virus. German computer experts and some Western media reports had indicated that the United States and Israel were behind it. Advertisement: Story continues below Stuxnet was publically identified last June and it reportedly mutated and wreaked havoc on computerised industrial equipment in Iran in the following months. The worm was reportedly targeting Bushehr nuclear power plant, where several technical problems have been blamed for delays in getting the facility fully operational. Jalali said once the worm mounts on a system, it begins to gather information and then sends reports from the infected machines to designated Internet addresses. "After following up the reports that were sent, it became clear that the final destinations (of these reports) were the Zionist regime and the American state of Texas," he was quoted as saying by IRNA. In March, a German computer security expert Ralph Langer said he believes the United States and Israel's Mossad had unleashed the Stuxnet worm on Iran's nuclear programme. But it was the New York Times which reported first in January that US and Israeli intelligence services collaborated to develop the computer worm to sabotage Iran's efforts to make a nuclear bomb. In November 2010, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad admitted that uranium enrichment -- the most controversial part of Tehran's nuclear programme - had suffered problems caused by the malware but added the issues had been resolved. Iran's nuclear ambitions are at the heart of a conflict between Tehran and the West, which accuse the Islamic republic of seeking to develop a weapons capability under the cover of a civilian nuclear drive. Tehran vehemently denies the charges. ||||| Israel gave serious thought this spring to launching a military strike on Iran's nuclear sites but was told by President George W Bush that he would not support it and did not expect to revise that view for the rest of his presidency, senior European diplomatic sources have told the Guardian. The then prime minister, Ehud Olmert, used the occasion of Bush's trip to Israel for the 60th anniversary of the state's founding to raise the issue in a one-on-one meeting on May 14, the sources said. "He took it [the refusal of a US green light] as where they were at the moment, and that the US position was unlikely to change as long as Bush was in office", they added. The sources work for a European head of government who met the Israeli leader some time after the Bush visit. Their talks were so sensitive that no note-takers attended, but the European leader subsequently divulged to his officials the highly sensitive contents of what Olmert had told him of Bush's position. Bush's decision to refuse to offer any support for a strike on Iran appeared to be based on two factors, the sources said. One was US concern over Iran's likely retaliation, which would probably include a wave of attacks on US military and other personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as on shipping in the Persian Gulf. The other was US anxiety that Israel would not succeed in disabling Iran's nuclear facilities in a single assault even with the use of dozens of aircraft. It could not mount a series of attacks over several days without risking full-scale war. So the benefits would not outweigh the costs. Iran has repeatedly said it would react with force to any attack. Some western government analysts believe this could include asking Lebanon's Shia movement Hizbollah to strike at the US. "It's over ten years since Hizbollah's last terror strike outside Israel, when it hit an Argentine-Israel association building in Buenos Aires [killing 85 people]", said one official. "There is a large Lebanese diaspora in Canada which must include some Hizbollah supporters. They could slip into the United States and take action". Even if Israel were to launch an attack on Iran without US approval its planes could not reach their targets without the US becoming aware of their flightpath and having time to ask them to abandon their mission. "The shortest route to Natanz lies across Iraq and the US has total control of Iraqi airspace", the official said. Natanz, about 100 miles north of Isfahan, is the site of an uranium enrichment plant. In this context Iran would be bound to assume Bush had approved it, even if the White House denied fore-knowledge, raising the prospect of an attack against the US. Several high-level Israeli officials have hinted over the last two years that Israel might strike Iran's nuclear facilities to prevent them being developed to provide sufficient weapons-grade uranium to make a nuclear bomb. Iran has always denied having such plans. Olmert himself raised the possibility of an attack at a press conference during a visit to London last November, when he said sanctions were not enough to block Iran's nuclear programme. "Economic sanctions are effective. They have an important impact already, but they are not sufficient. So there should be more. Up to where? Up until Iran will stop its nuclear programme," he said. The revelation that Olmert was not merely sabre-rattling to try to frighten Iran but considered the option seriously enough to discuss it with Bush shows how concerned Israeli officials had become. Bush's refusal to support an attack, and the strong suggestion he would not change his mind, is likely to end speculation that Washington might be preparing an "October surprise" before the US presidential election. Some analysts have argued that Bush would back an Israeli attack in an effort to help John McCain's campaign by creating an eve-of-poll security crisis. Others have said that in the case of an Obama victory, the vice-president, Dick Cheney, the main White House hawk, would want to cripple Iran's nuclear programme in the dying weeks of Bush's term. During Saddam Hussein's rule in 1981, Israeli aircraft successfully destroyed Iraq's nuclear reactor at Osirak shortly before it was due to start operating. Last September they knocked out a buildings complex in northern Syria, which US officials later said had been a partly constructed nuclear reactor based on a North Korean design. Syria said the building was a military complex but had no links to a nuclear programme. In contrast, Iran's nuclear facilities, which are officially described as intended only for civilian purposes, are dispersed around the country and some are in fortified bunkers underground. In public, Bush gave no hint of his view that the military option had to be excluded. In a speech to the Knesset the following day he confined himself to telling Israel's parliament: "America stands with you in firmly opposing Iran's nuclear weapons ambitions. Permitting the world's leading sponsor of terror to possess the world's deadliest weapon would be an unforgivable betrayal of future generations. For the sake of peace, the world must not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon.'' Mark Regev, Olmert's spokesman, tonight reacted to the Guardian's story saying: "The need to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons is raised at every meeting between the prime minister and foreign leaders. Israel prefers a diplomatic solution to this issue but all options must remain on the table. Your unnamed European source attributed words to the prime minister that were not spoken in any working meeting with foreign guests". Three weeks after Bush's red light, on June 2, Israel mounted a massive air exercise covering several hundred miles in the eastern Mediterranean. It involved dozens of warplanes, including F-15s, F-16s and aerial refueling tankers. The size and scope of the exercise ensured that the US and other nations in the region saw it, said a US official, who estimated the distance was about the same as from Israel to Natanz. A few days later, Israel's deputy prime minister, Shaul Mofaz, told the paper Yediot Ahronot: "If Iran continues its programme to develop nuclear weapons, we will attack it. The window of opportunity has closed. The sanctions are not effective. There will be no alternative but to attack Iran in order to stop the Iranian nuclear programme." The exercise and Mofaz's comments may have been designed to boost the Israeli government and military's own morale as well, perhaps, to persuade Bush to reconsider his veto. Last week Mofaz narrowly lost a primary within the ruling Kadima party to become Israel's next prime minister. Tzipi Livni, who won the contest, takes a less hawkish position. The US announced two weeks ago that it would sell Israel 1,000 bunker-busting bombs. The move was interpreted by some analysts as a consolation prize for Israel after Bush told Olmert of his opposition to an attack on Iran. But it could also enhance Israel's attack options in case the next US president revives the military option. The guided bomb unit-39 (GBU-39) has a penetration capacity equivalent to a one-tonne bomb. Israel already has some bunker-busters. ||||| Mr Netanyahu's popularity has soared this year Mr Netanyahu won 73% of the vote. In his victory speech, he vowed to focus Likud's efforts on bringing Israel a new leadership. Recent polls show Mr Netanyahu would be a popular choice for prime minister. Mr Netanyahu was prime minister from 1996 to 1999 and has since held several senior cabinet posts. Party officials released final election results early on Wednesday - showing Mr Netanyahu had far outstripped his main rival, the hardline religious challenger, Moshe Feiglin, who won 23% of the vote. Last year Mr Netanyahu led Likud to a crushing defeat in parliamentary elections. But BBC correspondents say his popularity has soared in opinion polls since last year's inconclusive war in Lebanon. Israeli general elections are due in 2010 but Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's approval ratings have dropped and some commentators anticipate elections as early as next year. Mr Olmert heads the centrist Kadima party. "Tonight the internal contest ended, and as of tomorrow, we will focus our efforts on bringing a new leadership to Israel," Mr Netanyahu told supporters in Tel Aviv on Tuesday. He had appealed to Likud members to vote as he feared a low turnout might play into the hands of Mr Feiglin. Around 40% of Likud's 95,000 members cast ballots across the country. Polling stations were even opened in some Israeli holiday resorts. ||||| TEHRAN — Iran's conservative new president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, said Wednesdaythat Israel must be "wiped off the map" and that attacks by Palestinians would destroy it, the ISNA press agency reported. Ahmadinejad was speaking to an audience of about 4,000 students at a program called "The World Without Zionism," in preparation for an annual anti-Israel demonstration on the last Friday of the holy month of Ramadan. His tone was reminiscent of that of the early days of Iran's Islamic revolution in 1979. Iran and Israel have been bitter enemies since then, and anti-Israel slogans have been common at rallies. Senior officials had avoided provocative language over the past decade, butAhmadinejad appears to be taking a more confrontational tone than Iranian leaders have in recent years. | Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu actively pushed for a military strike on Iran, according to a report published in the Israeli newspaper on Thursday. A document revealed by Wikileaks, dated July 20, 2007, shows that Mr. Netanyahu, leader of the Likud party, urged an attack on Iran in exchange for joining the government at the time, led by Ehud Olmert. Mr. Netanyahu's request was made as part of discussions to form a government of national unity between Likud and Mr. Olmert's Kadima party, according to the leaked cable, classified as "confidential" and penned by Marc. J. Sievers, who was at the US embassy in Tel Aviv as a political counselor. An advisor to Mr. Netanyahu told American officials at the time that the Likud leader was willing to take the post of foreign minister, while Mr. Olmert would have become prime minister. However, Mr. Netanyahu demanded military action against Iran as the price for his participation in the proposed coalition. According to the advisor cited in the US cable, Mr. Netanyahu urged the Kadima leader to "galvanize Israel for action against Iran." Israel has previously entertained the possibility of military strikes to prevent Iran from attaining nuclear weapons capability. In November 2010, Iran announced uranium enrichment activities had been disrupted by the computer virus. The Iranian government later accused the US and Israel of responsibility for the malware. Israel and Western powers have accused Iran, whose president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has called for Israel to be "wiped off the map," of seeking to obtain nuclear weapons under the guise of a civilian nuclear program. == Sources == * * * * * * |
EC publishes progress report on Western Balkans BRUSSELS, Belgium -- The European Commission (EC) published on Wednesday (October 14th) its annual progress report on the Western Balkans and Turkey. The EC says Croatia could wrap up its membership talks in 2010, but the other Balkan countries have more work to do. The report provides no entry date for Zagreb. In the document, Brussels criticises the EU-hopefuls over widespread corruption and shortcomings in the judiciary. The commission urges Turkey to step up political and economic reforms, to improve the rights of minorities, women and trade unions, as well as to normalise relations with Cyprus. The report notes that Serbia, Albania, Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Kosovo are making uneven progress, and Serbia has a strong administrative capacity to implement the necessary reforms. The EC recommended that the 27-nation bloc start accession talks with Macedonia as the country has made "convincing progress", EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said in Brussels while presenting the report. In a separate document, the EC proposed that the EU step up its ties with Kosovo by offering visa-free travel to its citizens when the conditions are met. (Reuters, AP, AFP - 14/10/09) ||||| After the European Commission’s October 14 2009 enlargement report said that EU membership negotiations should be opened with Macedonia, prime minister Nikola Gruevski hailed it as a historic day and people cheered on the streets of Skopje. But in the ensuing hours, it appeared clear that any euphoria may be premature. The EC report said that Macedonia had achieved "convincing progress" in areas like police reform, corruption and human rights. But the report also urged Skopje to work harder on achieving a solution to its long-standing dispute with Athens about the use of the name Macedonia. It was now much more important and urgent than ever to find a solution of the dispute, which was standing in the way of Macedonia’s progress, according to European Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn. "I trust that the government in Skopje will take this as a very strong encouragement to finally settle the name issue," Rehn said On October 14, Macedonian daily Vreme – as quoted by Bulgarian news agency Focus – said that Athens would not accept the recommendation by the EC about starting negotiations on EU membership for Macedonia, which has been a candidate country since December 2005. Vreme quoted unnamed Greek sources as saying that the EC should pay special attention to the name dispute because, they said, it was that certain that if this was not done, the start of the accession negotiations would be vetoed. There was a real possibility that Greece would veto the start of such talks. Previously, the name dispute prompted Greece to block an invitation being given to Macedonia to join Nato. At the time, it said that unless the name dispute was resolved, it would also stand in the way of Skopje’s EU hopes. Speaking to Greek media on October 13, Greek deputy foreign minister Dimitris Droutsas said: "the European path of Macedonia passes through Greece". Greece had set a "strict and clear red line," Droutsas said. He emphasised that EU membership talks for Skopje could not go ahead unless the name dispute was resolved. A report in leading Greek daily Kathimerini on October 15 said that it had emerged that Stavros Dimas, the Greek European Environment Commissioner, had expressed his opposition to the move in a letter sent to Brussels. Kathimerini said that, perhaps in response to this letter, Rehn had added that he viewed the launch of talks with Skopje as "a very strong encouragement to settle the name issue and thus remove this from the agenda, and I trust that the government in Skopje gets this message as well." Reacting to Rehn’s comments, Macedonian prime minister Gruevski said, "We are aware of the importance of this report and... will actively and constructively negotiate and seek a solution with Greece under the United Nations auspices." ||||| The European Commission’s October 14 2009 report on the EU enlargement process has hailed what it calls a "year of progress" in the Western Balkans. The report says that Croatia has "made good progress" in meeting the benchmarks set in the accession negotiations and negotiations have now formally resumed following the political agreement between Slovenia and Croatia over handling the border issue. "Croatia will need to pursue its reform efforts, in particular on the judiciary and public administration, the fight against and organised crime, and minority rights. If Croatia meets all outstanding benchmarks in time, the accession negotiations could be concluded next year." Montenegro applied for EU membership in December 2008 and the EC said that it was currently preparing an opinion as requested by the European Council. Parliamentary elections in Montenegro had met almost all international standards. Strengthening administrative capacity and consolidating the rule of law remain major challenges. Albania applied for EU membership in April. "The Commission stands ready to prepare its opinion, once invited to do so by the Council." Parliamentary elections had met most international standards. "Strengthening the rule of law and ensuring the proper functioning of state institutions remain major challenges," the EC said of Albania. Bosnia and Herzegovina "urgently needs to speed up key reforms," the EC said. "The country's European future requires a shared vision on the overall direction of the country by its leadership, the political will to meet European integration requirements and to meet the conditions which have been set for the closure of the OHR." The EC said that Serbia had demonstrated its commitment to moving closer to the EU by building up a track record in implementing the provisions of the Interim Agreement with the EU and by undertaking key reforms. "In light of sustained co-operation with ICTY, the Commission considers that the Interim Agreement should now be implemented by the EU." But, the EC said, "Serbia needs to demonstrate a more constructive attitude on issues related to Kosovo". In Kosovo, "stability has been maintained but remains fragile," according to the EC report. The EU's rule of law mission EULEX had been deployed throughout Kosovo and was fully operational. "Kosovo faces major challenges, including ensuring the rule of law, the fight against corruption and organised crime, the strengthening of administrative capacity, and the protection of the Serb and other minorities." In a separate document, the EC proposes to "bring Kosovo's citizens closer to the EU", including through a visa dialogue with the perspective of eventual visa liberalisation when the necessary reforms will have been undertaken and the conditions met. The EC also proposes to extend the preferential trading regime ("autonomous trade measures") that Kosovo currently benefits from and will propose negotiating directives for a trade agreement once Kosovo meets the relevant requirements. | The European Commission (EC) published its annual progress report on the Western Balkans and Turkey on Wednesday. Brussels, headquarters of the European Commission In the report, the EC said that Croatia could wrap up its membership talks in 2010, but the other Balkan countries have more work to do. The report provides no entry date for Croatia. "Croatia will need to pursue its reform efforts, in particular on the judiciary and public administration, the fight against and organised crime, and minority rights. If Croatia meets all outstanding benchmarks in time, the accession negotiations could be concluded next year," the report read. Brussels criticised the EU-hopefuls over widespread corruption and shortcomings in the judiciary in the document. The commission urged Turkey to step up political and economic reforms, to improve the rights of minorities, women and trade unions, as well as to normalise relations with Cyprus. The report notes that Serbia, Albania, Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Kosovo are making uneven progress, and Serbia has a strong administrative capacity to implement the necessary reforms. The EC recommended that the 27-nation bloc start accession talks with Macedonia, as the country has made "convincing progress", EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said in Brussels while presenting the report. In a separate document, the EC proposed that the EU step up its ties with Kosovo by offering visa-free travel to its citizens when the conditions are met. |
Washington Post Staff Writers Saturday, December 3, 2005; Page A01 The U.S. military command in Baghdad acknowledged for the first time yesterday that it has paid Iraqi newspapers to carry positive news about U.S. efforts in Iraq, but officials characterized the payments as part of a legitimate campaign to counter insurgents' misinformation. In a statement, the command said the program included efforts, "customary in Iraq," to purchase advertising and place clearly labeled opinion pieces in Iraqi newspapers. But the statement suggested that the "information operations" program may have veered into a gray area where government contractors paid to have articles placed in Iraqi newspapers without explaining that the material came from the U.S. military and that Iraqi journalists were paid to write positive accounts. "Serious allegations have been raised that suggest the process may be functioning in a manner different than is intended or appropriate," the statement said. Commanders are "reviewing these allegations and will investigate any improprieties," it said. The statement from Baghdad was the first official effort to explain the media initiative after three days of news reports describing efforts by the U.S. military to plant stories in Iraqi media under the guise of independent journalism. The episode has sparked an intense debate at the Pentagon and beyond, as military officials in Washington said privately that they are troubled by the situation and media experts said the program violated standard journalistic practices. The controversy has also fanned a debate that has been underway for months in military circles about the role that information operations should be playing in nontraditional conflicts such as the Iraq situation. The term covers a wide range of activities -- some open, some not -- intent on undermining an enemy by fooling, confusing or refuting him. "The broader debate is whether it's acceptable for the IO community to be doing this," said a general who has served in Iraq and has some experience in information operations. After a briefing from Pentagon officials yesterday, Sen. John W. Warner (R-Va.), chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said he remains "gravely concerned about the situation." He said the Pentagon is looking into cases in which there may have been "an omission" of labels in newspapers indicating where the material came from or that it was an advertisement. In describing the program, military officials said third parties -- including the Washington-based Lincoln Group -- were sometimes hired to distribute the articles to newspapers to protect publishers that might have been targeted by insurgents if they were known to accept material from the military. Officials said one unanswered question they have is whether the Lincoln Group intentionally misled newspapers by presenting the articles as freelance journalism, obscuring the fact that the material came from U.S. armed forces. Lincoln Group officials would not discuss specifics of the contract. Laurie Adler, a spokeswoman for the company, said yesterday that Lincoln Group has been promoting truthful reporting across Iraq. "We counter the lies, intimidation, and pure evil of terror with factual stories that highlight the heroism and sacrifice of the Iraqi people and their struggle for freedom and security," Adler said in a written statement. "We are encouraged by their sacrifice and proud to help them tell their side of the story." Officials familiar with the Lincoln Group's contract said it allows the firm to pay to have articles placed in the Iraqi press. The contract reportedly says nothing about disguising the origin of the articles, but some military officers defended the practice as a necessary security measure, to protect the Iraqi journalists used to deliver the accounts and the Iraqi news organizations that print them. If it were known that the journalists and the news organizations were carrying information provided by the U.S. military, these officers said, insurgents would surely target them. Indeed, at least two of the Iraqi newspapers cited in initial news reports as having printed the articles in question have since received threats from insurgents, according to military officials. Proponents of such tactics argue that different standards should be applied to what is permissible in a combat zone such as Iraq than, say, in the United States or other stable democracies. Although the idea of the military using covert methods to get favorable information into print appears unethical at home, the argument goes, there are mitigating circumstances justifying such tactics in Iraq. Warner met with several officers and civilian leaders at the Pentagon yesterday for a briefing on the program, a meeting that yielded few details. Warner told reporters on Capitol Hill that the program was authorized through the U.S. Central Command and that the Lincoln Group was allowed to provide payments for the placement of articles with the understanding that any such material would be labeled as an advertisement originating from coalition forces. The material, produced by information operators and not by public affairs officials, was reviewed by a flag officer and commanders before distribution, and it received legal clearance in Iraq, Warner said. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), a member of the Armed Services Committee, sent a letter to the Defense Department's inspector general asking for an investigation into the program and the Lincoln Group contract. Kennedy called it "a devious scheme to place favorable propaganda in Iraqi newspapers." ||||| $1,095,000 6 Bedrooms 3 Full Baths 1 Half Baths 3450 Sq. Ft. ID# 2932997 On HomeFinder.com 08/26/09 Coldwell Banker Schmidt Linda Burns Vining P (888) 206-5390 Warning subject to short sale. lovely lake michigan home with 108 feet of private frontage, nestled in gated community with approx. 120 acres of woods and trails, tennis courts and medium bluff, quality abounds with many updates such as brand new furnace, corian tops, gorgeous 2 story fieldstone fireplace, large wrap around deck for entertaining, large newer lake side sun porch for watching the beautiful sunsets, wonderful lodge-chalet feel, plenty of room for the extended family gatherings or to have all the friends out to the lake, home offers electric tram or stairs to the beach, great location quick and easy to the downtown activities for the night life......... home warranty included for worry free living, call for your private showing today. bank is ready for offers. | U.S. military officials have now confirmed that the U.S. military has been paying Iraqi newspapers to publish positive news about U.S. efforts in Iraq. This confirms the report that the ''Los Angeles Times'' broke last week. Earlier this year, the Bush administration came under criticism for distributing videos and news stories in the United States without identifying the federal government as its source, and paying American journalists to promote administration policies. The Government Accountability Office has characterized these practices as "covert propaganda." |
Tropical Depression PALOMA Public Advisory Home Public Adv Discussion Wind Probs Maps/Charts Archive 000 WTNT32 KNHC 100237 TCPAT2 BULLETIN TROPICAL DEPRESSION PALOMA ADVISORY NUMBER 19 NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL AL172008 1000 PM EST SUN NOV 09 2008 ...PALOMA DISSIPATING INLAND OVER EAST-CENTRAL CUBA... ...FINAL ADVISORY BEING ISSUED... AT 1000 PM EST...0300Z...THE CENTER OF WEAKENING TROPICAL DEPRESSION PALOMA WAS LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 22.0 NORTH...LONGITUDE 78.0 WEST OR ABOUT 40 MILES... 70 KM...NORTH OF CAMAGUEY CUBA AND ABOUT 180 MILES...285 KM...SOUTHWEST OF THE CENTRAL BAHAMAS. THE DEPRESSION IS MOVING TOWARD THE NORTH NEAR 3 MPH...AND THIS GENERAL MOTION IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE FOR THE NEXT DAY OR SO. ON THE FORECAST TRACK...THE REMNANTS OF PALOMA SHOULD EMERGE OFF THE NORTH COAST OF CUBA MONDAY MORNING. MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 30 MPH...45 KM/HR...WITH HIGHER GUSTS. CONTINUED WEAKENING IS FORECAST DURING THE NEXT 24 HOURS. THE ESTIMATED MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE IS 1007 MB...29.74 INCHES. THE REMNANTS OF PALOMA MAY PRODUCE ADDITIONAL RAINFALL ACCUMULATIONS OF 1 TO 2 INCHES OVER PORTIONS OF EASTERN AND CENTRAL CUBA AND THE BAHAMAS. REPEATING THE 1000 PM EST POSITION...22.0 N...78.0 W. MOVEMENT TOWARD...NORTH NEAR 3 MPH. MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...30 MPH. MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...1007 MB. THIS IS THE LAST PUBLIC ADVISORY ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER ON THIS SYSTEM. $$ FORECASTER STEWART ||||| U.S. weather forecasters have downgraded the tropical storm named Paloma to a tropical depression as it weakens over Cuba. At last report Sunday, the storm was located near the city of Camaguey, with winds of 55 kilometers per hour. When Paloma came ashore Saturday as a hurricane, its winds downed power lines, toppled trees and damaged homes across the southern coast of Cuba. Paloma is expected to continue weakening as it nears Cuba's northern coast and heads toward the Bahamas. Both the Cuban and Bahamian governments have discontinued all warnings associated with the storm. A storm surge caused coastal flooding in Cuba. Paloma also dumped considerable rain on parts of the island nation, and is expected to do the same to parts of the Bahamas. Paloma is the third major hurricane to hit Cuba this year. Ike and Gustav caused billions of dollars in damage. Paloma drenched the Cayman Islands with torrential rains late last week, ripping roofs off of buildings and toppling trees. There have been no reports of storm-related deaths. Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters. ||||| Hurricane PALOMA ZCZC MIATCPAT2 ALL TTAA00 KNHC DDHHMM BULLETIN HURRICANE PALOMA ADVISORY NUMBER 13 NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL AL172008 1000 AM EST SAT NOV 08 2008 ...EXTREMELY DANGEROUS PALOMA TURNS TOWARD THE EAST-NORTHEAST AND TAKES AIM AT CUBA...NEW WARNINGS ISSUED... AT 10 AM EST...1500 UTC...THE GOVERNMENT OF CUBA HAS ISSUED A HURRICANE WARNING FOR THE CUBAN PROVINCES OF GRANMA AND HOLGUIN AND DISCONTINUED THE HURRICANE WARNING FOR SANCTI SPIRITUS. A HURRICANE WARNING IS NOW IN EFFECT FOR THE CUBAN PROVINCES OF CIEGO DE AVILA...CAMAGUEY...LAS TUNAS...GRANMA AND HOLGUIN. PREPARATIONS TO PROTECT LIFE AND PROPERTY SHOULD BE RUSHED TO COMPLETION. A HURRICANE WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE CAYMAN ISLANDS. A TROPICAL STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE CUBAN PROVINCE OF SANTIAGO DE CUBA. A TROPICAL STORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE CENTRAL BAHAMAS... INCLUDING CAT ISLAND...THE EXUMAS...LONG ISLAND...RUM CAY...AND SAN SALVADOR. A TROPICAL STORM WATCH MEANS THAT TROPICAL STORM CONDITIONS ARE POSSIBLE WITHIN THE WATCH AREA...GENERALLY WITHIN 36 HOURS. INTERESTS ELSEWHERE IN CUBA AND THE BAHAMAS SHOULD CLOSELY MONITOR THE PROGRESS OF PALOMA. FOR STORM INFORMATION SPECIFIC TO YOUR AREA PLEASE MONITOR PRODUCTS ISSUED BY YOUR LOCAL WEATHER OFFICE. AT 1000 AM EST...1500Z...THE CENTER OF HURRICANE PALOMA WAS LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 19.9 NORTH...LONGITUDE 79.3 WEST OR ABOUT 130 MILES... 210 KM...EAST-NORTHEAST OF GRAND CAYMAN AND ABOUT 140 MILES...220 KM ...SOUTHWEST OF CAMAGUEY CUBA. PALOMA IS MOVING TOWARD THE EAST-NORTHEAST NEAR 9 MPH...15 KM/HR... AND THIS GENERAL MOTION IS EXPECTED THROUGH SUNDAY WITH SOME DECREASE IN FORWARD SPEED AFTER LANDFALL. ON THE FORECAST TRACK... THE CENTER OF PALOMA IS EXPECTED TO MOVE AWAY FROM CAYMAN BRAC THIS MORNING...AND BE APPROACHING THE COAST OF SOUTH-CENTRAL CUBA LATE TONIGHT OR EARLY SUNDAY. MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 140 MPH...220 KM/HR...WITH HIGHER GUSTS. PALOMA IS AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS CATEGORY FOUR HURRICANE ON THE SAFFIR-SIMPSON SCALE. SOME SLOW WEAKENING IS FORECAST DURING THE NEXT 24 HOURS...BUT PALOMA IS EXPECTED TO REMAIN A MAJOR HURRICANE UP UNTIL LANDFALL IN CUBA. HURRICANE FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 25 MILES...35 KM...FROM THE CENTER...AND TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 115 MILES...185 KM. THE ESTIMATED MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE IS 943 MB...27.85 INCHES. LIFE-THREATENING STORM SURGE FLOODING OF 17 TO 23 FEET...ACCOMPANIED BY LARGE AND DANGEROUS BATTERING WAVES...IS EXPECTED NEAR AND TO THE EAST OF WHERE THE CENTER OF PALOMA MAKES LANDFALL ALONG THE SOUTH COAST OF CUBA. STORM SURGE FLOODING IN THE CAYMAN ISLANDS WILL GRADUALLY SUBSIDE TODAY. PALOMA IS EXPECTED TO PRODUCE TOTAL RAINFALL ACCUMULATIONS OF 5 TO 10 INCHES OVER LITTLE CAYMAN...CAYMAN BRAC...AND CENTRAL AND EASTERN CUBA...WITH ISOLATED MAXIMUM TOTALS OF 20 INCHES POSSIBLE. THESE RAINS MAY PRODUCE LIFE-THREATENING FLASH FLOODS AND MUDSLIDES. RAINFALL ACCUMULATIONS OF 1 TO 3 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE ACROSS JAMAICA AND ADDITIONAL RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 1 TO 2 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE ACROSS GRAND CAYMAN. REPEATING THE 1000 AM EST POSITION...19.9 N...79.3 W. MOVEMENT TOWARD...EAST-NORTHEAST NEAR 9 MPH. MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...140 MPH. MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...943 MB. AN INTERMEDIATE ADVISORY WILL BE ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER AT 100 PM EST FOLLOWED BY THE NEXT COMPLETE ADVISORY AT 400 PM EST. $$ FORECASTER BLAKE NNNN ||||| Tropical Depression SEVENTEEN ZCZC MIATCPAT2 ALL TTAA00 KNHC DDHHMM CCA BULLETIN TROPICAL DEPRESSION SEVENTEEN ADVISORY NUMBER 1...CORRECTED NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL AL172008 400 PM EST WED NOV 05 2008 CORRECTED AWIPS BIN NUMBER 3 TO NUMBER 2 ...NEW TROPICAL DEPRESSION FORECAST TO STRENGTHEN.... AT 4 PM EST...2100 UTC...THE GOVERNMENT OF HONDURAS HAS ISSUED A TROPICAL STORM WATCH FROM THE NICARAGUA BORDER TO LIMON. AT 4 PM EST...THE GOVERNMENT OF NICARAGUA HAS ISSUED A TROPICAL STORM WATCH FROM PUERTO CABEZAS NORTHWARD TO THE HONDURAS BORDER. A TROPICAL STORM WATCH IS NOW IN EFFECT FROM PUERTO CABEZAS NICARAGUA NORTHWARD TO LIMON HONDURAS. A TROPICAL STORM WATCH MEANS THAT TROPICAL STORM CONDITIONS ARE POSSIBLE WITHIN THE WATCH AREA...IN THIS CASE WITHIN 24-36 HOURS. FOR STORM INFORMATION SPECIFIC TO YOUR AREA...INCLUDING POSSIBLE INLAND WATCHES AND WARNINGS...PLEASE MONITOR PRODUCTS ISSUED BY YOUR LOCAL WEATHER OFFICE. AT 400 PM EST...2100Z...THE CENTER OF TROPICAL DEPRESSION SEVENTEEN WAS LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 14.0 NORTH...LONGITUDE 81.8 WEST OR ABOUT 115 MILES...185 KM...SOUTHEAST OF CABO GRACIAS A DIOS ON THE NICARAGUA/HONDURAS BORDER. THE DEPRESSION IS MOVING TOWARD THE NORTHWEST NEAR 5 MPH...7 KM/HR. THIS GENERAL MOTION IS EXPECTED THROUGH TOMORROW WITH A TURN TOWARD THE NORTH FORECAST ON FRIDAY. MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 30 MPH...45 KM/HR...WITH HIGHER GUSTS. THE DEPRESSION IS EXPECTED TO BECOME A TROPICAL STORM TONIGHT OR TOMORROW. CONTINUED STRENGTHENING IS FORECAST ON FRIDAY. AN AIR FORCE RESERVE HURRICANE HUNTER PLANE REPORTED A MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE OF 1004 MB...29.65 INCHES. THE DEPRESSION IS EXPECTED TO PRODUCE 1 TO 2 INCHES OF RAIN OVER EASTERN HONDURAS AND NORTHEASTERN NICARAGUA WITH ISOLATED MAXIMUM TOTALS OF 6 INCHES POSSIBLE. REPEATING THE 400 PM EST POSITION...14.0 N...81.8 W. MOVEMENT TOWARD...NORTHWEST NEAR 5 MPH. MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...30 MPH. MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...1004 MB. AN INTERMEDIATE ADVISORY WILL BE ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER AT 700 PM EST FOLLOWED BY THE NEXT COMPLETE ADVISORY AT 1000 PM EST. $$ FORECASTER BRENNAN/STEWART NNNN | Hurricane Paloma on November 7 , which the yesterday labeled as "extremely dangerous", has recently hit Cuba. In preparation of this, at 1500 yesterday, the Cuban provinces of and were issued with a Hurricane warning by the country's government. Due to updated forecasts, it has also removed the waning for the province of Sancti Spiritus. 220,000 people were evacuated from low-lying areas in the province, while 170,000 were evacuated from the province of . The Hurricane is now weakening, however, with the NOAA stating that "continued weakening is expected over the next day or two, even after Paloma moves off the coast of Cuba." The NOAA has also stated that "Paloma is expected to produce additional rainfall totals of 1 to 2 inches over eastern Cuba. Rainfall accumulations of 5 to 10 inches are possible over the central Bahamas." Hurricane Paloma was the seventeenth tropical depression of the . Paloma developed out of a strong tropical disturbance off the northern coast of Honduras on November 5. The disturbance had slowly developed into a tropical depression. The depression then became a tropical storm then a hurricane. |
Ambulances and fire fighter trucks surround the wreckage of the Boeing 747 cargo plane Boeing 747 cargo plane crashes on take off at Brussels airport BRUSSELS (AFP) — An American-owned Boeing 747 cargo plane crashed as it took off at Brussels airport on Sunday and broke apart, but the five-strong crew escaped without injury, airport officials said. The jumbo jet came to rest at the end of the runway some 500 metres (yards) from housing in the Brussels suburb of Zaventem after the crash, which occurred at 1130 GMT. Local residents have long campaigned to have this particular runway shut down, and said the crash was entirely predictable. The plane broke into three pieces, and stopped just metres short of electricity power cables. The massive four-engined jet belonged to Kalitta Air, airport spokeswoman Tru Lefevere said. Belgian TV reported that the plane was carrying diplomatic baggage belonging to the US Ambassador to Belgium, including a car and papers. The US embassy in Brussels refused to comment. The five-strong crew were all Americans, and the plane was bound for the Gulf state of Bahrain, according to another airport official, Jan Van der Cruysse. No obvious cause for the crash was immediately apparent and an inquiry has been opened. "It seems that the plane must have suddenly left the runway as it was attempting take-off, and crashed. It was perhaps a technical problem, but we don't know," airport spokeswoman Tru Lefevre said. "There are no injuries even though the five people on board have been taken to hospital," Lefevre added, noting that one of them was in a state of shock. Officials said the crash had not significantly affected air traffic, but the rail link between the airport and the centre of the Belgian capital had been suspended as the line ran close to the scene of the crash. A yellow escape chute could be seen emerging from the fuselage. Brussels airport is situated about 15 kilometres (10 miles) from the Belgian capital. "This was very close to a catastrophe," said Frederic Petit of the local residents' association. "Imagine if it had been an aircraft full of passengers!" "Since 2004, freight planes have been using this runway on Saturdays and Sundays, yet it is 1,000 metres (yards) shorter than the others," he added. "The politicians can no longer beat about the bush, this runway must immediately be closed to the heaviest carriers," said the Mayor of neighbouring Wezembeek-Oppem, Francois Van Hoobrouck. Based in Michigan, and named after the owner Conrad Kalitta, Kalitta Air was founded in 2000 and has 18 Boeing 747s, according to its website. In October 1992, an Israeli El Al Boeing 747 cargo plane crashed into a residential block after taking off from Amsterdam airport, killing the crew and 39 people on the ground. Both engines on its right wing had fallen off. In December 1999, a Korean Air Boeing 747 cargo plane crashed soon after take-off from Stansted airport near London, killing all four crew. Large-scale disaster was averted after the plane, with a cargo that included highly flammable chemicals, including paint and benzene, missed villages and crashed into fields. Crew failure to deal with a faulty instrument emergency and maintenance faults was cited as the cause of the accident. ||||| View larger image A cargo plane split in two is seen at the end of the runway in Zaventem near Brussels, Sunday May 25, 2008. (AP Photo/Yves Logghe) Jumbo cargo jet breaks in two in Belgium The Associated Press BRUSSELS -- A large cargo plane crashed and broke apart close to a row of houses while trying to abort a takeoff Sunday at Brussels airport, authorities said. The Boeing 747-200 skidded to a halt in a field at the end of a runway around 1:30 p.m. Four of the five crew members on board the plane, operated by U.S.-based cargo carrier Kalitta Air, were slightly injured and were hospitalized, said Jan Van der Cruysse, spokesman at Brussels Airport. "The plane is very seriously damaged,'' he said. The aircraft cracked near the tail and by the wings when it slid about 300 metres past the end of runway 20. The plane, full of fuel, stopped just five metres from a rail line and 500 metres from houses on the edge of the town of Zaventem. "I just heard a boom, and then I saw the plane go by the cemetery and the plane seems to be going off, sliding off, and then I heard a second boom, that's all I saw,'' local resident Johan Schoelink told Associated Press Television. Rail services to and from the airport were suspended as a safety precaution, but the crash did not affect other flights at the airport, Van der Cruysse said. Francis Vermeiren, the mayor of the nearby town of Zaventem, said the plane did not catch fire. Vermeiren was co-ordinating rescue efforts at the airport. Vermeiren said the pilot told rescue authorities he heard a loud noise while trying to take off, after which he tried to land the plane. Airport officials said it was not clear what had caused the crash. Local news organizations speculated that a tire could have blown during takeoff or the engines could have failed. Experts planned to examine the aircraft and remove the plane's cockpit voice recorder, or "black box,'' to find out what caused the crash, officials said. Firefighters coated the wings of the plane with fire retardant foam because the plane was still full of fuel, the mayor said. Some of the fuel had leaked from the left wing, but the spill was being contained and cleaned up. Vermeiren said the plane had been scheduled to fly to Bahrain. Airport officials said the plane was carrying cargo weighing 70 tonnes, over half of which was diplomatic mail. Other cargo included a car and batteries. The plane is owned by Kalitta Air, a cargo carrier based at Willow Run Airport near Ypsilanti, Michigan, and it made regular flights from Brussels, officials said. A person who answered the telephone at Kalitta Air on Sunday morning said no one was available to comment. | Amsterdam's Schipol Airport A Boeing 747 cargo plane has broken in two after crashing off the end of the runway at Brussels Airport near Zaventem, Belgium. Some reports say four of the five crew were slightly injured when the Kallita Air jumbo jet failed to takeoff on a flight to Bahrain, but others state no injuries. Press images show the aircraft, which did not catch fire, broken immediately behind the wings, with the forward section level and the front end of the back section raised in the air. The right hand door has been opened and the emergency evacuation slide deployed by the crew, one of whom is in a state of shock. The area around the plane's wings was doused with specialist fire retardant foam as the tanks were full of fuel for the journey. The force of the crash at 1:30 p.m. local time today sent the plane 300 meters beyond the end of the runway. Air operations have continued as normal on the airport's two other runways, but a nearby railway line is closed. Reports of the cargo on board vary, with one news agency reporting 70 tons of diplomatic mail, batteries and a car, while other reports state 76 tons of unspecified cargo. It is unclear what caused the accident, but the pilot reported hearing a loud noise as the aircraft attempted to takeoff. Weather conditions were clear, and the airport had seen some light rain in earlier this morning. Kalitta is a United States based carrier founded in 2000 by Conrad Kalitta with three 747s and now owns 18 including the one involved in today's accident. |
Last updated: 6th April 2008 Osman: Struck the winner Leon Osman ensured that the race for fourth spot remains one of intrigue as his second half strike saw Everton come out on top in a war of attrition against Derby at Goodison Park. The weather was miserable; the football not much better, as Everton barely raised themselves above the lethargy that dominated last week's Merseyside derby, in nudging themselves to a one goal victory over the basement dwellers. Osman's crisp finish from Manuel Fernandes' pinpoint pass warmed a disgruntled home faithful in the 56th minute, but either side of his contribution there was precious little to cheer. Yakubu Aiyegbeni missed a glorious chance to register his 20th goal of the season in the first half, in missing an open goal, while Derby's Emanuel Villa was meek and mild with his finish when put through after the break. Lethargic display Everton have now cut fourth-placed Liverpool's lead over them to three points, but for long spells it looked as if they had already thrown in the towel. They were dreadful in the first period and only marginally better after the break. Derby surprised Everton with their desire to go forward, with Tim Howard only able to palm the ball out from Mile Sterjovski's strike after six minutes. Everton were disjointed and certainly in the opening period they lacked the drive and spirit normally so evident in David Moyes' teams. Mikel Arteta's run from midfield and chip over Roy Carroll's bar was the best they could do early on. But Yakubu should have grabbed the lead after 17 minutes, scooping a shot over the bar from four yards when Leighton Baines' cross from the left reached him unmarked at the far post. Carroll then saved low down from Fernandes, but there was precious little spark or urgency from either side. Hossam Ghaly wasted a couple of half-chances that could have been decent openings with greater control but it was Everton's general lethargy that gave Derby hope. Everton clearly had a few home truths from Moyes at the break and were sharper and quicker about the pitch. Carroll saved well from a fierce angled drive from Fernandes but Yakubu wasted the follow-up effort. Deadlock broken But after 56 minutes Everton finally scored, Derby standing and watching as Fernandes fired a 30-yard pass from the left into the path of Osman running from deep into a huge space in the visitors' back-line. Osman took one touch and lashed his shot past an exposed Carroll and all Derby's positive work beforehand looked wasted. Carroll then saved well from two other Osman efforts. But Villa should have equalised after 64 minutes when Andy Todd's through ball sent him clear but the weak effort was blocked by Howard's out-stretched left leg. Derby kept working, and twice Kenny Miller saw long-range efforts go wide. Robbie Savage was booked after 85 minutes for a foul on Arteta but it was Everton defending in the closing minutes to keep out Derby's attempts to equalise. Everton sent on Nuno Valente for Arteta in injury-time, Derby by this time having won a string of corners, with keeper Carroll staying up for all of them, in a desperate attempt to claim a point. His efforts, though, proved to be in vain. ||||| Last updated: 6th April 2008 Alves: Celebrates first goal Afonso Alves scored his first goals for Middlesbrough as Manchester United's charge towards the title was checked by a 2-2 draw at the Riverside. Club record signing Alves struck in each half for Boro, who briefly looked like clinching a famous victory until Wayne Rooney equalised on 74 minutes. United were ahead in a pulsating game on a snow-hit Teesside after 10 minutes when Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 37th goal of the season from close range. But Boro showed admirable attacking intent and equalised on 35 minutes when Alves raced in behind the United defence to clip a fine finish beyond Edwin van der Sar. The hosts took the lead on 56 minutes when Alves again nipped in behind a slipshod United back-line to curl another excellent shot past the exposed Van der Sar. United's battling qualities came to the fore in the closing 20 minutes and they were rewarded with an equaliser when Rooney's close-range effort deflected past Mark Schwarzer to leave the leaders three points clear of nearest pursuers Chelsea. The biggest crowd of the season at the Riverside witnessed a hugely-entertaining encounter, Alves warming things up with a promising early run into the United box. The home fans were left cold however when their marking completely went to pieces and United scored a 10th-minute opener. Horrendous miss First Michael Carrick found himself in the clear at the rear of the area to pick up possession from a corner, and then Ronaldo drifted away from his marker to fire home his cross from inside the six-yard box. Alves showed a couple of flashes, including a decent downward header, as Boro tried to reply then Ryan Giggs hit the side-netting after some stylish interplay between Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney. Jeremie Aliadiere was then guilty of a horrendous miss after Middlesbrough broke at speed, the French striker pulling the ball wide from a one-on-one position. A thrilling run from Ronaldo saw the Portuguese winger leave Gary O'Neil trailing in his wake but when he cut into the penalty box his finish for once lacked composure and was sliced wide. Alves won a free-kick against Ferdinand 30 yards out and took it himself. It was a terrific effort, curling and dipping wickedly but straight at van der Sar, who was up quickly again to claw away the follow-up header from Emmanuel Pogatetz. But the Brazilian was not to be denied again and 10 minutes before the break he scored an excellent equaliser. O'Neil's long pass from the right caught United ball-watching, Aliadiere's flick-header took it into Alves' path and he kept his cool to lift the ball over the sliding Van der Sar with his left foot. Boro came agonisingly close to taking the lead when George Boateng found Stewart Downing on his own at the far post but Van der Sar was out like lightning to block the shot. Ronaldo was then furious again when a powerful strike appeared to be blocked by Andrew Taylor's arm - but referee Mike Riley only awarded a corner. Mad with excitement Alves' equaliser had been the first goal conceded by United since February 23 so when he put Boro ahead in the 56th minute, the majority of the 33,952 crowd went mad with excitement. Again Aliadiere played a part, the ball coming off his head into Alves' stride and the Brazilian this time finished expertly with his right foot. United were well and truly rocked and Alves nearly sealed the perfect hat-trick but his header struck Ferdinand's knee. Downing then embarked on a penetrating run that saw him outpace two defenders but his drive from a tight angle only found the side-netting. Rooney, who had looked close to boiling point, finally found an outlet to his frustration when substitute Park Ji-sung beat Taylor and centred for the England striker to clip home from close range off a defender's leg. With 10 minutes to go, Alves departed to a standing ovation as Southgate sent on Tuncay to hunt for a winner. As the clock ran down the tension increased and both sides had chances to steal it in a frantic finish. First, Van der Sar pulled off a diving save to deny Aliadiere then Rooney dragged his effort wide from a threatening position. Tuncay looked poised to win it in injury-time after a brilliant turn - but Van der Sar once again proved United's saviour to deny the Boro substitute. ||||| By Peter Fraser Last updated: 5th April 2008 Crouch celebrates opening the scoring Arsenal and Liverpool suffered a dose of deja vu in part two of their domestic and European trilogy as they played out a 1-1 draw at Emirates Stadium to severely dent the Gunners' Premier League title hopes. After Wednesday's 1-1 draw in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League quarter-final and with next week's return meeting at Anfield in mind, both Arsene Wenger and Rafa Benitez rang the changes for this domestic encounter. And it was Liverpool who settled the better as Benitez's side took the lead on 42 minutes as Peter Crouch - who was making a rare start - nodded on a goal kick from Jose Reina before receiving the ball back from Yossi Benayoun to scuff a half-volley past Arsenal shot-stopper Manuel Almunia from 18 yards. The Gunners had failed to truly threaten in the first 45 minutes as Nicklas Bendtner finished poorly with a clear sight at goal. But after the interval Bendtner atoned for his earlier miss as he headed Arsenal level in the 54th minute from a floated Cesc Fabregas free-kick. The remaining half-an-hour was a frantic affair as Arsenal dominated, but Wenger's side could not find a winner as they lost more ground in the top-flight title race. Tested Liverpool started well and Crouch soon tested Manuel Almunia, letting fly from 25 yards and forcing the Arsenal goalkeeper to make an acrobatic one-handed save to tip the ball over. Crouch was involved again in the 17th minute, this time slipping an expert pass inside the Arsenal backline. John Arne Riise ran onto the ball but, with William Gallas sliding in, the Norwegian lifted his 18-yard shot over the crossbar. It was proving to be something of a chess match, with both teams happy to wait each other out and look for a quick counter-attack. After 31 minutes, Liverpool broke down the right, with Benayoun getting in on the overlap. However, his angled drive flashed across goal. It should, though, have been 1-0 when, after 35 minutes, the Gunners broke quickly through Mathieu Flamini and Theo Walcott. The ball fell to Bendtner just inside the area but the Dane's first-time shot was weak and straight at a grateful Reina. Arsenal were clean in on goal again when Emmanuel Eboue beat the offside trap and got away down the right. However, his low cutback towards Cesc Fabregas was cleared by the retreating Martin Skrtel. The home side were made to pay with three minutes left to the break when Crouch put Liverpool ahead as the England striker headed down a long clearance from keeper Pepe Reina, which Benayoun flicked on. Crouch collected the ball on his chest and turned inside Arsenal captain William Gallas before firing his shot into the bottom corner from the edge of the area. Level After 51 minutes, a run and deflected shot from Walcott led to a corner for Arsenal. Fabregas floated the ball over to Kolo Toure on the penalty spot, but the defender sent his free header wide. Former Gunner Jermaine Pennant was booked on 53 minutes for bundling over Armand Traore as the full-back looked to get away down the left and Arsenal were level from the resulting free-kick. Again Fabregas was the provider as he sent over a deep cross into the six-yard box where Bendtner timed his run towards the near post perfectly and powered a header into the net. The relief around Emirates Stadium was clear as the Arsenal faithful suddenly found their voice. Leading scorer Emanuel Adebayor was sent on, replacing full-back Justin Hoyte, for the final 33 minutes as the Gunners reshuffled. Flamini tested Reina with a low, angled drive from the right side of the area, which the Liverpool goalkeeper held well. Traore was replaced by Gael Clichy for the last 18 minutes before Almunia had to claw the ball away from under his own bar following Riise's left-wing cross. Arsenal continued to press for a winner, but could have been caught out only for substitute Andriy Voronin to fire over from 10 yards. Fernando Torres was introduced for the final 10 minutes, as was Arsenal's Alexander Hleb. However, there was no way through for the home side, who had to settle for a point, which is unlikely to be enough to stay in the hunt for the title. ||||| By Chris Burton Last updated: 5th April 2008 Barry: Bagged a brace Aston Villa kept alive their faint hopes of snatching a Uefa Cup spot after a convincing 4-0 win against struggling Bolton. Gareth Barry grabbed a brace for Villa, and Gabriel Agbonlahor and Marlon Harwood grabbed one apiece as Martin O'Neill's men ran riot at Villa Park. Despite heading into the game on the back of three straight defeats Villa dominated proceedings from the off. Bolton looked like a side short of confidence and found themselves under siege for large periods of the first-half As a result, it came as no surprise when the hosts opened the scoring inside 10 minutes through Barry's stooping header. Ashley Young created space on the left and swung in a dangerous cross which allowed the unmarked Villa skipper to power an effort past a helpless Ali Al Habsi in the Bolton goal. Martin Laursen hit a post with a low drive from a tight angle as Villa pressed for a second, but they were unable to add to their advantage and headed in at the interval with only a narrow lead to show for all their hard work. However, just 11 minutes into the second half they added a second when Agbonlahor tucked away a low cross from Barry. Bolton then finally wilted under the pressure as Barry added a third on the hour mark. His half-volley from the edge of the box flicked off Joey O'Brien to wrap up the points for Martin O'Neill's side. Bolton continued to plug away to no avail with sporadic counter attacks, but saw their defence breached for a fourth time with five minutes remaining. The Trotters left men marked all afternoon from set-pieces and were made to pay the price when Harewood flicked a free header inside the far post from an inch-perfect Barry free-kick. Inviting It took just nine minutes for Villa to go in front through Barry. Young was the creator as he skipped past Kevin Davies on the left and then cut into the Bolton box before sending over an inviting cross. Barry, whose previous five goals this season had all been from the penalty spot, timed his run perfectly to send a powerful header past Al Habsi into the corner of the net. Villa took command and Stiliyan Petrov picked out a surging run from Agbonlahor towards the Bolton box but Joey O'Brien was alert to the situation with a well-timed challenge. Ex-Villa midfielder Gavin McCann got in an important challenge as Petrov lined up a shot from 20 yards. Offensive Davies gave Villa a scare when his cross-cum-shot curled on to the top of the crossbar but the hosts were soon back on the offensive and Taylor flung himself full length to block a shot from the dangerous Young. Reo-Coker found the dangerous Young in space on the right and Al Habsi did well to cut out his low cross with Agbonlahor and John Carew unmarked in the centre. Taylor tried his luck from 35 yards with a free-kick which took a wicked deflection off Agbonlahor and wrong-footed Scott Carson but flew just wide. Bolton's on-loan Liverpool midfielder Guthrie became the first player to be yellow-carded after 37 minutes for a late challenge on Petrov. Deflection Martin Laursen hit the post from a narrow angle after a mix-up between Gary Cahill and Al Habsi. Carew was guilty of a late challenge on Gretar Steinsson and was perhaps fortunate to escape with only a booking. Villa looked out of sorts for a brief spell at the start of the second period but after 55 minutes they doubled their lead through Agbonlahor. A quick fire move down the left carved open the Bolton defence with Young finding the overlapping Barry and his first-time cross was deflected past Al Habsi by Agbonlahor. Glanced It was the first time Agbonlahor had found the net in 13 matches since scoring against Wigan in late December. Five minutes later Villa made virtually sure of victory with Barry's second goal. Young had a shot blocked and the ball ballooned back to Barry whose goal-bound effort took a deflection off Joey O'Brien before beating Al Habsi. With five minutes left substitute Harewood, who replaced the injured Carew, completed the scoring with a glancing header from Barry's inswinging free-kick. ||||| Last updated: 5th April 2008 Berbatov: Goal Blackburn's European ambitions took a hit as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Tottenham at Ewood Park. Both sides had plenty of half-chances to win it, but there were few genuine opportunities to break the deadlock after Blackburn's equaliser. Tottenham took an early lead when good work from Jermaine Jenas created space in the box, and he fed a ball across the goal for Dimitar Berbatov to bundle it over the line. Spurs went on to gain some control after the goal and looked capable of adding to their advantage, but a precise long pass from Steven Reid was superbly brought down by David Bentley, who went past Pascal Chimbonda into the box and played it across for Morten Gamst Pedersen to turn home. Blackburn brought on Benni McCarthy to provide a three-pronged attack midway through the second-half, but a rejected penalty shout as Bentley was blocked off in the area was as close as they came to forcing a winner and the sides had to settle for a point apiece. Opportunity England goalkeeper Paul Robinson was left out by Tottenham after being troubled by an ankle injury and his replacement Radek Cerny gifted Rovers an early opportunity. Cerny came out of his area but, after a misunderstanding with Chimbonda, hesitated and then fluffed a clearance. Andre Ooijer flighted the ball deep into the box but Cerny managed to scramble back to punch and his defenders tidied up. Spurs responded emphatically as Steed Malbranque slipped the ball into the Blackburn box for Jenas to look up and square for Berbatov in front of goal. The Bulgarian did not make clean contact but, from such close range, he could not fail to net his 22nd goal of the season, Blackburn's appeals for offside falling on deaf ears. Spurs kept up the pressure with Lennon forcing Ryan Nelsen to concede a corner from a dangerous cross from the left. Pedersen had Blackburn's first serious attempt on goal but his low shot was easily gathered by Cerny. Aaron Lennon looked a handful as Spurs did most of the pressing but they were caught out just before the half-hour mark by a moment of magic from Bentley. The England midfielder, subject of speculation over his future this week, brilliantly controlled a Reid ball on the right to breeze past Chimbonda, again looking uncomfortable on the left. Superb Bentley powered on to the byline and then pulled the ball back for a grateful Pedersen to finish clinically. The goal enlivened Bentley and he and Lennon then seemed to take turns to try outdo each other. Both were denied free-kicks within moments of each other after seemingly being impeded, Lennon after breaking into the box and Bentley in racing clear from midfield. Bentley also hit one superb crossfield pass and, just before the interval, forced Cerny to save from a curling 30-yard free-kick. Bentley created the first opening of the second half with a good ball over the top for Jason Roberts but the striker was harshly penalised for a foul on Michael Dawson. Spurs quickly counter-attacked and Berbatov tested Brad Friedel with a low shot, as did Roberts on Cerny when Rovers got their chance to break back. With little respite in the action, Lennon then found space down the right and found Malbranque with a low cross, but Friedel was alert to the Frenchman's shot. After that flurry of activity, the game settled down but attack remained very much the intention of both sides. Bentley fired a shot wide from distance and Robbie Keane raced into the box only to run out of options and see an attack break down. Blackburn had strong appeals for a penalty turned down when Bentley felt he was impeded by substitute Gilberto in the area. The best Rovers got was a free-kick on the edge of the area a few minutes later but Bentley fired that straight at Cerny. Spurs had a similar opportunity in the dying moments but Jenas barely tested Friedel with his effort. ||||| By Steve Pass Last updated: 5th April 2008 Collins: Scored opener Sunderland won 3-1 at Craven Cottage to virtually guarantee their survival and increase Fulham's relegation woes. Danny Collins had a goal ruled out for pushing before finally opening the scoring on 45 minutes with a free header. Substitute Michael Chopra then added a second for the Black Cats on 54 minutes with a great left-footed volley after Kenwyne Jones flicked on Craig Gordon's goal-kick. Fulham substitute David Healy gave the Cottagers hope with a superb left-footed shot into the top corner on 74 minutes. But two minutes later, Jones sealed the win - the Black Cats' third on the trot - after good work by Dean Whitehead. Fierce Roy Hodgson's men need to eclipse the unlikely survival campaigns of West Ham, West Brom or Portsmouth in previous seasons if they are to get out of this one. They paraded their legends, such as George Cohen and Alan Mullery before the game but aside from Jimmy Bullard, it does not look like the current players will be joining them in the hall of fame. Fulham's drive, as expected, came from Bullard. It was the midfielder who created the first chance, lofting a pass towards Brian McBride in the 12th minute. The Fulham skipper timed his run perfectly but his header lacked power and direction, and Gordon was able to claim. After that, there was little for Fulham fans to get excited about in the first half. Sunderland had the ball in the net after 15 minutes when Andy Reid's free-kick found the head of Collins but Mark Halsey disallowed the strike for a foul. Phil Bardsley then came close for the visitors with a fierce drive from the edge of the area which just cleared the crossbar. The home fans grew restless with the long balls punted forward and there was frustration on the pitch too as Sunderland threatened to break forward. Leon Andreasen stopped one attack with a cynical foul on Reid, earning a booking. Collins drifted a header wide from the corner but was only a half chance, and Davies volleyed over for the hosts from 20 yards before the break. Lead Sunderland took the lead in the last minute of the first half when Collins headed home from Daryl Murphy's cross, a move which should have been cleared earlier by the hosts. Rather than sitting back on their lead, Keane brought on Chopra when he replaced Carlos Edwards at half-time as Sunderland went with a 4-4-2 formation. It was Fulham who had the first chance after the restart. McBride scuffed a cross to Diomansy Kamara and Gordon was down to spread himself and save with his feet. The Scotland goalkeeper was at full stretch again when Murphy, his team-mate, diverted Davies' cross towards his own goal. Despite the pressure, Sunderland grabbed their second goal, in the 54th minute. Jones headed on a long clearance and found Chopra beyond the Fulham defence. The substitute did not take a touch, lobbing Kasey Keller with his controlled volley. It could have got worse for Fulham when Reid found Murphy with a free-kick at the far post but the Sunderland midfielder headed when he should have shot, with comical results. Healy was brought on and he scored with 17 minutes remaining, finding the top corner from 25 yards out. But hopes of a point were dashed when Dean Whitehead found Jones unmarked at the far post. The striker took an ugly touch but slammed his finish into the bottom corner. ||||| Last updated: 5th April 2008 Anelka: Congratulated after making opener Chelsea kept the pressure on title rivals Manchester United by cruising to a 2-0 victory at Manchester City. City skipper Richard Dunne gave the visitors the lead with a sixth-minute own goal, and Salomon Kalou's 53rd-minute strike proved enough to seal the three points for the Blues. Chelsea's 11th away win of the season closes the gap at the top of the Premier League table to two points ahead of United's trip to Middlesbrough on Sunday. City were unfortunate not to draw themselves level having dominated the last 30 minutes of the first half but Chelsea were far from firing on all cylinders. Perfect With Arsenal having to settle for a draw against Liverpool, Chelsea got off to the perfect start by taking the lead after only six minutes. Michael Essien raced forward for the visitors and slipped a pass to Nicolas Anelka on the right. He swept it into the area and City skipper Dunne got his bearings wrong, toe-poking his attempted clearance beyond goalkeeper Joe Hart. Chelsea kept up the pressure and Anelka scampered away in the 12th minute but as he shaped to shoot Nedum Onuoha made a crucial block. City responded two minutes later and Michael Johnson got into a good position only to fire his effort over the bar. Then Martin Petrov rattled a shot wide and Benjani Mwaruwari headed high over the bar while Gelson Fernandes found the arms of Carlo Cudicini with his effort in the 21st minute. Benjani and Stephen Ireland linked up in the 28th minute only for the Republic of Ireland midfielder's effort to be blocked. Then Petrov thumped in a fierce drive that was superbly tipped away by Cudicini at the post. Chelsea again found themselves on the back foot and Ashley Cole hacked the ball off the line in the 31st minute, the England defender showing good awareness after Johnson's effort had been deflected to leave Cudicini stranded. Chelsea hit back and Kalou got clear only to send a shot wide of the post. It was a brief respite as Ireland sent a shot into the goalkeeper's body after 38 minutes. Petrov then found the wrong side of the post with a neat inswinging free-kick and City were growing in confidence. Momentum Chelsea had lost some of their momentum and Grant made a change in the 51st minute, bringing on Joe Cole for Wright-Phillips. They immediately looked more threatening and Kalou extended their lead two minutes later with a cool finish. He latched onto a through ball from Essien and rounded Hart to find the corner for his 11th goal of the season. Anelka almost added a third in the 55th minute only for his header to come back off the bar following a cross from Lampard. City were forced to make a change in the 58th minute when Onuoha was stretchered off after suffering a shoulder injury in a fall. He was replaced by Sun Jihai as they attempted to try to peg back Chelsea's lead. The title chasers, however, were looking dangerous every time they broke forward. Anelka got clear down the left in the 63rd minute and picked out Kalou but his effort was blocked by Gelson Fernandes. Petrov almost pulled a goal back with a fine free-kick that was just off target. Chelsea, though, never looked like giving up their two-goal advantage and got the result they wanted. City, however, are in free fall and have now won only once in seven games. ||||| Last updated: 5th April 2008 Owen scores for the fourth consecutive game Newcastle effectively secured their Premier League survival with a convincing 3-0 victory over Reading. Both sides played their part in an entertaining first half but Newcastle's finishing was far superior and they opened up a 2-0 lead at the break. Obafemi Martins slotted a shot coolly past Marcus Hahnemann in the 18th minute after taking advantage of a slip from Liam Rosenior, before Michael Owen latched onto a clever chip from Habib Beye to fire home his fourth goal in as many games. The Magpies started the second half brightly and Mark Viduka became their third striker to find the target as he tapped in on 58 minutes after more terrific work by Beye down the right. Reading had no response as Newcastle coasted through to their third successive win to move 12 points clear of the relegation zone. Onslaught Reading had the better of large portions of the first half as a defence missing Steven Taylor, who was ruled out just before kick-off with a stomach bug, looked shaky in the face of a concerted onslaught from the Royals. With John Oster and Stephen Hunt providing width and Kevin Doyle and Dave Kitson pulling their markers all over the place, the visitors threatened repeatedly without ever really testing keeper Steve Harper. Their inability to do so was brought into sharp focus by events at the other end of the pitch where the Magpies made the most of a handful of openings with some stunning finishing. The game was 18 minutes old when Martins, who scored a fine individual goal at Spurs, chested Nicky Butt's driven pass around the fallen Rosenior and rounded Andre Bikey before calmly slotting his ninth goal of the season past Hahnemann. Owen perhaps should have added his name to the scoresheet eight minutes before the break when, after Viduka had dummied Joey Barton's cross, he shot just over. No mistake However, he made no mistake six minutes later, spinning away from his marker to meet Beye's pass and lift the ball over the advancing keeper to take his tally for the campaign to 10. Newcastle's intention to end the game as a contest as quickly as possible was evident from the moment they returned as Keegan's men pinned the visitors back deep inside their own half. Rosenior had to get in an important block to deny Owen his second goal of the afternoon after 48 minutes, and Hahnemann tipped away Barton's cross seconds later after he and Martins had combined down the left to open Reading up. Owen was appealing in vain for a penalty with 57 minutes gone after he was wrestled to the ground by Ivar Ingimarsson, but he and his team-mates were celebrating once again seconds later. Beye started a flowing move down the right that saw Viduka play him in behind the Royals defence before the full-back returned the favour, and the Australian was a model of composure as he applied the final touch. They might have increased their lead 12 minutes from time when Martins blasted his way through the visitors' defence only to see Rosenior deflect his shot wide. Barton twice went close as time ran down and substitute Damien Duff tested Hahnemann with a powerfully-struck shot, but three goals was more than enough to claim the points. ||||| Last updated: 5th April 2008 Taylor: Decisive double Steve Bruce put one over his former club as Wigan Athletic eased to a 2-0 victory over Birmingham City at the JJB Stadium. Ryan Taylor scored both of Wigan's goals to move his side eight points clear of the relegation zone as Birmingham had captain Damien Johnson sent off in the first half. After a scrappy opening, the breakthrough arrived on 15 minutes when Ryan Taylor thumped in a low shot following good work by Antonio Valencia. Birmingham, who had Martin Taylor back in the team for the first time since his red card against Arsenal, saw Johnson dismissed on 37 minutes for a wild lunge on Kevin Kilbane. The Wigan full-back then hit the post before Ryan Taylor wrapped up the win 10 minutes into the second half with a scruffy effort from close range after Maik Taylor had made a double save. After an opening 10 minutes bereft of quality, a Latics free-kick eventually led to the first chance of the game. Blues failed to clear Ryan Taylor's centre and Mario Melchiot's cutback was blazed over from eight yards by Marcus Bent. On 15 minutes, Antonio Valencia showed great vision to pick out Ryan Taylor at the far post following a superb jinking run down the right. On his weaker left foot, Taylor confidently finished first time into the bottom corner - his first goal since Boxing Day. Moment of madness Valencia was rampant and Wigan could have been 2-0 up when his cross-cum-shot was parried out by Maik Taylor. But the rebound arrived too quickly for Bent to react and Heskey saw his follow-up blocked. Birmingham's first shot on target was a 25th-minute Gary McSheffrey effort straight at Chris Kirkland from 20 yards. With less than 10 minutes of the half remaining, the game was interrupted by a major flashpoint thanks to Johnson's moment of madness. Johnson, who threw his armband off in disgust as he left the field, got plenty of the ball but the recklessness of his tackle on Kilbane warranted his dismissal. Just moments later, Kilbane struck the post with a well-struck effort from the edge of the area before Birmingham almost equalised before half-time when Mauro Zarate's cute attempt was tipped wide by Kirkland. Heskey could have doubled Wigan's advantage straight from the restart, the England striker shrugging off his marker and firing a left-foot half-volley wide. Scramble It was a further 10 minutes before the second goal arrived via one of the untidiest goals of the season. Valencia's cross was nodded off target by Bent but Wigan somehow stopped the ball going behind and it found its way back to the goalmouth. A major scramble ensued, which Ryan Taylor won to force the ball over the line after his first attempt had been saved by Maik Taylor, who had also denied Heskey from close range. Martin Taylor prevented a third goal when he got back on the line to clear Bent's lob after his keeper had come rushing out. Shortly past the hour mark, Kirkland was nearly caught out by a Mikael Forssell back-header which landed inches wide. Valencia man of the match by a mile, continued to torment the visiting defence and Josip Skoko should have found the target from the winger's low cross. Bruce permitted match-winner Taylor a standing ovation by replacing him with six minutes remaining and no-one would have argued had Valencia been afforded the same luxury. | Another nine games took place in the English Premier League this past weekend. Arsenal welcomed Liverpool to Emirates for round-two of their triple header, while fellow title-chasers Chelsea traveled to Manchester to take on Manchester City. In battle at the bottom of the table, Wigan and Birmingham faced off at the JJB, Newcastle welcomed Reading, and Sunderland visited Craven Cottage to play Fulham. In other matches Aston Villa took on Bolton, and Blackburn played host to Tottenham. |
VALENCIA - The America's Cup teams have put years into training for different winds and weather but on Sunday (NZ time) the biggest challenge was how to navigate through the wake of the massive fleet of spectator boats. More than 800 boats, from dinghies to huge corporate hospitality super yachts, crowded on to the Mediterranean around the course for the first race between Team New Zealand and Alinghi. The wash from all the movement out on the sea added to already choppy conditions after the summer sea breeze picked up early in the day. "We hadn't been in that sort of washing machine for the start before," said Matt Welling, a grinder on Alinghi, which took the rare step of practising a pre-start dial-up as soon as they got out to the race course. "We tried to get in close to the spectator fleet during the Louis Vuitton but we couldn't do pre-starts," Welling said. As the defender of the 32nd America's Cup, Alinghi had been training off to one side while 11 crews fought it out for the right to challenge them for the Auld Mug. Team New Zealand, on the other hand, got used to the increasing spectator boat wash during the Louis Vuitton Cup and were said to have modified their boat NZL92 to deal with choppier than expected conditions. Official boats following the racing under the auspices of America's Cup Management are kept to strict speed limits and if they break the rules they lose their flag. But any other boat moored around the area can sail outside the official racing zone, and often disregard speed limits, churning up huge waves of wake. "The spectator thing is a bit of an issue," Alinghi skipper Brad Butterworth said. Asked how ACM could reduce the chop, Butterworth shrugged his shoulders. "Sailing at night?" he suggested. - REUTERS ||||| Alinghi greeted the anticipation of Match 1 in the 32nd America’s Cup with a decisive answer, a 35-second win over Emirates Team New Zealand. Alinghi now leads the 32nd Match 1-0, with the winner the first to 5 wins. “It felt really good – it was a huge relief to get out there. The racing was close, but we were pretty calm having done so much really competitive in-house racing,” said Simon Daubney, trimmer onboard. In an easterly wind around 12 knots on the Mediterranean Sea, Alinghi and Emirates Team New Zealand took to the racecourse after an incident-free pre-start. With about 1 minute to the start, Alinghi helmsman Ed Baird, who entered the pre-start on the disadvantaged port tack, seemed to have his Kiwi counterpart Dean Barker locked outside the committee boat end. But with 30 seconds to go Barker put his bow down to escape the trap and Baird did the same to protect his position to leeward. The boats entered the racecourse on starboard with Alinghi slightly to leeward. Daubney comments on the pre-start: “We got the side that we wanted, we were keen for the left and that is what we got.” A long drag race ensued on starboard tack. Emirates Team New Zealand made slight gains in a right-hand shift, but Alinghi had enough boatspeed to live to leeward, a usually uncomfortable position. The first cross is the key point in a match race because the team that gains the lead wins about 90 percent of match races. At the first cross, about 16 minutes into the race, Alinghi tacked to starboard on Emirates Team New Zealand’s leebow. Although Alinghi couldn’t cross, the team had turned a small early deficit around. And at the second meeting of the teams moments later Alinghi crossed with two boat lengths in hand and tacked on Emirates Team New Zealand’s wind. The crews exchanged about seven more tacks up the windward leg and Alinghi led by 13 seconds at the first mark. Alinghi extended that lead on the first run to 20 seconds. Up the second beat Team New Zealand made nice gains to close to within 14 seconds. Daubney comments on the boat speed differences between SUI100, racing for the first time in official competition and NZL92: “The boat speed is pretty similar between the two, but it was puffy and the breeze was up and down, so you can’t get too much of a read on it in just one race. From a first look though, it seems the boats are pretty similar in speed.” Alinghi, however, extended its lead on the run to the finish by sailing lower and faster. Across the finish line, although a nice first win, the crew knows that the goal to win a second Cup is far from done. RACE 2 OF THE 32ND AMERICA’S CUP BEGINS AT 15:00 TOMORROW. Daphne Morgan Barnicoat www.alinghi.com America’s Cup images America’s Cup Behind the Scenes stories | Alinghi on display on August 30, 2006. The America's Cup Trophy. . The Swiss syndicate, Alinghi has won the first race against Team New Zealand over the challenge for the top yachting award, the 32nd America's Cup. Alinghi finished the race 35 seconds ahead of Team New Zealand. In the first race of a best out of nine challenge, Alinghi and Team New Zealand started at an even pace. Team New Zealand managed to edge out 25 metres in front of Alinghi on the right hand side of the course, which Team New Zealand chose by winning the coin toss. Team New Zealand skipper, Dean Barker said that the right hand side was the better side at the start of the race. But the wind changed and favoured Alinghi on the left hand side. But ten minutes through the race, Alinghi's SUI-100, skippered by New Zealander Brad Butterworth, managed to head out, at times 160 metres in front of NZL-92. "It felt really good – it was a huge relief to get out there. The racing was close, but we were pretty calm...," Alinghi trimmer Simon Daubney said. The wind speeds were around 12.5 knots, with Alinghi grinder, Matt Welling describing the conditions as washing machine like. It has been reported that Team New Zealand modified their yacht, NZL-92, for choppy conditions. Barker, Team New Zealand weather checker, Adam Beashell, and Daubney agree that SUI-100 isn't faster than NZL-92, and New Zealand could win in different conditions. Barker said, "You certainly couldn't blame it on our boat. We are very happy with it. It was just the way the breeze blew today. They are a very strong opponent and they got in front and controlled the race well." Daubney said, "The boat speed is pretty similar between the two, but it was puffy and the breeze was up and down, so you can’t get too much of a read on it in just one race. From a first look though, it seems the boats are pretty similar in speed." Team New Zealand mastman, Barry McKay said the Team New Zealand will bounce back and carry on, a view also shared by Team New Zealand after-guard, Rob Salthouse. In the last America's Cup challenge, 2003, Alinghi defeated Team New Zealand 5-0, though in 1995 and 2000, Team New Zealand defeated Alinghi. Around 800 boats of different sizes and types gathered on the Mediterranean Sea to watch the first race. Team New Zealand won the right to challenge Alinghi for the cup after defeating Luna Rossa Challenge five-nil for the Louis Vuitton Cup. |
Malgré l'humiliation de la France au mondial de football 2010 et les nombreuses critiques, Raymond Domenech, le sélectionneur de l'équipe de France s'en sort plutôt bien, comparé à son homologue nord-coréen. Pour ne pas avoir réussi à franchir le premier tour de la Coupe du monde avec l'équipe de Corée du nord, Kim Jong-Hun, a été humilié et condamné aux travaux forcés. Selon une source rapportée par Radio Free Asia, tous les joueurs - sauf deux Jong Tae-se et An Yong-Hak, nés au Japon - et l'entraîneur ont été convoqués au Palais de la Culture des Peuples pour être humiliés et insultés durant six heures par 400 individus parmi lesquels des journalistes et des dirigeants politiques. Le sélectionneur a ensuite été lâché par ses joueurs. Les autorités les ont contraints de rejeter toute la faute de leur défaite sur Kim Jonghun. Selon la Radio Free Asia, le sélectionneur aurait ensuite été condamné aux travaux forcés. Le motif ? « Coupable de trahison de la confiance de Kim Jong-Il». Il devra porter des charges dans une mine 12 à 14 heures par jour. Il a également été exclu du parti unique. Kim Jong-Hun était pourtant il y a encore quelques temps le héros du pays, pour avoir qualifié son pays après 44 ans d'attente. L'équipe de Pyongyang, a été éliminée au premier tour du Mondial, après trois défaites en autant de rencontres disputées. Elle a été sèchement battue par le Portugal (7-0), après pourtant un premier match éblouissant face au Brésil (défaite 2-1). Cette équipe a finalement terminé dernière de la poule G après avoir perdu contre la Côte d'Ivoire (défaite 3-0). La sanction est d'autant plus lourde pour ce sélectionneur que ce n'est pas lui qui aurait choisi la composition de l'équipe mais le fils du dictateur nord-coréen. Le sélectionneur coréen avait déjà subi une humiliation en direct pendant le Mondial. Après la défaite honorable contre le Brésil, les dirigeants avaient décidé de retransmettre le match contre le Portugal : un moment historique pour ce pays. Pour la première fois un événement était retransmis en direct. En raison du score calamiteux la diffusion avait été interrompue avant le coup de sifflet final. ||||| Raymond Domenech l'a échappé belle! S'il prenait au sélectionneur de l'équipe de France l'envie saugrenue de se plaindre des commentaires à son encontre, il pourra relativiser en méditant le sort de son homologue nord-coréen. Pour n'avoir pas franchi le premier tour lors de la dernière Coupe du monde, Kim Jong-hun a tout perdu. Juché sur une scène du Palais des peuples de Pyongyang, l'entraîneur a eu droit à une séance de critiques publiques avant que ses joueurs - à l'exception des deux qui ont eu l'heureuse idée de s'enfuir au Japon - soient forcés à l'humilier à leur tour. À l'issue de ce procès dans le plus pur style stalinien, le sélectionneur, coupable de «trahison de la confiance de Kim Jong-iI » (le dictateur nord-coréen), était exclu du parti unique et condamné… aux travaux forcés. Il devra porter des charges sur un chantier pendant quatorze heures par jour. Héros du pays il y a encore peu pour avoir qualifié son pays après 44 ans d'attente, Kim Jong-hun peut remâcher l'injustice de sa disgrâce. D'abord parce que c'est le fils du dictateur qui composait l'équipe. Ensuite parce que, après la défaite honorable contre le Brésil (2-1), les dirigeants avaient décidé de retransmettre le match contre le Portugal, en faisant le premier événement diffusé en direct dans l'histoire du pays. Au coup de sifflet final, l'addition était sévère: une déroute 7 à 0. Mais depuis longtemps déjà, la retransmission avait été interrompue… David Reyrat ||||| North Korea’s coach is excoriated in a public meeting. SEOUL—North Korea’s soccer team got an official reprimand for losing all three of its World Cup matches, and the national coach could now be in danger for “betraying” the Stalinist country’s heir apparent, knowledgeable sources have said. The players were summoned on July 2, on returning to Pyongyang, to a large auditorium at the Working People’s Culture Palace and subjected to a “grand debate” and criticism that they failed in the “ideological struggle,” according to a Chinese businessman. Players “who participated in the World Cup were subjected to a session of harsh ideological criticism, with the exception of [Korean-Japanese players] Jung Tae Se and An Yong Hak,” the businessman said, citing senior North Korean officials. They took the stage before more than 400 people, including the sports minister Park Myoung Chul and a deputy director of the Workers’ Party Organization and Guidance Department. Players were then criticized by other athletes and a sports commentator and required to criticize head coach Kim Jong Hun. The Chinese trader said in an interview that how the players were reprimanded and what kind of punishment they received wasn’t known. ‘Betraying Gen. Kim’ “There were about 400 participants at this closed-door meeting, including athletes from various organizations under the umbrella of the Ministry of Sports, and students from Pyongyang University, Kim Il Sung University, and Kim Hyong Jik School of Education,” he said. According to another source in Shinuiju, the meeting lasted six hours and coach Kim Jung Hun’s safety could be in jeopardy, as he was publicly accused of “betraying the Young Gen. Kim Jong Un,” North Korean leader Kim Jong Il’s anointed heir. “There are rumors that coach Kim Jung Hun has been expelled from the Workers’ Party, or that he has been sent to perform forced labor at a residential building construction site in Pyongyang, but such rumors are hard to verify,” the source said. According to the same sources, the sports commentator who covered World Cup games was present, and noted sports commentator Ri Dong Kyu was tasked to point out the shortcomings of each of the players, and subsequently criticize them. According to multiple sources in North Korea, as soon as the North Korean soccer team qualified to the World Cup, Workers’ Party meetings and lectures for students were organized to celebrate “Young Gen. Kim Jong Un’s accomplishment.” Forty-four years after its first World Cup appearance, North Korea made it to a World Cup again, just to be demolished in a painful 7-0 loss to Portugal. The top two teams in each Asian group automatically qualify for the 32-team final tournament, while the top third-place teams play off for a chance at another spot. Original reporting by Moon Sung-hui for RFA’s Korean service. Korean service director: Max Kwak. Written for the Web by Sarah Jackson-Han. | According to Radio Free Asia, North Korean authorities are retaliating against players in the who played in the . The team lost all three matches. It was only the second time that the North Koreans had qualified for the World Cup finals. Members of the squad, excepting nationals and who were in their homeland, were publicly shamed in a -style event where more than 400 people, including journalists and political leaders, insulted and humiliated the team. logo. Credit: Following the event, the team's coach has been sentenced to hard labor following a speedy trial. "He will carry loads on a building site for fourteen hours a day," reports . He was found guilty of "betrayal of trust of Kim Jong-un", the son and heir of country leader Kim Jong-Il who determined the final team roster, and allegedly expelled from the Worker's Party. In the past, national coaches have not returned to their countries following losses in the finals in the World Cup. In 1978, Mexican coach, Jose Antonio Roca would not return to his country following the elimination of the team in the first group stage. Like their North Korean counterparts who lost 7–0 against Portugal, the Mexicans had suffered a heavy defeat against Germany, losing 6–0. |
Dog-case suspect released on bond Partlow resident charged in fatal dog-mauling makes first appearance in Spotsylvania Circuit Court Date published: 3/25/2005 Woman appears before judge A Spotsylvania woman charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection with the fatal dog mauling of her neighbor faces an April 20 arraignment. Deanna Large, 36, posted $10,000 bond Wednesday and appeared before Circuit Court Judge William H. Ledbetter during a brief hearing yesterday. Large, making her first court appearance since being indicted by a grand jury last week, listened as the charges against her were formally read. She has been charged with involuntary manslaughter and three misdemeanor charges of allowing a dangerous dog to run loose. The charges stem from the March 8 death of 82-year-old Dorothy Sullivan. She and her small dog, Buttons, were killed by three wandering pit bulls near Sullivan's Partlow home. All three dogs involved in the mauling have since been killed. Large admitted owning one of the dogs, but Spotsylvania Commonwealth's Attorney William Neely has said the ensuing investigation revealed that she owned all three unneutered males and had been warned to keep them under better control. Dressed in blue jeans and a gray V-neck sweater yesterday, Large answered Ledbetter's questions in a hushed tone. The judge asked if Large was seeking an attorney to represent her. "Yes, sir," she said. Had she retained one yet? "No, sir," she said. Did she post her $10,000 bond Wednesday? "Yes, sir," she said. Large declined comment after the hearing, and rushed to a pickup with a television camera in pursuit. A trial date will be set when Large appears in court for her arraignment. Involuntary manslaughter carries a maximum 10-year sentence. The misdemeanor charges each carry a one-year maximum. To reach ROB DAVIS: 540/374-5418 rdavis@freelancestar.com ||||| The case of this missing page is still unsolved … but don't worry, we have our best investigative reporters tracking down leads. Stay tuned… ||||| Get online, not in line Virginia eGovernment The My Virginia Search has been enhanced using Google search technology! My Mobile Virginia is the new Virginia wireless portal. Wireless users can use it at http://www.vipnet.org/mobilegov Tourist information is available through Virginia Tourism. CareerConnectis your one-stop Virginia job site. | A Spotsylvania County woman, whose three dogs allegedly attacked and killed her elderly neighbor, was freed Wednesday by posting a $10,000 bond. Dianna Large, 36, received one felony charge of involuntary manslaughter and three misdemeanor charges in an indictment issued last week. In her first appearance before a judge, she answered Circuit Court Judge William H. Ledbetter questions with simple “Yes sir.” and “No sir.” responses. The short hearing, held Thursday, formalized the charges against her. The involuntary manslaughter charge, a first in the severity of punishment being sought on a dog owner in the Virginan state of USA, carries a maximum penalty of 10 years. State procecutor Wiliam Neely said that Large knowingly let her three Pit Bull dogs run free, and that an animal control agency person had warned her to keep them under better control. She also a violated a county ordinance requiring owners of dangerous dogs to post a warning sign to visitors. The prosecution also noted that none of the three male dogs were neutered. The Animal Control Department of Virginia maintains a dangerous dog registry. It contains a list of owners whose dogs are deemed dangerous to society. The link to the registry was moved to a more prominent position on the county web page following the attack. |
While the final four nations push their abilities to the limit in the search for World Cup gold, test your own football skills with our Women’s World Cup Kick-Off Ball contests. ||||| England finish third in the Women's World Cup Fara Williams scores her third penalty of World Cup Germany are top of the world rankings England had not beaten Germany in 20 attempts Fara Williams's extra-time penalty ensured England beat Germany for the first time in 31 years to finish third at the Women's World Cup. The performance was the second best by an England team following the 1966 win by the men's side and eclipsed the 1990 men's team, who finished fourth in Italy. The Lionesses had not beaten two-time World Cup winners Germany in 20 attempts but they more than matched their opponents and won the spot-kick in the second period of extra-time after substitute Lianne Sanderson was brought down by Tabea Kemme. Williams, who is England's record cap holder and was homeless at one point in her England career, beat retiring German goalkeeper Nadine Angerer for her third penalty of the tournament. It brought to a close a superb campaign for England, who finished as the top European nation and are now set to climb from sixth in the world rankings after a tournament during which they generated strong and well-deserved support at home. However, they were thankful for a glaring miss from Bianca Schmidt four minutes from the end as they held on to their slender lead. The result was tribute to the progress that England have made under Mark Sampson after the Welshman took over 18 months ago. It also put a positive spin on their campaign after the cruel 2-1 semi-final defeat following Laura Bassett's injury-time own goal against Japan. The team are set to receive an additional £2,000 for winning the bronze medal, taking their World Cup bonus payments to £14,000. Sampson's education as England head coach has now come full circle, following a 3-0 defeat by the eight-time European champions last November. This time the 32-year-old Sampson chose to be more conservative in his tactical approach and it paid off as his team lined up with three centre-backs, which included Jo Potter alongside Steph Houghton and Bassett, who showed no hangover from her semi-final heartache. But the formation allowed space in front of the defence and the European champions could have scored three times in the first 10 minutes, with tournament top scorer Celia Sasic wasting a great chance before the impressive Houghton cleared off the line. During an open start to the game, Houghton had the best opening of the first half but mistimed her shot from seven yards. There was also a strong penalty appeal as Kemme appeared to block Potter's shot with her hand. In her last World Cup game in charge, German coach Silvia Neid became frustrated with England's aggressive approach, but it ensured the match remained goalless at the break. Having named an under-strength side, Neid brought on Melanie Leupolz to add more mettle to the German midfield and they began to create the better chances. Bardsley saved Sara Daebritz's header before Houghton blocked Lena Petermann's close-range shot. But the introduction of Eniola Aluko, who had not played since England's second game against Mexico, swung the game back in England's favour and she laid on a pass to Jill Scott, who wasted a great opportunity with 13 minutes remaining. The Lionesses were buoyed going into extra-time and their determination to not bow down to a world superpower of women's football helped create the penalty, which led to joyous scenes at the final whistle as a superb campaign ended on a high. Listen to the BBC Radio 5 live Football Daily podcast . Lineup, Bookings (3) & Substitutions (6) Germany Women 01 Angerer 02 Schmidt 14 Peter 03 Bartusiak 22 Kemme 06 Laudehr 20 Goeßling (Popp - 101' ) (Popp - 101' ) 07 Behringer (Leupolz - 45' ) (Leupolz - 45' ) 23 Däbritz 13 Sasic (Mittag - 73' ) (Mittag - 73' ) 19 Petermann Substitutes 04 Maier 05 Krahn 08 Bremer 09 Lotzen 10 Marozsan 11 Mittag 12 Schult 15 Cramer 16 Leupolz 17 Henning 18 Popp 21 Benkarth England Women 01 Bardsley Booked 05 Houghton 06 Bassett Booked 17 Potter 12 Bronze 08 Scott 04 Williams (Stoney - 112' ) (Stoney - 112' ) 16 Chapman Booked (Sanderson - 80' ) (Sanderson - 80' ) 14 Greenwood 23 White (Aluko - 61' ) (Aluko - 61' ) 10 Carney Substitutes 02 Scott 03 Rafferty 07 Nobbs 09 Aluko 11 Moore 13 Chamberlain 15 Stoney 18 Duggan 19 Taylor 20 Sanderson 21 Telford 22 Kirby ||||| While more than a million people now call Greater Edmonton home, it has lost none of the small-town friendliness and western hospitality for which it has always been famous. | On Saturday, England defeated two-time world champion Germany by 1–0 in the in the FIFA , which was held in in Edmonton, Alberta in Canada, and won the bronze medal. Germany had a greater possession of the ball against England in the match. Three English players were in the match with 30 fouls committed. Nobody scored in either half of the match. , , and of the English team were booked in the 77th, 83rd, and 90+2nd minutes respectively. As the scores were 0–0 at the end of 90 minutes of game play, the match proceeded in . In the 108th minute, England won a penalty kick. netted the penalty which gave a lead to ''The three lionesses.'' The German team tried even in the dying moments but English goalkeeper denied the Germans to claim the bronze medal. ---- === Match for third place === == Sources == * * * |
In working with the Republicans in this term, it seems clear that the traditional rules of give-and-take politics have changed – that the Republicans have been playing a "lose-lose" game with you. What's your relationship with the GOP leadership at this point? A little frosty? It's not frosty. This isn't personal. When John Boehner and I sit down, I enjoy a conversation with him. I don't think he's a bad person. I think he's patriotic. I think that the Republicans up on the Hill care about this country, but they have a very ideologically rigid view of how to move this country forward, and a lot of how they approach issues is defined by "Will this help us defeat the president?" as opposed to "Will this move the country forward?" Is there any way to break through that obstructionism by Republicans? My hope is that if the American people send a message to them that's consistent with the fact that Congress is polling at 13 percent right now, and they suffer some losses in this next election, that there's going to be some self-reflection going on – that it might break the fever. They might say to themselves, "You know what, we've lost our way here. We need to refocus on trying to get things done for the American people." Frankly, I know that there are good, decent Republicans on Capitol Hill who, in a different environment, would welcome the capacity to work with me. But right now, in an atmosphere in which folks like Rush Limbaugh and Grover Norquist are defining what it means to be a true conservative, they are lying low. My hope is that after this next election, they'll feel a little more liberated to go out and say, "Let's redirect the Republican Party back to those traditions in which a Dwight Eisenhower can build an interstate highway system." Do you think racial politics and race relations in America are any different now than when you first took office? Look, race has been one of the fault lines in American culture and American politics from the start. I never bought into the notion that by electing me, somehow we were entering into a post-racial period. On the other hand, I've seen in my own lifetime how racial attitudes have changed and improved, and anybody who suggests that they haven't isn't paying attention or is trying to make a rhetorical point. Because we all see it every day, and me being in this Oval Office is a testimony to changes that have been taking place. When I travel around the country, a lot of people remark on how inspiring seeing an African-American president or an African-American first lady must be to black boys and girls, how it must raise their sense of what's possible in their own lives. That's hugely important – but you shouldn't also underestimate the fact that there are a whole bunch of little white girls and white boys all across the country who just take it for granted that there's an African-American president. That's the president they're growing up with, and that's changing attitudes. My view on race has always been that it's complicated. It's not just a matter of head – it's a matter of heart. It's about interactions. What happens in the workplace, in schools, on sports fields, and through music and culture shapes racial attitudes as much as any legislation that's passed. I do believe that we're making slow and steady progress. When I talk to Malia and Sasha, the world they're growing up with, with their friends, is just very different from the world that you and I grew up with. You've shied away from demanding marriage equality for all. Are you at least willing to say that you support it on a personal level? I'm not going to make news in this publication. I've made clear that the issue of fairness and justice and equality for the LGBT community is very important to me. And I haven't just talked about it, I've acted on it. You'll recall that the last time you and I had an interview, we were getting beat up about "don't ask, don't tell" in the LGBT community. There was skepticism: "Why's it taking so long? Why doesn't he just do it through executive order?" I described very specifically the process we were going to go through to make sure that there was a buy-in from the military, up and down the chain of command, so that it would be executed in an effective way. And lo and behold, here we are, and it got done. Ending "don't ask, don't tell" has been the dog that didn't bark. You haven't read a single story about problems in our military as a consequence of the ending of the policy. So whether it's on that, or changing the AIDS travel ban, or hospital visitation rights, or a whole slew of regulations that have made sure that federal workers are treated fairly in the workplace, we've shown the commitment that I have to these issues. And we're going to keep on working in very practical ways to make sure that our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters are treated as what they are – full-fledged members of the American family. Let me ask you about the War on Drugs. You vowed in 2008, when you were running for election, that you would not "use Justice Department resources to try and circumvent state laws about medical marijuana." Yet we just ran a story that shows your administration is launching more raids on medical pot than the Bush administration did. What's up with that? Here's what's up: What I specifically said was that we were not going to prioritize prosecutions of persons who are using medical marijuana. I never made a commitment that somehow we were going to give carte blanche to large-scale producers and operators of marijuana – and the reason is, because it's against federal law. I can't nullify congressional law. I can't ask the Justice Department to say, "Ignore completely a federal law that's on the books." What I can say is, "Use your prosecutorial discretion and properly prioritize your resources to go after things that are really doing folks damage." As a consequence, there haven't been prosecutions of users of marijuana for medical purposes. The only tension that's come up – and this gets hyped up a lot – is a murky area where you have large-scale, commercial operations that may supply medical marijuana users, but in some cases may also be supplying recreational users. In that situation, we put the Justice Department in a very difficult place if we're telling them, "This is supposed to be against the law, but we want you to turn the other way." That's not something we're going to do. I do think it's important and useful to have a broader debate about our drug laws. One of the things we've done over the past three years was to make a sensible change when it came to the disparity in sentencing between crack cocaine and powder cocaine. We've had a discussion about how to focus on treatment, taking a public-health approach to drugs and lessening the overwhelming emphasis on criminal laws as a tool to deal with this issue. I think that's an appropriate debate that we should have. Occupy Wall Street seems to have influenced your rhetoric. Has it had a deeper impact on your thinking about America? You know, I think that Occupy Wall Street was just one vivid expression of a broader anxiety that has been around in the United States for at least a decade or more. People have a sense the game is rigged, so just a few people can do well, and everybody else is left to scramble to get by. The free market is the greatest generator of wealth in history. I'm a firm believer in the free market, and the capacity of Americans to start a business, pursue their dreams and strike it rich. But when you look at the history of how we became an economic superpower, that rugged individualism and private-sector dynamism was always coupled with government creating a platform so that everybody could succeed, so that consumers weren't taken advantage of, so that the byproducts of capitalism, like pollution or worker injuries, were regulated. Creating that social safety net has not made us weaker – it's made us stronger. It liberated people to say, "I can move to another state, but if I don't find a job right away, my kids aren't going to go hungry. I can start a business, but if it doesn't work out, I'm going to be able to land on my feet." Making those kinds of commitments to each other – to create safety nets, to invest in infrastructure and schools and basic research – is just like our collective investment in national security or fire departments or police. It has facilitated the kind of risk-taking that has made our economy so dynamic. This is what it means for us to live in a thriving, modern democracy. One of the major arguments we'll be having in this election season is a contrasting vision that says not just that government is part of the problem, but essentially that government is the entire problem. These guys, they don't just want to roll back the New Deal – in some cases, they want to go back even further. ||||| The Michael Phelps bong "scandal" has brought new attention to marijuana and those who smoke it, especially those we consider to be "role models." So I decided to gather some quotes from some other "rode models" to gain a little perspective on the issue. And whether the issue is smoking cannabis or growing hemp for food/fuel/fiber, some of our greatest role models have a lot to say on the subject. Consider that back in the early days of the U.S., hemp was grown for both industrial and recreational reasons, as you can see in the quotes below. The fact that Olympians, scientists and Presidents have all achieved great success after or while using marijuana destroys the myths of marijuana danger and the "gateway drug" theory. President Obama is still having a hard time quitting tobacco but had no issues quitting marijuana, while good old Honest Abe Lincoln smoked "sweet hemp" during his presidency! So let's let our greatest leaders and role models speak for themselves: "Two of my favorite things are sitting on my front porch smoking a pipe of sweet hemp, and playing my Hohner harmonica." - Abraham Lincoln (from a letter written by Lincoln during his presidency to the head of the Hohner Harmonica Company in Germany) "Hemp is of first necessity to the wealth & protection of the country." - Thomas Jefferson, U.S. President "Make the most you can of the Indian Hemp seed and sow it everywhere." - George Washington, U.S. President "We shall, by and by, want a world of hemp more for our own consumption." - John Adams, U.S. President "Penalties against possession of a drug should not be more damaging to an individual than the use of the drug itself; and where they are, they should be changed. Nowhere is this more clear than in the laws against possession of marihuana in private for personal use... Therefore, I support legislation amending Federal law to eliminate all Federal criminal penalties for the possession of up to one ounce of marihuana." - Jimmy Carter, U.S. President "I inhaled frequently. That was the point." - Barack Obama, U.S. President "The war on drugs has been an utter failure. We need to rethink and decriminalize our nation's marijuana laws." -Barack Obama, January 2004 "The illegality of cannabis is outrageous, an impediment to full utilization of a drug which helps produce the serenity and insight, sensitivity and fellowship so desperately needed in this increasingly mad and dangerous world." - Carl Sagan, renown scientist, astronomer, astrochemist, author and TV host "Why use up the forests which were centuries in the making and the mines which required ages to lay down, if we can get the equivalent of forest and mineral products in the annual growth of the hemp fields?" - Henry Ford, whose first Model-T was constructed from hemp fibers and built to run on hemp gasoline "Prohibition... goes beyond the bound of reason in that it attempts to control a man's appetite by legislation and makes a crime out of things that are not crimes. A prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our government was founded" -Abraham Lincoln "The prestige of government has undoubtedly been lowered considerably by the prohibition law. For nothing is more destructive of respect for the government and the law of the land than passing laws which cannot be enforced. It is an open secret that the dangerous increase of crime in this country is closely connected with this." - Albert Einstein quote on Hemp "That is not a drug. It's a leaf." - Arnold Schwarzenegger, Governor of California Let's end with a quote from one of the most clueless U.S. Presidents, who evidently thought of himself as an authority on cannabis: "I now have absolute proof that smoking even one marijuana cigarette is equal in brain damage to being on Bikini Island during an H-bomb blast" - Ronald Reagan Perhaps with all the evidence coming out that marijuana may help prevent Alzheimer's, it is possible that Reagan's affliction could have been halted or prevented by the herb he so vilified. The powers that maintain the illogical status quo for marijuana's illegality are feeling a seismic shift beneath their skewed logic and paranoid rhetoric. When scientific research is unambiguously and evenly applied to marijuana, the current laws and prohibition cannot and will not stand. On a side note, sales of the bong that Phelps used are through the roof so in case you're in the market for a Roor Little Sista Ice Masta 3.2, you may have a hard time finding one. However, with marijuana being one of the biggest cash crops in our country, you surely won't have a hard time finding something to smoke in it.... "If the words "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" don't include the right to experiment with your own consciousness, then the Declaration of Independence isn't worth the hemp it was written on." - Terence McKenna ---------- A few facts about Hemp, in case you were wondering: The first Bibles, maps, charts, Betsy Ross's flag, the first drafts of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were made from hemp. 80% of all textiles, fabrics, clothes, linen, drapes, bed sheets, etc. were made from hemp until the 1820s with the introduction of the cotton gin. It was legal to pay taxes with Hemp in America from 1631 until the early 1800s. Refusing to grow Hemp in America during the 17th and 18th Centuries was against the law. You could be jailed in Virginia for refusing to grow hemp from 1763 to 1769. Rembrants, Gainsboroughs, Van Goghs as well as most early canvas paintings were principally painted on hemp linen. In 1916, the U.S. Government Dept. of Agriculture predicted that by the 1940s all paper would come from hemp and that no more trees need to be cut down. For thousands of years, 90% of all ships' sails and rope were made from hemp. The word 'canvas' is Dutch for cannabis. The hemp plant produces up to four times more cellulose per acre than trees. Hemp cultivation and production do not harm the environment. The USDA Bulletin #404 concluded that Hemp produces 4 times as much pulp with at least 4 to 7 times less pollution. Hemp fuel is non-toxic, biodegradable and does not contribute to sulfur dioxide air poisoning. In Feb. 1938, Popular Mechanics called Hemp a 'Billion Dollar Crop.' It was the first time a cash crop had a business potential to exceed a billion dollars. The following information comes directly from the United States Department of Agriculture's 1942 14-minute film encouraging and instructing 'patriotic American farmers' to grow 350,000 acres of hemp each year for the war effort: '...(When) Grecian temples were new, hemp was already old in the service of mankind. For thousands of years, even then, this plant had been grown for cordage and cloth in China and elsewhere in the East. For centuries prior to about 1850, all the ships that sailed the western seas were rigged with hempen rope and sails. For the sailor, no less than the hangman, hemp was indispensable... ...Now with Philippine and East Indian sources of hemp in the hands of the Japanese...American hemp must meet the needs of our Army and Navy as well as of our industries... ...the Navy's rapidly dwindling reserves. When that is gone, American hemp will go on duty again; hemp for mooring ships; hemp for tow lines; hemp for tackle and gear; hemp for countless naval uses both on ship and shore. Just as in the days when Old Ironsides sailed the seas victorious with her hempen shrouds and hempen sails. Hemp for victory!' Victory indeed. ||||| Amid an increased crackdown on medical marijuana producers across the nation, including a recent high-profile raid on a California training school, President Barack Obama faced questions in a new interview with Rolling Stone about the seeming disconnect between his 2008 campaign rhetoric and his administration's actions since he took office. "I'm not going to be using Justice Department resources to try to circumvent state laws [on medical marijuana]," Obama promised in 2008, according to an earlier Rolling Stone report. But Attorney General Eric Holder announced in 2010 that federal authorities would continue to prosecute individuals for marijuana possession, despite its legalized status in some states. The Huffington Post's Lucia Graves reported recently on subsequent enforcement activity: Since then, the administration has unleashed an interagency cannabis crackdown that goes beyond anything seen under the Bush administration, with more than 100 raids, primarily on California pot dispensaries, many of them operating in full compliance with state laws. Since October 2009, the Justice Department has conducted more than 170 aggressive SWAT-style raids in 9 medical marijuana states, resulting in at least 61 federal indictments, according to data compiled by Americans for Safe Access, an advocacy group. Speaking with Rolling Stone, the president tried to explain his original comments, claiming that the recent pressure on dispensaries and providers was in line with his intent. "What I specifically said was that we were not going to prioritize prosecutions of persons who are using medical marijuana," Obama said. "I never made a commitment that somehow we were going to give carte blanche to large-scale producers and operators of marijuana -- and the reason is, because it's against federal law." The president continued: "I can't nullify congressional law. I can't ask the Justice Department to say, 'Ignore completely a federal law that's on the books.' What I can say is, 'Use your prosecutorial discretion and properly prioritize your resources to go after things that are really doing folks damage.' As a consequence, there haven't been prosecutions of users of marijuana for medical purposes." Obama then shifted gears away from marijuana, saying that a "broader debate" on drug laws was warranted. While the president appears to believe that his administration's actions against medical cannabis don't conflict with his earlier statements on the issue, some lawmakers around the country disagree. Lawmakers in five states that have legalized medical marijuana recently wrote a letter to Obama criticizing him for a supposed "contradiction" on the matter and calling on the federal government "not to interfere with our ability to control and regulate how medical marijuana is grown and distributed." Read the entire Rolling Stone interview here. Also on HuffPost: | Official portrait of U.S. President Obama. States that have been raided by federal authorities. Source: Americans for Safe Access In a '''' magazine interview on Wednesday, United States President Barack Obama responded to recent backlash over his alleged policy shift on . In January 2004, then-Illinois Senator Obama said, "The war on drugs has been an utter failure. We need to rethink and decriminalize our nation's marijuana laws." Since he took office as president, over 170 raids have been conducted on medical marijuana facilities across the U.S. In the U.S. certain states have voted to allow for the use of marijuana for medical purposes, although it is still illegal to possess and consume under federal law. This has led to the recent raids and seizures on dispensaries by authorities with the federal government. "What I specifically said was that we were not going to prioritize prosecutions of persons who are using medical marijuana," President Obama said. "I never made a commitment that somehow we were going to give carte blanche to large-scale producers and operators of marijuana – and the reason is, because it's against federal law. I can't nullify congressional law." On April 2, the (IRS) and (DEA) raided in , California. provides courses in which students can learn about the horticulture and business aspects of the medical marijuana industry, but does not distribute marijuana. Authorities confiscated marijuana plants, records, computers and seized bank accounts held by that department of the university. "In many respects the raids in California are not a surprise considering that these dispensaries and cultivation centers are in violation of federal law, and always have been." said Allen St. Pierre, executive director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML). Along with the advocates at NORML, multiple lawmakers have written letters to President Obama criticizing his alleged shift on policy. The lawmakers have also called for the federal government to allow states to regulate themselves. While medical marijuana is legal in California, as well as sixteen other states including Washington D.C., the classifies marijuana as an illegal substance. California state law requires dispensaries to run as non-profit, and those who do make a profit are subject to getting raided by federal and local authorities. "If you grow a small amount at home or buy some off the street then he doesn't care, that's what they've said," St. Pierre said. |
Tibetan sources say a 17-year-old girl set herself on fire Sunday to protest Chinese rule in ethnic Tibetan areas. Witnesses say Wanchen Kyi shouted slogans in support of the Dalai Lama and a free Tibet as she was engulfed in flames. She died at the scene. More than 3,000 Tibetans and monks later gathered at the site of the self-immolation protest and recited prayers. A day earlier, two young monks also died after setting themselves on fire to protest Chinese rule. Ninety-five Tibetans have now self-immolated in western China since 2009, with 28 cases reported in November alone. The acceleration of self-immolations has coincided with Tibetans staging several anti-China rallies, despite a heavy Chinese security presence. On Sunday, Chinese state media quoted police in Sichuan province as saying a detained Tibetan monk and his nephew had confessed they incited eight people to set themselves on fire in anti-Chinese protests. Three people died in the self-immolations. According to the police, the men say they were acting on the orders of Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama. Beijing accuses the India-based Dalai Lama of inciting the self-immolations to promote Tibetan separatism, a charge he denies. ||||| Tibetan protests: China holds monk for inciting immolation Exiled groups deny encouraging self-immolations Continue reading the main story Related Stories Chinese authorities have arrested a monk and his nephew for inciting self-immolation protests in Sichuan province, state media says. Xinhua reported that the monk confessed to encouraging and publicising the protests, under orders from exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama. Exiled Tibetans said the confession was forced and denied any involvement. A recent legal ruling stipulated anyone aiding immolations would be charged with murder. Dozens of Tibetans have set fire to themselves in protest against the Communist Party's rule since 2009. Many have died. The authorities have periodically launched crackdowns, rounded up suspects, locked down monasteries and subjected monks to political re-education. But protests have continued in Tibetan communities in Sichuan, Tibet, Gansu and Qinghai. Most recently, activists reported two separate immolations on Saturday in Tibet, with one monk dying of his injuries. Continue reading the main story The Tibet Divide China says Tibet has always been part of its territory Tibet had long periods of autonomy China launched a military assault in 1950 Opposition to Chinese rule led to a bloody uprising in 1959 Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, fled to India Dalai Lama now advocates a "middle way" with Beijing, seeking autonomy but not independence On Sunday, Xinhua quoted a police statement saying 40-year-old monk Lorang Konchok had encouraged eight people to set themselves on fire since 2009. The report says he and his nephew recorded details of the protesters, gathered photographs, and passed them on to exiled groups in India. Loran Konchok was based at the Kirti monastery in Aba prefecture, which has been a focal point for self-immolations. The Tibetan government-in-exile, based in the Indian town of Dharmsala, denied accusations of involvement by its representatives or the Dalai Lama. "We believe [the suspects] have been forced to make these confessions," spokesman Lobsang Choedak said. "We would welcome the Chinese government investigating whether we are instigating these immolations." The arrests follow a ruling by China's top courts, reported in a commentary in the party's Gannan Daily newspaper, that increased punishments for anyone suspected of encouraging the protests. "The opinion makes clear that those criminals who act as principal culprits behind the scenes to organise, direct, and plot as well as those who actively participate in inciting, coercing, enticing, abetting, or assisting others to carry out self-immolations, will be held criminally liable for intentional homicide," the paper said, according to a translation on the Dui Hua website. ||||| CHENGDU, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- Police in southwest China's Sichuan Province have detained a monk and his nephew for their roles in inciting a series of self-immolations, local police said Sunday. Lorang Konchok, a 40-year-old monk at the Kirti Monastery in Aba County, Sichuan, has goaded eight people to set themselves on fire, three of whom died, since 2009, said a police statement. He acted on the instructions of the Dalai Lama and his followers, according to his confession and police investigation. After a Kirti Monastery monk named Tapey self-immolated in February 2009, Lorang Konchok was contacted by some key figures with the media liaison team -- a "Tibet independence" organization of the Dalai Lama group, and he continuously sent the latter information about incidents of self-immolation. At the requests of the media liaison team, Lorang Konchok took advantage of his position and influence in the monastery and often encouraged others to self-immolate, telling local monks and followers that self-immolation was not against Buddhist doctrines and those who did it were "heroes." He also promised to spread their "deeds" abroad so they and their families would be acknowledged and honored, the police statement said. Lorang Konchok recruited Lorang Tsering, his 31-year-old nephew, to help with his instigation. According to police, when someone agreed to commit suicide by burning himself or herself, the two suspects would record his or her personal and family information, take pictures and promise to "pass the information on to India." As soon as the self-immolation was done, they sent pictures, accounts of the incident and other information to their overseas contacts belonging to the "Tibet independence" organization via mobile phones. The two men had persuaded several people to attempt self-immolation, who abandoned the idea after their families, local government officials and police officers intervened, the statement said. Another two persons had been forced to flee their hometown to avoid Lorang Konchok, who continued to harass them and urge them to exercise self-immolation as soon as possible. They did not return home until Lorang Konchok and Lorang Tsering were apprehended by the police. Police started their investigation after a series of self-immolations took place in Aba in August. They detained Lorang Konchok on Aug. 13 and Lorang Tsering on Aug. 15. Police will step up their work and crack down on such criminal acts, as inciting and convincing innocent people to burn themselves to death are not in line with the law, the statement said. ||||| Exile Tibetans participate in a candle light vigil to mourn and stand in solidarity with Pema Dorje, 23, and Kunchok Phelgye, 24, who died after setting themselves on fire on Saturday to protest against the Chinese rule in Tibet, in McLeod Ganj, India, on 9 December 2012. Tibet Sun/Contributor By Lobsang Wangyal A second death on Saturday from self-immolation protest has occurred in Amdo, according to the website of the Central Tibetan Administration. Pema Dorje, 23, died after setting fire to himself outside Shitsang monastery in Luchu, Kanlho, in northeastern Tibet, around 4:30 pm local time. No other details about Pema are available at the time of reporting this story. With Pema’s fiery protest, the number of people setting themselves on fire reached 94 since the first self-immolation by Tapey in February 2009. ||||| Press Release 8 December 2012 The Central Tibetan Administration in Dharamsala today reiterated its deep concern and sadness over the worsening situation in Tibet, as two more Tibetans self-immolated in protest against the Chinese government’s rule on Saturday. Kunchok Phelgye, 24, a monk of Dringwa Sumdo monastery at Dzoege, set himself on fire at Taktsang Lhamo Kirti monastery in Ngaba on Saturday evening. With folded hands, he called for the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Kirti Rinpoche to Tibet, and the reunion of Tibetans in Tibet. He died on the spot. Monks took his body to the monastery where a special prayer service is being held. In another incident, Pema Dorjee, 23, died after setting fire to himself on fire outside Shitsang monastery in Luchu in Kanlho in eastern Tibet. He raised slogans calling for the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, independence of Tibet and unity of Tibetans. The Chinese authorities have reinforced clamp down on the monasteries and surrounding villages following the incident. “We call on the international community to stand in solidarity with Tibet campaign on human rights day on 10 December to press the Chinese government to address the long-standing grievances of Tibetans in Tibet,” said Ms Dicki Chhoyang, Kalon for the Department of Information & International Relations. Despite repeated appeals by the Central Tibetan Administration to refrain from taking drastic actions, over 94 Tibetans have self-immolated inside Tibet since 2009, including 81 in 2012 and 29 this November alone. Media contact: Lobsang Choedak, Press Officer, +91 98822 32476 ||||| Chinese paramilitary units are now posted on every block of the town of Ngaba, and Kirti is under lockdown. Journalists are barred from entering the monastery, which has made the question of how Kirti became the volcanic heart of this eruption of self-immolations something of a mystery. But monks and laypeople from Ngaba who have fled across the Himalayas to this Indian hill town said that Kirti had been radicalized in the last four years by an occupation of the monastery that amounted to one of the harshest crackdowns in Tibet. Chinese security measures have converted the white-walled monastery, with its temples and dormitories and rows of prayer wheels, into a de facto prison, which has fueled the anger that the measures are aimed at containing. After a five-week lull, the self-immolations picked up again last week. On May 27, two men in Lhasa, the Tibetan capital, set fire to themselves outside the Jokhang Temple, the holiest in Tibetan Buddhism. It was the first notable act of protest in Lhasa in four years. One of the men was a former Kirti monk. On Wednesday, a mother of three burned herself to death in Ngaba, known as Aba in Chinese. The Ngaba exiles here say the security measures imposed on the town and the monastery have been extreme, even by the standards of Chinese control in Tibet. In 2008, during a Tibet-wide uprising, security forces shot protesters in Ngaba with live ammunition, killing at least 10 civilians, including one monk, according to reports by advocacy groups and photographs of corpses that had been brought to Kirti. It was one of the most violent events of the uprising, and anger and alienation set in among local Tibetans. Officials tightened security. In February 2009, in the town’s market area, a young man from Kirti self-immolated, the first monk to do so in modern Tibetan history. The monk, named Tapey, survived, and officials stepped up surveillance of Kirti. In March 2011, the next self-immolation occurred: Phuntsog, 20, set fire to himself on the same street in the market, which locals now call Hero’s Road. | In three separate cases in Tibet, three people have died in the past two days after they set themselves on fire in protest of Chinese occupation of Tibet. Yesterday, Pema Dorje, 23, and Kunchok Phelgye, 24, died after they set themselves on fire in front of monasteries in northeastern and eastern Tibet. Then today, Bhenchen Kyi, 17, died after she set herself on fire in the Tsekhog, region. The deaths are described as s, where a person or persons set themselves on fire as a form of protest, often resulting in death. The first Tibetan reported case happened in 2009 when a monk named '' set himself on fire in . He survived the incident. Since then, reportedly at least 95 people have attempted self-immolation, 28 of those in November of this year. Authorities say the self-immolations may be incited and as a result, have arrested two men believed to be connected to the cases. Today, Chinese authorities announced the arrests of Lorang Konchok, 40, and his nephew Lorang Tsering, 31, who were arrested in August. Konchok is a working at a monastery in . In a confession Konchol claims he was working on orders from the and his followers. He also says he recruited Tsering to help instigate the incidents, telling potential individuals they would be "heroes" if they went through with the immolation. Authorities say the two men were attempting to persuade more people to go through with the immolations, but those people backed out after police, family members, and government officials intervened. Lobsang Choedak, a spokesperson for the Tibetan government in exile in , denies the allegations against Konchok and Tsering saying, "We believe the suspects have been forced to make these confessions. We would welcome the Chinese government investigating whether we are instigating these immolations." |
VIENNA, Austria (AP) - Iran has told the International Atomic Energy Agency to remove surveillance cameras and agency seals from sites and nuclear equipment by the end of next week in response to referral to the U.N. Security Council, the agency said Monday. Iran's demands came two days after the IAEA reported Tehran to the council over its disputed atomic program. In a confidential report to the IAEA's 35-member board on Monday, agency head Mohamed ElBaradei said Iran also announced a sharp reduction in the number and kind of IAEA inspections, effective immediately. The report was made available to The Associated Press. Iranian officials had repeatedly warned they would stop honoring the so-called "Additional Protocol" to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty - an agreement giving IAEA inspectors greater authority - if the IAEA board referred their country to the council. A diplomat close to the Vienna-based IAEA told the AP that Iran had also moved forward on another threat - formally setting a date for resuming full-scale work on its uranium enrichment program. Iran says it wants to make fuel through enrichment, but the activity can also generate the nuclear core of warheads. The diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the matter was confidential, refused to divulge the date. Robert G. Joseph, the U.S. undersecretary of state for arms control, said Monday that Iran used negotiations with the European Union to play for time and develop its capabilities. "I would say that Iran does have the capability to develop nuclear weapons and the means to deliver them," he said in a response to a question. In Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said he was still hopeful that Iran will take confidence-building measures with the IAEA. "It's not the end of the road," Annan said of the Security Council referral. "I hope that in between, Iran will take steps that will help create an environment and confidence-building measures that will bring the partners back to the negotiating table." In his brief report, ElBaradei cited E. Khalilipour, vice president of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, as saying: "From the date of this letter, all voluntarily suspended non-legally binding measures including the provisions of the Additional Protocol and even beyond that will be suspended." Calling on the agency to sharply reduce the number of inspectors in Iran, Khalilipour added: "All the Agency's containment and surveillance measures which were in place beyond the normal Agency safeguards measures should be removed by mid-February 2006." Earlier, Russia's foreign minister warned against threatening Iran after Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld reportedly agreed with an interviewer at the German daily newspaper Handelsblatt that all options, including military response, remained on the table. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called for talks to continue with Tehran, adding: "I think that at the current stage, it is important not to make guesses about what will happen and even more important not to make threats." U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, urged the Security Council to impose strict sanctions on Iran if it fails to comply with U.N. resolutions and arms agreements and warned that inaction would greatly increase the chances of military conflict. He nonetheless stressed that the United States favors a diplomatic solution. "Diplomatic and economic confrontations are preferable to military ones," Lugar said. But he cautioned that "in the field of nonproliferation, decisions delayed over the course of months and years may be as harmful as no decisions at all." The Additional Protocol was signed by Iranian officials in 2003 as pressure intensified on Tehran to cooperate with IAEA inspectors probing more than 18 years of clandestine nuclear activities. The protocol gives the agency inspecting powers beyond normal, allowing for inspections on short notice of areas and programs suspected of being misused for weapons activity. North Korea - the world's other major proliferation concern - quit the Nonproliferation Treaty in January 2003, just a few months before U.S. officials announced that Pyongyang had told them it had nuclear weapons and may test, export or use them depending on U.S. actions. Iranian officials have repeatedly said they will continue honoring the Nonproliferation Treaty. Still, the agreements linked to that treaty are insufficient for agency inspectors trying to establish whether Iran has had a secret nuclear arms program. Unless Iran relents, the move to curtail voluntary cooperation means that ElBaradei will be stymied in trying to close the Iran nuclear file by March. And that could backfire on Tehran. Russia and China agreed to Security Council referral on condition that the council take no action until March, when the IAEA board next meets. But if ElBaradei reports to that March 6 meeting that he was unable to make progress in establishing whether Iran constitutes a nuclear threat, the council will likely start to pressure Iran, launching a process that could end in sanctions. --- Associated Press writers Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations, Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow and Barry Schweid in Washington contributed to this report. ||||| Iran tells IAEA to remove cameras (CNN) -- Iran has told the International Atomic Energy Agency to remove its surveillance cameras and other equipment from its nuclear sites by mid-February, the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog has said. The declarations were made in a letter from E. Khalilipour, vice president of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, according to a communique issued by the IAEA to its members, a copy of which was received by CNN. The letter comes two days after the IAEA's board of governors reported Iran to the United Nations Security Council over its nuclear program, opening the door to potential sanctions against Tehran. Iran had warned it would stop honoring the "additional protocol" to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which gave the IAEA -- the U.N. nuclear watchdog -- greater oversight, if it was referred to the Security Council. The additional protocol allows for such things as snap inspections, IAEA seals on nuclear equipment and greater surveillance of Tehran's nuclear facilities. The letter, in essence, told the IAEA it would stop cooperating with the additional protocol and would return to the bare minimum of cooperation as outlined by the NPT. "From the date of this letter, all voluntarily suspended non-legally binding measures including the provisions of the additional protocol and even beyond that will be suspended," the Iranian letter said, according to the IAEA communique. Because of that, the letter requested that the IAEA inspector's presence in Iran for verification activities must be scheduled and not unannounced, the communique said. And "all the agency's containment and surveillance measures which were in place beyond the normal agency safeguards measures should be removed by mid-February 2006." That means IAEA seals and cameras should be removed from enrichment-related facilities, where they were installed after the Paris Agreement reached between Iran and the EU-3 -- France, Germany and Britain. Under that agreement, the IAEA was asked to supervise and monitor Iran's voluntary suspension of enrichment-related activities. Tehran had also warned it would resume uranium-enrichment activities if referred to the Security Council. The council, meanwhile, will not consider any action until IAEA Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei presents his report in March. And some U.N. member states, such as China, continue to urge diplomacy as a solution. "Even with the adoption of this IAEA resolution, it is the belief of most of the members there that a diplomatic solution is the way out within the framework of the IAEA," said Wang Guangya, Chinese ambassador to the United Nations, on Monday. Others used stronger language. French U.N. Ambassador Jean-Marc de la Sabliere said he hoped Iran would understand that a return to voluntary suspension of nuclear activities would be in its best interest. The IAEA wants the Islamic state to take action to prove its nuclear intentions are peaceful, as the Islamic state insists is the case. In addition, talks are scheduled for February 16 in Moscow between officials of Russia and Iran on a Russian proposal, which has gained international support, to enrich uranium for Iran on Russian soil. But Iran said its voluntary suspension of uranium enrichment and its agreement to unannounced inspections of its nuclear facilities should have sufficed to secure international trust that its intentions were peaceful. The United States and other Western countries have expressed concern that Iran's nuclear activities could be aimed at acquiring a nuclear weapon. The U.S. State Department's top official on nuclear issues says Iran used negotiations with the European Union to play for time to further its nuclear ambitions and now has the capacity to develop a nuclear weapon and a delivery system. "I would say that Iran does have the capability to develop nuclear weapons and the delivery means for those weapons," Undersecretary Robert Joseph told reporters on Monday. (Full story) | Symbol of the IAEA Flag of Iran Shortly after ending its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the government of Iran has now ordered the IAEA to discontinue some of its surveillance of Iran's nuclear facilities. Tehran has also asked the agency to remove any and all signage from their nuclear sites by the end of next week. This is in response to the Saturday resolution by the IAEA to report Iran to the United Nations Security Council, which was made without waiting for the director of the IAEA, Mohamed ElBaradei, chairman of the IAEA, to finish preparing a report on (and ) nuclear programs for the regular IAEA meeting scheduled for March 6. ElBaradei had given Iran until March to answer IAEA questions. By a vote of 27 to three (with five abstentions), and without the information in ElBaradei's report planned for March 2006, the IAEA recommended that the matter of the Iranian nuclear program be brought before the Security Council. The recommendation claims that there are serious concerns about Iranian nuclear aims, and the agency does not have confidence that the program is intended solely for civilian or other non-military use. Although the meeting was taken without waiting for ElBaradei's March report, the recommendation requests ElBaradei to make his report anyway, including a list of "steps Iran needs to take to dispel suspicions about its nuclear ambitions" by March 6. The IAEA's resolution calls for Iran to reinstate a freeze on its nuclear programs, consider ending construction of a plutonium-producing heavy water reactor, and to continue allowing the IAEA's purposes and actions in Iran. However, the council will not implement any further action until ElBaradei makes his full report on March 6. ElBaradei also reported to the IAEA Monday that Iran would also demand a reduction in the amount of facilities inspections from the agency, and that they would discontinue their agreement to the Additional Protocol of the (NPT) if the agency reported Iran to the Security Council. This protocol entitles the IAEA to hold unannounced inspections of facilities, increased surveillance capability, and placing IAEA seals on nuclear equipment. Other diplomatic ventures are being planned. On February 16, Iranian officials will meet with the Russian government in Moscow to discuss the possibility of Russia enriching uranium for export to Iran in exchange for a halting of its nuclear enrichment program. And Wang Guangya, China's ambassador to the UN, said Monday that "Even with the adoption of this IAEA resolution, it is the belief of most of the members there that a diplomatic solution is the way out within the framework of the IAEA." |
A man watches the video screen in Germany's memorial for the Nazis' homosexual victims. A video clip shows two men kissing. BERLIN - Germany yesterday unveiled a memorial to the Nazis' long-ignored gay victims, a monument that also aims to address ongoing discrimination by confronting visitors with an image of a same-sex couple kissing. The memorial - a sloping gray concrete slab on the edge of Berlin's Tiergarten park - echoes the vast field of smaller slabs that make up Germany's memorial to Jewish victims of the Holocaust, opened three years ago across the road. The pavilion-size slab includes a small window where visitors can view a video clip of two men kissing. Berlin's openly gay mayor, Klaus Wowereit, said the monument was a reminder of the struggles that still confronted gays. "This memorial is important from two points of view - to commemorate the victims but also to make clear that even today, after we have achieved so much in terms of equal treatment, discrimination still exists daily," Wowereit said as he inaugurated the memorial alongside Culture Minister Bernd Neumann. Nazi Germany declared homosexuality a threat to the German race and convicted 50,000 homosexuals as criminals. An estimated 10,000 to 15,000 gay men were deported to concentration camps, where few survived. "This is a story that many people don't know about, and I think it's fantastic . . . that the German state finally decided to make a memorial to honor these victims as well," said Ingar Dragset, who designed the memorial along with Danish-born Michael Elmgreen. The commemoration "unfortunately comes too late for those who were persecuted and survived in 1945," said Guenter Dworek, of Germany's Lesbian and Gay Association. "That is very bitter." He said the last former prisoner that his group knew of died in 2005. Wowereit echoed his regret over the time it took to honor the Nazis' gay victims. "That is symptomatic of a postwar society which simply kept quiet about a group of victims, which . . . contributed to these victims being discriminated against twice," he said. Few gays convicted by the Nazis came forward after World War II, because of the stigma attached to homosexuality. The law used against them remained on the books in West Germany until 1969. Not until 2002 did parliament issue a formal pardon for homosexuals convicted under the Nazis. The memorial to Jewish victims and the new monument will soon be joined by a third honoring the Roma and Sinti, or Gypsy, victims. Up to 500,000 Gypsies were killed during the Holocaust. ||||| Berlin inaugurates memorial to the Nazis' homosexual victims BERLIN: Germany unveiled a memorial Tuesday to the long-ignored gay victims of the Nazi Regime, a monument that also aims to address discrimination today by confronting visitors with an image of a same-sex couple kissing. The memorial — a sloping gray concrete slab on the edge of Berlin's Tiergarten park — is a deliberate echo of the vast field of smaller slabs that make up Germany's memorial to Jewish victims of the Holocaust, opened three years ago just across the road. Berlin's openly gay mayor, Klaus Wowereit, said at Tuesday's opening that "another part of our work of commemoration is becoming reality." Its designers included in the pavilion-sized slab a small window that lets visitors see a film of two men kissing. "This memorial is important from two points of view — to commemorate the victims, but also to make clear that even today, after we have achieved so much in terms of equal treatment, discrimination still exists daily," Wowereit said, inaugurating the memorial alongside Culture Minister Bernd Neumann. Nazi Germany declared homosexuality an aberration that threatened the German race, and convicted some 50,000 homosexuals as criminals. An estimated 10,000 to 15,000 gay men were deported to concentration camps, where few survived. "This is a story that many people don't know about, and I think it's fantastic ... that the German state finally decided to make a memorial to honor these victims as well," Ingar Dragset, a Berlin-based Norwegian who designed the memorial along with Danish-born Michael Elmgreen, told AP Television News. The commemoration "unfortunately comes too late for those who were persecuted and survived in 1945," said Guenter Dworek, of Germany's Lesbian and Gay Association. "That is very bitter." He said the last ex-prisoner that his group knew of died in 2005. Wowereit echoed his regret at the time it took to honor the Nazis' gay victims. "That is symptomatic of a postwar society which simply kept quiet a group of victims, which itself contributed to these victims being discriminated against twice," he said. Few gays convicted by the Nazis came forward after World War II because of the continuing stigma attached to homosexuality. The law used against them remained on the books in West Germany until 1969, and Dworek said there were 50,000 convictions under the legislation after the war. The German parliament in 2002 issued a formal pardon for homosexuals convicted under the Nazis. One reason the pardon took so long was because the legislation had been linked to a blanket rehabilitation of 22,000 Wehrmacht deserters — a move many conservatives opposed. The effort to get a memorial built started in 1992, and a 1999 parliament decision to build the memorial to the Holocaust's 6 million Jewish victims also called for "commemorating in a worthy fashion the other victims of Nazis." In 2001 Jewish and Gypsy leaders backed a public appeal from Dworek's group for a monument to the gay victims. After lawmakers approved its construction, a jury picked the design by Dragset and Elmgreen in early 2006 out of 17 design proposals. The federal government financed the €600,000 (US$945,660) building costs, while Berlin's city government provided the site. The designers' original plan, which was to feature only a video with two men kissing, then ran into criticism that lesbians were left out. Last year, a compromise was reached under which the film will be changed every two years, allowing for lesbian couples also to be shown in future. The first film — a repeating clip of two men kissing, shot at the site of the memorial before it was built — was done by photographer Robby Mueller and directed by Denmark's Thomas Vinterberg. "It was quite important to have a direct imagery of a love scene, a passionate scene ... because that is the main problem in homophobia," designer Elmgreen said. "You can get whatever rights, you can get acceptance on an abstract level, but they don't want to look at us." Germany has allowed gay couples to seal their partnerships at registry offices since 2001, although the law stops short of offering formal marriage. Berlin has a large gay community, as do other major German cities such as Cologne and Hamburg. The memorial to the Nazis' Jewish victims and the new monument will soon be joined by a third memorial, honoring the Roma and Sinti, or Gypsy, victims. Some 220,000 to 500,000 Gypsies were killed during the Holocaust. Work begins this year on that memorial, also in Tiergarten park. "We stand stunned before the brutality with which the Nazis threatened, persecuted and destroyed all those who did not correspond to their inhuman ideology," Neumann said. "The experience of war and Holocaust, state terror and tyranny, puts on us Germans a special responsibility to protect freedom and human rights." | A new memorial opened in Berlin on Tuesday in honor of homosexual victims of the Nazis. The monument also aims to address the discrimination towards and social stigma surrounding homosexuality in today's society by confronting visitors with an image of a same-sex couple kissing. The monument is a sloping gray concrete slab on the edge of Berlin's Tiergarten park, which echoes the vast field of smaller slabs that make up Germany's memorial to Jewish victims of the Holocaust, opened three years ago across the road. Nazi Germany declared homosexuality a deviation that threatened the German race and convicted some 50,000 homosexuals as criminals. An estimated 10,000 to 15,000 gay men were deported to concentration camps where few survived. Berlin Mayor Klaus Wowereit stated that he regrets the lengthy time it took to honor the Nazis' gay victims. The federal government financed the €600,000 building costs, while Berlin's city government provided the site. Germany has allowed gay couples to become registered partners at registry offices since 2001, however the law falls short of permitting formal marriage. Berlin has a large gay community, as do other major German cities such as Cologne, Hamburg and Munich. |
Thais Joined: 07 Aug 2004 Posts: 1000 Location: UK Joined: 07 Aug 2004Location: UK Posted: Sat Feb 26, 2005 10:02 am Post subject: Vioxx back on the shelves The decision last Friday by the FDA, America's drug regulator, to allow the COX-2 painkiller Vioxx back on the shelves after it had been voluntarily withdrawn by the manufacturer will surprise some. It is even more surprising after hearing the evidence put to the expert panel. Even the panel's chairman Dr Alastair Wood didn't sound too happy about letting the drug back on the list. "It's important to recognize that this is a far larger randomized safety signal than we have seen from any of the drugs that have been withdrawn for safety reasons," he said in summarizing the evidence put forward during the three-day hearing. "The committee needs to act in a way that limits the hazard to patients." As expected, drugs 'whistleblower' Dr David Graham came up with the most compelling evidence to keep Vioxx off the market - with the suggestion that other COX-2 drugs such as Celebrex and Vextra should also be withdrawn. "There's a 1-in-50 chance that a male aged 65 to 74 will have a heart attack this year. Increase that five-fold with high doses of Vioxx," he told FDA advisers. Despite the damning evidence and the hesitancy of the chairman, the committee recommended that Vioxx be reinstated. Why? It might have something to with the fact that Merck, Vioxx's manufacturer, was making noises that it was going to bring back the drug anyway. Clearly the FDA didn't relish a showdown with the drug giant. In its defence, Merck stated: "Since we withdrew Vioxx from the market, the science has continued to evolve and new data on some of the alternative therapies have become available." Opaque? Let us translate. "If you insist we keep Vioxx off the market, we'll blow the whistle on the other drugs that are equally as dangerous. So how lucky are you feeling, punk?" would seem to be roughly what they were saying. And that's why Vioxx is available from your friendly family doctor today. VIOXX: Why it's back on the shelvesThe decision last Friday by the FDA, America's drug regulator, to allow the COX-2 painkiller Vioxx back on the shelves after it had been voluntarily withdrawn by the manufacturer will surprise some.It is even more surprising after hearing the evidence put to the expert panel. Even the panel's chairman Dr Alastair Wood didn't sound too happy about letting the drug back on the list. "It's important to recognize that this is a far larger randomized safety signal than we have seen from any of the drugs that have been withdrawn for safety reasons," he said in summarizing the evidence put forward during the three-day hearing. "The committee needs to act in a way that limits the hazard to patients."As expected, drugs 'whistleblower' Dr David Graham came up with the most compelling evidence to keep Vioxx off the market - with the suggestion that other COX-2 drugs such as Celebrex and Vextra should also be withdrawn. "There's a 1-in-50 chance that a male aged 65 to 74 will have a heart attack this year. Increase that five-fold with high doses of Vioxx," he told FDA advisers.Despite the damning evidence and the hesitancy of the chairman, the committee recommended that Vioxx be reinstated.Why?It might have something to with the fact that Merck, Vioxx's manufacturer, was making noises that it was going to bring back the drug anyway. Clearly the FDA didn't relish a showdown with the drug giant.In its defence, Merck stated: "Since we withdrew Vioxx from the market, the science has continued to evolve and new data on some of the alternative therapies have become available."Opaque?Let us translate. "If you insist we keep Vioxx off the market, we'll blow the whistle on the other drugs that are equally as dangerous. So how lucky are you feeling, punk?" would seem to be roughly what they were saying.And that's why Vioxx is available from your friendly family doctor today. ||||| A Texas jury found pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. liable Friday for the death of a man who took the once-popular painkiller Vioxx, awarding his widow $253.4 million in damages in the first of thousands of lawsuits pending across the country. A seven-man, five-woman jury deliberated for 10½ hours over two days before returning the verdict in a 10-2 vote. But the damage award is likely to be drastically cut to no more than $26.1 million because Texas law caps the punitive damages that made up the bulk of the total. Plaintiff Carol Ernst began to cry when the verdict was read while her attorneys jumped up and shouted, "Amen!" CBS News Legal Analyst Andrew Cohen said the jury found Merck to have acted with malice, which is a cut below negligence on the sliding scale of responsibility. "That tells me that these jurors were convinced that Merck didn't just drop the ball but that it purposely reacted inappropriately," Cohen said. Jurors in the semi-rural county rejected Merck's argument that Robert Ernst, 59, died of clogged arteries rather than a Vioxx-induced heart attack that led to his fatal arrhythmia. Ernst, a produce manager at a Wal-Mart store, ran marathons and taught aerobics classes on the side. Merck insisted no studies ever showed a link to irregular heart beat although CBS News Correspondent Cami McCormick reported that it wasn't an issue in this case. The case drew national attention from pharmaceutical companies, lawyers, consumers, stock analysts and arbitrageurs as a signal of what lies ahead for Merck, which has vowed to fight the more than 4,200 state and federal Vioxx-related lawsuits pending across the country. Merck said it plans to appeal. Cohen said he thinks the huge punitive damage is likely to be reduced on appeal and CBS News Correspondent Anthony Mason reports that Carol Ernst's attorneys admitted the fight is far from over. "But we got justice and we got the verdict we wanted whether we see a penny or not. The truth is out there," said Ernst's attorney, Mark Lanier. Ernst called the verdict a "wake-up call" for pharmaceutical companies. "This has been a long road for me," she told reporters later. "But I felt strongly that this was the road I needed to take so other families wouldn't suffer the same pain I felt at the time." After news of the late-afternoon decision, Merck shares fell 7.7 percent to close at $28.06, wiping away almost $5.2 billion in market capitalization. Merck lawyer Jonathan Skidmore said the appeal would center on what he termed "unreliable scientific evidence." "It'll be based on the fact that we believe unqualified expert testimony was allowed in the case; there were expert opinions that weren't grounded in science, the type that are required in the state of Texas," he said. "We don't believe they (plaintiffs) met their burden of proof." The jury awarded $450,000 in economic damages for Robert Ernst's lost pay, $24 million for mental anguish and loss of companionship and $229 million in punitive damages. | Drug maker Merck & Co. was found liable for a person's death concerning the use of the pain medication Vioxx, according to a jury verdict in a Texas court. The plaintiff's case, headed by the widow of Robert Ernst, who died in 2001 of an irregular heartbeat and of clogged arteries while on the drug Vioxx, was successfully awarded $253.4 million dollars. Vioxx was pulled from the shelves in 2004 after a study discovered it could double the risk of a heart attack or stroke if taken for longer than 1.5 years. However, the US government agency, the FDA, decided in February of this year to allow the product back on the shelves. Merck's stock price dropped 10% within minutes of the verdict being announced, and continued to fall hours after. There are in excess of 4,200 other Vioxx-related lawsuits pending across the USA. The company plans to appeal the decision. |
McCartney tells upset Quebec separatists to smoke peace pipe OTTAWA (AFP) — Sir Paul McCartney has told Quebec separatists to "smoke the pipes of peace" amid controversy over his upcoming performance on Sunday to mark Quebec City's 400th anniversary, media said Friday. The ex-Beatle is headlining the year-long celebrations, and some Quebecers lament his participation evokes painful memories of English hegemony, centuries after the French outpost was lost in battle to the British Crown. "I think it's time to, you know, smoke the pipes of peace and to just put away your hatchets," McCartney said in an interview with public broadcaster CBC, as separatists and federalists bickered over the meaning of his show. "I'm very friendly with the French people that I know. I know people of all nationalities. Hey, I'm friendly with German people. By that argument, I should never go to Germany or they should never come here (to Britain)," he said. Daniel Gelinas, head of the anniversary organizing committee, said inviting McCartney to play was meant to spotlight the city's "two founding peoples: France and the UK." But 35 local artists and politicians said in an open letter that the marquee spot for McCartney's show on the Plains of Abraham smacked of another British invasion. On the fields outside the stone walls of the old city, General James Wolfe defeated General Louis-Joseph de Montcalm in 1759 to secure control of New France for the British. "The presence of your English-language music on the most majestic part of Battlefields Park, as beautiful as it might be, can't help but bring back painful memories of our conquest," Quebec City painter and sculptor Luc Archambault said in his open letter to McCartney. Archambault also asked the "international Anglo-Saxon idol" to show the same sensitivity to "the people of French Quebec" as the ex-Beatle has already shown to "the fate of seals." In 2006, McCartney and his then-wife Heather Mills visited the ice floes off Quebec's Magdalene Islands to protest the seal hunt. Quebec Premier Jean Charest, a staunch federalist, countered: "Nobody criticizes (Quebec-born) Celine Dion for singing in Paris, Munich, England or elsewhere on the planet." The Quebec City festival was organized to mark the day in 1608 when French explorer Samuel de Champlain crossed the Atlantic Ocean and headed up the Saint Lawrence River to establish Quebec City with 30 other men. But from the start, partygoers have remained split over whether to toast Canada's beginnings or the cradle of French civilization in North America. "Come on (Quebecers), love me baby," said McCartney, who is learning a bit of French to try to impress his fans in this bilingual country. A friend actually helped him write the French lyrics for the Beatles' 1965 Grammy Award-winning ballad "Michelle, Ma Belle." Rooted in the early days of the fur trade, and once at the heart of a French empire that spanned from Acadia in easternmost Canada to Louisiana in the southern United States, Quebec City is now a bustling Canadian metropolis with a population of 700,000. Its old quarter, perched atop a cliff that overlooks the point where the Saint Lawrence widens on its way to the open sea, remains the only fortified city north of Mexico and a UNESCO world heritage site. Organizers are expecting some 200,000 people for McCartney's free concert, his only North American show this year. It will also be broadcast live on pay-per-view television. ||||| TheStar.com | Canada | Pass the peace pipe and inhale: McCartney Pass the peace pipe and inhale: McCartney Singer rejects criticism by Quebec nationalists Jul 18, 2008 04:30 AM Sean Gordon Quebec Bureau Chief QUEBEC CITY–Former Beatle Paul McCartney has a talent for sparking a furor when he lands on Canadian shores. In 2006, the singer-songwriter touched off a minor storm in Atlantic Canada with his vocal opposition to the seal hunt. McCartney's visit included trading barbs on CNN with Newfoundland Premier Danny Williams. And as McCartney prepares for a mammoth concert here Sunday, he's in the eye of a storm once again: prominent Quebec nationalists are in full froth over what they term a British cultural invasion. In an interview with Radio-Canada yesterday, McCartney played down complaints voiced by some ardent nationalists that his visit compounds the "Canadianization" of Quebec City's 400th anniversary celebrations. "I think it's time to, you know, smoke the pipe of peace and just put away the hatchets, because I think it's a show about friendship," McCartney said in a nod to his 1983 hit, "Pipes of Peace." Earlier this week, Quebec sculptor Luc Archambault issued an open letter denouncing McCartney's arrival because the star is British. The letter was co-signed by several high-profile artists and a handful of Parti Québécois legislators. McCartney rejected criticism that his concert is an affront to Quebec's francophone culture. "I'm very friendly with the French people that I know, I'm friendly with people of all nationalities. I'm friendly with German people, but by ... (Archambault's) argument I should never go to Germany again" because of World War II. Criticism of his appearance is part of a steady outcry that the 400th celebrations have been sanitized of all mention of separatist sentiment and that they have evolved into something other than a celebration of francophone Quebec. The province's call-in shows and Internet discussion forums were swamped with criticism of the organizing committee's choice of U.S. arena rockers Van Halen as the headline act on July 3, the formal anniversary of the city's founding. "There will always be whiners. ... Our mandate was to set up a celebration and that's what we've done," said Luci Tremblay, a spokesperson for the 400th anniversary committee. | Live 8 in 2004 Former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney received a hostile reception this week from some Quebec separatists as he prepares for his concert on the Plains of Abraham in Quebec City on Sunday. The controversy began when Quebec artist Luc Archambault released an open letter last week criticising the concert as a "British invasion". The letter was also signed by some other separatists including a few Parti Québécois politicians. The concert is located at the site of the 1759 Battle of the Plains of Abraham on which British and French troops battled. Quebec premier Jean Charest dismissed the letter, noting that Quebec superstar Celine Dion does not face criticism when she sings in various nations. When interviewed by Radio-Canada on Thursday, the musician suggested that the protestors "smoke the pipes of peace and to just put away your hatchets" and indicated his appearance was a matter of friendship and good will. McCartney's performance is among numerous scheduled events marking Quebec City's 400th anniversary this year. Celine Dion is scheduled to perform at the Plains of Abraham next month. |
Mr Alkatiri has been under huge pressure in the last few weeks President Xanana Gusmao accepted the decision with immediate effect. Mr Alkatiri had been widely blamed for triggering recent violence in the capital, Dili, because of his decision to sack 600 soldiers. While the ruling party, Fretilin, continued to back the prime minister, President Gusmao urged him to quit, as did thousands of street protesters. "I declare I am ready to resign from my position as prime minister," Mr Alkatiri told reporters at a news conference in Dili on Monday. "Assuming my own share of responsibility for the crisis affecting our country, I am determined not to contribute to any deepening of the crisis," he said. He has long been indifferent to his own unpopularity, but in the current chaos the country needs a less divisive leader The BBC's Joanathan Head Wrong kind of leader A few hours afterwards, Mr Gusmao said he had accepted a resignation letter from Mr Alkatiri. Thousands of people who had gathered in Dili to call for the prime minister to quit began to celebrate, banging drums and beeping car horns. "I think this decision is acceptable for everyone," said one of the demonstrators, Augustino. Australian Prime Minister John Howard also welcomed the news, saying it was "evidence we are moving to the resolution of the issue". Losing support Ever since Mr Alkatiri made the decision to sack 600 disgruntled soldiers in March, his critics have urged him to resign. Gun battles between the rebel soldiers and those loyal to the government then broke out, with machete-wielding youths forcing thousands to flee their homes in fear. Mr Gusmao threatened to step down himself on Thursday As well as blaming him for triggering the violence, Mr Alkatiri's opponents also allege that he formed a hit squad to kill his political rivals - a charge he firmly denies. But despite the enormous pressure on him, from important donor countries and even from East Timor's popular president, the prime minister had - until Monday - adamantly refused to step down. It is unclear what caused him to change his mind. The resignation on Sunday of the popular foreign minister, Jose Ramos Horta, was undoubtedly a blow. But last week Mr Alkatiri had stood firm against a much more serious resignation threat from President Gusmao himself - a threat the president later rescinded. There has been no indication so far of who will succeed Mr Alkatiri. Fretilin will select his replacement. But according to the BBC's South East Asia correspondent, Jonathan Head, Mr Alkatiri's departure should make the task of stabilising East Timor easier, although the country will need significant international assistance for months, or even years, ahead. A veteran of East Timor's independence movement, Mari Alkatiri spent the 24 years of Indonesian occupation in exile in Mozambique. He is credited with skilfully negotiating with Australia over East Timor's rights to oilfields in the Timor Sea, but he is also viewed by many Timorese as a cold and arrogant politician. ||||| The fatal shooting of eight people at day spas in and around Atlanta have intensified fears in Asian-American communities that have been the target of attacks since the onset of the coronavirus. Six of the eight victims were Asian women. The 21-year-old suspect, Robert Aaron Long, has been charged with four counts of murder according to media reports. | Mari Alkatiri The East Timorese Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri has resigned from his position. He cited the growing violence and the threat by President Xanana Gusmão to resign if he did not. "I am assuming my own share of responsibility for the crisis affecting our country, I am determined not to contribute to any deepening of the crisis," said Mr Alkatiri. The news of the Prime Minister's imminent departure comes after the Foreign Minister, Jose Ramos Horta, a former Nobel Peace Prize winner, resigned from his position earlier in the week stating he could not work with Alkatiri. He resigned by means of an SMS text message to Prime Minister Alkatiri. The resignation was greeted by cheers and drum beats by thousands in celebration. Around 200 buses and vans drove through East Timor's capital city of Dili with their horns sounding. Alkatiri is widely blamed for the violence that erupted in Dili in May. |
TOKYO | TOKYO (Reuters) - Apple Inc's Japan unit will replace any iPod nano portable music players that overheat, it said in an online statement, improving an earlier offer to replace only their faulty batteries. The concession on Tuesday came after Japan's trade ministry put the world's largest technology company under scrutiny, ordering it to publish an "easy to understand" statement on its website explaining how users of the devices could receive replacement batteries and obtain advice. The first generation models, sold between September 2005 and December 2006, have been responsible for around 60 incidents of overheating in Japan, including four cases of minor burns, according to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI). Apple described the incidents as "very rare" and has blamed the problem on a single battery supplier, without identifying the maker. A spokesman for the U.S. company in Tokyo on Wednesday declined to comment on the number of the devices sold in Japan or on the spat with the Japanese government. "We've worked closely with METI to make sure first-generation iPod nano customers who are concerned with their battery have the latest information," U.S.-based spokesman Tom Neumayr had said on August 6. METI said it was "truly regrettable" that it took Apple until Sunday to report around 30 of the incidents of overheating. (Reporting by Benjamin Shatil, Editing by Tim Kelly) ||||| Apple Japan offers to replace overheating iPod nano TOKYO — Apple's Japanese unit has offered to replace its first-generation iPod nano music player in the event of it overheating after reports of fires led to criticism from the government in Tokyo. Apple confirmed "very rare cases of overheating" in the battery of the iPod nano sold between September 2005 and December 2006, which distorted the shape of the device or made it unusable, the company said on its Japanese website. It offered to replace affected units, adding that concerned customers using the first-generation iPod nano can now get the battery replaced, it said. The company noted the fault had been traced to a particular battery supplier, adding that other iPod nano models had no such recharging problems. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has said the recharging problems caused 27 overheating incidents, including six fires, which left four people with minor burns. The ministry last week said Apple had separately notified it of 34 other "non-serious" overheating accidents related to the device. The ministry called Apple's delay in doing so "truly regrettable." The Japanese unit had put information on its website about the problems, including recommending battery replacements. However, the lack of prominence given to the warnings provoked criticism. The company has since promised to improve its website. On Wednesday, the ministry said it was "aware of the amendment" on the Apple site. "But we have yet to receive any formal report from the company about it. So we cannot make any comment at this stage," said Naotake Fujushiro, a product safety official at the ministry. Apple has sold about 1.8 million units of the 2005 iPod nano in Japan since September 2005. The latest setback for Apple follows the launch of its iPhone 4, which has been dogged by reception problems linked to its new design and manufacturing issues that have led to the delay of the white version. Copyright © 2010 AFP. All rights reserved. More » | The first-generation iPod Nano In an online statement, the Japanese unit of Apple Inc. said that it will replace overheating first-generation . Apple had originally only offered to replace the defective batteries, not the whole device. The change came after Apple received criticism from the Japanese government over the defective batteries in the portable music players. The affected iPod model is the first-generation iPod Nano, about 1.8 million of which were sold in Japan from September 2005–December 2006. Apple stated that the "very rare cases of overheating" were caused by faulty batteries traced back to a single supplier, whose name was not given. According to Apple, other iPod Nanos did not have the issue, which occurs during the recharging process.. Around 60 cases of malfunctioning iPods overheating have been reported, causing a total of six fires and leaving four people with minor burns. Japan's (METI) said that it had been aware of 27 accidents related to the devices. Last week, METI announced that Apple had informed it of 34 additional overheating incidents, which the company called "non-serious." The ministry responded by calling Apple's postponement of the report "truly regrettable." Earlier, Apple Japan had posted information about the faulty devices on their website, but was criticized for not displaying the warnings in a place where they could be easily found. Apple was told to put an "easy to understand" notice on their website detailing how consumers could get replacement batteries for their iPods. METI later reported that Apple appeared to have complied with the order. |
Channel: Business U.S. International Politics Entertainment Technology & Science Sports Health World Crises Oddly Enough Life & Leisure The News Room Weather Video Pictures YOU ARE HERE: Home > News > Top News > Article ||||| Tessa Jowell today unveiled plans for a radical change in the governance of the BBC as she laid out her vision of how the corporation will be run and funded over the next 10 years. Announcing the continuation of the licence fee and the replacement of the BBC governors with a new "BBC Trust", the culture secretary said the corporation was "as much a part of British life as the NHS" and should be kept independent of government. Although her green paper recommends that the licence fee should remain and the royal charter be renewed for another 10 years, Ms Jowell said there had to be changes to how the BBC was run and recommended that its funding should be reviewed within the next charter period. "Like the NHS it faces the need to change so that it can be as effective in the future as it has been in the past," she said. The green paper, entitled "A strong BBC, independent of government", signals Ms Jowell's determination to find a compromise between the proposals of the governors and the more radical recommendations of Lord Burns. In it, the government admits that "governance is the central issue for this charter review" and lays out in detail how the new system will operate and the remits of both the trust and the new executive board. It rejects the idea of an "Ofbeeb", a separate public service broadcasting commission and bringing the corporation under greater regulatory control by Ofcom. But it says chairman Michael Grade's efforts to pre-empt the green paper by separating the governors from BBC management have "not gone far enough". Instead, Ms Jowell proposes a new BBC Trust, which will have responsibility for the licence fee and ensure the corporation fulfils its public service obligations. BBC Trust to replace governors The composition of the proposed trust will be similar to that of the existing board of governors and it will have ultimate responsibility for the licence fee. Trustees will set performance targets for BBC executives, and reflect the views of licence fee payers and safeguard the corporation's independence. Like the current board of governors, they are to be drawn from all areas of public life and represent the nations and regions. Members will be appointed by the Queen, as the governors are now, and be subject to full Nolan rules. The new body will also approve strategies and high level budgets and hold the executive board to account. Trustees will be helped in their tasks by the new governance unit already in existence. As with the governors now, the new executive board will be "formally constituted" and be "responsible for the delivery of all of the BBC's activities and accountable to the Trust for its performance". But the powers of the director general could be impinged upon by the new regime. The green paper proposes that the executive board will be chaired by the director general, or, "at the discretion of the Trust", a non-executive. Although the exact number of people on the executive board has not yet been defined, it will be made up of a "significant minority of non-executives". 10-year charter Ms Jowell says she believes a 10-year charter - from January 1 2007 until December 31 2016 - will give the BBC and viewers "stability" during the switchover to digital. But she says the government would conduct a review of alternative methods of funding the BBC and investigate the possibility of a subscription-based system before the end of the next charter period. Ms Jowell says despite its weaknesses there was not yet a "viable alternative" to the licence fee. Through surveys and focus groups she concludes that although the BBC is "liked and trusted by millions", people "often feel the BBC is too remote, too metropolitan, its accountability unclear, its programmes too dull, or too copy-cat of formats". In another bid to make the BBC more accountable, Ms Jowell suggests making the new trust's meetings public and electing members of the public to the corporation's national broadcasting councils. BBC reaction Mr Grade expressed disappointment that the governors' Building Public Value manifesto, published last summer, had not been given more time to take effect. The BBC chairman said the manifesto had set out a series of "radical" steps to modernise BBC governance. But he admitted the changes had been "essentially more behavioural than structural". "It is regrettable that our own reforms have not had time to prove themselves. But it is important that the issue has now been settled ahead of the new charter, providing the BBC with the necessary certainty and stability," he said, adding that the new model "heralds the biggest change in the governance of the BBC in 77 years". And Mr Grade welcomed the decision to grant the BBC a new 10-year charter and secure funding via the licence fee. "This is a strong endorsement of the BBC as the cornerstone of public service broadcasting in the UK now, and through digital switchover," he said. The BBC director general, Mark Thompson, said the corporation faced "exciting and daunting new challenges over the next decade". "The green paper endorses the ambitious public purposes we set out in Building Public Value, adding for the first time an explicit purpose for the BBC to lead the building of digital Britain. A 10 year charter and secure funding for the BBC will give us the right foundation on which to take on these challenges," he said. · To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email editor@mediatheguardian.com or phone 020 7239 9857 · If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication". ||||| Home > News > Media Government plans to abolish BBC governors, but licence given 10-year extension By Andrew Woodcock and Anita Singh, PA 02 March 2005 The BBC will continue to be funded by the licence fee for at least 10 years under Government plans announced by Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell today. Ms Jowell told MPs that she intends to abolish the BBC's Board of Governors, replacing them with a new Trust to oversee the corporation's performance and an Executive Board responsible for day-to-day operations. And she made clear she wants the BBC to give higher priority to public-interest programming, warning that it should not chase "ratings for ratings sake" or "play copycat" with commercial broadcasters. The proposals sound the death-knell for the system of governance in place since the BBC's creation in 1927, but stop short of the thorough-going reform recommended by the Burns Report, which earlier this year called for the creation of an independent Public Service Broadcasting Commission to act as a regulator for the BBC. They will disappoint critics of the BBC in the commercial sector, who believe the licence fee should be abolished or shared out between rival broadcasters in order to create a more level playing-field in the competition for audiences Ms Jowell's proposals, set out in a Green Paper published today, end months of speculation over the future of the licence fee fuelled by the trenchant criticisms of the BBC in Lord Hutton's report on the death of Government scientist David Kelly. Under the proposals, the BBC's 10-year Royal Charter will be renewed in 2007. The licence fee will remain at least until the charter comes up for renewal again at the end of 2016, but a review will be set up to consider alternative funding sources - including the possibility of subscriptions for BBC services - after that point. The level of the licence fee will be set at a later stage in the charter renewal process. "The BBC, like any public institution, needs to adapt if it is to serve its audiences and keep pace with changes in technology," said Ms Jowell in a statement in the House of Commons. "Its values, its global reach, its standards and its editorial independence from all-comers must be preserved. Our proposals, including keeping the licence fee and renewing the Charter for another 10 years, will enable it to do just that." The Board of Governors' dual role as "cheerleader and regulator" for the BBC lacked clarity, transparency and accountability and the creation of the new Trust and Executive Board would create "much-needed daylight" between the two functions, she said. Ms Jowell said that the chairman of BBC governors Michael Grade, whose term runs until 2008, would become the first chairman of the Trust. On behalf of the governors, Mr Grade said he accepted their abolition, but expressed regret that the Government had not waited to see the results of the BBC's own reforms aimed at separating the Corporation's governance and management structures. Mr Grade said the proposed BBC Trust represents "the biggest change in the governance of the BBC in 77 years". It will be a radical departure for the Corporation but the Board is committed to ensuring an "effective and efficient transition to the new system", he said. He intends to install director-general Mark Thompson as chairman of the new Executive Board. Mr Thompson said the BBC faced "exciting and daunting new challenges over the next decade". "A 10-year Charter and secure funding for the BBC will give us the right foundation on which to take on these challenges," he said. | The green paper of the future of the BBC has asked for the Board of Governors to be scrapped and replaced by two boards, one representing the public and an executive board. The proposals were announced by the British Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell in the House of Commons. Other things she has asked for is the licence fee be kept, currently at GBP 121 (EUR 176.26) per householder, more independent television to be made on the BBC, currently 10% must be made by independent television companies & to stop chasing ratings, mainly by copycating programmes from other channels. She said that the board of governors was “unsustainable” and lacked “clarity and accountability”. Shadow Culture Secretary John Whittingdale said that the green paper did “not go far enough” countining saying that they were “largely cosmetic changes to the structure and oversight of the BBC”. The green paper was made as the Charter that is the basis of the BBC is to reviewed in 2007 as required by law. |
Insurance claims are expected to run to millions of pounds Moment quake hit Insurance experts said claims for structural damage and broken belongings were set to run into tens of millions of pounds. People across the UK reported feeling the tremor just before 0100 GMT. The epicentre of the 5.2 magnitude quake was near Market Rasen in Lincolnshire. The British Geological Survey (BGS) said it had received reports of people having felt the tremor from as far as Bangor in Northern Ireland, Haarlem in Holland, Plymouth and Edinburgh. Scientists said while the tremor was small on a global scale, they described the earthquake as a "rare beast" and "significant" for the UK. They said they believed the earthquake could have been caused by an old fault line in the East Midlands rupturing. Norwich Union, the UK's largest general insurer, said it began to receive calls within hours of the tremor. He said: "At the moment these are reports of mainly minor damage such as tiles off roofs, breakages inside the homes and brick walls collapsing." The Association of British Insurers (ABI) said claims were "likely to run into the low tens of millions of pounds." But a spokesman said: "One event of this nature will not push up premiums across the board. "Insurers expect to deal with these incidents." 'Flew across floor' People across the country reported how they had been woken by the "enormous roar" of the earthquake, which caused houses to shake and masonry to fall from buildings. A 19-year-old student, David Bates, suffered a broken pelvis when part of a chimney stack crashed through his ceiling and onto his bed as he watched television at his home in Wombwell, South Yorkshire. Many homes suffered structural damage Lincolnshire Police said they had received more than 200 calls from concerned residents. In Market Rasen, the Lincolnshire town nearest the epicentre, one resident spoke of being thrown from his bed by the force of the tremor. Rex Clarke said: "It was like I was made of cotton wool - I just flew across the floor. "It woke me up with a tremendous roar. I thought I was going crackers." In Gainsborough, Red Cross volunteers were called out to provide "emotional and practical support" to about 14 people whose homes and cars were damaged. Anita Moore, fire and emergency support co-ordinator, said: "The first incident we went to was an elderly lady whose property was badly damaged. "There was a lot of rubble on the floor and the fire service was concerned about her chimney. "She was really shaken up but we were able to comfort her and gave her advice on how to contact her insurance company." The team was also called to help a man whose chimney had fallen off his house. Nearby houses were evacuated because of concerns about structural damage to the properties. Meanwhile, householders in Greater Manchester flooded the fire service with calls. Northamptonshire Police, Cambridgeshire Constabulary and Norfolk Police also reported being flooded with hundreds of calls about the tremor. ||||| Feb 27 2008 Around 1,100 home insurance claims have been made within the first 12 hours of today's (27 February 2008) earthquake, with many more expected to come in over the next couple of days. Abbey Home Insurance has already sent loss adjusters to the area to help customers affected and has made sure that its 24-hour claims line has additional staff to help cope with the expected demand. Although many earthquakes do not gather such media attention, almost 200 take place each year in the UK. With one-in-four homes uninsured and some policies not covering earthquake damage, the potential cost of these ‘acts of God’ could be staggering. Tony Beckwith, director of Abbey Insurance, said: “Like the floods of 2007, it is hard to prepare your home for unexpected incidents like this morning’s earthquake. These incidents can dramatically affect the structural safety of a home, but with a good insurance policy that offers comprehensive protection for your property, your ability to recover from the unexpected will be a lot easier. "We would advise anyone affected to check their property, contact the relevant utility company or their insurer if they see anything unusual.” | The epicentre of the quake according to USGS Representatives from the British insurance industry have said that the cost of the earthquake which hit Britain early yesterday could be over 10 million GBP. The Association of British Insurers has said in a statement that the cost for the earthquake is "likely to run into the low tens of millions of pounds." The Senior claims manager at the UK bank Norwich Union has described the damage by saying that at the moment most insurance claims regarding the earthquake describe "minor damage such as tiles off roofs, breakages inside the homes and brick walls collapsing." It has also been reported that approximately 1,200 insurance claims were made in the first twelve hours after the earthquake hit Britain. These reports come one day after the United Kingdom was hit by a 5.2 earthquake. Tremors were reported as widespread as Edinburgh, Manchester, Sheffield, Middlesbrough, Cambridge, London, Birmingham and Southampton . |
Havana - The Cuban government chose May Day to reveal new plans to dissolve 104 uneconomically run state farm operations, according to the Communist Party's official newspaper Granma on Thursday. The remaining state-run farm operations are to be 'streamlined and adapted to new conditions,' the newspaper said. The article also said such farms are to produce services, but did not specify details. After 50 years of planned economy under communist rule, Cuba's farms are unable to feed the Caribbean island's 11 million citizens. In 2007, Cuba imported 1.7 billion dollars of foodstuffs, a sum expected to reach 2.2 billion dollars in the current year. President Raul Castro, successor to his brother who stepped aside in February due to illness, has said in past weeks that he wants to promote food production by liberalizing and decentralizing farming to support independence from expensive imports. He has called food production 'a matter of the utmost importance for national security.' Of Cuba's 3.5 million hectares of land, about half of it lies unused or underused. Only 32 per cent of the land is farmed by state cooperatives, government figures show, while the rest is worked by private farmers. In two months in office, Raul Castro has started dismantling many of the restrictions on life in Cuba, liberalizing the sale of cellphones and computers, allowing Cubans to stay at luxury hotels and increasing pensions and salaries in some sectors. Raul Castro has called food production a 'matter of the utmost importance for national security.' ||||| Raul Castro overhauls Cuba's farm bureaucracy Reuters By Marc Frank HAVANA, May 1 (Reuters) - Cuban President Raul Castro has finished shifting control over agriculture into local hands and has cut bureaucracy dramatically in an effort to stimulate food production, the Communist party newspaper Granma said on Thursday. Granma said decision-making had moved from the national government to the municipal level and a large number of departments had been eliminated. The Granma story was the first official word of the downsizing, though other aspects of the reform have been mentioned by the media and reported earlier by Reuters. For decades land use and food distribution has been directed by the Agriculture Ministry in Havana. With food imports rising to almost $2 billion in 2007 and Cubans complaining about soaring prices, Castro has put agriculture at the top of his agenda since taking over from his ailing older brother Fidel in February. "Food production should be a primary task for Party leaders, who must be conscious of the fact that, in the present and as far as the future may be discerned, is a matter of maximum national security," Raul Castro told Communist party leaders earlier this week. Cuban yields for most produce and livestock are below average for the Caribbean and Central America, experts say, and the government admits about 50 percent of arable land is under-utilized or simply fallow. Cuban farmers complain the cumbersome state-run system has not worked, leaving crops to rot and farmers without timely supplies. "The municipal agriculture delegations -- an organizational process that has just concluded -- will assume the responsibility for the functioning, development and control ... of agricultural production," Granma said. "The need is more urgent due to the approval of the reorganization of the agricultural system, that involves the elimination of 104 companies (departments) and the shifting of the role of the majority that remain to service providers," the newspaper said. Farmers have previously told Reuters that decision-making, from land use to resource allocation, recently had moved to the local level, that stores are opening where they can buy some supplies for the first time in decades and increasingly they can sell their produce directly to local consumers and state institutions like schools and hospitals. Also, more land is being granted to private farmers and 1,100 cooperatives that produce more than half the country's produce on 20 percent of the tilled land, with the remainder owned by the state. (Editing by Jeff Franks and Eric Walsh) ||||| By Jeff Franks HAVANA (Reuters) - Hundreds of thousands of Cubans marched through Havana's Revolution Square on Thursday for a red-splashed May Day celebration that urged economic gains and increased productivity from workers. A sea of people, wearing red shirts and waving red flags, paraded through the vast square as President Raul Castro, making his first May Day appearance as Cuba's leader, looked on from a podium beneath a statue of national hero Jose Marti. He did not speak, but the emphasis Castro has placed on improving Cuba's socialist economy was a dominant theme during the annual festivities that celebrate the international labor movement. "It is fundamental to concentrate efforts on increasing production and productivity, above all of food," said Cuban labor leader and high-ranking Communist Party official Salvador Valdes Mesa in a speech to the gathered masses. He said there had been "modest advances" in production and services, but that Cuba must "reduce costs and achieve the economic efficiency we need." The same message was seen on some of the banners carried by marchers. "With efficiency, quality and productivity, we salute the first of May," said one. "Work, resist, overcome," read another. Raul Castro was elected president by Cuba's National Assembly in February after serving as provisional leader following older brother Fidel Castro's intestinal surgery in July 2006. The elder Castro, who led the nation for almost 50 years after taking over in a 1959 revolution, has been seen only in occasional videos and photos since his surgery. Since his election, Raul Castro has lifted restrictions on such things as Cubans owning cellular phones and going to tourist hotels and has implemented reforms aimed at increasing food production. The changes, small but symbolic, have been embraced by Cubans as a sign of better things to come in the island nation where the average monthly wage is about $18. "I'm here to defend the revolution with the security that everything is going to improve here," said marcher Ernestina Hernandez, 65. "Cuba is living another moment and we want to support the measures Raul is introducing," she said. "We have many hopes." (For special coverage from Reuters on the changes in Cuba, see here) (Additional reporting by Rosa Tania Valdes, Nelson Acosta and Esteban Israel; Editing by Kieran Murray) | A tobacco farm in Cuba. In an effort to boost its troubled agricultural sector, Cuba announced a major shift in the management of the country's farms, which are to be placed under the control of over 150 local delegations rather than the national government. The move was announced in '''', the official newspaper of the . On Thursday, ''Granma'' reported that the management of the farms has moved from the national government's Agriculture Ministry to the municipal level. The decision-making will now be handled by 169 new local delegations. The reform also involves the elimination of 104 departments which have been deemed unnecessary. "The municipal agriculture delegations — an organizational process that has just concluded — will assume the responsibility for the functioning, development and control ... of agricultural production," ''Granma'' said. The move is intended to "stimulate agricultural production, perfect its sale and increase the availability of food and, in this way, substitute imports." President Raúl Castro, who succeeded his brother Fidel in February, has made agriculture one of the top priorities for Cuba. At a meeting with Communist Party leaders earlier this week, Raúl called food production "a matter of maximum national security." In past weeks, Raúl has said he wants to promote the decentralizing of food production, which he believes will decrease the country's dependency on foreign imports. Officials estimate that government mismanagement has resulted in 51 percent of Cuba's arable land becoming underused or uncultivated. Also, Cuba imported $1.7 billion worth of food in 2007, a number that is expected to reach over $2 billion this year. The announcement came as hundreds of thousands took to the streets in for the annual parade. Raúl Castro attended the parade, but did not speak, instead choosing to smile and wave from a podium as marchers streamed past. The event lasted only 2 hours, a large departure from previous years. Before Raúl's presidency, Fidel Castro's speeches themselves sometimes lasted close to 2 hours, and the parades often featured singing or skits. Although Raúl did not speak at the parade, Salvador Valdés Mesa, head of the , used his speech as an opportunity to promote economic efficiency and productivity. "It is fundamental to concentrate efforts on increasing production and productivity, above all of food," he said. |
The model of the JWST is on display in Washington DC. The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is intended to replace the ageing Hubble telescope. It will be larger than its predecessor, sit farther from Earth and have a giant mirror to enable it to see more. Officials said the JWST - named after a former Nasa administrator - was on course for launch in June 2013. The full-scale model is being displayed outside the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in the US capital, Washington DC. It was recently shown off in Seattle at the American Astronomical Society meeting. The $4.5bn (£2.3bn) telescope will take up a position some 1.5 million km (930,000 miles) from Earth. It will measure 24m (80ft) long by 12m (40ft) high and incorporate a hexagonal mirror 6.5m (21.3ft) in diameter, almost three times the size of Hubble's. Hubble, launched in 1990, has sent back pictures of our solar system, distant stars, and remote fledgling galaxies formed not long after the Big Bang. But scientists say the JWST will enable them to look deeper into space and even further back at the origins of the Universe. "Clearly we need a much bigger telescope to go back much further in time to see the very birth of the Universe," said Edward Weiler, director of Nasa's Goddard Space Flight Centre. Martin Mohan of Northrop Grumman, the contractor building the telescope, said that the team was making excellent progress. "There's engineering to do, but invention is done, more than six years ahead of launch," he said. When ready, the JWST will be launched by a European Ariane 5 rocket. It is expected to have a 10-year lifespan. Until then, the 17-year-old Hubble telescope will continue to do its work. Nasa plans to send astronauts on the space shuttle to service it in 2008. ||||| This May, there will be more than one "web slinger" coming to town. In addition to the superhero, who will make his third movie appearance, NASA has its own "Webb" slinger – the James Webb Space Telescope. The Webb space telescope will be much larger than the Hubble Space Telescope, its predecessor. A life-sized model of the "Webb" telescope is coming to the National Mall, Washington. Image right: A life-sized model of the JWST was recently on display at the AAS annual meeting in Seattle, Washington. It stands two stories high and weighs several tons. Click image to enlarge. Credit: Rob Gutro, NASA/GSFC The James Webb telescope will be able to look back to the beginning of time. It will find the first galaxies and will peer through dusty clouds to see stars forming planetary systems, connecting the Milky Way to our own Solar System. Launch is scheduled for 2013. "There's more than just one similarity between the web-slinging superhero and the James Webb telescope," said John Decker, Deputy Associate Director for the James Webb Space Telescope Project at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. "The sunshield on the spacecraft is actually shaped like a giant spider web, when you look at it from the top." During the second week in May, visitors to the Nation's Capitol will be able to see the life-sized model of NASA's latest "superhero," and get a picture taken next to it. The model will be assembled on May 9, and will be on display through May 12 in front of the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum on the National Mall, Washington. Image left: Looking down at the James Webb Space Telescope, the sunshield, which is stretched out underneath the mirrors (yellow) looks like a spider web. Click image to enlarge. Credit: NASA NASA and Northrop Grumman, the contractor who built the model, will set up information booths next to the model, where visitors can get information and educational materials, and speak with people who are involved in the project to build the real James Webb Space Telescope. The full-scale telescope model was built to give the viewing public a better understanding of the size, scale and complexity of this breakthrough satellite. Specifically designed for an environment subject to gravity and weather, the model is constructed mainly of aluminum and steel, weighs 12,000 lbs., and is approximately 80 feet long, 40 feet wide and 40 feet tall. A specially manufactured material imported from France called "Ferrari Precontraint" allows the sunshield to 'breathe.' The model requires 2 trucks for shipping, and assembly takes a crew of 12 approximately four days. Image/animation above: This animation shows the JWST Sunshield unfolding like a spiderweb, as it will appear after its launch into space. Click image to view animation. Credit: Animation courtesy of Northrop Grumman Space Technology The telescope model has been "Webb-slinging" since 2005 to Seattle, Wash.; Colorado Springs, Colo.; Paris, France; Greenbelt, Md.; Rochester, N.Y.; and Orlando, Fla. Funds used to build this model were provided solely by Northrop Grumman. The model display is part of "Public Service Recognition Week 2007," which runs from May 10 through 13. The theme of the week is "Safety, Science, Security, Technology." This annual national event is sponsored by the Council for Excellence in Government, Employees Roundtable, and it honors men and women who serve America in the Federal, state and local governments. Image left: Map showing the location of the JWST on the National Mall. Click image to enlarge. Credit: Northrop Grumman/NASA If your plans don't call for a visit to Washington, D.C. in May, you can also watch NASA's "Webb-slinger" on the World Wide Web at the link below! Related Links: + James Webb Space Telescope site + Public Service Recognition week Rob Gutro Goddard Space Flight Center | The model on display at The International Society for Optical Engineering's (SPIE) Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentations conference, May 2006. NASA has unveiled the new telescope that will replace the Hubble Space Telescope in Washington D.C. called the James Webb Space Telescope JWST. Currently, NASA has a life-sized model on display to the public which is as tall as a two story house and weighs several tons. Researchers at NASA say that the Webb telescope will be able to see farther than Hubble "to the beginning of time." "It will find the first galaxies and will peer through dusty clouds to see stars forming planetary systems, connecting the Milky Way to our own Solar System," said a statement posted on NASA's website. It will be sent into space where it will orbit nearly 2,000,000 miles from Earth. JWST will have a large mirror, 6.5 meters (21.3 feet) in diameter and a sunshield the size of a tennis court. Northrop Grumman is contracted to build the telescope and will be jointly operated by NASA, the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency. It is scheduled to launch in 2013 from Arianespace's ELA-3 launch complex at European Spaceport located near Kourou, French Guiana. |
Burger King advert 'misled on size' The advert will not be shown again in its current form A Burger King advertising campaign has been banned after complaints the chicken burger shown was bigger than the real thing, a watchdog has said. Two viewers said the TV advert for the Tendercrisp burger was misleading. The Advertising Standards Authority said it bought three burgers and found their thickness and the overall height was "considerably less" than in the ad. Burger King said it needed to show clearly all of a product's ingredients in its advertising. The television advert for the Tendercrisp chicken burger featured a man eating a large burger in a motel room before an angry-looking cow was shown standing in the doorway, with a voiceover saying: "So good, you'll cheat on beef." The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said: "We also examined the size of the burgers in the hands of an average-sized man and considered that they did not fill the hands to the same extent as the burger featured in the advert. "We concluded that the visuals in the advert were likely to mislead viewers as to the size and composition of the product." It ruled the advert should not appear again in its current form. ||||| Misleading Burger King ad banned A Burger King campaign has been banned after customers complained that their chicken sandwich was far smaller than the one shown in the ad, a watchdog has said. The television ad for the Tendercrisp chicken burger featured a man eating a large burger in a motel room before an angry-looking cow was shown standing in the doorway, with a voice-over saying: "So good, you'll cheat on beef." Two viewers said the ad was misleading because they believed the product sold in Burger King stores was significantly smaller than the one shown in the ad. Defending the campaign, Burger King said it needed to clearly show all of a product's ingredients in its advertising. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said it bought three Tendercrisp chicken burgers and found that the thickness of the burgers, the quantity of additional fillings and the overall height of the product was "considerably less" than appeared in the ad. It added: "We also examined the size of the burgers in the hands of an average-sized man and considered that they did not fill the hands to the same extent as the burger featured in the ad. "We concluded that the visuals in the ad were likely to mislead viewers as to the size and composition of the product." It ruled that the ad should not appear again in its current form. Copyright © 2010 The Press Association. All rights reserved. | A Burger King advert in London, United Kingdom An advert by fast food restaurant Burger King has been banned from British television over claims that it is misleading. The campaign for the new received two complaints over the fact that the burger appears significantly larger on the advert than in real life. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) investigated the complaints and purchased three burgers from a Burger King restaurant. They reported that both the thickness and the height were "considerably less" than in the advertisement. The ASA also commented on the actor, stating, "we also examined the size of the burgers in the hands of an average-sized man and considered that they did not fill the hands to the same extent as the burger featured in the advert. We concluded that the visuals in the advert were likely to mislead viewers as to the size and composition of the product." Burger King responded to the complaints, saying that the advert needed to make all the ingredients in the product clearly visible. Despite the company's defense, it has been ruled that the advert will not be shown again in its current form. |
(CNN) -- Mississippi's governor declared a state of emergency Thursday for 12 counties after a severe weather system moved across the southern half of the state overnight Wednesday and Thursday. The storms, which included two tornadoes, damaged at least 108 homes. The storms -- which included two confirmed tornadoes -- damaged 108 homes and injured 24 people, according to the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency's Emergency Operations Center. Simpson County, about 40 miles southeast of Jackson, was hit the worst, it said. A tornado touched down in the county about 4 a.m. Thursday, said Katherine Gunby, spokeswoman for the Emergency Management Agency. Sixty homes were damaged and 20 people were injured in the county, the agency said. Seventeen people were treated in local hospitals and three were transported to the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, it said. Condition reports were not immediately available. Another tornado was reported in Lauderdale County, in eastern Mississippi, where one business was destroyed and 11 homes and a business were damaged, according to the agency. The state of emergency declared by Gov. Haley Barbour "will allow state resources to be used throughout the affected areas to assist local governments as they respond to this disaster," said Mike Womack, director of the Emergency Management Agency, in a written statement. Damage to homes also was reported in Jasper, Jones and Lawrence counties, and power lines and trees were down in Adams, Amite, Lincoln and Madison counties, the agency said. Three injuries were reported in Jones County and one in Jasper County, it said. It gave no further details. The tornadoes destroyed Corinth Baptist Church in Simpson County, leaving only its doors standing. "The church means so much to this community," Pastor Jay Westbrooks told CNN affiliate WAPT. "We're going to survive. The building is destroyed, but the church is alive," he said. "We're going to come back and rebuild. The weather's not going to stop us." The Mississippi Department of Transportation and utility companies are working to restore power to the state, Gunby said. While the state of emergency is currently only for nine counties, it will be extended to any future counties that report damage, the Emergency Management Agency said. All About Tornadoes • Mississippi ||||| Images of the year’s most extreme climate conditions around the world. March 27: In Fargo, a leaky levee has forced some families to evacuate as the Red River continues to rise, breaking a 112-year-old record--and it's not expected to crest until Saturday. NBC’S Kevin Tibbles reports. MAGEE, Miss. - Residents in a tornado-ravaged community took advantage of clearing skies Thursday to collect family keepsakes and begin cleaning up from a storm that left 28 injured and dozens of homes and businesses flattened across south-central Mississippi. But Magee, a town of about 5,000 in Mississippi's pine forests, may not have much time to begin serious cleanup as another storm system with the potential for more destruction was expected late Thursday or early Friday. While families were busy moving debris from around homes and covering exposed ceilings, the steady grinding of chain saws echoed through the community as utility crews cleared fallen trees from power lines. 'Like reliving Hurricane Katrina' Magee Mayor Jimmy Clyde said the community was in the early stages of assessing the destruction from a pre-dawn twister that smashed through dozens of homes and apartment duplexes and damaged two churches. "This is like reliving Hurricane Katrina all over again and that's no fun," Clyde said as office phones rang constantly with reports of storm-damaged neighborhoods and lost power and water service. "We got hit back then and we've really been hit now." Video Mayor interviewed March 26: TODAY’s Matt Lauer talks to Jimmy Clyde, the mayor of Magee, Miss., where a powerful tornado hit overnight. Today show Officials believe 36 homes, a church and a business were destroyed in Simpson County, where Magee is located, and another 86 homes and structures were damaged. Across the state, 43 structures were destroyed and another 146 were damaged by at least five confirmed tornados. Phillip Runnels spent the afternoon sifting through what was the barely recognizable remains of his mother's mobile home on Mississippi 28. His mother, Pamela McCallum, 48, was in good condition after being airlifted to the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson. Her boyfriend, Larry Pearson, 58, was also injured and was in fair condition. "She's in pretty bad shape and Mr. Larry, he's in worse shape," Runnels said as he continued his inspection. Twister arrived around 1:30 a.m. The twister smashed through Magee around 1:30 a.m. as severe thunderstorms rumbled across the Southeast. Power blackouts affected tens of thousands of Louisiana residents and authorities reported damage to some Alabama homes. Georgia residents also braced for potentially heavy rains. There were no immediate reports of deaths. Mississippi's governor declared a state of emergency in Simpson County. At least nine counties reported damage Thursday. An elementary school was closed in Amite County in southern Mississippi after high winds tore off part of its roof. The Salvation Army and other aid organizations hurried warm meals and supplies to stricken areas. "We're getting a lot of help in here," Clyde said. "That's the thing about Mississippi. Everybody just helps each other in times like this." Some homes leveled Clyde said homes in some areas were "basically leveled" and damage was extensive just outside the city limits. Jeff Giachelli, 48, said he and his wife, Cappy, were asleep when the storm hit. He called to his wife when the windows of their red-brick home shattered. His roof also had been sheared off. "We got in the closet and it just collapsed," he said. In a nearby neighborhood, several brick duplex apartments were smashed and cars were flipped upside down. Stephanie Malley, 35, cried as she looked at the shell of her home, its roof gone. She awoke when flying debris hit her in the back. She grabbed her 11- and 13-year-old sons and pulled them into a bathroom. "We stayed in the bathroom for a long time until everything started coming down," Malley said. Her 11-year-old needed nine stitches for a cut on his leg. Nearby houses were marked with red spray paint to show that emergency workers who dug through the rubble didn't find any injured or dead residents. Click for related content Read more news from across the U.S. The nearby Corinth Baptist Church was so shattered that "only the doors to its sanctuary were left standing," she said. Stepping around the rubble Members of the 100-year-old church stepped around the red brick rubble and walked through a cemetery where tombstones were knocked to the ground. A white church van was overturned. There were still plans to hold Sunday services in the parking lot, however. "Our church is still here, because our church is the people, but the building is gone," said member Charlene Loyd. Another tornado touched down Wednesday in Mississippi's Lauderdale County, heavily damaging nine homes and a business, but causing no injuries, officials said. In Baton Rouge, La., the roof over Louisiana State University's $3.1 million indoor football practice field was damaged overnight by a passing storm. Crews there worked Thursday to restore electricity to thousands. More on Tornadoes Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. | Residents in Mississippi awoke to scenes of destruction after two tornadoes touched down before sunrise near the town of Magee and in a rural area of Lauderdale County, around 90 miles east of Jackson. Dozens of homes and a church were demolished, and at least 20 people injured near Magee. Mayor Jimmy Clyde in an interview on NBC's ''Today'' show commented that the town was in "dire straits." The town is currently without power, and most roads heading into and out of town have been made impassable by debris. No deaths have been reported so far. Eleven homes and businesses were damaged by the tornado in Lauderdale County, near the Alabama border. In Magee, the only thing left standing at the 100-year-old Corinth Baptist church are its doors. "Our church is still here, because our church is the people, but the building is gone," said a parishioner. Two people had to be airlifted to the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson. Mississippi Department of Transportation workers are laboring to restore power and other utilities to the affected areas. Due to the time of a day, many people were caught off guard and were forced to scramble to safety. One resident tearfully summarized the night's events: "I lost everything." |
Homes and a caravan park near the Weardale Railway in Wolsingham were evacuated over fears that flammable gas was leaking from the tanker. The driver, in his 20s and from South Durham, was airlifted from the scene after being thrown from his cab. He died in Newcastle General Hospital on Wednesday afternoon, police said. We may have to right the vehicle and move it along the tracks somehow, maybe even using a train Chris Hockaday, County Durham and Darlington Fire Service The Calor Gas tanker makes deliveries in rural areas to remote households and farms which use Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) as domestic fuel. The vehicle, a smaller version of a petrol tanker, was thought to have been carrying around 13,000 litres of LPG when it careered off the winding country road. Fire crews and Calor Gas experts have detected no gas leaking from the tanker, but face a difficult task removing the wreckage. Chris Hockaday, from the County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service, said: "There are a few options to consider - one is to see if we can decant the gas out into another vehicle. "The problem is that it's gone off next to a bridge so it will be difficult to get any heavy lifting gear into position. "We may have to right the vehicle and move it along the tracks somehow, maybe even using a train." The tanker came off the road and plunged down an embankment The Environment Agency has also been alerted in case any diesel from the tanker has leaked into the River Wear. The Weardale Railway runs steam trains on a five-mile stretch of restored track between Stanhope and Wolsingham Station, which is close to the scene. In a statement the rail company said: "There will be no further services on Weardale Railway until further notice and we apologise to our passengers for any inconvenience this may cause. "We have appointed an incident manager and have alerted the Rail Accident Investigation Board and Her Majesty's Rail Inspectorate. 'Feeling confident' "We will not be able to assess the damage until the site of the accident has been declared safe by the fire brigade and the tanker removed from the track." Local resident Bill Hobson said local residents were "feeling confident" about the police and fire service's handling of the situation. It is not yet known when those evacuated will be allowed back into their homes. In May, a van containing gas cylinders exploded in the town's market place, killing the driver and causing widespread damage to both residential and commercial properties. Have you been caught up in events? Are you in the area? If you have any information you would like to share with the BBC you can do so using the form below. You can send pictures and video to: yourpics@bbc.co.uk or to send via MMS please dial 61124. Do not endanger yourself or others, take any unnecessary risks or infringe any laws. Name Your E-mail address Town & Country Phone number (optional): Comments ||||| Analysis The mayor is dependent on the central government for most of their funds, so how much power do they really have? | The bridge where the accident happened. The driver of a propane gas tanker has died after his vehicle fell 70 feet onto a railway line in Country Durham, northern England. The tanker left the road and smashed through a bridge near the small town of Wolsingham and landed on the Weardale Railway below with the driver being thrown from the cab. The driver, who was in his twenties, had been airlifted to a hospital in Newcastle-upon-Tyne but later died from his injuries. The Calor Gas tanker was said to be carrying 13,000 litres of liquefied petroleum gas at the time of the accident and nearby homes were evacuated. The fire crews who responded to the incident did not detect any gas leaking from the tanker. Chris Hockaday, from County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service described the problems they were facing, "There are a few options to consider - one is to see if we can decant the gas out into another vehicle. The problem is that it's gone off next to a bridge so it will be difficult to get any heavy lifting gear into position. We may have to right the vehicle and move it along the tracks somehow, maybe even using a train." The Weardale Railway operates over a five mile section of restored track between Stanhope and Wolsingham. In a statement the railway company said, "There will be no further services on Weardale Railway until further notice and we apologise to our passengers for any inconvenience this may cause. We have appointed an incident manager and have alerted the Rail Accident Investigation Board and Her Majesty's Rail Inspectorate. We will not be able to assess the damage until the site of the accident has been declared safe by the fire brigade and the tanker removed from the track." |
Wymyślona przez Artura Rojka impreza zmienia Mysłowice. Przez trzy dni gościła muzyków z całego świata, poważne osobistości i uznanych artystów plastyków. Najważniejsze jednak, że nie zabrakło fanów. W tym roku znów przyjechało ich ponad 10 tys. "Supersprawa! Widok ludzi w glanach i dreadach na ulicach Mysłowic to dobra odmiana od codziennych dresów i złotych łańcuchów" - napisał na naszym forum internetowym Szu. Nawet jeśli można mieć jeszcze zastrzeżenia do służb porządkowych miasta, to nie da się ukryć, że Off Festival zmienia Mysłowice. Najlepiej było to widać wczoraj, gdy - jak zapowiadał to wcześniej Rojek, dyrektor artystyczny imprezy - zaproszeni przez niego ludzie "zaingerowali w miasto sztuką". Prawdziwą po tym pamiątką będzie mural Edwarda Dwurnika "Uśmiechnięte twarze" na ścianie obok mysłowickiego więzienia. ||||| 08.19.2007 Inf. wł., TD Artur Rojek (fot. M. Bąkiewicz) Artur Rojek: druga edycja Off Festivalu była bardzo udana Festiwal był bardzo udany - powiedział organizator i dyrektor artystyczny Off Festivalu, Artur Rojek, po zakończeniu drugiego dnia imprezy. - Po udanym debiucie, jakim była pierwsza edycja festiwalu, trochę się obawiałem, czy przy następnej będziemy w stanie to powtórzyć. Tegoroczny festiwal był jednak nawet odrobinę lepszy. Impreza zwróciła większą uwagę mediów, co jest dobrym znakiem na przyszłość. W tym roku przyjechało tutaj bardzo dużo ludzi. Sprzedaliśmy około 8 tysięcy biletów, co jak na tego rodzaju festiwal z muzyką alternatywną jest bardzo dobrym wynikiem. Jestem z tego bardzo zadowolony. Wokalista zespołu Myslovitz cieszy się również, że impreza przebiegała bez większych zakłóceń. – Nie było niespodziewanych problemów, poza pewnymi, drobnymi wydarzeniami organizacyjnymi, których jednak nikt nie jest w stanie się ustrzec. Znakiem rozpoznawczym Off Festivalu wciąż jest punktualność koncertów. Na pytanie, czy w przyszłości wykorzystany zostanie pomysł Tymona Tymańskiego, by zmniejszyć liczbę występujących artystów, a koncerty przesunąć na godziny późniejsze, Artur Rojek powiedział: - Wzorem dla mnie są festiwale zachodnie, gdzie koncerty rozpoczynają się o godzinie 12. Rozumiem niektórych artystów, którzy nie lubią grać o godzinie 15 czy 16, ale nie wszystkim można dogodzić. Nie jest powiedziane jednak, że tak nie będzie. Drugiego dnia Off Festivalu, na trzech scenach na żywo można było zobaczyć m.in. Komety, Kobiety, Kapelę Ze Wsi Warszawa, The Complainer, Pogodno, Bassisters Orchestra, Tymona & The Transistors, O.S.T.R.-a, Nosowską, a także zagranicznych wykonawców: Radian, Electrelane oraz iLiKETRAiNS. W niedzielę, na zakończenie drugiej edycji Off Festivalu, w Miejskim Centrum Kultury w Mysłowicach wystąpi izraelska formacja Boom Pam. Koncert rozpocznie się o godzinie 20.30. Trzeci dzień Off Festivalu to występ w Miejskim Centrum Kultury w Mysłowicach izraelskiej formacji Boom Pam, a przede wszystkim odbywające się pod hasłem IndustrialArt wystawy malarskie i projekcje filmów (przegląd filmowej twórczości Wilhelma Sasnala). Wystawa "Polska część Śląska", zawiera dzieła m.in. Edwarda Dwurnika, Agaty Bogackiej, Joanny Rajkowskiej, Agaty Nowickiej, Anny Niesterowicz, Szymona Kobylarza, Jerzego Kosałki, Mikołaja Długosza, Karoliny Kowalskiej oraz Michała Budnego. Odwiedź serwis Off Festivalu! Zobacz galerię zdjęć z festiwalu ||||| Zobacz Więcej Andrzej Piaseczny ma koronawirusa, trafił do szpitala. "Myślałem, że przejdę to spacerkiem" Dyrektor radiowej Trójki składa rezygnację. Wiemy, kto go zastąpi Uwielbiasz produkcje PRL-u z Marianem Kociniakiem? Ten quiz zrobisz w minutę Które miejsce zajmie na Eurowizji Rafał Brzozowski? Esperci nie dają mu szans Kolekcja Volkera Diehla we wrocławskim OP ENHEIM Irena Krzywicka. Do ostatniego naboju Emilia Padoł Specjalny koncert Dezertera z okazji 40-lecia zespołu na Jarocin Festiwal Jared Leto na planie filmu "House of Gucci". Aktor szokuje zmianą wyglądu Malik Montana zapowiada własną federację MMA. "To będzie inny poziom" | Artur Rojek Publicity in front of the big scene Between August 17 and August 19, 2007 in Słupna Park in Mysłowice, Poland, the second edition of Off Festival had place. Art director of the edition was Artur Rojek, the leader of Myslovitz band. Beside concerts, the main attraction of the festival, Indie Label plants, hosted by Philippe Petit and Markus Detmer, took place along with Children's Happiness Feast (Święto Radości Dzieci) with 400 children playing and the Second International Volunteer Work Expo (II Międzynarodowe Targi Wolontariatu). At the event came around 8 thousand people. Along the VIPs there was former Prime Minister of Poland, Jerzy Buzek reading the storybooks for children. On the volunteer work expo came around 200 people from various organizations. |
Avatar is Cameron's first full-length feature since 1997's Titanic Sci-fi spectacular Avatar continues to dominate UK and US cinemas, and has now become the most successful film ever at the international box office. The epic film remains top of the charts on both sides of the Atlantic, with overall takings of $1.83bn (£1.141bn). Its continued success puts in course to overtake Titanic's worldwide box-office tally of $1.84bn (£1.143bn). In North America, the James Cameron film has replaced The Dark Knight as the second-biggest release of all time. However, this has only been achieved due to the higher ticket prices cinemagoers have paid to see it in 3D. Challenger In the UK and Ireland, Avatar remains top of the box office chart for a sixth straight week. Its weekend takings of £5.1m - which have swelled its overall haul to £57.4m - put it well ahead of its nearest challenger, Guy Ritchie film Sherlock Holmes. Paul Bettany plays an angel fighting to save mankind in Legion In the US and Canada, Avatar's takings now stand at $551.7m (£342.5m). And, based on earnings outside the US and Canada, Avatar is now the biggest international release of all time. Its takings, excluding North America, now amount to $1.287bn (£799m) - putting it $45m (£27.9m) ahead of Titanic. As in the UK, Avatar remains unchallenged in the US and Canada after six straight weeks at number one. Its nearest rival was Legion, an apocalyptic thriller starring Paul Bettany that opened in second place with a first weekend haul of $17.5m (£10.8m). ||||| In the end, the only man capable of defeating James Cameron was James Cameron. Titanic, the film-maker's epic 1997 romance set on the doomed ocean liner, yesterday lost its crown as the top grossing movie of all time to Avatar, an epic 3D romance set on an Earth-like moon orbiting a distant star. Avatar Production year: 2009 Country: USA Cert (UK): 12A Runtime: 161 mins Directors: James Cameron Cast: CCH Pounder, Giovanni Ribisi, Michelle Rodriguez, Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Zoe Saldana More on this film The science-fiction saga almost overtook its predecessor's record of $1.843bn at the weekend, after six weeks topping box-office charts around the globe. Twentieth Century Fox confirmed yesterday that the record had finally been broken. Many pundits had predicted Titanic's record would never be beaten. Yet, early in Avatar's run it was clear it was repeating the pattern of multiple repeat viewings that had been the making of Cameron's previous film. Avatar also benefited from the higher price of tickets for 3D screenings, which have accounted for more than 80% of US earnings and 65% of those elsewhere. The film was so successfully hyped as the first must-see stereoscopic experience that few wanted to compromise with a 2D viewing. In addition, its record-breaking success in China and Russia, markets harder to crack back in 1997, certainly helped to lift its bottom line. Avatar's box-office victory was, however, won without adjustment for inflation. Figures that do so show how far it's eclipsed by the likes of 1939's Gone With the Wind – that film grossed $400m worldwide, which equates to at least $6bn in today's money, more than three times Avatar's figure. ||||| It is widely thought of as the film with the biggest US box office of all time. But Titanic, James Cameron's 1997 romance set on the doomed ship, which took $600.8m (£371.4m) at the world's most important movie market, has been sunk by analysts who say it would only come in at No 6 in an inflation-adjusted chart. Titanic Release: 1997 Countries: UK, USA Cert (UK): 12 Runtime: 195 mins Directors: James Cameron Cast: Billy Zane, Kate Winslet, Leonardo DiCaprio More on this film This chart, which covers box-office results for films from the last 100 years, suggests another epic romance, 1939's Gone With the Wind, is the true US champ. While the $198.7m taken by the American civil-war film, featuring Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable as the celebrated lovers, represents only one third of Titanic's, the adjusted figure is $1.45bn, which dwarfs the $921.5m adjusted figure for Cameron's film. Titanic now comes in behind 1977's Star Wars, 1965's The Sound of Music, 1982's ET: The Extra-Terrestrial, and even the 1956 Charlton Heston biblical epic The Ten Commandments. Perhaps more pertinently, Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight, which was hailed as the saviour of Hollywood last year after it zoomed to No 2 in the all-time US box-office chart with $533.3m, does not even make it into the adjusted top 20. Movies such as 2002's Spider-Man, 2003's The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and 2006's Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, all of which sit comfortably in the top 10 of the unaltered chart, are nowhere to be seen in the adjusted version, while old favourites like 1967's The Graduate, 1973's The Exorcist and 1965's Dr Zhivago make unexpected appearances. The new chart was put together by analysts at Bloomberg, based on figures from the Box Office Mojo website. | The 3D science fiction epic romance ''Avatar'' has surpassed ''Titanic''—also by director James Cameron—as the highest-grossing international film of all time. ''Avatar'' has overtaken ''Titanic'' by a margin of more than 15 million US dollars, with both films grossing in excess of $1.843bn. The film has been the most popular film in box offices around North America and Europe for six weeks, with United Kingdom takings for this weekend alone in excess of £5.1m. In the United States, the film has pushed ''The Dark Knight'' into third place. ''Avatar'''s victory has been put down to the higher prices many viewers have had to pay to see the film in 3D, as well as inflation over time (as the figures have not been adjusted for such). If the figures are adjusted for inflation, it is beaten to the top spot by ''Gone with the Wind''. In the adjusted chart, ''Titanic'' makes it only to number six, with other members of the top ten including ''Star Wars'', ''The Sound of Music'', and ''E.T: The Extra-Terrestrial''. |
People in Tewkesbury are being rescued by helicopter and boat Helicopter images Severn Trent Water says 150,000 homes are without water in Gloucestershire after a treatment works was flooded. Power supplies to 500,000 people in Gloucestershire are also threatened and the RAF has been drafted in to protect a substation at risk of flooding. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Gordon Brown has chaired a meeting of the government's emergency committee Cobra. This involves several ministers and the Chief Constable of Gloucestershire Police, Tim Brain. Mr Brown will visit flood-hit areas on Monday. Earlier, Environment Agency chief executive Baroness Young told the BBC that about £1bn a year was needed to improve flood defences. She said more investment was essential because climate change would lead to increased rainfall, but added: "It will take some time to get flood defences into place and it won't completely remove the risk of flooding." Upton-on-Severn was badly hit by flooding In pictures Environment Secretary Hilary Benn defended the government's flood response, saying conditions were "unprecedented". Mr Benn told BBC News 24's Sunday programme there had been a cut in the Environment Agency's forward planning budget, but capital expenditure was being increased from £600m to £800m by 2010/11. "This was very, very intense rainfall, with five inches in 24 hours in some areas, even some of the best defences are going to be overwhelmed," he added. Meanwhile, the Association of British Insurers has said the total bill for the June and July floods could reach £2bn. Water supplies in north Gloucestershire were running out on Sunday evening after a treatment plant flooded. Severn Trent Water urged people not to panic and to do all they could to conserve water. Emergency services in Gloucester are also using sandbags to protect the Walham electricity substation, but 450 homes in Tewkesbury are already without power, along with 150 in Gloucester and 150 in Evesham. Electricity supplier Central Networks has advised customers to ring 0800 328 1111 to report loss of supply. Clive Guest returned to devastation in his flood-hit home In pictures Water has also reportedly begun to infiltrate 12th century Tewkesbury Abbey, after the town itself was cut off. Elsewhere, the Army has taken humanitarian aid to Upton-upon-Severn in Worcestershire and swathes of Warwickshire are submerged. Severe warnings are also in place for Oxfordshire, Berkshire and parts of London, and the Environment Agency said "serious flooding" was likely in Oxford on Sunday night. The main developments include: Water levels in the River Severn at Gloucester are running at a height of 34ft (10.4m). Flood defences are 35ft (10.7m). Flood water levels are now said to be at the same level as the 1947 floods. TRAVEL CHAOS M5 - reopened northbound between J14, Thornbury and J13, Stroud, after a vehicle fire Roads including A44, A417 and A38 - parts closed or blocked Central Trains - services to and from Birmingham New St and Hereford reduced or suspended First Great Western - services to and from Paddington, Oxford, Hereford, Worcester and Gloucester disrupted Virgin trains - services suspended from Birmingham New St Chiltern Railways - services from Banbury suspended Northern Rail - Rotherham Central closed, Sheffield services disrupted UK airports - no reports of disruption Latest from BBC Travel The Red Cross has been called in to help with the evacuation of about 20 patients from Tewkesbury Hospital. John Ford, from Gloucestershire Primary Care Trust, said they were being relocated from the Severn and Avon wards to other local hospitals. Parts of Worcestershire are under 6ft (1.82m) of water and up to 4,000 people in and around Bromyard in Herefordshire are without water after a treatment works near Worcester was flooded. Sutton and East Surrey Water has warned 80,000 households and businesses in Sutton to boil tap water before drinking it after the firm discovered rain had leaked into a tank of water which had gone out to customers. Wide areas of Berkshire are flooded, including 400 homes in Pangbourne where the main road into town is closed. The government has refused to comment on a leaked draft of its soon-to-be released Housing Green Paper. The document, which was obtained by the BBC, says it is "not realistic" to rule out new developments in areas at risk of flooding. Sir Menzies Campbell, the Liberal Democrat leader, agreed more needed to be spent on flood defences. "It was known for some days that this was likely to happen. I think there'll be questions asked about the degree of preparedness there was to meet what is obviously a very, very dramatic outcome," said Sir Menzies. Conservative leader David Cameron, who has called for a public inquiry into the crisis, said people wanted to know why flood defence resources were often miles away from where they were needed. Rest centre In one of the RAF's biggest peacetime rescue operations around 100 people in Worcestershire were airlifted to safety over the weekend, while more than 1,000 spent a two nights in emergency rest centres. Despite the heightened risk of flooding to central and southern England, the Met Office does not have any severe weather warnings in place. HAVE YOUR SAY We must now look at proper regional controls and answers for surface water problems Ted Smith, Worcester Send us your experiences Army called in with supplies The BBC Weather Centre said outbreaks of rain are expected, some heavy, across the north east of Scotland on Sunday evening, but in Wales showers should be lighter and more scattered, giving some relief to the worst affected areas in the east around the River Wye. BBC forecaster Susan Powell said more rain was expected on Monday, but most would be away from the severely flooded parts of the Midlands. Instead, she said concern could shift to areas in southern England, close to the River Thames, where an inch of rain could fall on Monday. Environment Agency floodline: 0845 988 1188 ||||| The flood coverage below attributed England's wetter weather to 'the El Nino effect' (an upwelling of warm water in the equatorial Pacific), but it is more likely to be caused by the cold water of La Nina, the opposite of El Nino. Ministers were warned months ago that the country faced heavy flooding this summer but too little was done to protect vulnerable towns and villages, The Observer can reveal. As communities mopped up after the heavy flash flooding across the country and with the prospect of more to come, Gordon Brown yesterday promised local authorities that they would be given 100 per cent compensation for the costs of dealing with the rainfall. But experts were asking why more was not done to shore up flood defences. Earlier this year, the Met Office and risk planners in Whitehall told ministers that because of the El Nino effect, which changes global weather patterns, this summer would have much wetter weather than usual. However, at the same time, the government was planning to cut jobs at the Environment Agency, which deals with the defences. Water companies had also been prevented from building larger storm water drains and sewage systems because of the risk of rising water bills. Brown said yesterday that he had been in contact with ministers for transport, the environment and local government to ensure that the response to the emergency was properly co-ordinated. 'We have acted quickly in what is an emergency,' said Brown in a televised statement. 'When you have a month's rain coming down and a month's water is being created in an hour or two, people have to act very quickly.' But last night there was growing criticism of how the government has handled the chaos, particularly as there is no one minister with overall control of flood policy. Four separate departments have some responsibility, and those involved include Environment Secretary Hilary Benn, Cabinet Secretary Ed Miliband, Communities Secretary Hazel Blears and the Home Secretary Jacqui Smith. Shadow Environment Secretary Peter Ainsworth said: 'This is an extreme weather event but there is a lack of clarity in the chain of command that has to be sorted out.' John Redwood, Conservative MP for Wokingham, Berks, said: 'There were no sandbags, no pumps and no ditches had been cleared. Why wasn't the army mobilised?' Last night, as countryside from Gloucestershire to Lincolnshire was flooded, with hundreds being airlifted to safety, a further plea was made for people to stay indoors was issued as pressure on rescuers services reached a peak. A West Mercia emergency services official asked people not to add to the difficulties in south Worcestershire, which has seen hundreds of people struggling to cope with homes under water: 'No one should travel unless absolutely necessary. Emergency services are now able to deal only with life-threatening calls.' The threat last night was of new flooding from river banks bursting as water runs off hills. The Severn and the Thames as well as the Avon in the West Midlands were said to be at dangerously high levels, and warnings were put out to emergency services in these areas. The government had ordered a Cabinet Office review of the floods in Hull and Sheffield. It will now also look at the events of the last few days, analysing how well prepared Britain was. | 150px Politicians in the United Kingdom have started calling for action after months of heavy rainfall have left parts of Britain in crisis from flooding and electricity and water shortages. Environment Agency chief executive Baroness Young has called for an increased budget of around £1 billion a year to pay for flood defenses. Environment Secretary Hilary Benn has suggested that the conditions were 'unprecedented', and would overwhelm even the best flood defenses, but said that the Environment Agency's capital expenditure would be increased from £600m to £800m by 2010/11. Opposition leaders have similarly called for more money to be spent on flood defenses. Liberal Democrat leader Menzies Campbell suggested that the flood risk was known about before it happened, and questioned the degree of preparedness in place. Conservative leader David Cameron has called for a public inquiry into the crisis. The Conservative shadow Environment Secretary criticised a 'lack of clarity' in the command of clean up operations, and MP John Redwood has asked why the army was not mobilised in support. The Government has ordered a Cabinet Office review of the flooding events. |
Hussein threatens to skip court Five witnesses describe brutalities under regime in '80s BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- The trial of Saddam Hussein adjourned for the day Tuesday, with the former Iraqi leader indicating he's unlikely to return when the court reconvenes Wednesday. "I will not be in a court without justice. Go to hell, all you agents of America," Hussein said. His announcement came after five witnesses testified about brutalities they experienced during a government crackdown 23 years ago. Hussein and seven other defendants are on trial in connection with the deaths of more than 140 men in Dujail, a town north of Baghdad. The 1982 killings were considered retribution for a failed assassination attempt on Hussein. The testimony coincided with the suicide bombing of a police academy in Baghdad. Two attackers detonated themselves, killing at least 36 people, police said. (Full story) The witnesses -- three men and two women sitting behind a curtain with voices disguised by a modulator -- described beatings, electrocutions and deaths in 1982. Hussein and the Baath Party were firmly in power then, and the country was at war with Iran, a crucial period in the nation's history. Fears of retribution by Saddam loyalists forced the court to shield the witnesses' identities. Witnesses are allowed to have their voices altered to hide their identities from the defendants, media and people in the visitors' gallery -- but not from the judges or attorneys. Breaking down in tears, a woman identified only as "Witness A" described mistreatment by Iraqi intelligence officers while at Abu Ghraib prison 20 years ago and then captivity in the desert. She said she was beaten with cables and given electric shocks. She also described the torture of family members and other prisoners and the destruction of homes and orchards. (Watch report of woman's dramatic testimony -- 1:24) After her came an older woman identified as "Witness B" and a man identified as "Witness C." The latter testified that he was 12 when he was rounded up in 1982. He said that he was taken first to Baath Party headquarters in Dujail, then to Baghdad, where he was tortured and sent to Abu Ghraib jail. He eventually was taken to a desert prison camp, where he spent four years before being returned to Dujail. ( Watch a roundup of the emotional testimony and Hussein's angry response -- 3:19) Asked which of the defendants he held accountable, Witness C testified that he saw defendant Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti, Hussein's half brother, at the Baath headquarters in Dujail. During his cross-examination of Witness C, al-Tikriti acknowledged that he was at Baath headquarters but recalled a different encounter. "Don't you remember? I was there. I kissed 60 men. I shook their hands, and I set them free," al-Tikriti said. Defense attorneys questioned the accuracy of Witness C's childhood recollections. A man testifying as "Witness D" said that he hasn't seen his son since the 16-year-old was whisked away in 1982. The man said that after Hussein's ouster, papers were discovered indicating his son had died. The defense pounced on this detail, questioning its authenticity. "Witness E" also described abuse that followed the Dujail roundup. More subdued session Tuesday's nine-hour session was more controlled than Monday's chaotic proceeding, which was punctuated by Hussein's outbursts. Chief Judge Rizgar Mohammed Amin, in charge of the proceeding, attempted to keep the unnamed witnesses on point. At the end of the day, Hussein complained that he had been wearing the same shirt and underwear for three days. He said he's tired and indicated that he isn't inclined to carry on Wednesday -- when two more witnesses are scheduled to testify. The ex-dictator said the United States wants to execute him and finish off what he called the theater of Saddam Hussein. He also said he wanted to know why he and the other defendants were not asked whether they had been tortured. More hiccups came in the form of technical glitches during the day's proceedings. Defense lawyers complained during Witness A's testimony that the equipment disguising her voice made it difficult to understand her, which prompted the judge to order that her voice modulator be turned off. During Witness B's testimony, the judge shut off the modulation system because he thought it wasn't operating properly. But in shutting it off, all feeds from the courtroom were cut as well. ||||| Dec. 5: There are fears that Saddam's outbursts at his trial may be a way for him to send signals to his supporters. NBC's Richard Engel reports. Dec. 5: Courtroom theatrics continued during Saddam Hussein’s trial on Monday. NBC’s Tom Aspell reports, along with MSNBC-TV’s Monica Crowley and Ron Reagan. BAGHDAD, Iraq - Saddam Hussein said Monday he was not afraid of execution and angrily dismissed charges against him at his trial in which a tearful witness recalled the torture of his relatives and seeing a machine that “looked like a grinder” with hair and blood on it. Saddam’s trial on charges that he and seven co-defendants killed more than 140 Shiites from the village of Dujail in the summer of 1982 after a failed assassination attempt was punctuated by outbursts by the former president, as well as a brief walkout by his defense lawyers. At one point, Saddam appeared to threaten the judge, saying: “When the revolution of the heroic Iraq arrives, you will be held accountable.” Story continues below ↓ advertisement advertisement Chief Judge Rizgar Mohammed Amin replied: “This is an insult to the court. We are searching for the truth.” Earlier, however, Saddam told the court he understood the pressures upon the judges and defended his actions. He and his seven co-defendants could be executed if convicted on the charges stemming from the deaths of more than 140 Shiites in 1982. Before the third session of the trial adjourned until Tuesday, Saddam repeatedly interrupted testimony and appeared to try to rally Iraqis against the U.S. occupation. “This game must not continue, if you want Saddam Hussein’s neck, you can have it!” Saddam said. “I have exercised my constitutional prerogatives after I had been the target of an armed attack. “I am not afraid of execution,” said Saddam, who then addressed the judge, saying, “I realize there is pressure on you and I regret that I have to confront one of my sons. But I’m not doing it for myself. I’m doing it for Iraq. I’m not defending myself. But I am defending you.” When the first witness Ahmed Hassan Mohammed spoke, Saddam told him: “Do not interrupt me, son.” “If it’s ever established that Saddam Hussein laid a hand on any Iraqi, then everything that witness said is correct,” he said. He also told the court that he “would like (the witness) to be examined by an independent medical institution.” Chaos in the courtroom Amin had a difficult time keeping order during several clashes between the witnesses and the accused, with Saddam and his co-defendant and half brother, Barazan Ibrahim, gesturing and shouting together. In one instance, Saddam pointed to the sky with his right hand while he held Islam’s holy book, the Quran, in his left. “Everyone must remain calm and be civil,” he said repeatedly. At one point, Saddam and Ibrahim became so angry while Saddam sparred verbally with the judge and a second witness, Jawad Abdul-Azziz Jawad, that guards tried to calm them. Ibrahim smacked them on the hands with a notebook. Saddam himself became so angry that he threw some papers he was holding, and they eventually landed on the floor. Earlier, former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark, who is helping represent Saddam, sought to address the court, touching off an argument that led to the walkout by the defense team. Amin at first said only Saddam’s chief lawyer, Khalil al-Dulaimi, could speak. Amin said the defense should submit its motion in writing and warned that if the defense walked out then the court would appoint replacement lawyers. After the defense lawyers left, Saddam, shaking his right hand, told the judge: “You are imposing lawyers on us. They are imposed lawyers. The court is imposed by itself. We reject that.” Saddam and Ibrahim then chanted “Long live Iraq, long live the Arab state.” Ibrahim stood up and shouted: “Why don’t you just execute us and get rid of all of this!” When the judge explained that he was ruling in accordance with the law, Saddam replied: “This is a law made by America and does not reflect Iraqi sovereignty.” Descriptions of torture After the lawyers spoke, Mohammed began his emotional but often rambling testimony. He said that after an assassination attempt on Saddam, security agencies took people of all ages, from 14 to more than 70. They were tortured for 70 days at intelligence headquarters in Baghdad before being moved to Abu Ghraib prison where the abuse continued, he said. He said his brother, who was at 17 at the time, was tortured while his 77-year-old father watched. Mohammed, who was 15 at the time, said he himself was tortured. “They blindfolded me, but I was so young, it kept falling.” In one of the facilities, he saw “a machine that looked like a grinder and had some blood and hair” on it. “There were mass arrests. Women and men. Even if a child was 1-day-old, they used to tell his parents, ‘Bring him with you,”’ Mohammed said. He said he was taken to a security center where “I saw bodies of people from Dujail.” “They were martyrs I knew,” Mohammed said, giving the names of nine victims. The second witness, Jawad, who was only 10 when the assassination attempt occurred, testified how Iraqi troops used helicopters to attack the city and bulldozers to destroy the fields. Jawad said Saddam’s regime killed three of his brothers, one before the assassination attempt and two after. When al-Dulaimi asked how someone who was 10 could remember such details, Jawad said “a 3-year-old child remembers a lot. An elementary school student does not forget if a teacher slapped him in the face. I lived a catastrophe.” After the walkout and a 90-minute recess to resolve the issue, the court reconvened and Amin allowed Clark and ex-Qatari Justice Minister Najib al-Nueimi to speak on the questions of the legitimacy of the tribunal and safety of the lawyers. Rate this story Low High • advertisement | As the trial of Saddam Hussein drew another day of testimony, the court heard the testimony of five witnesses of the killing of 140 men in Dujail, a town north of Baghdad. Witnesses who feared showing their face or voice were allowed to testify in a covered box with their voice altered. Their names were also protected and each witness was named with a letter. The defense was, however, allowed to know the name of the witnesses as long as those names were not disclosed outside the proceedings. Tuesday's court session lasted around nine hours. '''Testimony Highlights''' Witness A *Female *Iraqi intelligence officers in the Abu Ghraib prison beat her with cables and gave her electric shocks *Recalled torture of family members and others in prison *Officers destroyed homes and orchards Witness C *Male *Taken to Baath Party headquarters at age 12, where he was tortured and then sent to Abu Ghraib prison *Spent four years in desert prison camp *Saw Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti at Baath Party headquarters in Dujail :*Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti is Hussein's half brother |
Sunita Williams is a flight engineer aboard the space station As of 0547 GMT on Saturday, she had passed the 188-day, four-hour mark set by Shannon Lucid in 1996. Mrs Williams, who is of Indian and Slovenian extraction, is due to return to Earth on Thursday on the Atlantis. She earlier set a record for the longest spacewalk by a woman, reaching 22 hours and 27 minutes. That record had been held by astronaut Kathryn Thornton at just over 21 hours. In her six months in space, Mrs Williams has also "run" the Boston Marathon on a treadmill. ||||| Williams gets record for longest spaceflight by woman She now holds honor previously held by Shannon Lucid By MARK CARREAU Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle U.S. astronaut Sunita "Suni" Williams, a resident of the international space station since December, claimed the world record for the longest spaceflight by a woman early today, an honor the previous record holder was only too happy to relinquish. Shortly before 1 a.m. CDT, Williams surpassed the previous record of 188 days, four hours, established by fellow NASA astronaut Shannon Lucid aboard Russia's former Mir space station in 1996. "I feel like a lot of this was just sort of being in the right place at the right time. It just sort of happened," Williams told interviewers recently. "I'm just happy to be part of history that provides a steppingstone for the next generation of explorers and women to come up here and do that. To me, it's no big deal." Williams, 41, will return to Earth aboard the shuttle Atlantis, which docked with the station this week to deliver a new solar power module. Atlantis should land Thursday or Friday, pushing her record to between 193 and 195 days. "She's done just an absolutely wonderful job," Lucid, who has worked in Misson Control during Williams' flight, said in an interview this week. "I think it's really great because it shows that the space program is getting more mature when you have more and more people stay in space for longer periods of time." In late April, Mike Lopez-Alegria concluded a 215-day journey to the station, setting a U.S. spaceflight endurance record. The world's mark, 438 days, was set by Russian Valeri Polyakov in 1994-95. During her stay, Williams participated in four spacewalks that overhauled the station's cooling system; joined in science experiments; and in April gained notice worldwide for "running" in the Boston Marathon on a treadmill in orbit. The key to happiness in space, Lucid said, is no different than on Earth — staying busy and getting along with the people around you. "You have to live one day at a time, so that you are not counting down the days," said the former record holder. "It all depends on your mind-set." Williams joined NASA's astronaut corps in 1998 as a U.S. Navy aviator and test pilot. This spaceflight is her first, and because of various shuttle launch delays, it looked for a while as though her trip would last well beyond next week. Williams often said she was prepared to stay aboard the station as long as NASA wished. "My biggest desire is to go for a walk on the beach," said Williams, who grew up in Needham, Mass. "I grew up near the beach in New England, and I love going to the beach. In Houston, I go pretty much every Sunday and take my dog for a walk there." In her official NASA biography, she lists Gorby, her Jack Russell terrier, along with her husband, Michael, her parents and sister as those closest to her. In a recent e-mail, Lucid offered her colleague some advice about the final days of her marathon mission. "I said, 'Enjoy your last few days because all too soon you will be back to bills, dirty dishes and laundry,' " said Lucid. mark.carreau@chron.com | Sunita Williams United States astronaut , currently on board the International Space Station, has today broken the record for the longest unbroken space flight by a woman. At 5:47 a.m. UTC Williams passed the previous record of 188 days and four hours set by in 1996. This is not the only record Williams has broken. Earlier this year she set a record of 29 hours and 17 minutes for time spent by a woman on space walks. In April 2007, Williams received much attention when she took part in the Boston Marathon on a treadmill whilst in orbit. |
Monday, May 31, 2010 at 19:51:48 UTC Tuesday, June 01, 2010 at 01:21:48 AM at epicenter Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones ||||| Strong but deep earthquake strikes east of India’s Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal By Javier Mines ANDAMAN ISLANDS (BNO NEWS) — A strong but deep earthquake struck east of India’s Andaman Islands on early Tuesday, seismologists said. The 6.4-magnitude earthquake at 1.21 a.m. local time (1951 UTC) was centered about 122 kilometers (76 miles) east-southeast of Port Blair, the capital of India’s Andaman and Nicobar Islands. It struck about 127.7 kilometers (79.4 miles) deep, making it a deep earthquake, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. There was no immediate word of damage or casualties from the earthquake, and no tsunami alert was issued. (Copyright 2010 by BNO News B.V. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without explicit prior permission from BNO News B.V. Contact sales@bnonews.com for more information about subscriptions.) ||||| WASHINGTON - A magnitude 6.4 quake struck east of India's Andaman Islands and triggered a local tsunami warning, the U.S. Geological Survey and Pacific Tsunami Warning Center reported on Monday. The USGS said the quake struck at 1:21 a.m. on Tuesday (2:51 p.m. ET on Monday) 120 km east of Port Blair at a depth of 127.7 km. "Earthquakes of this size sometimes generate local tsunamis that can be destructive along coasts located within a few hundred kilometers of the earthquake epicenter," the tsunami warning center said. © Copyright (c) Reuters ||||| Strong quake hits Andaman Islands: seismologists NEW DELHI — A strong 6.4-magnitude earthquake hit off India's Andaman Islands early Tuesday, seismologists said, but no widespread tsunami was expected. The quake struck at a depth of 127 kilometres (80 miles), said the US Geological Survey (USGS), with the epicentre 120 kilometres from Port Blair on the Andaman Islands, which are located in the Bay of Bengal. The Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said there was a very small possibility of a local tsunami near the centre but no threat of a destructive widespread tsunami. Myanmar lies to the north of the Andaman Islands and Indonesia to the south. New Delhi is more than 2,500 kilometres away to the northwest. The Andamans were badly hit by the 2004 Asian tsunami, which was triggered by an earthquake off the Indonesian island of Sumatra that sent giant waves crashing into countries around the Indian Ocean. The Andaman Sea area witnesses frequent earthquakes caused by the meeting of the Indian plate with the Burmese microplate along an area known as the Andaman trench. Copyright © 2010 AFP. All rights reserved. More » | Location map of the earthquake. A 6.4 moment magnitude earthquake has hit near the , Bay of the Bengal, India, on Tuesday at 1:21:48 AM local time (Monday 19:51:48 UTC), USGS has reported. The earthquake had a depth of 127.7 kilometers (79.4 miles). The epicenter was located 120 kilometers southeast of , Andaman Islands; 350 kilometers north of , ; 795 kilometers southwest of Bangkok, Thailand and 2580 kilometers southeast of New Delhi, India. No casualties or damage have been reported. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii said there was a "very small possibility of a local tsunami near the centre" but no possibility of a destructive, widespread tsunami. |
The nearly 300 volcano victims who fled the microscopic Caribbean island of Montserrat for safety in the U.S. nearly a decade ago now have two weeks to get out, says the Department of Homeland Security. After living here under Temporary Protected Status , most of them have built entire new lives hereŚwith careers, marriages, and American-born children. They don't want to uproot again. Even if they did want to go back to the ash-encrusted and still-percolating island, Montserrat's government is understandably less than eager for their return. After the lid of the Soufriere volcano blew four miles high and Volkswagen-sized chunks of rock crushed houses and people, two-thirds of the island was BBQ'd and buried in ash, including the capital city of Plymouth. The few thousand who didn't leave are now crowded onto about 13 square miles. There's a major housing shortage, the fishing and farming industries are crippled, and the Soufriere is still foaming. Scientists think she'll bubble and pop for at least another 20 years. Brooklyn congressman Major Owens says this disaster was easy to predict when many of the functions of the Immigration and Naturalization Service were transferred from the Justice Department to the Department of Homeland Security in 2003 under the Homeland Security Act. INS had been renewing the Montserratians' status annually, but when the DHS took over, critics say, Tom Ridge could scarcely wait to cut the islanders loose. "The new bureaucracy's preoccupation with security goes to the ridiculous," Owens says. "The anti-immigration forces are so virulent. These are just 300 hard-working people." The Democratic congressman just sponsored a new bill that would grant Montserratians permanent residence. He remains optimistic, but this is his second try. His first bill (which was identical in substance) languished on the floor of an immigration subcommittee for two years before getting kicked to the curb. In the July 6 notice posted in the Federal Register, the Department of Homeland Security took pains to emphasize that the Montserratians' status was never meant to be anything other than temporary. To clear up any misunderstanding, the DHS provided the definition from Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1998): "The plain meaning of 'temporary' is 'lasting for a time only'; 'existing for a limited time; not permanent.' " But it's not the meaning of the fourth-grade vocabulary word that's confusing the immigrants. It's the U.S. government's position, which is basically that because a dangerous situation is not likely to improve, the victims no longer deserve protection. (The Washington Post printed a strong editorial about this paradox last summer.) DHS claims to understand the difficulty of sending families into harm's way and suggests that anyone who prefers not to fly his or her U.S.-born kids into heaps of toxic volcanic ash make use of their British passports and go live in south London. Which, of course, is easier said than done. It's true that since 2002 Montserratians have enjoyed dual citizenship, but England is hardly their "motherland" (the odd word choice of a NYT reporter). Descendants of Irish deportees, African slaves, and Carib Indians, most Montserratians claim little in common with their former colonial master. Still, by now most would overlook the series of blatantly racist laws enacted from the 1960s through the early '80s targeting them and other brown-skinned immigrants. The 2002 Overseas Territory Act improved their legal status, but relocating again will still be hard. ||||| News from the Caribbean as of Final risk assessment of health implications from volcanic ash on Montserrat BRADES, Montserrat: Work to assess the risks to health of the general population from Montserrat volcanic ash, has now been completed. The UK Chief Medical Officer’s Advisory Group (on risks to health posed by volcanic ash on Montserrat) has concluded that there is little risk of health problems occurring in the general population of Montserrat as a result of ash from the volcano. However, some concern remains about possible risks for individuals exposed to higher amounts of ash for longer periods of time, and further work is being conducted for this group of people. Ash masks should continue to be worn in ashy conditions and children should not play in the ash or take part in ash clearing activities. Since 1997 the UK Government and the Government of Montserrat have been studying health aspects of the volcanic ash on Montserrat. This work has been carried out by an Ad Hoc Advisory Group that has reported to the Chief Medical Officer (UK). The Group studied the results of scientific tests, which demonstrated that the ash is only mildly toxic, and then examined the risk of contracting lung disease for those who have been exposed. The final Risk Assessment report is now available, and has been placed on the Government of Montserrat’s website and other relevant websites. Printed copies are available to members of the public, on request. The report concludes that the risk of x-ray changes or lung problems occurring in the general population of Montserrat as a result of ash from the volcano is very small. However, some concern remains about possible risks to individuals who may be exposed to higher than average amounts of ash for long periods (e.g. children, gardeners, road workers, professional house cleaners). The UK Government and the Government of Montserrat have therefore agreed to undertake further work to assess the effects of ash on individuals who have had larger than average exposure and an x-ray survey will be conducted on island early in 2005. This survey will focus on those individuals previously surveyed (in 2000) and on people who have since been exposed to higher than average concentrations. This study is a routine follow-up from the 2000 survey and, like the previous study, will involve a chest x-ray, respiratory systems questionnaire, lung function tests and a life-time occupational history. Participation will be voluntary, but participants in the first study are strongly encouraged to return. The study will be undertaken, as last time, by experts from the Institute of Occupational Medicine, Edinburgh. The various studies already done have shown: Laboratory studies have shown that the ash is only mildly toxic. The risk of it causing lung disease (silicosis) is very small. Occasionally it may cause changes on x-rays of the lungs but this does not necessarily cause any further problems. In addition, any problems will only follow long-term exposure. Those who have been more exposed to the ash (road sweepers, gardeners etc) are, therefore, at slightly greater risk. Studies to date show no evidence of a bad effect on the health of people living on island. There is also no evidence of any effect on health as a result of people doing ash-clearing work in their own homes. For the group of people who have been more heavily exposed to ash, the best approach is to reduce any future exposure as far as possible. A decision on whether future monitoring is needed will be made following the results of the survey to be undertaken in early 2005. For everyone, high exposure to ash should be reduced. This requires the strict use of facemasks by people working with ash, and the dampening of ash before its removal. The effect of ash on children is still not fully clear. There is a risk that they are more exposed because they spend more time playing outside. Children should therefore be encouraged not to play in ash and should not take part in ash clearing activities. The risk assessment report and details of reports from previous studies, can be found in Montserrat’s public library and on the websites of the Government of Montserrat and the Montserrat Volcano Observatory. Back... Most popular articles: viewed, printed and e-mailed Printable version E-mail this story to a friend: Your e-mail: Your name: Your friend's e-mail: ||||| Hardbeatnews, NEW YORK, N.Y., Tues. Feb. 22, 2005: In exactly five days, some 292 hard-working Montserratians, who have called the U.S. home since fleeing a 1995 volcano, will be forced to leave or face deportation. The Department of Homeland Security have refused to renege on their July 2004 decision to end Temporary Protected Status for the Monserratians, despite extending the status for 248,282 Salvadorans, 81,000 Hondurans and 4,300 Nicaraguan migrants. Instead, they claim the 24 dozen or so nationals of the volcano-ravaged island can either return to their ash-laden homeland or seek refugee status in the United Kingdom. Montserrat is a dependent territory of Britain. TPS allows immigrants the right to work legally in the United States. Section 244 of the Immigration and Nationality Act authorizes the Secretary of Homeland Security to grant TPS to aliens in the United States who are nationals of countries that are subject to ongoing armed conflict, environmental disaster, or other extraordinary and temporary conditions. Those facing the ouster, come Sunday, Feb. 27, are naturally upset. As is Vera Weekes, a Montserrat national who has been single-handedly lobbying for the reversal of the decision. “They have taken a myopic view of TPS and the Montserrat case. They cannot comprehend that they are going to be refugees in another country. UK is not their country of origin. Some folks just do not have the push to start all over again after 10 years,” Weekes, coordinator for Efforts to Stop Deportation of the Montserratians, told HBN yesterday. The activist also claims that the Montserrat government has no jobs and no houses for these nationals, and would also face undue hardship in the U.K., since processing time for residency there could take up to three months. “I took a TPS person to UK on the 6th of Nov., and it is only the good nature of my sister and her husband, my nephew, and a distant cousin, that is keeping her alive,” added Weekes. “She was rendered homeless after three weeks there. Her uncle who promised to keep her for the three months, threw her out after three weeks and since that time it has been total bedlam for her and she is on dialysis.” But the DHS, under the new leadership of Michael Chertoff, is pushing off the final decision on the U.S. State Department and the President, who have yet to respond to the issue. Weekes is now urging the British and Montserratian government to inform the U.S. authorities “that they are not in a position right now to take care of these folks and they need another year or two to put things in perspective.” “America must not be seen as so petty and inhumane and the truth is that they did not have a conversation with the receiving countries,” she added. How come they know some countries cannot take their folks back because of economic hardship!!! Who did they speak to? Why not give the Montserratians the same courtesy?” A congressional bill, H.R. 603, introduced by Brooklyn Congressman Major Owens in 2001 and again in 2003, languishes in the House Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security, and Claims. The bill calls for green cards for the Montserratians. Owens’ office said recently that there are 44 co-sponsors of the bill but has failed to pass in the Republican dominated House. Owens has also called on President George W. Bush to intervene and help the Montserratians, but to date, no help has been forthcoming. And last October, NY Senator, Charles Schumer, introduced the `Montserrat Immigration Fairness Act' or S.2816.IS, to help save the group from deportation in February 2005. But the days are sliding by and the Feb. 27 deadlines is inching closer and all roads now seem pointed out of the U.S. for the 292 Monserratians and their family. – Hardbeatnews.com | A last gasp effort is underway to prevent the deportation of Montserratian refugees from New York City, U.S.A., to the disaster-stricken volcanic island they fled ten years ago. Representative w:Major Owens (D, NY), of Brooklyn, is hoping the outpouring of support for victims of the Asian tsunami will save the refugees from returning to an island with an active volcano that is at constant risk of a further catastrophe. Until last year, the Department of Homeland Security had allowed the families to stay in the United States under a special designation called “Temporary Protected Status”. But in July, secretary of homeland security, Tom Ridge, withdrew the status—not because it was safe to return to Montserrat, but because the volcano would remain active for decades to come and therefore was no longer a “temporary” danger. On February 27, the city’s estimated 100 Montserratians and their families will be forced to leave or risk deportation. A further 200 families, many of them living in Boston, are also under threat. Earlier efforts to win a reprieve for the Montserratians were blocked by anti-immigrant forces in the House of Representatives, led by congressman Tom Tancredo, of Colorado, Rep. Owens said. But he added that a new bill, which he introduced at the end of last month, might be more popular in the wake of the Asian disaster. “We hope that the approaching emergency situation plus the drama of the tsunami will help change some of the attitudes about this,” Rep. Owens said. “And some of the people who opposed this legislation on the basis that they opposed immigration, will see that it is not about immigration but about coming to the relief of people who have been victims of a natural disaster.” Meanwhile, New York’s tiny Montserratian community must wait and hope. For those not fortunate enough to have married a US citizen or to have found an employer willing to sponsor them, the coming weeks are crucial. Pearl Ryner, 40, a refugee who works as a medical technician at the King’s County Hospital in Brooklyn, said she refused to get married just so that she can stay in the United States. But she is a single mother with four children and she does not want to uproot her family and start over again. “I worry. I cry. I am still hoping,” Ms. Ryner said. “What do I do? Where do I begin? How do I pick four kids up and take them away? If I buy a plane ticket, where do I go? These are questions that I do not have an answer for.” The Department of Homeland Security has suggested that because Montserrat is a British overseas territory, Montserratians should go to the UK. But the refugees say they have no relatives or friends they can stay with in the UK, and that they have made homes and started careers and lives in the United States. If the refugees are deported to Montserrat it will be to a 35 square-mile island, two-thirds of which is buried beneath volcanic rubble and ash. The capital, Plymouth, in the south east of the island has been abandoned, and there is a housing and employment shortage. The Soufriere Hills Volcano erupted in 1995, but the British Foreign Office website warns that the volcano remains active. Heavy rain can cause mudflows, and people suffering from breathing problems risk airborne dust and volcanic ash. The collapse of a lava dome in 2001 spewed clouds of ash that affected Puerto Rico, a self-governing territory of the United States, 200 miles away. Moreover continued volcanic activity is triggering landslides that have caused two tsunamis in Montserrat during the past ten years. The first, on December 26, 1997, created a wave three meters tall, which rolled northwards along the coast. The second, in July 2003, measured about four meters and traveled to Guadeloupe 30 miles away. Sherry Coriette, 28, who works for a major retail company in New York, said that she still has not decided what to do. “I have a good job, I pay my bills,” Ms. Coriette said. “Eight years ago I left with nothing and now I am having to face starting all over again.” Matthew Dunn, chairman of the New York Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, said that as long as there was a potential for danger, the United Sates should offer the people of Montserrat a safe haven. “I would argue that is what our country is all about: helping and protecting people,” Mr. Dunn said. “But the biggest shame in all of this is that because there is so few of them, they do not have a big enough voice.” |
The event, celebrated every September 19 for about the last decade, has its own web site and its own Facebook fan site with nearly 7,000 fans. There are more than 1,500 Talk Like A Pirate videos on YouTube and more than 10 million websites dedicated to the phenomenon. The event was created in 1995 John Baur and Mark Summers, from Oregon, decreed observers of the holiday would greet each other with ‘Ahoy, me hearty!’. The holiday gained traction when Miami-based columnist Dave Barry gave it a nod in 2002. As well as the usual “Arrrs!” and “Ayes!” in conversation, observers of the event are expected to be familiar with a vast lexicon of pirate jargon, much of it dating back to the 17 the century. In Britain, dozens of pirate events are being held around the country include a CAMRA Pirate Pub Crawl in Nottinghamshire, a children’s pirate party in Gloucestershire and a 50p rum drinks promotion at a pub in London. The official British representative of the Pirate holiday is Mad Cap'n Tom who was last year elected President of the University of York Students’ Union and carried out his duties in character. Many of this year’s events are in aid of Marie Curie Cancer Care. A proper pirate would know the following words: Avast! — Stop and give attention. It can be used in a sense of surprise, “Whoa! Get a load of that!” Beauty — The best possible pirate address for a woman. Always preceded by “me,” as in, “C’mere, me beauty,” or even, “me buxom beauty,” to one particularly well endowed. Grog — An alcoholic drink, usually rum diluted with water, but in this context you could use it to refer to any alcoholic beverage other than beer Smartly — Do something quickly. ||||| It's rolled around once again, like a stray cannonball on the deck of a sailing ship. Sept. 19 is the annual Talk Like a Pirate Day, for no particular reason whatsoever. Thank John "OI' Chumbucket" Bauer and Mark "Cap'n Slappy" Summers, the two ne'er-do-wells with pirattitude for starting the tradition, and writer Dave Barry for popularizing it seven years ago. Bauer and Summers have two books available from publishers and three others they've self-published, including the children's book "A Li'l Pirate's A-B-Seas." Not all pirate talk is fit for kids. Suggested pirate pickup lines include "Have ya ever met a man with a real yardarm?" and "How'd you like to scrape the barnacles off of me rudder?" As for "booty" and "treasure chest"... well keep those double meanings to yourself, you swarthy knave. Los Angeles is home to a bounty of pirate-related events today, including sexy pirate talk and a costume contest at the R Bar in Koreatown, a pirate-themed murder mystery geocache hunt, and a weekend's worth of pirates and steampunk at the Queen Mary. Shiver me timbers. -- Carolyn Kellogg Photo: from the Lake Forest 2008 Fourth of July Parade. Credit: tinyfroglet via Flickr ||||| Yarrrr! September 19 be Talk Like a Pirate Day Stephen Vaughan Avast, it's Talk Like a Pirate Day - surely a holiday that Captain Jack Sparrow (played by Johnny Depp) can approve of. Grab your cutlass and polish your peg leg: Talk Like a Pirate Day is here once again. The observance, started by John "Ol' Chumbucket" Baur and Mark "Cap'n Slappy" Summers, gained widespread renown when it was mentioned by Dave Barry in his nationally syndicated newspaper column seven years ago. And thanks to our collective love for pirates and their lore, it's now gone international. Talk Like a Pirate Day came to be when Baur and Summers, in the middle of a friendly raquetball match, found the game was more fun when punctuated with pirate utterances -- so they decided to make a day of it. September 19 was chosen because it is Summers' ex-wife's birthday, and one of the only dates he can remember that's not taken up by another holiday, the two explain on their Web site, www.talklikeapirate.com. Since then, the day has spawned celebrations around the world, including pirate-themed bar crawls, charity walks and plenty of other events with a healthy dose of pirattitude. Talking like a pirate needn't be complicated. Even throwing a simple "me hearties" or "matey" on the end of a sentence is enough to participate, the founders say. And since this year's Talk Like a Pirate Day falls on the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah, here's a good opening line: Shanah tovah, matey! ||||| Whitsundays celebrates International Talk like a Pirate Day Posted Updated Shiver me timbers is not something you expect to hear in everyday conversation, but it'll be more commonplace today, as centres around the world celebrate International Talk like a Pirate Day. Scarves, eye patches, parrots and strange accents will be part of a special event being held in the Whitsundays today, complete with plank walking and pirate jokes. The event began eight years ago as a bit of fun, but is now celebrated around the world. Organiser of the Airlie Beach event, Captain Dan van Blarcom, says all pirates will be on their best behaviour. "We're the polite pirates and we always use our manners and say please and thank you and ensure our visitors always come first," he said. "That's pretty important in a town like Airlie Beach, which is a tourist destination and we want people to come here and have a good time. "We're going to have some pirate hip hop music and other pirate songs and we'll be there waving our hooks in the air and having a jolly good time talking about booty." He says those who don't enjoy themselves may have to walk the plank. | Shiver me timbers!: The founders of the event International Talk Like a Pirate Day is being celebrated today, as it has every September 19 for the last decade. The tradition was started by John Baur and Mark Summers, known to fellow pirates as Cap'n Slappy and Ol' Chumbucket. It became popular in 2002, when US author Dave Barry joined the support. Baur and Summers are both published authors themselves, as well as self-publishing books. In Nottinghamshire, United Kingdom the Campaign for Real Ale has organised a pirate pub crawl, while a London pub is offering rum at £0.50 a time. There are several events linked to the cancer charity Marie Curie. A Los Angeles bar is offering a day of 'sexy pirate talk'. Australia's Whitsunday Islands are holding an event organised by a man identified by ABC only as Captain Dan van Blarcom. "We're the polite pirates and we always use our manners and say please and thank you and ensure our visitors always come first," he said, adding that people caught not having fun may be made to walk the plank and that there are "some pirate hip hop music and other pirate songs" on offer. Bauer and Summers started the day after deciding that raquetball was much more fun when various pirate sayings were mixed into the game. The picked today as it was one of the few dates Summers could remember that did not already have a major holiday, being his ex-wife's birthday. |
Hariri was travelling in a motorcade when the blast happened The blast, which reports say killed about nine people and injured 100 others, may have been a car bomb. It went off beside the derelict St Georges Hotel on the seafront, causing widespread damage. The killing comes at a time of rising tension between Syria, Lebanon's political master, and members of the opposition, a BBC correspondent says. Mr Hariri resigned as prime minister and joined the opposition last October. He was hoping to stage a comeback in legislative elections next May. It is still unclear what caused the massive explosion, but a little-known group calling itself Victory and Jihad in Greater Syria has issued a statement claiming the killing, saying it was a suicide bomb, says the BBC's Kim Ghattas in Beirut. The authenticity of the statement could not be verified. RAFIK HARIRI Prime minister 1992-98 and 2000-04 Self-made billionaire Trained as a teacher, but founded a successful construction company in Saudi Arabia Born in 1944 to a poor Sunni Muslim family in the southern Lebanese port of Sidon Lebanon's economic champion Lebanese opposition leaders have said they hold the Lebanese and Syrian governments responsible for the killing. "We hold the Lebanese authority and the Syrian authority, being the authority of tutelage in Lebanon, responsible for this crime and other similar crimes," they said in a statement after a meeting held at the late leader's house in Beirut. They also called for the government's resignation, for Syrian troops to withdraw from the country before the May elections and for a three-day strike. The White House condemned the attack and said Lebanon should be allowed to pursue its political future "free from violence... and free from Syrian occupation". Spokesman Scott McClellan said he was not trying to link Syria with the bombing, adding Washington did not know who was responsible, Reuters news agency reported. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad condemned Monday's attack as a "terrible criminal act". Lebanon's former colonial power France, whose leader, President Jacques Chirac, had close ties with Mr Hariri, has called for an international inquiry into the blast. A three-day mourning period has been declared in Lebanon. Beachfront attack Mr Hariri, who was also an MP, attended a session at parliament in central Beirut shortly before the blast. He was apparently heading home along the beachfront in a convoy when the explosion happened just before midday local time (1000 GMT), in a busy area full of hotels and banks. The explosion left a huge crater Members of his convoy are believed to have been killed in the blast. A former minister who was in the convoy is said to have been seriously injured. The force of the blast left vehicles smouldering and shop fronts blown out and blackened, creating a huge crater. Local television pictures showed a burning man fighting to get out of a car through its window, falling to the ground and being helped by a bystander. Several young women were seen with blood running down their faces. Lebanese security forces cordoned off the area with yellow tape as rescue workers and investigators combed the scene. Later, supporters of the late prime minister took to the streets in Beirut and in his hometown of Sidon, in southern Lebanon, people burnt tyres on the streets in protest. Leading politician Mr Hariri has been the leading Lebanese politician since the end of the civil war in 1990, and prime minister for most of the last 15 years. He was also a self-made billionaire businessman. He resigned in October amid differences with Lebanon's pro-Syrian President, Emile Lahoud. Since then, he had been considered part of the opposition, although he never formally attended their gatherings, our correspondent says. Mr Hariri had recently joined calls by opposition politicians for a withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon. France and the US had also been calling on Syria to end its meddling in Lebanese political affairs and to withdraw its troops from its smaller neighbour, our correspondent says. Last October, a former minister and member of the opposition was injured in a car bomb attack in Beirut, in which his bodyguard was killed. ||||| A massive bomb has torn through former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri's motorcade, assassinating the billionaire businessman who helped rebuild his country after decades of war. At least nine other people were killed and 100 wounded, including a former economy minister. The blast raised immediate fears that Lebanon - largely peaceful since the 1990 end of its civil war - was headed toward a new and bloody twist in its divisive dispute over the role of Syria, which maintains about 15,000 troops in the country. The Lebanese National News Agency, quoting a statement from American University Hospital, said Hariri was pronounced dead on arrival, his body mutilated. Some 300 kilograms of TNT explosives were used in the bombing, security officials said on condition of anonymity. They did not say whether the explosives were placed in a vehicle or on the side of the street. Following an emergency Cabinet meeting, Information Minister Elie Ferzli told reporters that government will refer the case to the Higher Judiciary Council that looks into political and state security crimes. Lebanon's Supreme Council for Defence instructed the army and internal security forces "to take all necessary measures to control the security situation." The council, which groups the president, Cabinet ministers and military officials, declared three days of national mourning. President Emile Lahoud, a long time rival of Hariri, issued a statement saying the killing was "a dark point in our national history." He promised the perpetrators would be brought to justice. There were no credible claims of responsibility. However, a previously unknown group, calling itself Support and Jihad in Syria and Lebanon, said it had carried out the bombing. It said the attack was a suicide operation and would be followed by more attacks "against infidels, renegades and tyrants." The claim, which could not be authenticated, appeared in a video aired on al-Jazeera satellite television station. US President George W Bush was "shocked and angered" by the assassination, said White House press secretary Scott McClellan. McClellan said the White House did not know who was responsible for the attack, but whoever is behind the bombing should be punished. He said the assassination was "a terrible reminder that the Lebanese people must be able to pursue their aspirations and determine their own political future, free from violence, and intimidation and free from Syrian occupation." In Paris, Lebanon's most prominent exile, former army commander General Michel Aoun, was more direct, blaming Syria and what he called the "feeble regime imposed by Syria" for the assassination. "I think all these together are behind this crime," Aoun told al-Arabiya satellite television, which is based in Dubai. Some Lebanese regularly accuse Syria of being behind violent attacks in the country, dating back to civil war days. Syria's allies, in turn, tend to blame Israel for all violence. On Sunday, one day before the assassination, the pan-Arab newspaper al-Hayat quoted an unidentified source as saying UN envoy Terje Roed-Larsen had warned Syrian President Bashar Assad during a Thursday meeting in Damascus against harming any Lebanese opponents of Syrian involvement in the country - mentioning Hariri and Druse leader Walid Jumblatt by name. Al-Hayat quoted its source as saying Roed-Larsen had warned any such bloodletting would "constitute a point of no return in the relations between Syria and the international community." Roed-Larsen could not immediately be reached for comment. Foremost among the wounded was former Economy Minister Bassel Fleihan, a member of parliament in Hariri's bloc, who was admitted to the intensive care unit of the American University Hospital, said another pro-Hariri legislator, Atef Majdalani. Hariri's own Future TV reported that Fleihan was in critical condition and the hospital was preparing to transfer him abroad. Hariri's assassination removes a main political buffer in a country divided among an opposition strongly opposed to Syria's role, and the pro-Syrian government camp. He was killed after attending a parliamentary debate where the two camps are divided over a new election law for polls due in April and May. Hariri's supporters quickly took to the streets, chanting his praises outside the American University Hospital where he was declared dead. In his hometown of Sidon, supporters blocked roads and burned tires. Hariri is a self-made billionaire who led Lebanon for 10 of the years since the end of the 1975-1990 civil war. He was elected prime minister in 1992 and served until 1998, forming at least three Cabinets. He was elected again in 2000 and served until he resigned in October. Hariri moved toward the opposition camp after leaving office - in large part because of a dispute concerning Syria's controversial role in Lebanon. Hariri had rejected a position supported by Syria that his old rival, President Lahoud, remain in office as president for three more years. Pro-Syrian allies of Lahoud accused Hariri of being behind the UN Security Council resolution in September that demanded Syria withdraw its army from Lebanon and stop interfering in the country. The resolution was sponsored by the United States and France. Hariri was credited with rebuilding Lebanon from the destruction of the civil war, but he was faulted for shackling Lebanon with a debt of more than US$35 billion. His wide international business and political connections helped earn Lebanon wide recognition and attracted badly needed foreign investment. ||||| Monde Rafic Hariri, ex-Premier ministre libanais, tué dans un attentat Il a été victime à Beyrouth de l'explosion d'une voiture piégée • Artisan de la reconstruction économique du pays, cet ami de Jacques Chirac maîtrisait suffisamment les subtilités de la politique libanaise pour avoir dirigé cinq gouvernements depuis 1992 • Par G.T. lundi 14 février 2005 (Liberation.fr - 17:50) es assassins de Rafic Hariri, tué lundi dans un attentat à la voiture piégée à Beyrouth, étaient bien décidés à ne laisser aucune chance à l'ancien Premier ministre libanais. La mise à feu de 350 kilogrammes d'explosifs, qui s'est produite sur le front de mer à proximité immédiate du luxueux hôtel Saint-George a fait au moins neuf autres morts et une centaine de blessés. Elle a creusé un profond cratère dans la chaussée et réduit en poussière plusieurs bâtiments. Les vitres des immeubles ont été soufflées dans un rayon d'un kilomètre, alors que des flammes de plusieurs mètres de haut empêchaient les gens d'approcher des victimes dans les véhicules en feu. L'heure même choisie pour l'attaque, en milieu de journée dans un secteur où siègent plusieurs banques et où de très nombreux employés circulent sur les trottoirs, témoigne de la détermination des terroristes. Cet attentat, le plus violent commis à Beyrouth depuis la fin de la guerre civile en 1990, a été perpétré dans un quartier résidentiel de la capitale libanaise où se trouvent plusieurs grands hôtels. Il s'inscrit dans un contexte de fortes tensions politiques au Liban où se préparent des élections législatives au printemps. Hariri, un homme d'affaires qui avait fait fortune dans l'immobilier et les BTP en Arabie saoudite avant de se lancer en politique, avait démissionné avec son gouvernement au mois d'octobre dernier. Il avait récemment apporté son soutien aux appels de l'opposition réclamant le départ des troupes syriennes - la Syrie étant un acteur dominant de la vie politique libanaise - avant les élections attendues en mai. Dès l'annonce de l'attentat, le ministre syrien de l'Information, Mahdi Dakhl-Allah, a déclaré que «la Syrie considérait cet attentat comme un acte de terrorisme, un crime visant à déstabiliser le Liban». Quelques instants plus tard, le président syrien Bachar al-Assad a dénoncé un «terrible acte criminel». Généralement considéré comme l'architecte de la reconstruction économique du Liban et personnalité respectée dans le monde de la finance internationale, Rafic Hariri était un ami personnel de Jacques Chirac. Dans un communiqué de l'Elysée diffusé lundi après-midi, la présidence française condamne d'ailleurs «avec la plus grande fermeté» l'attentat et «demande qu'une enquête internationale soit conduite sans délai pour déterminer les circonstances et les responsabilités de cette tragédie, avant d'en punir les coupables». «La France rend hommage à celui qui incarnait la volonté indéfectible d'indépendance, de liberté et de démocratie du Liban», précise le texte. http://www.liberation.fr/page.php?Article=275642 © Libération ||||| People in China's Xinjiang region line up at a camp, which the government calls a vocational education center, in December 2018. (AP) Border closures, journalist expulsions and other steps have hobbled global efforts to determine current conditions in the region. | A large blast on the seafront of west Beirut, Lebanon has killed several people, including former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Current reports conflict on the total number of casualties, suggesting nine or ten people killed and around 100 injured. Hariri was travelling in a car in a motorcade when the explosion occurred around 1pm local time. His bullet-proof car was totally destroyed. The attack took place near the luxurious Saint George hotel, in a residential neighborhood. The cause of the blast is currently unknown for certain but it is believed to have been a car bomb. Anonymous sources have said car containing 300 kg of TNT was used; however other reports have suggested the explosives were placed in a building. The explosion created a crater at least 10 m across and devastated the fronts of nearby shops and hotels, destroying several buildings entirely. Apartment windows within a 1km radius were blown out. Only one group has claimed responsibility, a little-known organisation from Syria called Victory and Jihad in Greater Syria. There has been no confirmation that this group actually carried out the attack. Hariri's supporters see Syria as being responsible for the attack. Lately, Hariri had become a chief opponent of the Syrian military presence (14,000 troops) in Lebanon. The BBC quotes the group has having said "We hold the Lebanese authority and the Syrian authority, being the authority of tutelage in Lebanon, responsible for this crime and other similar crimes." Rafik Bahaa Edine Hariri (November 1, 1944–February 14, 2005) was a Lebanese self-made billionaire businessman, and was twice Prime Minister of Lebanon, before his last resignation from office on October 20, 2004. |
404 We're sorry but the page you requested could not be found.Please try again from the home page or contact us ||||| fOOTBALL | Matt Dickinson new To Boris Johnson, it may be money and resources “spaffed up the wall”. To the survivors, the 710 pages of the Sheldon report released today are a necessary but very incomplete insight into a time and a culture that devastated the lives of hundreds of young boys, and their families. It was hard to know what to expect after more than four...To Boris Johnson, it may be money and resources “spaffed up the wall”. To the survivors, the 710 pages of the Sheldon report released today are a necessary but very incomplete insight into a time and a culture that devastated the lives of hundreds of young boys, and their families. It was hard to know what to expect after more than four...To Boris Johnson, it may be money and resources “spaffed up the wall”. To the survivors, the 710 pages of the Sheldon report... ||||| RAMALLAH, Feb. 23 (Xinhuanet) -- Fatah lawmakers finally gave a green light Wednesday night to Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei's new cabinet lineup after a three-day delay of a vote, said official Palestinian sources. The agreement was reached during a closed-door meeting of Fatahlawmakers, dominant in the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC),and Qurei as well as leader Mahmoud Abbas. At the session, Abbas urged Fatah members to support Qurei's cabinet list, saying "the world is watching us." Fatah lawmaker Mohammed Horani told reporters that the struggle concerning the forming of the new cabinet "appears to be over." "We have agreed in principle with Abu Mazen (Abbas) to let this crisis pass," he said. The PLC has delayed the vote of confidence for three days due to heated disputes over the cabinet makeup lacking new faces. Under mounting pressures, Qurei has promised to reshuffle the cabinet with more reform-minded and technocrat ministers in response to lawmakers' demand to get rid of corruption-tainted image of the old government. The PLC will meet Saturday to approve the new cabinet, said PLC Secretary General Ahmed Abul Nasr. Fatah's nod to Qurei's cabinet will end disputes that threaten to bring about Qurei's resignation and endanger Abbas' efforts to reform the Palestinian National Authority and pursue peace talks with Israel, said analysts. | '''February 24, 2005''' Legislators in Ramallah have accepted a cabinet with few returning staff after twice rejecting Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia's more staid proposals. Palestinian flag "We have agreed in principle with Abu Mazen (Abbas) to let this crisis pass," Fatah MP Mohammed Horani said. Members of the dominant Fatah party rejected two earlier line ups, before accepting the third late Wednesday after a further meeting with President Mahmoud Abbas. Fatah controls 63 of the 85 seats in the Palestinian Legislative Council. The legislators were dismayed by a lack of change in the initial offerings, reportedly heavy with old guard politicians from the previous administration. Approximately 70% of the 24 cabinet members are new ministers that have not served before. Reports differ, with Reuters claiming 17 ministers are new, while the Times of London claims 20. Nasser Yousef has been accepted to take the security forces roughly from behind, and Mohammed Dahlan, currently a security advisor to Abbas, is also in the new line up. Abbas is reported by the CBC as eager to consolidate control in security as part of an effort to clean up corruption and tighten domestic oversight in the occupied territories. Some of the politicians who will not be a part of the new cabinet include Nabil Shaath, the Foreign Minister, and Saeb Erekat, the Negotiations Minister. The cabinet will now be brought to the Legislative Council on Thursday for a vote. |
Palestinian women walk past a mural along a street in Gaza City. Israel declared Gaza a "hostile entity" on Wednesday and said it would limit supplies to the Hamas-run territory, overshadowing US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's latest peace mission. Israel brands Gaza 'hostile entity' as Rice visits JERUSALEM (AFP) — Israel declared Gaza a "hostile entity" on Wednesday and said it would limit supplies to the Hamas-run territory, overshadowing US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's latest peace mission. The decision by Israel's powerful security cabinet cleared the way for the government to shut off supplies of electricity and fuel to the impoverished territory -- home to 1.5 million Palestinians -- in response to frequent rocket attacks from Gaza. Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said Israel needed to answer what she termed daily "terror attacks" on its soil from the Gaza Strip, as she explained the decision at a news conference with Rice. "We made this decision according to our legal advisor, so it is according to international law," she claimed. "It is not going to affect the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip." "The meaning is that even though when it comes to humanitarian needs we have our own responsibility, on the other hand all the needs that are more than humanitarian needs will not be supplied by Israel to the Gaza Strip." An Israeli official said the cabinet did not take any immediate decisions to turn off the taps to the crowded territory but that the move "clears the way for the government to do so." The decision came as Rice met Israeli officials ahead of a one-on-one dinner with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on her sixth visit to the region this year to try to revive peace talks and lay the ground for a US-sponsored conference. Rice and Olmert held a three-hour face-to-face meeting over dinner at the premier's residence in Jerusalem and the two agreed to meet again after Rice's talks with Abbas on Thursday, an Israeli official said. When pressed by reporters, Rice also described Hamas as a hostile entity but stressed that the United States would make every effort to deal with Gaza's humanitarian needs. "We will not abandon the innocent Palestinians in Gaza and indeed will make every effort to deal with their humanitarian needs," Rice said. "Hamas is indeed a hostile entity. It is a hostile entity to the United States as well." The Islamist movement won a sweeping victory against the Fatah party of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas in January 2006 elections, but seized power in a bloody takeover in Gaza three months ago. It is shunned by Israel and the West as a terror group. On Wednesday it blasted the move as "collective punishment" while a UN official in Jerusalem told AFP that the decision was "illegal". Abbas condemned "this arbitrary decision (that) will contribute to reinforcing the asphyxiating blockade that is hitting 1.5 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and aggravate their suffering." UN chief Ban Ki-moon also urged Israel to reconsider its decision. "Such a step would be contrary to Israel's obligations towards the civilian population (of Gaza) under international humanitarian and human rights law," he said in a statement. On Thursday, Rice heads to Ramallah for meetings with Abbas and prime minister Salam Fayyad before returning to Jerusalem for talks with Olmert. Meanwhile, the Israeli defence ministry said late Wednesday that Israel plans to remove 24 barriers across the occupied West Bank in a bid to ease the hardships of Palestinians and boost Abbas. "It is my very strong view that Israel and the Palestinians are showing their good faith in the discussions that they're having. Discussions that are getting ever broader and deeper," Rice said. The talks "have now spurred the two sides to create negotiating teams that are to try and memorialise those understandings so the creation of a Palestinian state can move forward." Rice told journalists travelling with her that a planned peace conference "has to, in a substantive way, support" efforts to "lay the foundations for the negotiation of a Palestinian state as soon as possible." "I think everybody expects it to be serious and substantive." The United States has not set a date for the conference, but has mentioned November. It is remaining very discreet on where it will be held and which countries will be invited to attend. However, Olmert on Sunday dampened expectations of a major breakthrough ahead of the peace meeting, saying Israel and the Palestinians are working on a joint declaration rather than an accord of principles. After their latest meeting on September 10, Abbas and Olmert reaffirmed their commitment to a two-state solution and appointed negotiating teams for the international conference. Rice is to return to the United States for a series of multilateral meetings on Saturday organised on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York. ||||| GAZA (Reuters) - Palestinian Islamist group Hamas said on Wednesday that Israel had effectively declared war by labeling the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip an "enemy entity". "It is a declaration of war and continues the criminal, terrorist Zionist actions against our people," said Fawzi Barhoum, a spokesman for Hamas in the coastal enclave. Israel's security cabinet declaration on Wednesday that Gaza was an "enemy entity" opened the way for cuts in fuel and other supplies to the territory, an Israeli political source said. "They aim to starve our people and force them to accept humiliating formulas that could emerge from the so-called November peace conference," Barhoum said, referring to a U.S.-sponsored meeting expected to be held in two months. Militants in Gaza regularly fire rockets into Israel and Israeli forces have raided the enclave, from which the Jewish state evacuated troops and settlers two years ago. Hamas forces, which seized control of Gaza in June after fighting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's secular Fatah faction, have been bracing for a broader Israeli offensive, particularly since a rocket struck an Israeli army base last week, wounding some three dozen soldiers. "If Israel resorts to military action against Gaza we will be ready to confront them. We will not surrender and we will fight together with all our people," Barhoum said. ||||| Qassam rockets are frequently fired from Gaza into southern Israel Israeli officials told the BBC fuel and electricity supplies could be targeted, but not water, food or medicine. The militant group Hamas, which controls Gaza, said such a move would be considered a declaration of war. In Jerusalem, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice also said the US considered Hamas a "hostile entity". But she added that the US "would not abandon the innocent Palestinians" of Gaza. I call for Israel to reconsider this decision Ban Ki-moon UN Secretary General Ms Rice arrived in Jerusalem on Wednesday for talks about re-starting the Middle East peace process. Israeli public pressure for retaliation has grown since a rocket fired from Gaza hit an army base last Tuesday, injuring 69 troops. Palestinian militant groups say the rocket fire is a response to Israeli military action in Gaza and the West Bank. International law Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office said his security cabinet had approved the "hostile entity" classification on Wednesday morning. It is a declaration of war and continues the criminal, terrorist Zionist actions against our people Fawzi Barhoum Hamas spokesman Israel's limited options "Additional restrictions will be imposed on the Hamas regime, limiting the transfer of goods to the Gaza Strip, cutting back fuel and electricity, and restricting the movement of people," a statement said. It said the sanctions would be implemented "following a legal review" to examine the legal and humanitarian consequences. Israeli officials reportedly hope the new measures will put pressure on Hamas, which ousted its rivals Fatah to seize control of Gaza in June, to halt rocket attacks on southern Israel. A spokesman for Hamas in Gaza, Fawzi Barhoum, condemned the decision. "It is a declaration of war and continues the criminal, terrorist Zionist actions against our people," he said. "They aim to starve our people and force them to accept humiliating formulas that could emerge from the so-called November peace conference," he added, referring to the US-sponsored talks expected later this year. The Palestinian Information Minister, Riyad al-Malki, said the Palestinian Authority would ask the US to "pressure Israel to refrain from taking such action". Correspondents say that by formally declaring Gaza "hostile", Israel could argue that it is no longer bound by international law governing the administration of occupied territory to supply utilities to its 1.5 million inhabitants. But the current position is that, under international law, Israel remains legally responsible for the coastal strip, despite withdrawing two years ago, because it still controls Gaza's borders, airspace and territorial waters. An Israeli government source told the BBC that Israel believed the decision was entirely legal in terms of Israeli law, which Israelis "correlate with international law". But UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urged Israel to reconsider its decision. "Such a step would be contrary to Israel's obligations towards the civilian population [of Gaza] under international humanitarian and human rights law," he said. The Israeli move will only be seen by Palestinians as a form of collective punishment and risks consolidating support for Hamas in Gaza, BBC diplomatic correspondent Jonathan Marcus says. Two-state solution Ms Rice is in the Middle East for talks ahead of the peace conference. The US is supporting Mahmoud Abbas while isolating Hamas She is due to meet Mr Olmert and the Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. With US encouragement, the two recently held a series of face-to-face meetings. After their last meeting on 10 September, both leaders reaffirmed their commitment to a two-state solution and agreed to set up negotiating teams to discuss some of the disputed issues. ||||| Ehud Olmert makes his opening remarks to the weekly cabinet meeting, 24 Jun 2007 Top Israeli Cabinet ministers have decided to declare the Gaza Strip an "enemy entity," opening the way for cuts in vital supplies to the Palestinian territory controlled by the militant Islamic group Hamas. Officials say Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's "Security Cabinet" of key ministers voted Wednesday, following extensive legal consultations. They say the move is in response to continuing cross-border rocket fire by Palestinian militants in Gaza. Israel withdrew its troops and settlers from the coastal territory in 2005 after 38 years of occupation. But it controls Gaza's borders, air space and coastal waters, leaving the Palestinian territory dependent on the Jewish state for utilities and imports of humanitarian aid. Hamas seized control of Gaza in June after deadly fighting with the rival Fatah faction led by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Mr. Abbas dismissed the Hamas-led Palestinian government and appointed a new administration based in the West Bank. | Map of the Gaza Strip. The Israeli government has declared the Gaza Strip an "enemy entity" due to the continued firing of rockets into Israel from Gaza. Gaza's ruling Hamas party has stated that it considers the announcement a "declaration of war." The definition means that Israel could stop supplying Gaza with fuel, electricity and other commodities. "Following extensive legal consultations, Israel has decided to declare Gaza as a hostile entity, with all the international implications. This move will prepare the groundwork for sanctions against Gaza, such as the interruption of gas, electricity and water supply, which will occur in a gradual process," said an unnamed Israeli government official. Ehud Barak, the Israeli Minister of Defense said the "objective is to weaken Hamas" , while Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum suggested "...they aim to starve our people and force them to accept humiliating formulas that could emerge from the so-called November peace conference," Barak also said that Israel is considering a military operation in the Gaza Strip saying that "every day that passes brings us closer to an operation in Gaza." The democratically-elected Hamas party, and its militant wing the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, have been labeled "foreign terrorist organization"s by a number of bodies including the European Union, Israel, the United States, Canada and others. |
US "outsourced" torture: investigator (Reuters) Updated: 2006-01-25 09:36 The United States flew detainees to countries where they would be tortured and European governments probably knew about it, the head of a European human rights investigation said on Tuesday. But Swiss senator Dick Marty said in a preliminary report for the Council of Europe human rights watchdog that he had found no irrefutable evidence to confirm allegations that the CIA operated secret detention centers in Europe. Dick Marty, a Swiss senator investigating the charges for the Council of Europe human rights watchdog, addresses the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, January 24, 2006. [Reuters] His report kept pressure on the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency over the charges that it flew prisoners through European airports to jails in third countries, but Washington denied any wrongdoing and critics said the report contained nothing new. "There is a great deal of coherent, convergent evidence pointing to the existence of a system of 'relocation' or 'outsourcing of torture'," Marty told the 46-nation Council, based in the eastern French city of Strasbourg. "It is highly unlikely that European governments, or at least their intelligence services, were unaware." At the State Department in Washington, spokesman Sean McCormack dismissed the report as "same old reports wrapped up in some new rhetoric. There's nothing new here." The September 11 attacks on U.S. landmarks sparked a U.S. global war on terrorism against al Qaeda and led to the invasion of Iraq. Public opinion has hardened in Europe since deadly bomb attacks in London last July and in Madrid in March, 2004. But the allegations about the CIA, first made by newspapers and human rights groups late last year, have put pressure on the United States and European governments to explain their actions and those of their secret services. Marty said it had been proved that "individuals have been abducted, deprived of their liberty and transported to different destinations in Europe, to be handed over to countries in which they have suffered degrading treatment and torture." He estimated more than 100 people had been subject to the process known as "rendition." NO "SMOKING GUN" ON SECRET JAILS Romania, Poland, Ukraine, Kosovo, Macedonia and Bulgaria have faced accusations that the CIA used detention centers on their soil. Marty acknowledged there was no firm evidence of detention centers in Europe similar to the one at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, where hundreds of people judged by the U.S. military to be illegal combatants are held without charge. But he said U.S. media had faced government pressure not to publish further accusations, and he expected newly received European satellite and flight data to boost his investigation. The United States has not denied or confirmed the existence of secret detention centers. U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff told reporters in Paris he had not seen Marty's report but "the government acts in accordance with the law and with respect to the sovereignty of host countries in which it operates." "The authorities are free to investigate what they want to investigate but we should not allow ourselves to be distracted from the need to identify, prevent and protect against terrorist acts of violence," he added. The State Department's McCormack insisted the United States "does not torture," respects the sovereignty of European allies and does not transfer suspects to countries where there is reasonable expectation they might be subjected to torture without first seeking assurances they will not be tortured. There may be differences between Europe and America on these issues, but "we are fighting the same fight, we share the same core values. And what we need is discussion and dialogue about how to deal with the issues that confront us," McCormack told a news briefing. He said if Europeans had more questions on this issue, the United States would try to answer them. Denis MacShane, a British member of parliament and former minister for Europe, told reporters Marty's report "has more holes than a Swiss cheese." A British government spokesman said there seemed to be no new facts. European Security Commissioner Franco Frattini urged EU members to cooperate fully with Marty's probe but said it was too early to draw conclusions. Poland said the report left no "basis for thinking such camps or prisons existed on Polish territory." ||||| By Craig S. Smith The New York Times TUESDAY, JANUARY 24, 2006 Dick Marty, a Swiss lawmaker, is expected to issue his second interim report on the CIA's clandestine transport network of suspected terrorists with a request for more time to pursue his investigation. On Monday, he told The Associated Press that the report would not contain any new information about the locations of detention centers in Europe. The Strasbourg-based Council of Europe, which is composed of 46 countries, has been pressing governments to provide information, but many have not responded and the investigation has been hamstrung by a lack of deep resources, according to a person familiar with the review. The council started pursuing the issue after allegations emerged in The Washington Post in November that American agents detained terrorist suspects in clandestine prisons in Eastern Europe. The New York-based Human Rights Watch singled out Poland and Romania as detention center locations, a charge those nations have denied. Last week, the European Parliament announced that it would pursue an investigation of its own, starting hearings in late January with ambitions to summon government officials such as former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder of Germany, Gijs de Vries, the EU's coordinator for anti-terrorism measures, and leaders of countries whose nations have been accused of hosting detention facilities. Members of the European Parliament on the investigating committee said their aim is also to call on American officials to testify. Jan Marinus Wiersma, a lawmaker from the Dutch Labor Party, said that he was not expecting dramatic results from Marty's report. "If there was a smoking gun, it would have already been there," said Wiersma, who is on the Parliament's committee investigating the same issue. He added that the European body expects to commit more resources to their effort, including a team of full-time researchers. "We have different working methods. The Council of Europe appointed one rapporteur who has to do all the work. Our basic weapon is the public hearings." John Swift, an anti-terrorist researcher for Human Rights Watch in the United States, said the public airing of the Council of Europe report in Strasbourg on Tuesday is likely to underscore one critical theme. "Cooperation is going to be needed if this investigation is going to succeed. European governments are at a crossroads. They can decide to cooperate with this investigation and uphold European traditions of human rights, or they can continue their romance with the CIA. But they can't do both." STRASBOURG A European investigation into alleged CIA detention centers will be publicly reviewed Tuesday by the Council of Europe, amid indications that the latest report for the Continent's human rights monitoring agency will not offer any new evidence of secret prison facilities, but will explore several widely reported cases of kidnapping.Dick Marty, a Swiss lawmaker, is expected to issue his second interim report on the CIA's clandestine transport network of suspected terrorists with a request for more time to pursue his investigation.On Monday, he told The Associated Press that the report would not contain any new information about the locations of detention centers in Europe.The Strasbourg-based Council of Europe, which is composed of 46 countries, has been pressing governments to provide information, but many have not responded and the investigation has been hamstrung by a lack of deep resources, according to a person familiar with the review.The council started pursuing the issue after allegations emerged in The Washington Post in November that American agents detained terrorist suspects in clandestine prisons in Eastern Europe.The New York-based Human Rights Watch singled out Poland and Romania as detention center locations, a charge those nations have denied.Last week, the European Parliament announced that it would pursue an investigation of its own, starting hearings in late January with ambitions to summon government officials such as former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder of Germany, Gijs de Vries, the EU's coordinator for anti-terrorism measures, and leaders of countries whose nations have been accused of hosting detention facilities.Members of the European Parliament on the investigating committee said their aim is also to call on American officials to testify.Jan Marinus Wiersma, a lawmaker from the Dutch Labor Party, said that he was not expecting dramatic results from Marty's report."If there was a smoking gun, it would have already been there," said Wiersma, who is on the Parliament's committee investigating the same issue. He added that the European body expects to commit more resources to their effort, including a team of full-time researchers."We have different working methods. The Council of Europe appointed one rapporteur who has to do all the work. Our basic weapon is the public hearings."John Swift, an anti-terrorist researcher for Human Rights Watch in the United States, said the public airing of the Council of Europe report in Strasbourg on Tuesday is likely to underscore one critical theme."Cooperation is going to be needed if this investigation is going to succeed. European governments are at a crossroads. They can decide to cooperate with this investigation and uphold European traditions of human rights, or they can continue their romance with the CIA. But they can't do both." ||||| News Amnesty International's Reaction to the Council of Europe's Report on Renditions and Black Sites Group Continues to Call for an Need Mounts for Independent Commission to Investigate All Aspects of U.S. Detention and Interrogation Practices. January 24, 2006 (Washington, DC) Today’s release of the Council of Europe’s interim report on extraordinary renditions and secret detention centers in Europe is a step toward uncovering the truth about the extent to which U.S. agents are carrying out renditions and related practices in Europe. However the report makes clear a number of European governments still need to answer serious questions. The report recognizes that there is “a great deal of coherent, convergent evidence pointing to the existence of a system of 'relocation' or 'outsourcing' of torture.” What is needed now is the cooperation of all countries to ensure that they actively look at what is happening within their territory that may facilitate torture and take appropriate action. “All European countries have an obligation to fully investigate gross human rights violations possibly committed on their territories. Full cooperation is vital. Governments that fail to provide complete and thorough information to the Council will be seen as condoning such abuses,” said Alexandra Arriaga, Director of Government Affairs for Amnesty International USA. “Dick Marty, the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly Rapporteur, has established that allegations of secret detention centers in Europe come from a variety of credible sources. Secret detention sites, extraordinary rendition and a lack of due process violate international law as well as core principles of human decency. How many more reports must be issued before governments act?” stated Arriaga. Amnesty International is urging U.S. Congress to create an independent commission to investigate all aspects of U.S. detention and interrogation practices. In addition, Amnesty International has launched a campaign, “Tell the Truth about Torture, Mr. President,” to urge the President to be honest and forthcoming about the U.S. government’s use of torture in the “war on terror” during his State of the Union address on January 31. Amnesty International supports the call of Marty for a full committee of inquiry, with extensive investigatory powers. ||||| BERLIN, Jan. 24 -- A European human rights investigator on Tuesday accused the United States of "unacceptable and appalling" tactics in the fight against terrorism but said he was unable to independently confirm reports of secret prisons run by the CIA in Eastern Europe. In an interim report presented to the Council of Europe, the continent's official human rights watchdog group, Dick Marty, a Swiss parliamentarian, also accused European governments of either collaborating or looking the other way as U.S. intelligence officers abducted or secretly detained terrorism suspects on European soil. "We can say that there is a great deal of coherent, convergent evidence pointing to the existence of a system of 'relocation' or 'outsourcing' of torture," he wrote in his report, the product of a two-month investigation. "Europe must clearly and unambiguously declare that it refuses outright to tolerate such doings in its territory, or anywhere else." Marty has only limited powers to compel individuals and governments to cooperate. His report offered no fresh evidence to support his allegations, and he relied primarily on media reports and previously documented cases to draw his conclusions. In Washington, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack dismissed the findings as the "same old reports wrapped up in some new rhetoric." The Council of Europe commissioned the investigation after The Washington Post reported in November that the CIA had operated secret prisons for high-level al Qaeda figures in Eastern Europe since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The Post has not published the names of the East European countries involved in the covert program at the request of senior U.S. officials, who argued that it could disrupt counterterrorism efforts and make those nations a target for terrorists. Marty said he could not find any "formal, irrefutable evidence" of CIA detention centers in Eastern Europe. He said he had recently obtained satellite data and flight logs from European agencies that could offer clues, however, and cited other "reliable" sources that justified his ongoing investigation. "I know it will be a long and difficult path," he said in a telephone interview from Council of Europe headquarters in Strasbourg, France, when asked if he expected to find concrete answers. "But as far as the truth is concerned, I am fundamentally optimistic." Marty criticized European governments as being less than candid about their role in or knowledge of U.S. counterterrorism operations on the continent. U.S. officials have said they routinely notify or partner with allied intelligence agencies when conducting such missions. In London, British officials have fended off accusations that they allowed the CIA to use British airspace and military bases to carry out operations known as "extraordinary renditions," the abduction of terrorist suspects who are then handed over to other countries for interrogation. On Monday, Prime Minister Tony Blair said the British government had been "extremely open" about renditions and had received no recent requests from the United States for the use of British airspace. The government has previously said it had received U.S. requests dating before Sept. 11, 2001, but none since then. But a Foreign Office memo written in early December and published by the New Statesman magazine in the issue dated Jan. 23 suggested that the government was not being entirely forthcoming. It advised British officials to "try to avoid getting drawn on detail" about the debate. Citing two renditions that occurred in 1998, the memo said, "The papers we have unearthed so far suggest there could be more such cases." Correspondent Mary Jordan in London, staff writer Glenn Kessler in Washington and special correspondent Shannon Smiley in Berlin contributed to this report. | CIA seal. The Council of Europe is pressing member governments to provide information concerning CIA prisons operating secretly in Europe. In an interim report by the human rights council rapporteur, Swiss senator Dick Marty made public the 42-member nation's preliminary conclusions regarding CIA activity on European Union soil. Marty reported, "Individuals have been abducted, deprived of their liberty and transported to different destinations in Europe, to be handed over to countries in which they have suffered degrading treatment and torture." The report estimates the rendition of "more than a hundred persons." But when it comes right down to it, no irrefutable evidence exists to confirm allegations that the CIA operated secret detention centers in Europe. "There is a great deal of coherent, convergent evidence pointing to the existence of a system of 'relocation' or 'outsourcing of torture'," the report stated while further noting that, "It is highly unlikely that European governments, or at least their intelligence services, were unaware." "Our aim is to find out the truth that is being hidden from us today", he said. He adds that he is afraid of "the pressure put on the media in the United States not to report on this affair." A researcher for Human Rights Watch, John Swift, said; "Cooperation is going to be needed if this investigation is going to succeed. European governments are at a crossroads. They can decide to cooperate with this investigation and uphold European traditions of human rights, or they can continue their romance with the CIA. But they can't do both." The report has also been criticized for appearing to lack new content and to be incomplete. Former minister for Europe and British member of parliament Denis MacShane has said that Marty's report "has more holes than a Swiss cheese." US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack has rejected the report and stated that it was an example of the "same old reports wrapped up in some new rhetoric. There's nothing new here." US Department of Homeland Security secretary Michael Chertoff has stated regarding the US government that "the government acts in accordance with the law and with respect to the sovereignty of host countries in which it operates," and further stated that "The authorities are free to investigate what they want to investigate but we should not allow ourselves to be distracted from the need to identify, prevent and protect against terrorist acts of violence." The group Amnesty International USA is calling for the US Congress to create a commission to investigate detention and interrogation practices. The United States neither confirms nor denies the existence of secret detention centers. |
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia plans to team up with Iran and Turkey to jointly develop what they called the world's first "Islamic" car, complete with features for Muslims, for the world market, Malaysia's Bernama news agency said. The car will incorporate features such as a compass to determine the direction of Mecca for prayers as well as compartments for storing the Koran and headscarves, it quoted the head of Malaysian carmaker Proton Holdings as saying. "We will identify a car that we can develop and produce it in Malaysia, Iran or Turkey," Proton Chief Executive Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir, on a visit to Iran, said. "For Proton, we are more than happy because we have products that we can share," he said, adding that the move could help Proton cut down development costs, increase production volume and improve its economies of scale. In August the state-controlled company reported its fifth straight quarterly loss, as sales continued to slide and its search for a global industry partner dragged on without success. The Malaysian government has indicated it is willing to sell a stake in Proton to a global car maker and has been in separate talks with Volkswagen and General Motors, but so far no agreement has been reached. ||||| By Robin Brant BBC News, Kuala Lumpur Proton believes it may have found a huge gap in the market Proton is planning on teaming up with manufacturers in Iran and Turkey to create the unique vehicle. The car could boast special features like a compass pointing to Mecca and a dedicated space to keep a copy of the Koran and a headscarf. The idea came during a visit to the Middle East by a delegation of Malaysian politicians and businessmen. Malaysian press reports say officials in Iran originally suggested the idea. Safety features or fuel economy is one way of selling a car, but Proton thinks vehicles designed specifically for Muslims across the world represent a huge gap in the market. Proton is the most dominant car on the streets here but the company has suffered recently after the government allowed more foreign cars to be imported. The firm has been in talks recently with VW about a takeover by the German car giant. ||||| Report: Malaysia's Proton plans to make 'Islamic cars' with Iran, Turkey KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia: Malaysian national carmaker Proton plans to team up with companies in Iran and Turkey to produce "Islamic cars" for the global market, a news report said Sunday. Proposed by Iran, the collaboration would include installing features in automobiles such as a compass to determine the direction of Mecca for prayers, and compartments for storing the Quran and headscarves, Proton's Managing Director Syed Zainal Abidin told national news agency Bernama. "What they (Iran) want to do is to call that an Islamic car," he was quoted as saying while on a visit in Iran. "The car will have all the Islamic features and should be meant for export purposes. We will identify a car that we can develop to be produced in Malaysia, Iran or Turkey," Syed Zainal said. The report didn't give further details. Syed Zainal and other Proton officials couldn't be reached Sunday for comment. Proton is aggressively seeking to raise exports and boost sales as its domestic market share fell to 23 percent, from about 60 percent five years ago. The state-owned carmaker has been in talks with Germany's Volkswagen AG and General Motors Corp. of the U.S. about a possible alliance to turn around its fortunes. Proton reported a loss of 591.36 million ringgit (US$169 million; €118 million) in the 2007 financial year. In the three months ended June 30, it posted its fifth quarterly loss of 46.75 million ringgit (US$13 million; €9 million). For years, Proton thrived in a protected environment in which high duties were imposed on imported vehicles, forcing many Malaysians to buy Proton cars. But duties have been slowly lowered in line with a regional trade agreement, and more Malaysians are buying imported vehicles. | 200px Proton, a car company in Malaysia has announced that it plans to begin building a car specifically for Muslims. They will work with other car makers in Iran and Turkey to build an "Islamic" car, which would the first car of its kind and will be unlike any other car on the world's market. "What they (Iran) want to do is to call that an Islamic car. We will identify a car that we can develop and produce it in Malaysia, Iran or Turkey. For Proton, we are more than happy because we have products that we can share," said Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir, the chief executive of Proton. The idea was originally proposed by Iran. Features are to include a compartment for the person's headscarf and Qur'an as well as a compass that will constantly point in the direction of Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Currently, Volkswagen which is headquartered in Germany, is in negotiations to partner with Proton and American automaker General Motors Corporation. Proton has been posting financial losses, with over US$160 million lost in 2007 alone. |
Mr Key's National Party won 45% of the vote, against 34% for Labour New Zealand's prime minister-elect John Key has formed a cabinet, promising to focus on the economy amid recession. The top four men - Mr Key, Bill English, Gerry Brownlee and Simon Power - will cover tourism, finance, economic development, energy and justice. Veteran MP Murray McCully is named foreign affairs minister and ex-diplomat Tim Groser will cover trade. Of the 20-member cabinet, six are women, one is a first-time MP and six have less than three years' experience. Eight other ministers will work outside cabinet. The first-time member of parliament, Steven Joyce, was made minister of transport, in an apparent reward for successfully managing Mr Key's campaign. A second surprise was the award of the big-budget social development portfolio to Paula Bennett, who only became an MP in 2005. The eight extra ministers outside cabinet include five from three allied minor parties. Because the ministers from the Act party, United Future and Maori Party will not sit in cabinet, they will be allowed to oppose government policy outside their own portfolios. Mr Key, a multi-millionaire former investment banker, has worked fast to form a government ahead of being signed in on Wednesday so he can leave for a summit in Peru the next day. Economic challenge "The National-led government takes office at a challenging time for the country," Mr Key said after announcing his line-up. "The growth outlook is weak, and international and domestic difficulties abound. "This government will concentrate on boosting economic growth because that is what will lead us out of these challenging times," he said. New Zealand media quoted business leaders expressing approval of the new conservative administration. New Zealand entered recession in the first half of the year, and last week the outgoing government warned that prospects for a recovery had worsened due to the global turmoil. During the campaign Mr Key promised that his government would accelerate tax cuts, increase help for people who lose their jobs and expand infrastructure investment. Mr Key ended Helen Clark's nine years as leader of New Zealand in elections on 8 November. Ms Clark has resigned as leader of the Labour Party and is widely expected to embark on a new international career. Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? E-mail this to a friend Printable version ||||| The incoming National government will completely review the emissions trading scheme (ETS) - possibly including the science that says humans are to blame for climate change - as part of its support deal with Act. But Prime Minister-elect John Key is still confident an amended ETS will be passed into law before the end of next year. National campaigned on watering down the existing legislation within nine months to reduce what it said were barriers to economic growth. But Act campaigned on scrapping the ETS and has questioned whether human-induced climate change actually exists. Under Act's support agreement a "special select committee" will be set up to review the current ETS and any proposed amendments "in light of the current economic circumstances". A draft terms of reference for the review attached to the agreement, includes hearing "competing views on the scientific aspects of climate change" and looking at the merits of a "mitigation or adaptation approach". It also includes looking at the merits of an ETS, as opposed to a carbon tax, and the timing of any future climate change interventions. The deal requires the National government to pass immediate legislation delaying the implementation of the ETS until the review is complete. It also requires the lifting of a ban imposed this year on non-essential new fossil fuel-based power generation. Mr Key today played down the significance of the draft terms of reference for the review, saying they were a proposal from Act and the final terms would be altered after National input. He said he personally believed human-induced climate change was real and it was still possible National would pass an amended ETS into law within the time-frame it had promised - which "broadly speaking" was the end of September next year. If that deadline could not be met he was confident changes could be passed before the end of 2009. He said that would give businesses enough certainty as the existing scheme did not take effect until 2010. "I'm quite confident the select committee will come up with what we always wanted which is more balance in this whole debate." Mr Key said lifting of the ban on fossil-fuel power generation would not lead to a blow-out in emissions as planned Resource Management Act changes would make it easier for companies to get the green light for large-scale renewable projects. Mr Hide said he was happy with the "fundamental review" of the legislation, given that Act had only won 3.7 per cent of the vote. "We look forward to having a proper consideration ... of the whole scheme." - NZPA By Grant Fleming ||||| Key Points: Prime Minister elect John Key has announced the formation of a National-led centre-right government. At a joint press conference with ACT leader Rodney Hide today, Mr Key announced he had formally signed up Act's support. Click here for the full agreement This afternoon, Mr Key and Maori Party leaders Tariana Turia and Pita Sharples also announced the terms of their support agreement. Click here for the full agreement Mr Key said United Future had also agreed to back National, giving his government 70 votes on confidence and supply issues in the incoming 122-member Parliament. He said he had phoned Governor-General Anand Satyanand this morning to formally tell him he had the numbers to form a government. Mr Key's formal inking of the deals paves the way for him to announce his Cabinet tomorrow afternoon and for him and his ministers to be sworn in on Wednesday. That will allow Mr Key to fly out on Thursday to the Apec summit in Peru as New Zealand's new Prime Minister. Parliament will be recalled to sit on December 8 for two weeks. Under this afternoon's Maori Party agreement, Dr Sharples will become Maori Affairs Minister as well as as Associate Education Minister and Associate Corrections Minister. Mrs Turia will be Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector, Associate Health Minister and Associate Social Development Minister. Both party leaders' posts are outside of Cabinet with the right to dissent on other policy issues outside portfolio areas. National has also agreed not to remove the Maori seats without the consent of Maori and to a review of the Foreshore and Seabed Act. Mr Key said National and Act's agreement was based on the common goals of reining in government spending and boosting economic growth. It includes ministerial roles outside Cabinet for Mr Hide and deputy Heather Roy as well as policy concessions. Mr Hide will be appointed Minister of Local Government, Minister for Regulatory Reform and Associate Minister of Commerce. Mrs Roy will be Minister of Consumer Affairs and Associate Minister of Defence and Education. Policy concessions include an advisory group to look at ways of closing the income gap with Australia by 2025 and task forces to review government spending. National will also support legislation on ACT's hardline "three-strikes" sentencing policy for violent offenders to the select committee stage and a complete review of climate change policy settings. While the climate change review takes place, implementation of the emissions trading scheme (ETS) will be delayed. The current ban on non essential new fossil fuel-based electricity generation will also be scrapped. Mr Key said National still backed an amended ETS and he expected one to be passed before the end of next year. He said National and ACT were committed to stable government. "There is a recognition from both sides that in order to promote strong growth in investment, employment and incomes, stable government and high levels of business confidence are required." Mr Hide said the agreement formed the bedrock for a long-term relationship. "All our discussions this week indicate we have the basis for a long-lasting fruitful relationship based on that mutual respect. United Future leader, and the party's sole MP, Peter Dunne concluded negotiations with National last week, saying a deal had been agreed and was waiting to be signed. The Maori Party also said last week it had completed a draft agreement with National, but wanted to consult its supporters at a series of hui before it signed a deal. That deal will be signed at a joint press conference later today and Mr Key will also hold a joint press conference with Mr Dunne. Mr Dunne and Maori Party co-leaders Pita Sharples and Tariana Turia will also be given ministerial positions outside of Cabinet. Because the three support parties will hold positions outside Cabinet, they are not part of what will formally be a National minority government. The arrangement will also allow those parties to continue to criticise National on areas outside their ministerial responsibility. - NZPA ||||| John Key has said the country has "voted for change" after his National Party won the election tonight. He described the Labour term in government as "nine long years" and said: "New Zealand has so much more potential." Key spoke at National Party headquarters after Helen Clark said she will stand down as Labour Party leader. National won 45.5 per cent of the vote to Labour's 33.8 per cent, giving National 59 seats. It will form a coalition of 65 MPs with Act's 5 seats and Peter Dunne from United Future. Key said New Zealand had spoken. "Let me start by thanking every New Zealander who has cast their vote for National. Thank you for your support and thank you for your trust." He said some people had stuck with National for "nine long years". "Tonight your patience has been rewarded." Others had not voted for National. "Let me say this: whether you voted for National or not, tonight you have my pledge - I will lead a government that serves the interests of every New Zealander and it will be a government that values individuals' achievement and it will be a government that supports those that cannot support themselves and it will be a government we can all be part of." Mr Key paid tribute to Helen Clark. While the opposing leaders shared different views "we share a love for this country". "I've always admired her dedication to the job, her ferocious work ethic and her desire to make New Zealand a better country." He confirmed the next government would involve National, Act and United Future and said he would hold dialogue with the Maori Party. "This is not as good as it gets. Yes we face challenges, but we will rise to them." Helen Clark won her Mt Albert seat with 17,286 votes with a majority of 8,591. Her closest opponent, National's Ravi Musuku, won 8,591. Clark Clark said at Labour Party HQ tonight: "Tonight is a night for the winners to savour but we won't be going away." She warned against what Labour had achieved "going up in the flames of right wing of politics" before revealing she would stand down. "My job as Labour leader is done." She said the new leader, who she expected would be appointed before Christmas, would have her full loyalty and support. Helen Clark made the announcement after telling the Labour party faithful that she accepted the responsibility for the Labour loss. She congratulated John Key on his victory. "So with that, it's over and out from me. Thank you once again and thank you New Zealand for the privilege of being prime minister for the last nine years." Hide Rodney Hide told his Act supporters at Orakei RSA that Key had just rung to congratulate him. Hide said Key told him they would meet on Monday to discuss the formation of a new government. Former National prime minister Jenny Shipley described the results as a thrashing. "I think John Key is going to make a fine prime minister. I'm thrilled," she said. Several high profile Labour MPs have lost their seats. Judith Tizard has been tipped out of the Auckland Central seat she has held since 1996 by National's Nikki Kaye, a 28-year-old businesswoman and relative newcomer to politics. The historic West-Coast-Tasman has fallen to National's Chris Auchinvole with Damien O'Connor the casualty. Harry Duynhoven has lost his New Plymouth seat in a substantial swing to National and Jonathan Young. Mr Duynhoven, the Minister for Transport Safety and Associate Minister of Energy, is not on the Labour list, so will be out of Parliament. Labour has also lost the most marginal seat in New Zealand. Otaki, held by Labour by just 382 votes, has fallen to National's Nathan Guy who claimed the seat over Darren Hughes. Up and comer Hughes, though, may get back into Parliament on his high list position for Labour. Meanwhile, Winston Peters, one of New Zealand's most flamboyant politicians, has lost his place in Parliament, for the first time in more than 30 years. Conceding defeat, he congratulated National's Simon Bridges and said it was all about democracy. However, he told supporters and reporters that "this is not the end.". Progressive Leader Jim Anderton has congratulated Key on his victory and wished him well, but he is promising to keep a close eye on the incoming right wing government from opposition. "I'm going to enjoy the next three years in a way. I'm a good guerilla fighter and there's a lot to fight for I can tell you." Act had a strong showing with 3.7 per cent of the vote. ||||| Implementing the emissions trading scheme To allow a smooth transition across the economy, the emissions trading scheme will be phased in across sectors between 2008 and 2013. By 2013 all major sectors will be included. There will also be transitional assistance to the forestry, industry, fishing and agriculture sectors and to households to support their adjustment to emissions pricing. The emissions trading scheme will be linked to the international market in units accepted under the Kyoto Protocol, and will be able to support bilateral linkages to other domestic trading schemes in the future. The scheme is designed to be flexible to accommodate New Zealand’s future international climate change obligations. Further regulations will be developed to support implementation of the emissions trading scheme. For example, regulations will provide more detailed information on sectoral methodologies for calculating and reporting emissions and management of transactions under of the New Zealand Emissions Unit Register. Information on implementing the emissions trading scheme: Timeline of the emissions trading scheme Text description of timeline The forestry sector will be the first to enter the scheme, with landowners assuming unit obligations for eligible deforestation emissions and the opportunity to earn units for eligible afforestation activity as of January 2008. The stationary energy and industrial process sectors will assume unit obligations under the scheme in January 2010, followed by the liquid fossil fuels (mainly transport) sector in January 2011. The final sectors to enter the scheme – agriculture, waste and synthetic gases – will assume unit obligations in January 2013. Later entrants to the scheme (ie, the liquid fossil fuels, agriculture, waste and synthetic gas sectors) will have an “on ramp” into the scheme through voluntary reporting starting two years before their unit obligations commence, and mandatory reporting starting one year before their unit obligations commence. | New Zealand's incoming government will delay the implementation of the country's emissions trading scheme (ETS) pending a full inquiry into climate change. The decision was revealed in the National Party's confidence and supply agreement with the ACT Party. The agreement commits National to a review of climate change policy by a special select committee of Parliament. Prime Minister of New Zealand. The review will include the emissions trading scheme and possible alternatives to it, as well as "hearing competing views on the scientific aspects of climate change" and considering whether responding to climate change is economically worthwhile. Implementation of the ETS would be delayed until the review is complete — a process expected to take at least a year. The ETS requires companies emitting greenhouse gases to cover their emissions with permits. The legislation was passed on September 10, 2008, and provides for a phased implementation, with forestry entering the scheme immediately, industrial and energy sector emissions entering in 2010, and transport fuels in 2011. The National Party won a victory over the Labour Party in last week's elections, and has formed a new government cabinet, led by prime minister-elect John Key. |
Photo: EPA The US president abruptly altered the timing of his appearance at the conference, hoping to capitalise on steps by India and China in the effort to agree a new global warming pact, Robert Gibbs, the White House official press secretary, said. "The president believes that continued US leadership can be most productive through his participation at the end of the Copenhagen conference on December 18th rather than on December 9th," Mr Gibbs said in a statement. "There are still outstanding issues that must be negotiated for an agreement to be reached, but this decision reflects the president's commitment to doing all that he can to pursue a positive outcome." Mr Obama had earlier planned to stop at the summit on Wednesday on his way to Nobel Peace Prize events in Oslo. The move means that Mr Obama will be squeezing in a separate, 10th foreign trip before Christmas - a record pace of travel for a first-year president - as a means to giving momentum to a deal aimed at fighting global warming. Mr Obama will now leave for Oslo late Wednesday, attend Nobel events on Thursday and return to Washington on Friday. ||||| President Obama believes US leadership will be key US President Barack Obama has changed his plans to attend the UN summit on climate change in Copenhagen next week, the White House has announced. He will arrive later than initially planned, moving his appearance from 9 December to 18 December. The White House said he believed "that continued US leadership can be most productive through his participation at the end of the Copenhagen conference". The summit aims to draw up a treaty to succeed the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. The president had changed his plans after talks with other leaders and after seeing "the progress that has already been made to give momentum to negotiations". The BBC's Paul Adams in Washington says the White House clearly believes President Obama's presence in Copenhagen, right at the end of the summit, could improve the chances of a deal being struck. Climate fund support US representatives will attend the Copenhagen summit throughout negotiations, the White House said. President Obama's presence is an expression of the growing political momentum towards sealing an ambitious climate deal in Copenhagen Lars Lokke Rasmussen, Danish PM It said the president believed recent progress included the emissions reduction target announced by the US; China and India setting targets for the first time to reduce their carbon intensity and moves by members of the Commonwealth. The White House said the president had discussed the state of the negotiations with Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. He concluded there appeared to be growing support for the suggested $10bn annual fund to help developing countries deal with climate change. The White House said the US would pay its "fair share". "There are still outstanding issues that must be negotiated for an agreement to be reached, but this decision (to delay his arrival) reflects the president's commitment to doing all that he can to pursue a positive outcome," the White House said in a statement. Mr Brown welcomed Mr Obama's move, a spokesman said. Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen echoed Mr Brown. He said: "President Obama's presence is an expression of the growing political momentum towards sealing an ambitious climate deal in Copenhagen. Martin Kaiser, Greenpeace International's political climate coordinator, said in a statement: "After a global outcry, President Obama... has come to his senses and accepted the importance of this potentially historic meeting." Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? E-mail this to a friend Printable version | US president Barack Obama decided to arrive to Copenhagen climate change summit on December 18, contrasting with his previous plan to arrive on December 9. Obama's Nobel Peace Prize events take place in Oslo around December 1. He decided not to go to Copenhagen before them, delaying his arrival instead. The purpose of the summit is to finalize a treaty to succeed the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. Robert Gibbs, the White House official press secretary, commented, saying that presence of the USA president at later days might encourage more serious results: "The president believes that continued US leadership can be most productive through his participation at the end of the Copenhagen conference on December 18th rather than on December 9th. There are still outstanding issues that must be negotiated for an agreement to be reached, but this decision reflects the president's commitment to doing all that he can to pursue a positive outcome." Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen welcomed Mr Obama's move, saying that "President Obama's presence is an expression of the growing political momentum towards sealing an ambitious climate deal in Copenhagen." Greenpeace International's political climate coordinator Martin Kaiser also talked about the timetable plan change optimistically: "After a global outcry, President Obama has listened to the people and other world leaders; he has come to his senses and accepted the importance of this potentially historic meeting. Now that he has moved the date, he needs to move his targets and his financial contribution to be in line with what climate science demands." The decision of the President came after his talk with Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. Some commentators say that the President could have felt the world leaders' optimistic approaches to the December forum, therefore deciding to delay his invigorative arrival to a more critical point. |
Mrs Abse's husband, writer Dannie Abse, was injured in the accident Mrs Abse, 78, and her husband, poet Dannie Abse, were returning home after attending a poetry reading in Porthcawl on Monday evening. Mr Abse suffered broken ribs in the crash and is recovering at the family home in Ogmore with his children. Joan Abse's most recent book was an anthology of letters written from Wales over the last 800 years. Her publisher Cary Archard said Joan, who was originally from Lancashire, was a noted art critic and had published a number of books on art and galleries. "She was a lovely, intelligent, compassionate woman," he said. "She seemed to be ego-less, she always had time for you. "She was a true scholar, and her husband Dannie would have been a different writer if it wasn't for her." South Wales Police are appealing for witnesses to the incident, which happened between Pyle and Bridgend, to contact the Roads Policing Unit on 01656 655555. ||||| Home About this site Authors Awards and prizes News Events Search entire site Search authors Author name Gender m f Nationality American American/British Australian British British/American British/Irish British/Jamaican Canadian Dutch Egyptian/British English German Ghanaian Guyanese Guyanese/British Indian Irish Irish/British Jamaican Kenyan Malawian Montserratian Nigerian Nigerian/British Scottish South African South African/British Trinidadian Unknown Welsh Zimbabwean Genre Autobiography Biography Children Crime Criticism Drama Essays Fiction Libretto Literary criticism Literary journalism Non-fiction Poetry Radio drama Romance Science-fiction Screenplay Short stories Song lyrics Textbooks/study guides Translation Travel Young adult Book title Publisher Dannie Abse Genres | Bibliography | Prizes and awards | Critical perspective Printer-friendly version Biography Poet Dannie Abse was born on 22 September 1923 in Cardiff to Jewish parents. He studied Medicine in Wales and at King's College, London, qualifying as a doctor in 1950. His first collection of poetry After Every Green Thing, was published in 1948, and he has continued to combine his careers as both a doctor (he was a specialist at the Central Medical Establishment chest clinic between 1954 and 1989) and writer, aspects of his life that, together with his Jewish background and Welsh nationality, are integral themes in his poetry. Dannie Abse was Senior Fellow of the Humanities at Princeton University (1973-4), and President of the Poetry Society (1978-92). He became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1983, Fellow of the Welsh Academy of Letters in 1992 (President 1995-), Honorary Fellow at the University of Wales College of Medicine (1999), and was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Universities of Wales (1989) and Glamorgan (1997). He was given a Cholmondeley Award in 1985. His poetry collections include Selected Poems (1970), winner of a Welsh Arts Council Literature Award; Pythagoras (1979); Way Out in the Centre (1981); Ask the Bloody Horse (1986); and White Coat, Purple Coat: Collected Poems 1948-1988 (1989). He has also published fiction, including Ash on a Young Man's Sleeve (1954) and O. Jones, O. Jones (1970), as well as non-fiction and plays, and he has edited many poetry anthologies. Goodbye, Twentieth Century: An Autobiography (2001), includes and updates his first volume of autobiography, A Poet in the Family (1974). His most recent book is The Strange Case of Dr Simmonds & Dr Glas (2002), a novel set in 1950s London. Dannie Abse is married to the art historian Joan Mercer, with whom he has edited two books, Voices in the Gallery: Poems and Pictures (1986) and The Music Lover's Literary Companion (1988). He lives in Glamorgan, South Wales. Top of page Genres (in alphabetical order) Autobiography, Drama, Fiction, Non-fiction, Poetry Top of page Bibliography After Every Green Thing Hutchinson, 1948 Walking Under Water Hutchinson, 1952 Ash on a Young Man's Sleeve Hutchinson, 1954 Fire in Heaven Hutchinson, 1956 Some Corner of an English Field Hutchinson, 1956 Mavericks: An Anthology (editor with Howard Sergeant) Editions Poetry and Poverty, 1957 Tenants of the House: Poems 1951-1956 Hutchinson, 1957 Poems, Golders Green Hutchinson, 1962 Poems! Dannie Abse: A Selection Vista, 1963 Modern European Verse (editor) Vista, 1964 Medicine on Trial Aldus, 1967 Three Questor Plays Scorpion, 1967 A Small Desperation Hutchinson, 1968 Demo Sceptre Press, 1969 O. Jones, O. Jones Hutchinson, 1970 Selected Poems Hutchinson, 1970 Modern Poets in Focus 1 (editor) Corgi, 1971 Modern Poets in Focus 3 (editor) Corgi, 1971 Thirteen Poets (editor) Poetry Book Society, 1972 Funland and Other Poems Hutchinson, 1973 Modern Poets in Focus 5 (editor) Corgi, 1973 The Dogs of Pavlov Vallantine, M., 1973 A Poet in the Family Hutchinson, 1974 Penguin Modern Poets 26 (Dannie Abse, D. J. Enright and Michael Longley) Penguin, 1975 Collected Poems 1948-1976 Hutchinson, 1977 More Words BBC, 1977 My Medical School Robson, 1978 Pythagoras Hutchinson, 1979 Way Out in the Centre Hutchinson, 1981 A Strong Dose of Myself Hutchinson, 1983 Doctors and Patients (editor) Oxford University Press, 1984 Ask the Bloody Horse Hutchinson, 1986 Journals From the Ant Heap Hutchinson, 1986 Voices in the Gallery: Poems and Pictures (editor with Joan Abse) Tate Gallery, 1986 The Music Lover's Literary Companion (editor with Joan Abse) Robson, 1988 The Hutchinson Book of Post-War British Poetry (editor) Hutchinson, 1989 White Coat, Purple Coat: Collected Poems 1948-1988 Hutchinson, 1989 People (contributor) National Language Unit of Wales, 1990 Remembrance of Crimes Past: Poems 1986-1989 Hutchinson, 1990 The View from Row G: Three Plays Seren, 1990 There Was A Young Man From Cardiff Hutchinson, 1991 Intermittent Journals Seren, 1994 On the Evening Road Hutchinson, 1994 Selected Poems Penguin, 1994 The Gregory Anthology 1991-1993 (editor with A. Stevenson) Sinclair-Stevenson, 1994 Twentieth-Century Anglo-Welsh Poetry (editor) Seren, 1997 Welsh Retrospective Seren, 1997 Arcadia, One Mile Hutchinson, 1998 Encounters Hearing Eye, 2001 Goodbye, Twentieth Century: An Autobiography Pimlico, 2001 Top of page Prizes and awards 1960 Charles Henry Foyle House of Cowards (play) 1970 Jewish Chronicle Book Award Selected Poems 1970 Welsh Arts Council Literature Award Selected Poems 1979 Welsh Arts Council Literature Award Pythagoras 1985 Cholmondeley Award Top of page Critical Perspective Although Dannie Abse began in the 1950s as a poet disenchanted with the Movement orthodoxies then prevalent, and influenced by the example of Dylan Thomas, in the end his large body of work, in its rational clarity, is closer to Movement virtues than to Thomas's dithyrambics. He is warmer, more human than the Movement poets, though. His lifetime's work as a doctor has given him a grounding in human frailty and reality that many poets lack. Jewish matters often inform his poems and he sometimes uses Biblical parable or folk tale or at least their cadences, as in the early poem 'Song for Dov Shamir': 'Praying is another way of singing. You plant in the tree the soul of lemons. You plant in the gardens the spirit of roses.' Wales, his life as a doctor, suburban life in north London - all come under his ruminative gaze. He likes to contrast the mores of Soho where he worked with Golders Green where he lives: 'It's a nice clean, quiet, religious place. For my part, now and then, I want to scream: Thus, by my neighbours, am considered odd. ... It's a nice, loud, dirty, irreligious place. For my part, now and then, I want to scream: Thus, by Soho friends, am considered odd.' ('Odd') His work as a doctor specialising in chest ailments informs both poems about direct medical experiences and about science generally. His attitude could be summed up as: science is good but is not to be trusted; art is good but is not to be trusted. In 'The Pathology of Colours' he says: 'I know the colour rose, and it is lovely, But not when it ripens in a tumour.' He makes an emblem of the white coat for the scientist/doctor and the purple coat for the poet. This concept is so important for him that, besides furnishing a poem, 'White Coat, Purple Coat', is the title of his Collected Poems White Coat, Purple Coat: Collected Poems 1948-1989 (1989): 'but in the white a man will freeze / and in the purple burn' ('Son of Pythagoras').' But the benefits of medicine and intellectual elan of science are not scorned: 'Today, an x-ray on this oblong light Clear that was not clear. No pneumothorax, No deforming thoracoplasty. No flaw. The patient nods, accepts it as his right.' ('Tuberculosis') In 'Letter to Alex Comfort' he celebrates the bold pioneers of science and medicine, from Archimedes to Koch and Ehrlich: 'That Greek one, then, is my hero who watched the bath water Rise above his navel, and rushed out naked, 'I found it, I found it' into the street in all his shining and forgot That others would only stare at his genitals. What laughter!' ('Letter to Alex Comfort') Dannie Abse's White Coat, Purple Coat: Collected Poems 1948-1989 were published in 1989, since when there have been two new collections, Remembrance of Crimes Past (1990) and On the Evening Road (1994). Over time his preoccupations with Jewish matters has increased. Remembrance of Crimes Past has 'White Balloon - 'Dear Love, Auschwitz made me / more of a Jew than Moses ever did...' - and On the Evening Road has a poem cleverly exploring the two poles of the Jewish story through the medium 'Of Two Languages': 'Say now in Yiddish: "Exile, Pogrom, Wanderer. Holocaust". Say now in Hebrew: "Blessed Art Thou O Lord".' Author photograph: © Elsa Corbluth Top of page ||||| A Facebook group of parents and school staff claims there have been almost three times as many Covid cases in schools as the HSE has reported since institutions reopened this month. The group, Alerting parents of outbreaks in schools, has more than 131,000 members, and uses school notices posted by parents and staff to gather data on the...A Facebook group of parents and school staff claims there have been almost three times as many Covid cases in schools as the HSE has reported since institutions reopened this month. The group, Alerting parents of outbreaks in schools, has more than 131,000 members, and uses school notices posted by parents and staff to gather data on the...A Facebook group of parents and school staff claims there have been almost three times as many Covid cases in schools as the... | Welsh poet Dannie Abse (81) and his wife Joan (78) were involved in a car crash while driving from Golders Green to their holiday home in Ogmore-by-Sea, South Wales. Mrs. Abse died instantly; Mr Abse suffered a broken rib. The driver of the other vehicle was unhurt. The couple was returning from a poetry reading that they both had given. Dannie Abse is an esteemed Jewish writer who lives in Glamorgan, South Wales. Joan Abse, his wife, was an art historian and writer. Dannie Abse is well-known for being a poet and a medical doctor. Abse, in fact, was a specialist at a chest clinic for over thirty years. But Abse is best known for his writings and has received numerous literary awards and fellowships. In 1989, he received an honorary doctorate from the Universities of Wales. The couple worked together editing two books in the 1980s. Joan Abse leaves behind her husband, a son, and two daughters. |
Drone attacks have stirred anger in Pakistan as they often result in civilian casualties [AFP] At least 14 people have been killed in an attack by suspected US drone aircraft in Pakistan's North Waziristan region. Up to 18 missiles were fired at targets in Dattakhel village, close to the border with Afghanistan, security officials said on Tuesday morning. It was the third drone attack since US officials said Taliban from the region were behind a failed bombing in New York's Times Square on May 1. "Three missiles hit a vehicle and three militants sitting in it were killed," an intelligence official in the region said. The drones then attacked a nearby compound used by fighters, firing about 12 missiles into it. "The militants have cordoned off the area. So far they've retrieved 11 bodies from the debris," a second security official said. "The death toll may rise because the militants are still searching for bodies." Identities unclear Al Jazeera's Kamal Hyder, reporting from the capital, Islamabad, said the attack lasted for up 20-25 minutes. "According to reports from the area, up to 18 missiles were fired against targets on the ground. These were encampments and vehicles." There was no word on the identity of any of the fighters killed but the attack was in an area where members of an Afghan Taliban faction led by a commander known as Gul Bahadur operate. Foreign fighters linked to al-Qaeda are said to be in the area as well as Pakistani Taliban fighters fleeing an army offensive in South Waziristan. Drone attacks have stirred anger in Pakistan as they often result in civilian casualties. According to statistics compiled by Pakistani authorities, more than 90 per cent of the 708 people killed in attacks targeting the tribal areas in 2009 were civilians. Mosharraf Zaidi, a journalist in Islamabad, said the killings of innocent people were feeding into "the radicalisation agenda and narrative that many people in Pakistan are subject to." "If the only metric of success is to kill members of al-Qaeda and the Taliban, then certainly [drone attacks] have been successful," he told Al Jazeera. "But if the objective is to win the global war on terror and to defeat the radicalisation agenda in this part of the world, and ensure that we're not creating new terrorists and new recruits for al-Qaeda and the Taliban, then ... I think there are a lot of questions." Attacks to expand Last week, officials said that the US intelligence agency had been granted approval by the government to expand drone strikes in Pakistan's tribal regions in a move to step up military operations against Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters. Targets would now include low-level combatants, even if their identities were not known. Last month, Hakimullah Mehsud, the leader of the Pakistani Taliban who was previously thought killed by a missile from a drone, appeared in internet videos threatening suicide attacks in the US. Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, said Washington expects more co-operation from Pakistan in fighting terrorism and warned of "severe consequences" if an attack on US soil were traced back to the country. Faisal Shahzad, the suspect in the Times Square bombingattempt, has reportedly claimed to have visited a Taliban camp in the Waziristan region. CIA-operated drones have frequently targeted the group over the past year, and its members have vowed to avenge strikes that have killed several of their commanders. Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Pakistan's foreign minister, told CBS television channel last week that the US should not be surprised if fighters try to carry out more attacks. "They're not going to sort of sit and welcome you [to] sort of eliminate them. They're going to fight back," Qureshi said. ||||| US Missile Strikes Kill 24 in NW Pakistan Photo: AFP – Bonny Schoonakker Two U.S. missile strikes Tuesday in Pakistan's semi-autonomous tribal region of North Waziristan killed at least 24 suspected militants. Pakistani security officials say the targets of the missile strike were located in the Dattakhel district of the North Waziristan tribal region. More than a dozen missiles fired by a U.S drone struck a compound and nearby vehicles. The area borders Afghanistan and is considered a stronghold of Pakistani as well as al-Qaida fighters. The militants are blamed for cross-border attacks on U.S.-led coalition forces. Suspected U.S. drones have carried out scores of missile strikes in the Waziristan region in recent years, killing hundreds of alleged militants. The government has no control over most of the mountainous territory and it is not possible to seek an independent confirmation of the damages in drone attacks because journalists are not allowed to go there. There have been several drone missile strikes in North Waziristan since a failed attempt to detonate a car bomb May first in New York. The attempted terrorist act has refocused international attention on the tribal region because the Pakistan-born American citizen detained in connection with the incident has allegedly told U.S investigators he received training in the Waziristan region. American officials also believe the Pakistani Taliban were behind the bomb plot and have formally requested Islamabad to help investigate those links. Speaking to reporters, Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi reiterated his country's support, saying the two countries are closely cooperating to defeat terrorism. But he would not discuss the status of the ongoing investigation. "Pakistan has been cooperating, and the U.S authorities have recognized Pakistan's active cooperative role in finding out the truth behind this incident. But it is premature to make a value judgment at this stage because it is an evolving situation. Investigation are yet not complete," Qureshi said. U.S Secretary of State Hilary Clinton has warned of serious consequences if a successful terrorist attack on America is traced back to Pakistan. Foreign Minister Qureshi says such statements are unlikely to undermine his country's ties with Washington. "There is no need for, in my opinion, emotional reaction to some of the statements that have been made. There is nothing to worry (about)," he adds. "Our relationship is smooth and it is moving towards a partnership." But opposition politicians and independent observers say when U.S leaders publicly criticize their close ally, while the New York incident is under investigation, it fuels anti-America sentiment in the country. Wasim Sajjad is the opposition leader in Senate, the upper house of Pakistani parliament. "The people of Pakistan react adversely to such comments and it does have an impact on them. If it does not have an impact at the government level I would not know," said Sajjad. "But I can tell you that the parliament has reacted, the people have reacted and they have not liked this (U.S) reaction because there are terrorist incidents all over." Pakistan has conducted major anti-Taliban military operations particularly in its tribal regions near the Afghan border. The militants, in return, have carried out deadly attacks on security forces and civilian targets across the country. | At least fourteen people in Pakistan's region have been killed in drone strikes earlier today by suspected US . The attacks happened in the village, located near the Afghanistan border; as many as eighteen missiles were fired at targets, according to security authorities. A local intelligence official said that "Three missiles hit a vehicle and three militants sitting in it were killed." A nearby compound used by rebels was also attacked; around a dozen missiles were fired by drones. The dead in that attack are alleged to have been fighters. A reporter for Al Jazeera says the strikes lasted from twenty to 25 minutes. "The militants have cordoned off the area. So far they've retrieved 11 bodies from the debris. The death toll may rise because the militants are still searching for bodies," an unnamed security official commented. |
View larger image An Afghan victim of a suicide car bombing in Kandahar is carried into a hospital in Chaman, Pakistan for treatment, Monday, Feb. 18, 2008. (AP / Shah Khalid) The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack that took place near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border on Monday, Feb. 18, 2008. View larger image A Canadian soldier of the International Security Assistance Force takes pictures from his damaged vehicle in Spin Boldak, Afghanistan on Monday, Feb. 18, 2008. (AP / Allauddin Khan) Bombing kills 38 Afghan civilians, wounds Canadians CTV.ca News Staff The Taliban is reportedly claiming responsibility for a suicide bombing that targeted a convoy of Canadian soldiers but killed 38 Afghan civilians. Monday's attack occurred in Spin Boldak, near the border with Pakistan. Four Canadian soldiers were injured in the blast. "A white Toyota Corolla car rammed the second vehicle in the (military) convoy as it passed through the bazaar," said Abdul Hakim, who witnessed the attack from his grocery store. "Then there was a huge explosion. It was dust. I do not know what happened to me." Hakim spoke to reporters from a hospital bed in Chaman, Pakistan. The border had been temporarily closed because of Pakistan's election, but was re-opened to allow the wounded to be taken to hospital for treatment. Mohammed Akhtar, a doctor at the Chaman hospital, said nine Afghan civilians had been treated there, with one dying. Kandahar Gov. Asadullah Khalid said many of the 30 civilians wounded are in critical condition. He warned the death toll could still rise. Khalid told The Canadian Press that NATO had been advised to stay out of the area because a suicide bomber had been circulating there. "But they continue patrolling the area. We repeatedly told them not to come out until we arrest the suicide bomber." A Canadian military spokesman said the Forces makes the decisions on where to patrol. "We regularly receive threat warnings and obviously we go where we want to, when we want to in our area of operation," said Lt.-Cmdr. Pierre Babinsky. "We obviously take notice of these warnings but our aim is to operate freely within our area of operation despite those." All four injured Canadian soldiers were able to phone their families themselves, and three have since been released from hospital. Attack condemned Squadron Leader Peter Darling, a spokesman for NATO's International Security Assistance Force in southern Afghanistan, said ISAF forces provided medical assistance to people at the scene. "We strongly condemn this cowardly attack on the civilian population, who were attacked by insurgents during the course of their daily business," Darling said. Purpoted Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmad, when asked about civilian casualties, claimed that 10 foreign soldiers and a "large number of police" had been killed in the attack. A border police official in Spin Boldak said one of the Canadian vehicles sustained heavy damage. Monday's bombing comes a day after the deadliest bombing in Afghanistan since the Taliban fell in 2001. More than 100 people are now estimated to have died in the attack outside Kandahar city on Sunday. A crowd in the hundreds had gathered to watch a dog fight, a popular pastime in Afghanistan. "We have had a very bad weekend in Kandahar," Globe and Mail correspondent Graeme Smith told CTV from Kandahar on Monday, noting that the weekend started with Khalid firing between 100 and 250 police officers in the province's west. About 30 of Sunday's Kandahar blast victims were police officers, he said. "Kandahar's hospital is still a madhouse. It's an absolutely full," Smith said. "It's still very much a shaken city here." Smith also noted that the Taliban has not been claiming responsibility for recent attacks, including the one on Sunday. "It's possible that they are a little ashamed about associating themselves with something that causes so much civilian carnage," he said. "In fact, news of suicide bombs has been a subject of debate between the Taliban because some of them say it's counterproductive to be fighting in a way that injures so many of their own people." Defence Minister Peter MacKay said he doesn't believe the recent bombings indicate an escalation in Taliban activity. He told reporters in New Delhi, India, that Canadians must remain resilient in the face of such attacks. With files from The Canadian Press and The Associated Press ||||| View larger image An Afghan victim of a suicide car bombing in Kandahar is carried into a hospital in Chaman, Pakistan for treatment, Monday, Feb. 18, 2008. (AP / Shah Khalid) The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack that took place near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border on Monday, Feb. 18, 2008. View larger image A Canadian soldier of the International Security Assistance Force takes pictures from his damaged vehicle in Spin Boldak, Afghanistan on Monday, Feb. 18, 2008. (AP / Allauddin Khan) Bombing kills 38 Afghan civilians, wounds Canadians CTV.ca News Staff The Taliban is reportedly claiming responsibility for a suicide bombing that targeted a convoy of Canadian soldiers but killed 38 Afghan civilians. Monday's attack occurred in Spin Boldak, near the border with Pakistan. Four Canadian soldiers were injured in the blast. "A white Toyota Corolla car rammed the second vehicle in the (military) convoy as it passed through the bazaar," said Abdul Hakim, who witnessed the attack from his grocery store. "Then there was a huge explosion. It was dust. I do not know what happened to me." Hakim spoke to reporters from a hospital bed in Chaman, Pakistan. The border had been temporarily closed because of Pakistan's election, but was re-opened to allow the wounded to be taken to hospital for treatment. Mohammed Akhtar, a doctor at the Chaman hospital, said nine Afghan civilians had been treated there, with one dying. Kandahar Gov. Asadullah Khalid said many of the 30 civilians wounded are in critical condition. He warned the death toll could still rise. Khalid told The Canadian Press that NATO had been advised to stay out of the area because a suicide bomber had been circulating there. "But they continue patrolling the area. We repeatedly told them not to come out until we arrest the suicide bomber." A Canadian military spokesman said the Forces makes the decisions on where to patrol. "We regularly receive threat warnings and obviously we go where we want to, when we want to in our area of operation," said Lt.-Cmdr. Pierre Babinsky. "We obviously take notice of these warnings but our aim is to operate freely within our area of operation despite those." All four injured Canadian soldiers were able to phone their families themselves, and three have since been released from hospital. Attack condemned Squadron Leader Peter Darling, a spokesman for NATO's International Security Assistance Force in southern Afghanistan, said ISAF forces provided medical assistance to people at the scene. "We strongly condemn this cowardly attack on the civilian population, who were attacked by insurgents during the course of their daily business," Darling said. Purpoted Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmad, when asked about civilian casualties, claimed that 10 foreign soldiers and a "large number of police" had been killed in the attack. A border police official in Spin Boldak said one of the Canadian vehicles sustained heavy damage. Monday's bombing comes a day after the deadliest bombing in Afghanistan since the Taliban fell in 2001. More than 100 people are now estimated to have died in the attack outside Kandahar city on Sunday. A crowd in the hundreds had gathered to watch a dog fight, a popular pastime in Afghanistan. "We have had a very bad weekend in Kandahar," Globe and Mail correspondent Graeme Smith told CTV from Kandahar on Monday, noting that the weekend started with Khalid firing between 100 and 250 police officers in the province's west. About 30 of Sunday's Kandahar blast victims were police officers, he said. "Kandahar's hospital is still a madhouse. It's an absolutely full," Smith said. "It's still very much a shaken city here." Smith also noted that the Taliban has not been claiming responsibility for recent attacks, including the one on Sunday. "It's possible that they are a little ashamed about associating themselves with something that causes so much civilian carnage," he said. "In fact, news of suicide bombs has been a subject of debate between the Taliban because some of them say it's counterproductive to be fighting in a way that injures so many of their own people." Defence Minister Peter MacKay said he doesn't believe the recent bombings indicate an escalation in Taliban activity. He told reporters in New Delhi, India, that Canadians must remain resilient in the face of such attacks. With files from The Canadian Press and The Associated Press | A suicide bombing attack on a Canadian military convoy in Spin Boldak, Afghanistan killed 34 Afghan civilians, and wounded four Canadian soldiers. Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack. "A white Toyota Corolla car rammed the second vehicle in the convoy as it passed through the bazaar," said Abdul Hakim, who witnessed the attack. "Then there was a huge explosion. It was dust. I do not know what happened to me." The Pakistani border was closed because of the elections in Pakistan, but re-opened to take the victims to hospital for treatment. Asadullah Khalid, governor of Kandahar said that many of the wounded are in critical condition, he expects the death toll to rise. Governor Khalid expressed concern that the Canadian soldiers had not acted on threat warnings from the government regarding operations near the border with Pakistan. "We informed the Canadian forces to avoid patrolling the border areas because our intelligence units had information that suicide attackers were in the areas and wanted to target Canadian or government forces," said Khalid. The Canadian military dismissed such criticisms and defended recent operations. "We regularly receive threat warnings and obviously we go where we want to, when we want to, in our area of operation," said Lieutenant Commander Pierre Babinsky, Canadian military spokesman. "We obviously take notice of these warnings but our aim is to operate freely within our area of operation despite those." According to the Canadian military four soldiers were wounded. After treatment three were released from the hospital. All four were able to phone their families themselves. "We strongly condemn this cowardly attack on the civilian population, who were attacked by insurgents during the course of their daily business," says squadron leader Peter Darling, spokesman for NATO's International Security Assistance Force in southern Afghanistan. |
A cable channel recently acquired by an investment group led by Al Gore is to relaunch Aug. 1 under the name Current, hoping to generate much of its content from viewers. The former vice president and his partners, including entrepreneur Joel Hyatt, are taking an unconventional approach to TV programming in hopes of attracting viewers aged 18 to 34. That demographic, heavily sought by advertisers, has become difficult for TV networks and newspapers to reach. Messrs. Gore and Hyatt say they hope young people will use the channel as a forum to express their opinions on news and current events. Viewers will be invited to submit short films, documentaries and home videos to be aired on the channel. Mr. Gore's group also has struck a deal with Google Inc. to use information from Google in its programming. Now called Newsworld International, the channel was acquired from Vivendi Universal SA last year for about $70 million. Mr. Gore is chairman of the investment group, while Mr. Hyatt is chief executive. The two will unveil their plans for the channel today at a cable-industry convention in San Francisco. In an interview Friday, Mr. Gore said the goal of Current is to connect "the Internet generation with television in a brand new way." Its Web site will be a key part of its service, listing topics on which it wants material, such as reviews of movies, CDs or videogames; items on social trends; and advocacy journalism. Current will pay $250 for videos it airs. ||||| After a year in the making, the cable network venture founded by former Vice President Al Gore is finally ready for its close-up. During a Monday morning press conference at the network's San Francisco-based studio, Gore took the wraps off the name, look and direction of Currently, set to launch Aug. 1.... WANT TO READ THE WHOLE STORY? ||||| Business Benzinga Investors who have owned stocks in the past year have generally experienced some big gains. But there is no question some big-name stocks performed better than others along the way. Carnival’s Big Run: One company that has been a great investment in the past year has been cruise line giant Carnival Corp (NYSE: CCL). Carnival is the largest company in the cruise industry, and for most of the past decade it benefited from an aging baby boomer generation. Coming into 2020, Carnival was on track to add 18 new ships to its fleet of more than 100 global ships over the next five years. Unfortunately, after a solid decade of returns, Carnival experienced a near worst-case scenario to kick off the 2020s. The global COVID-19 outbreak shut down all of Carnival’s operations in March of last year, and the company recently extended its cancellations of all cruises through June. In 2019, Carnival generated $4.32 in EPS on $20.82 billion in revenue. In 2020, those numbers plummeted to a loss of $13.21 per share on just $5.59 billion in revenue. At the beginning of 2020, Carnival shares were trading around $51. By the beginning of March, the stock had dropped below $35 after news of the virus spreading in China prompted concerns about a U.S. pandemic. On March 12, Carnival shares plummeted from $21.75 to close at $14.97. A day later, the company announced it would be suspending all cruises for 30 days. The stock broke below $10 for the first time on March 18 and ultimately bottomed at $7.80 in early April. Related Link: Are Americans Ready To Travel? BofA Sees Biggest Airline Bookings Jump Since Pandemic Began Carnival In 2021, Beyond: Carnival shares initially bounced as high as $25.27 in June on optimism cruise ships would be back on the water sooner rather than later. Unfortunately, the initial rally fizzled and the stock dropped back down to $12.11 by late October. In February 2021, Carnival shares hit new post-crisis highs and even reached the $30 level before pulling back to $28.93. Carnival investors who bought one year ago and held on have generated an okay return on their investment. In fact, $1,000 in Carnival stock bought on March 16, 2020 would be worth about $1,633 today. Looking ahead, analysts are expecting Carnival’s stock to run out of steam again in the next 12 months. The average price target among the 15 analysts covering the stock is $20, suggesting 31% downside from current levels. See more from BenzingaClick here for options trades from BenzingaThe Shopper's High: MIT Study Says 'Neural Reward Mechanisms' Trigger Credit Card SpendingThis Day In Market History: Bear Stearns Merges With JPMorgan© 2021 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. ||||| By JOHN MOTAVALLI -- Al Gore is setting himself up for another big loss. Tomorrow morning, he's slated to unveil details of a new cable channel that will provide young adults with news and entertainment programming. But much like his unsuccessful presidential campaign, the new venture is an uphill battle, say industry veterans. INdTV, the name currently in use, will launch sometime this year with a small subscriber base aimed at a demographic that is increasingly resisting news programming. "It will be difficult to launch a new news network when even powerful brands like CNN are struggling," said Robert Thompson, director of the Center for the Study of Popular Television at Syracuse University. "And young people have never been big consumers of news." INdTV is beginning with the 17 million subscriber base of cable channel Newsworld International, which Gore and a group of wealthy investors including billionaire Democratic Party backer Ronald W. Burkle and his Yucaipa Companies purchased from Vivendi International for a reported $70 million about a year ago. But while many of the backers are aligned with Gore's political leanings, even liberal critics seem skeptical about the cable channel's chances. Jeff Chester, of the Center for Digital Democracy, said the INdTV principals had spent "$70 million to buy a third-rate channel with insufficient carriage." The INdTV Web site lists industry veteran David Neuman as president of programming, and Anne Zehren, founding publisher of Teen People, as president of sales and marketing. Neuman is a former chief programming officer at CNN Networks and former president of Walt Disney Television. Neuman was also president of programming for Channel One, which offers news programming to U.S. middle and high schools. | A year after buying the struggling Newsworld International 24-hour U.S. and Canada cable news channel, former U.S. vice president Al Gore and his partner, millionaire Ohio attorney and politician Joel Hyatt, plan to re-launch the channel with a new name, a new concept and a new target audience. Starting August 1, the channel will be known as Current and will aim its news programming at the 18-34 year old demographic that traditionally does not tune into cable news. "The Internet opened a floodgate for young people whose passions are finally being heard, but TV hasn't followed suit. Young adults have a powerful voice, but you can't hear that voice on television ... yet," Gore said in a press release issued from the network's San Francisco studios. Gore said the new channel will be partly created by citizen journalists, where viewer-created reports will find their way on air. "We want to transform the television medium itself, giving a national platform to those who are hungry to help create the TV they want to watch. We're creating a powerful new brand of television that doesn't treat audiences as merely viewers, but as collaborators," Gore said in the release. The network posted submission guidelines on its new website which launched Monday. Gore bought Newsworld International (NWI) from Vivendi Universal last year for $70 million. It was the only TV asset of Vivendi's not snapped up by NBC in the creation of the NBC Universal media conglomerate. NBC already had two struggling cable news channels of its own. NWI's current news content is mostly rebroadcasts of news produced by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Originally, the network was going to be remodled as a liberal counterpart to the popular Fox News Channel, which some critics claim is a conservative-slanted newscast despite the network's denial that it is "fair and balanced" in its reporting. But after market research, the new owners of NWI decided that a liberal news network was not financially feasible. Instead, they focused on a youth-skewed news channel under the code name "INdTV" (pronounced "Indy Tee Vee"). The new name, Current, and re-launch date announcement was timed to coincide with the annual National Cable & Telecommunications Association convention, which is being held this week in San Francisco, the same city as Channel's new headquarters. |
TAMIL CDs TN crazy about Sivaji he entire state of Tamil Nadu has been going crazy following the audio release of the Rajnikant-starrer Sivaji. Many were seen copying the hairstyle of the superstar after some pictures of the film was out while others spent their own money on CDs and cassettes and were generous enough to allow others to borrow them without any charge. Then there were some who sold the CDs in the black market for Rs.250. Nearly 80,000 CDs were sold out on the second day of the audio release, and there was a request for another one lakh CDs to meet the increasing demand. According to a source at the AVM, its audio distribution wing had supplied nearly five lakhs audio CDs and cassettes all over South India with an amazing response in Mumbai as well. More than 38000 CDs were sold in Kerala alone. It is for the very first time that an audio in a different language has sold in the state in such a huge number. he entire state of Tamil Nadu has been going crazy following the audio release of the Rajnikant-starrer Sivaji. Many were seen copying the hairstyle of the superstar after some pictures of the film was out while others spent their own money on CDs and cassettes and were generous enough to allow others to borrow them without any charge. Then there were some who sold the CDs in the black market for Rs.250. Nearly 80,000 CDs were sold out on the second day of the audio release, and there was a request for another one lakh CDs to meet the increasing demand. According to a source at the AVM, its audio distribution wing had supplied nearly five lakhs audio CDs and cassettes all over South India with an amazing response in Mumbai as well. More than 38000 CDs were sold in Kerala alone. It is for the very first time that an audio in a different language has sold in the state in such a huge number. Incidentaly, there were reports of long queues outside shops waiting to purchase the audio of Sivaji. One man came with a mini CD player, listened to the songs outside the shop itself and even distributed sweets all around. Meanwhile the digital versions of the seven songs of Sivaji are now available on more than 124 websites on the internet. They were supposedly leaked a few days before the formal audio launch. In any case, Rajnikant has brought in a fresh lease of life to the audio market with his Sivaji making him the real superstar in the country! SERVICES , , ||||| As the audio of Sivaji has become a rage in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, one of the singers is jumping with Joy in her home town in Kerala. The one family in Kerala that has personal reasons to celebrate this success- is Sayonara’s. The Singer from Kerala had sung a song in the album that too the opening numbers with A R Rahman. For this song, starting Adiradi Kaadhal Machcham..., Sayonara had modulated her voice more like Shakira. After recording the Tamil version, the music director tried to bring someone else to sing the song in it Telugu version, but very soon he realized that the voice wasn't as good as Sayonara's. Eventually, she sang the song in Telugu too. Now both the songs are reigning the charts. Sayanora has earlier worked with A R Rahman in many projects. She was in the lead of Rahman's Bosnian album, and also worked as a chorus singer in Manirathnam's Guru. Then she sung songs for Sillunu Oru Kadhal, its Telugu version, and a yet-to-be released Hindi film 'Jane Kyon'. As she has become a regular with Rahman, She will join him, when he tours the US and Canada this summer for music shows. Sayanora debuted into filmdom with the song that she has sung for Malayalam movie Manjupoloru Penkutty in the music of Alphonse. Recently she had sung two songs for the Malluwood Vishu hits Chotta Mumbai and Big B. ||||| Saturday, Sept 29 2018 Visiting Livermore Temple today, happened to there is a program by Padmasri Sri Shobharaju garu conducted by BATA , Bay Area Telugu Association, and stopped by to attend. . It was indeed a divine intervention to let me have this fantastic opportunity with blessings from Lord Venkanna himself. What a divine voice and wonderfully marvelous voice that Sri Shobharaju has. Indeed an out of world voice right in at the Livermore, California. With well spoken speeches, Sanskrit Sukthis and Annamacharya Keerthanas intermixed throughout the two hour period the time literally flew away. Not just my ears, but the whole body and soul felt like just been transformed from earthly world to heavenly abodes. It was an ultimate ecstasy to say the least. Heard about the Very glad to hear about the Annamacharya Bhavana Vahini , a project that is currently underway in Hyderabad. If you can help in anyway, please do. At the minimum you sure can go and visit the place and enjoy. Heard many snippets of personal experiences during the program. | Rajinikanth's latest film Sivaji: The Boss may be delayed in Kerala due to opposition to a ruling by the Kerala Film Chamber of Commerce. The Kerala Film Chamber of Commerce ruled that the film should be released in more theaters than the theaters which it is set to be released in (48 theater owners have bought the rights) so it can have greater exposure to the public, but the theater owners who have the rights to show the film disagree. They do not wish to lose money due to more theater owners cashing in on Sivaji: The Boss. In Kerala 38000 CDs of the Sivaji: The Boss audio were sold on the first day, which is a first for a non-Malayalam film audio to sell. Sayanora who originates from Kerala is a lead singer in the song Athiradee, the song also features the voice of A. R. Rahman who is the music director for the film and also had made himself a name from creating the musical Bombay Dreams. The Sivaji: The Boss songs have been top of the charts in Tamil Nadu since they were released on April 2, 2007. |
Dow Jones Reprints: This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies for distribution to your colleagues, clients or customers, use the Order Reprints tool at the bottom of any article or visit www.djreprints.com ||||| The death of Edward Moore Kennedy, scion of a privileged, charismatic and often tragic family, has closed a historic epoch in the United States and opened a void in the political spectrum. As flags were lowered to half-staff over the U.S. Capitol, where the Massachusetts Democrat served 46 years as a senator, devoted supporters, political opponents and leaders from around the world mourned his death, which came late Tuesday. President Obama, whose White House campaign 18 months ago was lifted by Sen. Kennedy's endorsement, placed his benefactor in the political pantheon, saying that "virtually every major piece of legislation to advance the civil rights, health and economic well-being of the American people bore his name and resulted from his efforts." The essence of Sen. Kennedy's political power was crystallized by Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, one of many Republicans who worked with the late senator to forge compromises on bills. Alexander called Sen. Kennedy "at once the most partisan and the most constructive United States senator. He could preach the party line as well as bridge differences better than any Democrat." Sen. Kennedy's vast liberal legislative record was his own, but his legacy was his family's: a lineage of power, triumph and adversity that produced a president but saw his three elder brothers die in service to their country, two by assassins' bullets. Sen. Kennedy, who died at 77 from brain cancer at his home in Hyannis Port, Mass., will be buried Saturday at Arlington National Cemetery, close to the grave sites of his slain brothers, President John F. Kennedy and Sen. Robert F. Kennedy (D-N.Y.). The private burial that evening will conclude a three-day memorial that will begin in Massachusetts on Cape Cod. Sen. Kennedy's sister Eunice Kennedy Shriver, founder of the Special Olympics, died two weeks ago, also in Hyannis Port. One sibling, former U.S. ambassador to Ireland Jean Kennedy Smith, survives. As heir, through tragedy, to his accomplished brothers, Edward Kennedy became the patriarch of his clan and a towering figure in the U.S. Senate to a degree that neither John nor Robert Kennedy had achieved. He served in the Senate through five of the most dramatic decades in the nation's history, becoming a lawmaker whose achievements, authority and collegiality invited comparisons to Daniel Webster, Henry Clay and other titans. But he was also beset by personal frailties and family misfortunes that became the stuff of tabloid headlines. For years, many Democrats considered Sen. Kennedy's presidency a virtual inevitability. In 1968, a "Draft Ted" campaign emerged only a few months after Robert Kennedy's death, but Sen. Kennedy demurred, realizing that he was not prepared. His future prospects were diminished one night in 1969, when his car went off a bridge and a young woman drowned. His reputation besmirched, he failed in his 1980 primary challenge to President Jimmy Carter. But for its rhetoric and drama, his exit from the presidential stage was a high point in U.S. politics. At the Democratic convention that year, he invoked his brothers and asserted: "The cause endures, the hope still lives and the dream shall never die." A Path Unlike His Brothers' Instead of president, Edward Kennedy became a major presence in the Senate, to which he was elected largely on the basis of his name in 1962 and where he wore proudly the label of liberal. For decades, Sen. Kennedy helped to shape the national debate. Defending the poor and politically disadvantaged, he staked out his party's positions on health care, education, civil rights, campaign finance reform and labor law. He also came to oppose the war in Vietnam, and, from the beginning, was an outspoken opponent of the war in Iraq. ||||| Sen. Ted Kennedy died shortly before midnight Tuesday at his home in Hyannis Port, Mass., at age 77. Share Democratic senator led Kennedys after the assassinations of his two brothers. More Photos The man known as the "liberal lion of the Senate" had fought a more than year-long battle with brain cancer, and according to his son had lived longer with the disease than his doctors expected him to. "We've lost the irreplaceable center of our family and joyous light in our lives, but the inspiration of his faith, optimism, and perseverance will live on in our hearts forever," the Kennedy family said in a statement. "He loved this country and devoted his life to serving it." Visit ABC News' special section on Sen. Ted Kennedy. Watch video of historic Kennedy moments. See photos of Sen. Ted Kennedy's life. See photos of the Kennedy family's history of privilege and loss. Sen. Edward Moore Kennedy, the youngest Kennedy brother who was left to head the family's political dynasty after his brothers President John F. Kennedy and Sen. Robert F. Kennedy were assassinated. Kennedy championed health care reform, working wages and equal rights in his storied career. In August, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom -- the nation's highest civilian honor -- by President Obama. His daughter, Kara Kennedy, accepted the award on his behalf. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, known as Ted or Teddy, was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor in May 2008 and underwent a successful brain surgery soon after that. But his health continued to deteriorate, and Kennedy suffered a seizure while attending the luncheon following President Barack Obama's inauguration. For Kennedy, the ascension of Obama was an important step toward realizing his goal of health care reform. At the Democratic National Convention in August 2008, the Massachusetts Democrat promised, "I pledge to you that I will be there next January on the floor of the United States Senate when we begin the great test." Sen. Kennedy made good on that pledge, but ultimately lost his battle with cancer. Kennedy was first elected to the Senate in 1962, at the age of 30, and his tenure there would span four decades. A hardworking, well-liked politician who became the standard-bearer of his brothers' liberal causes, his career was clouded by allegations of personal immorality and accusations that his family's clout helped him avoid the consequences of an accident that left a young woman dead. But for the younger members of the Kennedy clan, from his own three children to those of his brothers JFK and RFK, Ted Kennedy -- once seen as the youngest and least talented in a family of glamorous overachievers -- was both a surrogate father and the center of the family. And certainly it was Ted Kennedy who bore many of the tragedies of the family -- the violent deaths of four of his siblings, his son's battle with cancer, and the death of his nephew John F. Kennedy Jr. in a plane crash. ||||| Jason Reed/Reuters Senator Edward M. Kennedy, in a poignant acknowledgment of his mortality at a critical time in the national health care debate, has privately asked the governor and legislative leaders to change the succession law to guarantee that Massachusetts will not lack a Senate vote when his seat becomes vacant. In a personal, sometimes wistful letter sent Tuesday to Governor Deval L. Patrick, Senate President Therese Murray, and House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo, Kennedy asks that Patrick be given authority to appoint someone to the seat temporarily before voters choose a new senator in a special election. Although Kennedy, who is battling brain cancer, does not specifically mention his illness or the health care debate raging in Washington, the implication of his letter is clear: He is trying to make sure that the leading cause in his life, better health coverage for all, advances in the event of his death. In his letter, which was obtained by the Globe, Kennedy said that he backs the current succession law, enacted in 2004, which gives voters the power to fill a US Senate vacancy. But he said the state and country need two Massachusetts senators. “I strongly support that law and the principle that the people should elect their senator,’’ Kennedy wrote. “I also believe it is vital for this Commonwealth to have two voices speaking for the needs of its citizens and two votes in the Senate during the approximately five months between a vacancy and an election.’’ Under the 2004 law, if Kennedy were to die or step down, voters would select his successor in a special election to be held within five months of the vacancy. But the law makes no provisions for Massachusetts to be represented in the Senate in the interim. In the meantime, President Obama’s plan to overhaul the nation’s health care system, the fate of which may hinge on one or two votes, could come before Congress. “I am now writing to you about an issue that concerns me deeply, the continuity of representation for Massachusetts, should a vacancy occur,’’ Kennedy wrote. To ensure that the special election is fair, the senator also urged that the governor obtain an “explicit personal commitment’’ from his appointee not to seek the office on a permanent basis. Separately, a Kennedy family confidant, speaking on the condition of anonymity because the letter was private, said the senator’s wife, Victoria Reggie Kennedy, is not interested in being a temporary appointee or running in a special election. “Her focus is her husband and her family,’’ the confidant said. “To her, there is only one Senator Kennedy.’’ DeLeo and Murray, in a joint statement to the Globe yesterday, did not address the substance of Kennedy’s request, saying: “We have great respect for the senator and what he continues to do for our Commonwealth and our nation. It is our hope that he will continue to be a voice for the people of Massachusetts as long as he is able.’’ Patrick said in a statement: “It’s typical of Ted Kennedy to be thinking ahead and about the people of Massachusetts, when the rest of us are thinking about him. Diane and I continue to pray for the restoration of the senator’s health and the comfort of his family.’’ Kennedy advisers were adamant yesterday that the timing of the letter did not reflect any imminent emergency in the health of the senator, who has been battling brain cancer since May 2008. Rather, it was sent this week after the Globe began making inquiries to key Beacon Hill officials over murmurings that some politicians were pushing for a change in the law. Kennedy aides said the senator never liked the five-month vacancy created by the 2004 law, but his dislike took on new urgency because Senate Democrats could need every vote possible on health care legislation. The family confidant stressed that even with his deteriorating health, Kennedy continues to speak with staff and Senate colleagues. If his vote were needed, there exists every possibility he would fly to Washington again to cast it, Kennedy allies said. Still, Kennedy’s letter is a candid acknowledgment that his long Senate career might be coming to an end, a historic development for both Massachusetts and the nation. He is the last of three Kennedy brothers whose careers helped define postwar Democratic politics. “For almost 47 years, I have had the privilege of representing the people of Massachusetts in the United States Senate,’’ Kennedy wrote in his letter. Serving in the Senate, he wrote, “has been - and still is - the greatest honor of my public life.’’ Advisers, including Senator John F. Kerry, began discussions months ago about pushing for a change in the state law. Kennedy’s letter was drafted in early July, when he was writing several other letters, including a private note to the pope that Obama hand-delivered. The letter to state officials was kept secret, not sent until this week. Kerry said yesterday that Kennedy had been considering this issue since the early summer. “It is something he talked to me about some time ago,’’ he said in an interview. Kerry rejected any notion that the letter signaled an immediate end to Kennedy’s nearly half-century in office, insisting that his colleague has been active in shaping the health care legislation in recent weeks. “I don’t think this signals anything,’’ Kerry said. “He has been fully engaged. . . . If [Senate majority leader] Harry Reid required 60 votes tomorrow, Ted Kennedy would be on a plane and be down in the Senate to vote.’’ Kerry added that he speaks with the senator regularly and visited him several weeks ago at Kennedy’s Hyannis Port home. Kennedy’s request puts Massachusetts lawmakers in a delicate position. On one hand, his personal appeal would probably have some sway. But resistance on Beacon Hill to tinkering with the 2004 law is strong, with Democratic lawmakers nervous about being accused of engineering a self-serving change to help their party. Massachusetts governors used to have the power to fill Senate vacancies, as happens in many other states, until the Legislature made the change five years ago. Democratic lawmakers, then as now in the majority, did not want to give Governor Mitt Romney the chance to fill Kerry’s seat with a Republican if Kerry won the presidency. Patrick, meanwhile, has dismissed past suggestions that the state change the law back to give him the power to fill a Senate vacancy. Those who would run for Kennedy’s seat could also pressure state lawmakers to resist changing the law, out of concern that toying with the special election could somehow damage their prospects. In Washington, there are increasing concerns among Democrats and health care advocates over Kennedy’s absence from Capitol Hill. His voice has often been one of the loudest and most influential on health care. The Democratic caucus’s 60-vote majority is already tenuous, with several moderate Democrats having expressed skepticism about the health care bill. Kennedy’s having not attended the funeral of his sister, Eunice, last week heightened concerns that he would be unable to return to the Senate for a vote. Susan Milligan of the Globe staff contributed to this report. ||||| Skip to Content Statement from The Kennedy Family August 26, 2009 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE “Edward M. Kennedy – the husband, father, grandfather, brother and uncle we loved so deeply – died late Tuesday night at home in Hyannis Port. We’ve lost the irreplaceable center of our family and joyous light in our lives, but the inspiration of his faith, optimism, and perseverance will live on in our hearts forever. We thank everyone who gave him care and support over this last year, and everyone who stood with him for so many years in his tireless march for progress toward justice, fairness and opportunity for all. He loved this country and devoted his life to serving it. He always believed that our best days were still ahead, but it’s hard to imagine any of them without him.” Anthony Coley/Melissa Wagoner (202) 224-2633 ||||| In this 28 Jan. 2008 file photo, then-Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Obama smiles with Sen. Kennedy, during rally at American University in Washington U.S. President Barack Obama says the United States has lost a "great leader" in Senator Edward Kennedy, who died Tuesday night at his Massachusetts home at the age of 77. In a statement released early Wednesday morning by the White House, Mr. Obama said he and his wife, Michelle, are "heartbroken" about Kennedy's passing. The president paid tribute to the legendary lawmaker's work over nearly five decades in the U.S. Senate, on such issues as civil rights and health care. Mr. Obama hailed Kennedy as "the greatest United States Senator of our time." Kennedy's Senate colleague, Majority Leader Harry Reid, said it was "the thrill of my lifetime " to work with a man he called the "patriarch" of the Senate. Republican Senator Orrin Hatch - one of Edward Kennedy's fiercest political opponents and closest friends in that chamber of the U.S. Congress - said the Democratic lawmaker will be remembered as "someone who lived and breathed the United States Senate, and the work completed within its chamber." Nancy Reagan, the wife of the late President Ronald Reagan, called Kennedy "an ally and a dear friend." Despite the political differences between her husband, a hero of conservative Republicans, and the stalwart liberal Democrat, Mrs. Reagan said she and Senator Kennedy found common ground on the issue of stem-cell research. Nancy Reagan has become a strong advocate of stem cell research, which many believe will lead to treatment for illnesses such as Alzheimer's disease, which led to President Reagan's death in 2004. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is married to Kennedy's niece, Maria Shriver, called him "the rock of our family," and a champion of social justice. ||||| THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Press Secretary __________________________________________________________________ For Immediate Release August 26, 2009 REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT ON THE PASSING OF SENATOR EDWARD M. KENNEDY Blue Heron Farm Chilmark, Massachusetts 9:57 A.M. EDT THE PRESIDENT: I wanted to say a few words this morning about the passing of an extraordinary leader, Senator Edward Kennedy. Over the past several years, I've had the honor to call Teddy a colleague, a counselor, and a friend. And even though we have known this day was coming for some time now, we awaited it with no small amount of dread. Since Teddy's diagnosis last year, we've seen the courage with which he battled his illness. And while these months have no doubt been difficult for him, they've also let him hear from people in every corner of our nation and from around the world just how much he meant to all of us. His fight has given us the opportunity we were denied when his brothers John and Robert were taken from us: the blessing of time to say thank you -- and goodbye. The outpouring of love, gratitude, and fond memories to which we've all borne witness is a testament to the way this singular figure in American history touched so many lives. His ideas and ideals are stamped on scores of laws and reflected in millions of lives -- in seniors who know new dignity, in families that know new opportunity, in children who know education's promise, and in all who can pursue their dream in an America that is more equal and more just -- including myself. The Kennedy name is synonymous with the Democratic Party. And at times, Ted was the target of partisan campaign attacks. But in the United States Senate, I can think of no one who engendered greater respect or affection from members of both sides of the aisle. His seriousness of purpose was perpetually matched by humility, warmth, and good cheer. He could passionately battle others and do so peerlessly on the Senate floor for the causes that he held dear, and yet still maintain warm friendships across party lines. And that's one reason he became not only one of the greatest senators of our time, but one of the most accomplished Americans ever to serve our democracy. His extraordinary life on this earth has come to an end. And the extraordinary good that he did lives on. For his family, he was a guardian. For America, he was the defender of a dream. I spoke earlier this morning to Senator Kennedy's beloved wife, Vicki, who was to the end such a wonderful source of encouragement and strength. Our thoughts and prayers are with her, his children Kara, Edward, and Patrick; his stepchildren Curran and Caroline; the entire Kennedy family; decades' worth of his staff; the people of Massachusetts; and all Americans who, like us, loved Ted Kennedy. END 10:00 A.M. EDT ||||| THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Vice President _________________________________________________________________________ For Immediate Release August 23, 2009 REMARKS BY THE VICE PRESIDENT ON THE PASSING OF SENATOR EDWARD M. KENNEDY The Department of Energy Washington, DC THE VICE PRESIDENT: Well, Mr. Secretary, thank you and your staff for the privilege of being with you today on what, as I prepared last night, was to be a joyous occasion, announcing another step in the direction of energy independence. And you said the President made a wise choice. The wisest choice the President made was asking you to be -- I mean that sincerely -- to be the Secretary to the Department of Energy. You've assembled a first-rate staff, and you've taken on a role that is going to be a -- is going to, in large part, determine the success of these next three-and-a-half years, whether or not we make a genuine dent, genuine progress in moving toward an energy policy that can help America lead the world in the 21st century as it did in the 20th century. Some suggest we're trying to do too much. But my response is, is there any possibility of America leading the world in the 21st century without a radically altered energy policy? It is not possible. And that charge has been given to one of the most remarkable men to serve in a President's Cabinet, a Nobel laureate who is as articulate as he is obviously bright, and a man who has assembled a staff that can corral the bureaucracy -- and we're all -- deal with bureaucracy, we're all part of it -- in a way that I haven't seen in awhile. And I had planned on speaking to the Clean Cities Program as one of the several initiatives we have to begin to reshape our energy policy. But as if Teddy were here, as we would say in the Senate, if you'd excuse a point of personal privilege, I quite frankly think it's -- would be inappropriate for me to dwell too much on the initiative that we're announcing today and not speak to my friend. My wife Jill, and my sons Beau and Hunter, and my daughter Ashley -- and I don't say that lightly, because they all knew Teddy, he did something personal and special for each one of them in their lives -- truly, truly are distressed by his passing. And our hearts go out to Teddy Jr., and Patrick and Kara, and Vicki, with whom I spoke this morning, and the whole Kennedy family. Teddy spent a lifetime working for a fair and more just America. And for 36 years, I had the privilege of going to work every day and literally, not figuratively sitting next to him, and being witness to history. Every single day the Senate was in session, I sat with him on the Senate floor in the same aisle. I sat with him on the Judiciary Committee next -- physically next to him. And I sat with him in the caucuses. And it was in that process, every day I was with him -- and this is going to sound strange -- but he restored my sense of idealism and my faith in the possibilities of what this country could do. He and I were talking after his diagnosis. And I said, I think you're the only other person I've met, who like me, is more optimistic, more enthusiastic, more idealistic, sees greater possibilities after 36 years than when we were elected. He was 30 years-old when he was elected; I was 29 years-old. And you'd think that would be the peak of our idealism. But I genuinely feel more optimistic about the prospect for my country today than I did -- I have been any time in my life. And it was infectious when you were with him. You could see it, those of you who knew him and those of you who didn't know him. You could just see it in the nature of his debate, in the nature of his embrace, in the nature of how he every single day attacked these problems. And, you know, he was never defeatist. He never was petty -- never was petty. He was never small. And in the process of his doing, he made everybody he worked with bigger -- both his adversaries as well as his allies. Don't you find it remarkable that one of the most partisan, liberal men in the last century serving in the Senate had so many of his -- so many of his foes embracing him, because they know he made them bigger, he made them more graceful by the way in which he conducted himself. You know, he changed the circumstances of tens of millions of Americans -- in the literal sense, literally -- literally changed the circumstances. He changed also another aspect of it as I observed about him -- he changed not only the physical circumstance, he changed how they looked at themselves and how they looked at one another. That's a remarkable, remarkable contribution for any man or woman to make. And for the hundreds, if not thousands, of us who got to know him personally, he actually -- how can I say it -- he altered our lives as well. Through the grace of God and accident of history I was privileged to be one of those people and every important event in my adult life -- as I look back this morning and talking to Vicki -- every single one, he was there. He was there to encourage, to counsel, to be empathetic, to lift up. In 1972 I was a 29 year old kid with three weeks left to go in a campaign, him showing up at the Delaware Armory in the middle of what we called Little Italy -- who had never voted nationally by a Democrat -- I won by 3,100 votes and got 85 percent of the vote in that district, or something to that effect. I literally would not be standing here were it not for Teddy Kennedy -- not figuratively, this is not hyperbole -- literally. He was there -- he stood with me when my wife and daughter were killed in an accident. He was on the phone with me literally every day in the hospital, my two children were attempting, and, God willing, thankfully survived very serious injuries. I'd turn around and there would be some specialist from Massachusetts, a doc I never even asked for, literally sitting in the room with me. You know, it's not just me that he affected like that -- it's hundreds upon hundreds of people. I was talking to Vicki this morning and she said -- she said, "He was ready to go, Joe, but we were not ready to let him go." He's left a great void in our public life and a hole in the hearts of millions of Americans and hundreds of us who were affected by his personal touch throughout our lives. People like me, who came to rely on him. He was kind of like an anchor. And unlike many important people in my 38 years I've had the privilege of knowing, the unique thing about Teddy was it was never about him. It was always about you. It was never about him. It was people I admire, great women and men, at the end of the day gets down to being about them. With Teddy it was never about him. Well, today we lost a truly remarkable man. To paraphrase Shakespeare: I don't think we shall ever see his like again. I think the legacy he left is not just in the landmark legislation he passed, but in how he helped people look at themselves and look at one another. I apologize for us not being able to go into more detail about the energy bill, but I just think for me, at least, it was inappropriate today. And I'm sure there will be much more that will be said about my friend and your friend, but -- he changed the political landscape for almost half a century. I just hope -- we say blithely, you know, we'll remember what we did. I just hope we'll remember how he treated other people and how he made other people look at themselves and look at one another. That will be the truly fundamental, unifying legacy of Teddy Kennedy's life if that happens -- and it will for a while, at least in the Senate. Mr. Secretary, you and your staff are doing an incredible job. I look forward to coming back at a happier moment when you are announcing even more consequential progress toward putting us back in a position where once again can control our own economic destiny. Thank you all very, very much. (Applause.) ||||| Boston – Senator John Kerry today released the following statement on the passing of Senator Edward Kennedy. "We have known for some time that this day was coming, but nothing makes it easier. We have lost a great light in our lives and our politics, and it will never be the same again. Ted Kennedy was such an extraordinary force, yes for the issues he cared about, but more importantly for the humanity and caring in our politics that is at the center of faith and true public service. “No words can ever do justice to this irrepressible, larger than life presence who was simply the best -- the best Senator, the best advocate you could ever hope for, the best colleague, and the best person to stand by your side in the toughest of times. He faced the last challenge of his life with the same grace, courage, and determination with which he fought for the causes and principles he held so dear. He taught us how to fight, how to laugh, how to treat each other, and how to turn idealism into action, and in these last fourteen months he taught us much more about how to live life, sailing into the wind one last time. For almost 25 years, I was privileged to serve as his colleague and share his friendship for which I will always be grateful. “Teresa and I send all our love to Vicki, Teddy Jr., Patrick, Kara and their family, and to the entire Kennedy family for whom Teddy was always a rock at times like this. Massachusetts and our entire nation shares their loss and grieves with them." ### ||||| In this 28 Jan. 2008 file photo, then-Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Obama smiles with Sen. Kennedy, during rally at American University in Washington U.S. President Barack Obama says the United States has lost a "great leader" in Senator Edward Kennedy, who died Tuesday night at his Massachusetts home at the age of 77. In a statement released early Wednesday morning by the White House, Mr. Obama said he and his wife, Michelle, are "heartbroken" about Kennedy's passing. The president paid tribute to the legendary lawmaker's work over nearly five decades in the U.S. Senate, on such issues as civil rights and health care. Mr. Obama hailed Kennedy as "the greatest United States Senator of our time." Kennedy's Senate colleague, Majority Leader Harry Reid, said it was "the thrill of my lifetime " to work with a man he called the "patriarch" of the Senate. Republican Senator Orrin Hatch - one of Edward Kennedy's fiercest political opponents and closest friends in that chamber of the U.S. Congress - said the Democratic lawmaker will be remembered as "someone who lived and breathed the United States Senate, and the work completed within its chamber." Nancy Reagan, the wife of the late President Ronald Reagan, called Kennedy "an ally and a dear friend." Despite the political differences between her husband, a hero of conservative Republicans, and the stalwart liberal Democrat, Mrs. Reagan said she and Senator Kennedy found common ground on the issue of stem-cell research. Nancy Reagan has become a strong advocate of stem cell research, which many believe will lead to treatment for illnesses such as Alzheimer's disease, which led to President Reagan's death in 2004. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is married to Kennedy's niece, Maria Shriver, called him "the rock of our family," and a champion of social justice. | Ted Kennedy (1932-2009) United States Senator Ted Kennedy, a Democrat from Massachusetts died just before midnight on August 25, 2009, at his home in Hyannis Port at age 77. He was the brother of American President John F. Kennedy and U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy. On May 20, 2008, Kennedy was diagnosed with a brain tumor, and was released from Massachusetts General Hospital on May 21. He was born Edward Moore Kennedy on February 22, 1932, in Boston. He had been a senator since 1962. Kennedy is survived by his wife Victoria Reggie Kennedy, three children, two step-children, a sister — Jean Kennedy Smith, many nieces and nephews and several grandchildren. The Kennedy family released a statement saying, "Edward M. Kennedy — the husband, father, grandfather, brother and uncle we loved so deeply — died late Tuesday night at home in Hyannis Port. We’ve lost the irreplaceable center of our family and joyous light in our lives, but the inspiration of his faith, optimism, and perseverance will live on in our hearts forever. We thank everyone who gave him care and support over this last year, and everyone who stood with him for so many years in his tireless march for progress toward justice, fairness and opportunity for all. He loved this country and devoted his life to serving it. He always believed that our best days were still ahead, but it’s hard to imagine any of them without him." Kennedy was the second-most-senior current member of the Senate, after Democratic President ''pro tempore'' Robert Byrd of West Virginia, and the third-longest-serving senator of all time, behind Byrd and Republican Senator Strom Thurmond of South Carolina. Kennedy was known as "The Lion of the Senate," for his long tenure and influence in the Senate. Throughout his career, Kennedy and his staff wrote more then 300 bills that were enacted into law. Because of Kennedy's death, the Democratic Party has lost their sixty-seat supermajority in the Senate. His successor will be chosen in a special election within 160 days. Prior to his death, Kennedy appealed to Democratic Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick and the Massachusetts legislature to change state law regarding Senate vacancies, so that a temporary senator could be appointed pending a special election and a vote in favor of a health-care bill would not potentially be lost. This law had been changed in 2004 to prevent Republican then-Governor Mitt Romney from appointing a replacement for Democratic Senator John Kerry, had he won the 2004 presidential election. |
Earthquake Summary Earthquake Summary Poster Tectonic Summary This earthquake occurred approximately 35 km WNW of Ferndale, CA in a deformation zone of the southernmost Juan de Fuca plate that is commonly referred to as the Gorda plate. The earthquakes epicenter is northwest of the Mendocino Triple Junction, which is formed by the intersection of the Mendocino fracture zone, the San Andreas fault and the Cascadia subduction zone. The Gorda plate is subducting beneath the North America plate at about 2.5-3 cm/year in the direction N50E. The Gorda plate is also subjected to intense compressive stresses by oblique-convergence of the northwestward migrating Pacific Plate as well as localized eastward spreading at the Gorda Ridge. The resulting internal deformation of the Gorda plate is manifested primarily by intraplate strike-slip events on vertical NE-oriented faults. Preliminary analysis of the earthquake indicates that it results from slip on a near vertical, left-lateral fault oriented about N47E. Large strike-slip earthquakes like this one are common in the interior of the Gorda plate. There are no reports of this earthquake causing a tsunami. Strike-slip earthquakes are less likely to produce large tsunamis because they cause relatively little vertical ground displacement. Shaking was strongest near the coast line between Petrolia and Eureka, CA, although felt reports for this event extend from as far south and north as Capitola, CA and Eugene, OR, respectively, and as far east as Reno, NV. The maximum recorded shaking was observed in Eureka (33%g), which is sufficient to cause moderate damage. This is the largest quake to occur in this region since the April 04, 1992 M7.2 Petrolia and the June 15, 2005 M7.2 Gorda plate earthquakes. The probability of a strong and possibly damaging aftershock (M>5) in the 7 days following the earthquake is approximately 78%. Most likely, the mainshock will be the largest in the sequence. However, there is a small chance (~5-10%) of an earthquake equal to or larger than this mainshock in the next 7 days. In addition, numerous M3-5 aftershocks are expected to occur in the same 7-day period, but most are unlikely to be felt due to the distance from land. ||||| (CNN) -- A 6.5-magnitude earthquake has struck off the shore of Northern California, leaving thousands of households without power. The quake, which ran about 13.5 miles deep, hit offshore at 4:27 p.m. (7:27 p.m. ET) Saturday, about 33 miles from the coastal city of Eureka, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. About 28,000 customers, most of them in Humboldt County, were left without power Saturday evening, said Jeff Smith, spokesman for Pacific Gas and Electric Co. One gas leak in the county was also reported. He said utility crews were patrolling the area to restore power. There were no immediate reports of serious injuries or damage, according to local authorities and the U.S. Coast Guard in Humboldt County. St. Joseph's hospital confirmed one person being treated for a broken hip and several others arriving with bumps and bruises from the earthquake. Nearly a dozen aftershocks followed, the strongest at 4.5 magnitude. Calls from concerned citizens were pouring into police and fire departments. Gary Bird, spokesman for the 28,000-population Eureka, said 25 responders were surveying the scene. See iReports from areas affected by earthquake "We've got isolated water line breaks, power lines down, broken windows, unreinforced buildings that had some bricks fall off into the street," he said, adding that residents have been asked to stay inside. Chris Durant, a reporter for the Times-Standard of Eureka, said he was working on the second floor of the newspaper's concrete building when he and his colleagues felt the quake. "We are used to feeling small ones," he said, "but after the first few seconds, we looked at each other and said this is not a small one." He said small chunks of plaster peppered the floor. Still, he said reports from the area indicate minor damage. "[There's] not as much as you might think with a 6.5," he added, describing much of the damage as broken glass on storefronts and tiles on floors and ceilings popping. "People are standing outside and talking with their neighbors, and, kind of like letting their nerves calm down," he said. iReporter Andrew Parent of Eureka was driving home from work when he saw people running out of their homes and power lines down. He rushed home to find a state of disarray -- dishes everywhere, a bookshelf toppled over. "The fridge moved. Everything moved," said parent, 20. "I guess it's not really a big deal, but it was kind of scary." Are you there? Send your iReports Eureka resident Cole Machado told CNN he was talking on the phone when he felt the ground shake. "I thought my TV was going to fall over." He said the power cut out for a few seconds and there were reports of downed phone lines and broken windows in the the nearby town of Ferndale, which is 27 miles away from the quake's epicenter. Ferndale Fire Chief Tom Grinsell said it was "one of the strongest quakes I remember in quite a while. I assumed it was going to be a lot worse than we're seeing." He said the quake had a "strong shaking to it and was rather lengthy." He said his department has received numerous calls about broken glass, emptied shelves, and stucco and plaster knocked off walls. However, he added that the damage is cosmetic and that no buildings have collapsed. Grinsell said officials have asked residents to stay off the roads because of debris and to conserve water until it's certain there is no damage to the water system. Ferndale resident Jessica Stephens Tucker described the movement from the temblor: "It rolled and rolled and then it slammed." There was no tsunami warning issued. A 6.5-magnitude quake is considered a "strong" temblor, according to CNN meteorologist Jacqui Jeras, who noted that about 120 are recorded worldwide each year. Dave Magni, owner of the Ivanhoe Hotel in Ferndale, said, "We are sitting in a sea of booze" after the quake. He felt an aftershock while talking with CNN. "My employees are out in the parking lot right now," he added. CNN's Nick Valencia, Samira Simone and Greg Morrison contributed to this report. ||||| A 6.5 magnitude earthquake has struck off the Northern California coast, about 27 miles southwest of Eureka. The U.S. Geological Survey says the quake hit around 4:27 Saturday afternoon. Officials say they heard the quake caused some power outtages, but there were no immediate reports of injury or damage. USGS geophysicist Richard Buckmaster says the quake was felt as far south as Capitola, and as far north as Tiller, Ore. The San Francisco Bay area was struck by two light earthquakes on Thursday and Friday. (Copyright ©2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) Get more State » ||||| View and discuss the pictures and issues that caught our eyes. Where there’s smoke there’s fire, Snow and Ice Festival, wintry scenes, a New Year’s kiss and more news and feature photos from around the world. Jan. 11: Jeff Zarrillo and Paul Katami have been in a committed relationship for nine years. The couple talks about their legal battle to get married in California. EUREKA, Calif. - Residents of a Northern California county gingerly cleaned up Sunday after the area dodged a catastrophe, escaping a 6.5 magnitude earthquake with little more than bumps, cuts and broke glass. Eureka's Bayshore Mall had entrances blocked off as engineers surveyed for damage. Area bridges suffered some bent rails, and local stores reported messy aisles where bottles and jars flew from shelves and shattered, authorities said. But the Saturday afternoon temblor — centered in the Pacific about 22 miles west of Ferndale — caused no major injuries, only limited structural damage and just a few hours where thousands of residents were without power. "I think we can attribute some of this to being prepared," said Phil Smith-Hanes, Humboldt County spokesman. "Folks in this area are used to living in earthquake country." The quake's location — offshore, deep under the ocean and away from urban areas — helped the region escape relatively unscathed what could have been a major disaster. A quake of similar size — 6.7 magnitude — killed 72 people and caused $25 billion in damage in 1994 in the Los Angeles area. Rick Littlefield, owner of Eureka Natural Foods, said earthquakes are "part of the rules of the game up here." The quake left some of the grocery store's aisles ankle-deep in broken bottles, jars and spilled goods, a loss Littlefield estimated at about $20,000. But the shelves were bolted in place, so they didn't topple. A generator kept power going. 'Customers freaked' When the temblor hit Saturday afternoon, there were about 150 people shopping, he said. "A lot of customers freaked," he said Sunday morning. "People just dropped what they had — in the checkstand even. People who were in the middle of a transaction just bailed and left their stuff." But no one was hurt, and damage was limited to some easy-to-fix cracks on the floor. Littlefield kept his sense of humor as he tried to tackle the sticky mess in the shampoo and juice aisles with a wet/dry vacuum that was soon overflowing with bubbles. At least, he said, "it smelled really good." Power outages were widespread, affecting about 25,000 customers initially, but a quick response restored electricity to all by early Sunday morning, said David Eisenhauer, a spokesman for Pacific Gas & Electric Co. The utility company was surveying gas lines by helicopter and on foot, but no leaks had been reported, Eisenhauer said. The company's former nuclear power plant outside Eureka did not suffer any damage. "Our crews worked very quickly," he said. "We practice for this type of event, this type of emergency. We have earthquake plans; they were put in place and went very smoothly." California Department of Transportation crews out surveying roads and bridges, first by flashlight and then in broad daylight, had found no significant damage and no accidents attributed to the quake by Sunday morning, said Stan Woodman, Caltrans maintenance manager for the district encompassing Humboldt county. Woodman felt the quake at his home in McKinleyville — "It was rocking and rolling," he said. But the only consequences for transportation infrastructure have been some bent rails on bridges and slight settling by an inch or two of approach ramps, he said. Emergency room doctors at Eureka's St. Joseph Hospital stayed busy Saturday night. Several people showed up with cuts and bruises, with the most serious injury being to an elderly patient who fell and broke a hip, said Laurie Watson-Stone, a spokeswoman for the 146-bed hospital. Aftershocks overnight But no major injuries were reported overnight, in spite of several aftershocks that rumbled through the region for several hours, some with magnitude as high as 4.5. Two lanes of traffic were blocked downtown, where a brick-and-mortar building sustained some damage, but no debris spilled into the street. An entire block was closed to traffic in front of the Eureka theater, where the four-story tall 1930s Art Deco marquee is visibly cracked and tilted toward the street. The worst destruction reported by Sunday was to a wood-frame house in a residential sector of the city. The light green home shifted off its foundation and collapsed into the crawl space below, splintering the stairs leading to the front porch. A window broken in the quake was boarded up. At Bayshore Mall, where the shaking loosened some ceiling tiles, broke shop windows and lights, and knocked merchandise about, engineers were surveying for structural problems, said Mitch Metheny, operations manager for General Growth Properties, which owns the mall. Sprinklers caused a fair amount of water damage, but initial inspections did not reveal deeper trouble, he said. Tenants likely won't be allowed in until Monday, and the stores will probably remain closed to customers for a few days longer, he said. As in much of the town, he said, the mall suffered "a lot of minor damage — pervasive but minor." © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. ||||| A 6.5 magnitude earthquake struck Eureka at around 4:30 p.m. Saturday, leaving much of the city without power and police scanners buzzing with reports of damage and injuries. The quake, which lasted for around 30 seconds, had power poles waving back and forth along Eureka streets and brought panicked residents out of their homes. The Bayshore Mall, as of 5:30 p.m., had been closed off to customers and employees. It was unclear how many people were injured there, but one employee reported that several people were picked up by ambulances. Employees also reported light fixtures falling out of the ceiling and floor tiles popping up off the ground. Another employee reported seeing chunks of the ceiling fall onto customers. Employees Eureka Natural Foods shortly after the quake. (Shaun Walker) were waiting around to get back in to the building to collect their things and survey the damage. All along Broadway, Eureka's busiest thoroughfare, lights were out and traffic was heavy as people attempted to get out of town. Arcata, near Humboldt State University, had power, and residents of McKinleyville also reported having power. Fortuna seemed fairly undamaged as of early evening. Sgt. Matt Eberhart of the Fortuna Police Department said Fortuna takes dispatches for Rio Dell, Ferndale and Fortuna, adding that there were a couple reports of gas leaks and of businesses that had items had falling off the shelves, including Safeway and Beverage Plus. One woman in front of Fortuna's Rite Aid said she lived four miles from the Advertisement epicenter of the Loma Prieta quake and said this was a piece of cake. "This was nothing compared to Loma Prieta," said Theresa Chesmore. In Eureka, 77-year-old Paul Knaak owns a two-story house on Summer Street, where he had two broken water pipes and his belongings strewn across the floor. "I don't know about the foundation yet," he said, as he waited outside Shafer's Ace Hardware in Henderson Center to purchase supplies. The store, however, was closed. He said it was the biggest quake he'd experienced in his life. Mike Hagedorn, bakery manager at Winco, said the store was a mess. "Everything was off the shelves," he said. "It was booming ... . You can imagine our liquor section right now." Phillip Smith-Hanes, Humboldt County administrative officer and public information officer for this incident through the Office of Emergency Services, confirmed just before 6 p.m. that the quake measured 6.5. The epicenter was 20 miles west-northwest of Ferndale. "Kind of straight west of Humboldt Hill," Smith-Hanes said. The office has not received any reports of major injury. "We do have quite a few reports of damage,"Smith-Hanes said. He classified the damage as minor to moderate. As of 7 p.m., about 27,000 PG&E; customers were without power. Broken gas lines and downed power lines were the most types of calls coming across the scanner. Marshall Boyett of McKinleyvile was driving when the earthquake hit. "It was like the street was breakdancing," Boyett said. Releases from both HSU and St. Joseph Health System said no injuries were reported at those locations. Power is out at the Times-Standard, and reports Saturday evening were filed from the parking lot on a single laptop, illiminated by headlamps from employee vehicles. Jana Morris, spokewoman for PG&E;, said just before 8 p.m. that about 28,000 customers didn't have power. Outages have been reported in all the major cities and unincorporated area. "We have done a thorough investigation of the power plants, both the fossil and nuclear sites, and everything looks good," Morris said. "The investigation turned out that there was no significant damage and everything is up and running." Morris said that crews will work around the clock to try and restore power with estimates of power being restored in some areas as late as Sunday night. Crews from Mendocino and Sonoma counties were on their way to help as of 8 p.m. Morris said that people should not approach downed power lines even if the neighborhood is dark. Report down power lines to 911 or 1-800-PGE-5000. The temblor was felt at least as far east as Willow Creek where the night manager Chris Potter said the movement was definitely noticeable. "It was pretty intense," he said. "We really felt it." He said he thought merchandise would be falling, but that didn't happen. According to the U.S. Geological Survey Web site, it appears as if six aftershocks have struck since the major shaiking began, none of which approached the original magnitude of the quake. | According to the United States Geological Survey, a powerful earthquake with a magnitude of 6.5 hit North California today. The epicentre was west of Ferndale, CA and northwest of San Francisco, CA, with a depth of . Media reports indicate that there is a power outage, and ruptured gas lines in several areas. Only minor injuries were reported, with several people being taken to St. Joseph's Hospital from a local mall by ambulance. One resident, Cole Machado, told CNN that "I was talking on the phone and all of a sudden it started shaking. I thought my TV was going to fall over,". Power and phone lines in his neighborhood were cut by downed trees. No tsunami warnings were issued due to the tremors. Following the earthquake, there were numerous aftershocks, the strongest being at a magnitude of 4.5. |
President Bush has purposely lost eight pounds since his last medical checkup, in December, and his doctors said after his annual physical examination yesterday that he was in "excellent health." Mr. Bush, 59, remains in the "superior" fitness category for a man his age, the doctors said. They also said Mr. Bush, who exercises six times a week, was "fit for duty" and expected to remain so for the rest of his term. No significant new health problem was detected, and findings from the physical examination and the standard laboratory tests were within the normal range, according to a statement from the team of nine specialists who examined Mr. Bush. Mr. Bush said he was "feeling pretty good" after the three-hour checkup at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. It was his fifth annual physical since taking office. ||||| US President George W Bush said he was "feeling pretty good" after an annual medical exam on Saturday found him in excellent health and trimmer than he was just after winning re-election last year. Bush, 59, prides himself on physical fitness and had lamented gaining weight at his last physical in December which he blamed on eating foods like doughnuts during the campaign. The president, who is nearly 6 feet tall, has dropped 3.6 kg since the last checkup and now weighs 87 kg, according to a report from doctors who examined him. "I'm feeling pretty good," he told reporters as he left the National Naval Medical Center near Washington. Skin lesions caused by sun damage and an occasional case of acid reflux were among the minor ailments cited in the report from a team of nine doctors, led by Bush's physician, Richard Tubb. The lesions appeared to be benign and no treatment was recommended. "The president remains in excellent health and fit for duty," the doctors said. "All data suggest that he will remain so for the duration of his presidency." They said Bush was in the superior fitness category for a man his age and had a "low" to "very low" risk of heart disease. His resting heart rate of 47 beats per minute and blood pressure of 110/64 are consistent with someone in good aerobic shape. Endurance athletes have an average resting heart rate of 50 to 60 beats per minute. Mountain biking has become Bush's favourite sport after knee problems forced him to give up jogging a couple of years ago. But he has taken a few well-publicised spills, including one on his July 6 birthday, when he collided with a police officer while cycling in Gleneagles, Scotland. In addition to cycling, Bush does elliptical training, low-impact treadmill, weight training and stretching. He exercises six times a week. Bush's body fat of 15.8 per cent was below last year's 18.25 per cent and lower than the normal range of 16.5 per cent to 20.5 per cent for a man his age. His cholesterol level of 178 was within the "desirable" range of less than 200. Bush no longer drinks alcohol but has an occasional cigar and has caffeine in coffee and diet soda. The latest exam puts Bush back on his regular schedule of having annual checkups in the summer. Last year, he postponed it for several months because of the campaign. Bush, who visited with wounded Marines after his exam, planned to leave Washington on Tuesday and go to his Crawford, Texas, ranch for a vacation. As Bush left the medical centre, he ignored a question about expected plans to bypass the US Senate to install John Bolton as US ambassador to the United Nations. Two US officials told Reuters on Friday he would give Bolton a "recess appointment" while the Senate is on its August summer break. | U.S. president released the results of high annual medical checkup July 31. The doctors said the president was in "excellent health". The doctors did note some minor skin lesions from spending too much time in the sun and suggested sunscreen for the President. It is U.S. tradition for sitting presidents to make public the results of their annual health exams. |
McLarens Lewis Hamilton is the 30th - and youngest-ever - world champion. Lady Luck was on his side after title rival Felipe Massa dominated at Interlagos. The Brazilian crossed the line first after a pluperfect performance - and seemed to have achieved the impossible - as Hamilton trailed in sixth. Rain in the closing stages had prompted the first five - Massa, Renaults Fernando Alonso, Ferraris Kimi Raikkonen, Hamilton and Toro Rossos Sebastian Vettel - to pit for wet tyres. Crucially, Timo Glock, running sixth for Toyota, did not. Massa, Alonso and Raikkonen resumed in first to third places, but Hamilton and Vettel fell behind Glock. That was still good enough for Hamilton. But then, under pressure on the 70th lap, he made a crucial mistake and slid wide. It was all Vettel needed and the Toro Rosso driver pushed through to snatch away the fifth place that Hamilton needed to become champion. Even as Massa crossed the line, Hamilton was only sixth and the Brazilian was the champion. But as Vettel and Hamilton slammed out of the final corner, Glocks Toyota was slowing in front of them, the German struggling for grip on his increasingly unsuitable rubber. From the jaws of defeat, the British driver snatched back the crown in one of the most dramatic title deciders in history. No Hollywood script could have been more exciting. Rain at the start had added to the drama, and saw Red Bulls David Coulthard make an undignified exit from his last Grand Prix after he was tapped into a spin by Williams Nico Rosberg, which then involved Rosbergs team mate Kazuki Nakajima. Coulthard was out on the spot, while Renaults Nelson Piquet went off in Turn Three and was also out. Massa controlled things throughout, with Toyotas Jarno Trulli soon falling back from an initially strong second-place run as everyone began changing from wet to dry-weather tyres after seven laps. Vettel, running a different fuel strategy to the other leaders, was always a threat, running second ahead of Alonso and pressuring Massa several times before stopping earlier for fuel. Raikkonen ran some way behind this trio, but closed in rapidly on Alonso in the final stages and was close to him as Massa crossed the line 13.2s ahead. Hamilton took few chances, was always around fourth or fifth, and looked easily on target until that dramatic battle at the end. Glock finished sixth, limping across the line well ahead of McLarens Heikki Kovalainen, and Trulli, the final points scorers. Mark Webber brought his Red Bull home ninth, ahead of the BMW Saubers of Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica, the team thus failing to score for the first time in 2008. Rosberg was 12th ahead of Hondas Jenson Button, Toro Rossos Sebastien Bourdais (whose chances of points were ruined after a clash with Trulli in Turn One), Hondas Rubens Barrichello, Force Indias Adrian Sutil, Nakajima and Giancarlo Fisichella. The Italian Force India driver was the first to stop for dry tyres on Lap Two, and ran as high as fifth before the inevitable decline as faster machinery hit its stride. After those gripping final laps there was almost disbelief at McLaren as Hamilton scraped home, but Massa had that covered as he graciously conceded defeat. We need to congratulate Lewis, he said. He did a great championship, and he scored more points than us, so deserves to be champion. Ferraris consolation was to win the constructors world championship but, ultimately, and in the most dramatic circumstances imaginable, this was Lewis Hamiltons and McLarens day. ||||| Hamilton is only the second driver to win the title in his second season Lewis Hamilton was overwhelmed by emotion after capturing the 2008 world championship by a single point at a thrilling season finale in Brazil. "It's pretty impossible to put into words," said the 23-year-old, who is now the youngest ever F1 champion. "It's been such a long journey and I'm so speechless. After all the sacrifices we've made I am so thrilled to be able to do this for everyone. "It was one of the toughest races of my life - if not the toughest." Hamilton clinched the title when he passed Timo Glock accelerating out of the final corner of the race to snatch the drivers' crown from Felipe Massa, who took the chequered flag ahead of him. With Massa winning at Interlagos, the Englishman knew he had to finish fifth to claim the title but he had slipped to sixth with one lap to go. In one final twist, however, Hamilton overtook Glock's slowing Toyota to clinch the fifth place he needed - and with it the title. BRITAIN'S WORLD CHAMPIONS Mike Hawthorn (1958) Graham Hill (1962 and '68) Jim Clark (1963 and '65) John Surtees (1964) Jackie Stewart (1969, '71 and '73) James Hunt (1976) Nigel Mansell (1992) Damon Hill (1996) Lewis Hamilton (2008) "The team didn't say anything so I though I was shot," said Hamilton, who became Britain's ninth world champion and the first since Damon Hill in 1996. "I didn't know where Glock was and Vettel was the guy to beat and I couldn't catch him, so at that point I was going to finish sixth. My heart was in my mouth," said Hamilton "When it started to drizzle, I didn't want to take any risks but at the final corner I got past Glock and I couldn't believe it. "I thought 'do I have it, do I have it?' When they told me, I was ecstatic. "It was absolutely fantastic, an amazing achievement on one of the most troubled days. Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play. "It was such a hard race and I'm ecstatic, very emotional, very thankful for my team and my family and everyone who has supported me. "I have done enough and we made it. I can forget everything else. "I need to rest because my heart is on edge. I want to shout out to all my supporters at home - I love them all." After a record-breaking rookie season, Hamilton continued to rack up the landmarks with his feat in Brazil. The Englishman joined Canada's 1997 winner Jacques Villeneuve as the only other driver to claim the championship in just their second season. At the age of 23 years and 301 days, he succeeded Fernando Alonso, who was 122 days older when he won the title in 2005, as the sport's youngest champion. 606: DEBATE I'm delighted for Lewis - just the best end to a championship ever Twelveyearsasleep He is McLaren's first world champion since Mika Hakkinen in 1999, and joins a club that includes his hero Ayrton Senna and all-time greats Alain Prost and Niki Lauda. Hamilton paid tribute to McLaren team boss Ron Dennis, who has mentored him for a decade. "It's a fairytale story that he gave me that opportunity years ago and he had the foresight to bring me in and groom me to get to this position," Hamilton said. "I've grabbed it with both hands and I've paid him back. I've paid him back in full so I'm happy with that." When asked if the title would be the first of many, Hamilton said: "I hope so. I don't know if my heart could take that final lap in many more seasons." Massa struggled to hold back the tears as he weighed up the mixed emotions of winning his home Grand Prix but losing the world crown by the smallest of margins. The Ferrari driver had been aiming to become the first Brazilian since the late Ayrton Senna in 1991 to win the drivers' title. "It was an emotional day for me," said the 27-year-old, who was racing in his hometown of Sao Paulo. Massa claimed his sixth Grand Prix win in Brazil but saw the title slip away "The race was perfect, we did everything fantastically in such difficult weather. "We got here and we almost did everything perfectly but then we saw Lewis pass Glock and there was mixed emotion. "We finished in front and we have to be very proud of that but unfortunately we missed [the championship] by one point. "But that's racing - we need to be proud of our job, our race, our championship. "I know how to win, I know how to lose, we are going to learn a lot from this day." Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? ||||| (CNN) -- Britain's Lewis Hamilton has become the youngest-ever Formula One world champion by winning the 2008 title in a thrilling finish at Interlagos on Sunday. Lewis Hamilton wins the Formula One world title after an incredible final race at Interlagos. The McLaren driver needed only to finish inside the top five at the Brazilian Grand Prix in Sao Paulo's Interlagos circuit to claim the crown, but it happened in the most dramatic of circumstances. In the end, he needed to make a pass two corners from the finish line to claim the title by a solitary point 98 to 97. Hamilton was comfortably sitting in fourth three laps from the end, but a heavy rain shower changed the race. Forced to go to the pits to change tires, Hamilton was passed by Sebastien Vettel and Timo Glock -- leaving him in sixth position and potentially costing him the world title. However, Glock's decision not to change to wet tires slowed him down on the final lap, allowing Hamilton to pass and finish fifth -- enough for the championship. Hamilton's nearest rival, Ferrari's Felipe Massa, who sat seven points adrift coming into the final round, won the race. Spurred on by a massive home crowd, Massa charged to a comfortable victory, however, it was never going to be enough to win the championship unless Hamilton finshed outside the top five. The result left the crowd unhappy and Massa mortified as they initially believed the Ferrari driver had taken the crown. Hamilton wins the title at a record age of 23 years and 300 days. See photos of the dramatic day's action After the race an emotional Hamilton told waiting media: "It's pretty much impossible to put into words how I feel. I'm speechless. It has been such a long journey and I am thrilled to be able to do this for everyone." Hamilton said the shower of rain before the end put what had been a finely calculated finish into jeopardy. "Before it started to rain I was comfortable, but then it started to drizzle. I saw Sebastian and he got in front of me and then I was told to come in to change tires. "Then I got past Glock and when I did it was just amazing. It was one of the toughest races of my life," Hamilton said. Massa praised the efforts of Hamilton, but was visibly emotional at the result. "We did everything fantastically and I am so proud about that race and I'm so proud about the team and the people here. But then we came up just one point short." The drama began shortly before the race when a heavy downpour of rain in Sao Paulo caught the teams unaware as they headed to the track for a warm-up lap. Officials eventually delayed the start while the teams headed back to the pits to change to wet tires. When the race did get underway the front of the grid all made a clean start. Massa held strong at the front and Hamilton managed to hold his fourth place on the grid as team-mate Heikki Kovalainen nursed him through the first corner. But it was not such a smooth run for veteran Briton David Coulthard. Racing in his final grand prix, Coulthard was involved in a crash with the Williams cars of Nico Rosberg and Kazuki Nakajima. The accident ended his race and a long and successful career in Formula One. Massa managed to hold his lead firmly through the early stages, and through the change to dry tires as the track dried and weather held clear. He eventually went on to win and claim the consolation of the constuctors' championship for Ferrari, but he and the Brazilian crowd were left hugely disappointed. ||||| Massa soaks up the pressure to take Brazil pole Ahead of today's all-important qualifying session, the air temperature is 22 degrees C, while the track temperature is 39 degrees. The overcast skies have given way to sunshine, however, the forecasters are predicting rain tomorrow, and lots of it. While Felipe Massa set the pace in yesterday's opening session, it has been Fernando Alonso who has dug deep and pulled off last gasp efforts to top the timesheets yesterday afternoon and this morning. Over the course of the three sessions however, it's tight, with the top twelve covered by just 0.484s. While there is lots of talk about Hamilton needing pole, it must be remembered that, as in 2007, the title is his to lose. The man who needs pole, the man who needs to win, is his title rival, Felipe Massa. The tyre options this weekend are medium and soft, and while we have seen little of the soft tyre this weekend, it was certainly the rubber to be on in the closing stages of this morning's session. Then again, let's not forget that we are expecting rain tomorrow. While the media focuses on the battle for the driver's title, let's not forget not only the Constructors' Championship, but plenty of other outstanding battles, such as the fight for third in the Drivers' Championship but also the fight for fifth. Then there's the battle for sixth in the Constructors' Championship between Toro Rosso, Red Bull and, to a lesser extent, Williams. Furthermore, with several teams still to complete their line-ups for next season, this is the last chance for drivers like Bourdais and Piquet to impress. With two minutes to go, it's party time for the (mostly) partisan crowd, the air-horns are blasted, the flags waved. No matter what happens in 2009, it is highly unlikely that Abu Dhabi will be able to come anywhere close to such an atmosphere. A local hero is first out, however, it's not Massa but Piquet, one of several drivers who still needs to sort out his seat for next year. As has the third Brazilian here today, Rubens Barrichello. Piquet posts the first time of the afternoon, crossing the line at 13.208. Moments later, Glock goes quickest with a 13.023 as the TV director concentrates on Barrichello, who is on the soft compound. The Honda driver goes second with a 13.030. Massa is the first of the big guns to go out, much to the crowd's delight. However, the McLaren duo isn't far behind. Trulli and Kovalainen are both on hot laps, and it is the Italian who goes quickest, crossing the line at 12.226. Kovalainen goes second, splitting the Toyotas with a 12.366. A 12.574 sees Massa go third, but all eyes are on Hamilton, who takes the top spot with a 12.213, despite not having gone quickest in any of the sectors. Raikkonen, who could only manage 13.115 on his first lap, post 12.557 next time around to go fourth. Trulli goes second as Massa improves to leapfrog his Ferrari teammate. Vettel splits the Ferraris with a 12.390 to go fifth, as Alonso begins his first flying lap. At the second split he's 0.311s up on Hamilton however, he can only manage tenth (12.614) as Glock spins costing both Renault drivers vital time. Elsewhere, replay show Rosberg in a very twitchy Williams. Piquet goes third, while Heidfeld can only manage eleventh. BMW teammate Kubica is still down in fourteenth. With less than four minutes remaining, Webber, Rosberg, Fisichella, Bourdais and Sutil are all in the danger zone, with Kubica, Coulthard, Heidfeld and Nakajima far from safe. Massa is back on track and immediately goes quickest in the first sector. He maintains the pace in the second sector, crossing the finish line at 11.830 to go quickest. The crowd erupts, cheering and punching the air in delight. A 12.083 sees Raikkonen go second, giving Ferrari a 1-2. Kubica (softs) is struggling, but looks likely to make it through to Q2. The Pole goes seventh (12.381) as Glock improves to fourth having gone quickest in the second sector. Heidfeld goes eighth and Webber tenth, however, Alonso improves to fourth, which is bad news for Nakajima who is bumped into the drop zone. At the first hurdle we lose both Williams, both Force Indias and Jenson Button. Indeed, the Honda driver has a problem, he pulls off to the side of the road. Quickest was Massa, ahead of Raikkonen, Hamilton, Alonso, Glock, Trulli, Piquet, Kovalainen, Heidfeld and Kubica. The lights go green to mark the start of Q2, and almost immediately the Toyotas head down the pitlane. Both are on softs. Glock sets the benchmark with a 12.331, but almost instantly Trulli goes quicker (12.107). Massa is another early bird, the Ferrari driver, like the Toyotas, on softs. Raikkonen (softs) on track also. The Finn clearly experiencing understeer problems. An 11.950 sees Raikkonen go quickest, however, Massa goes quickest in the first sector, eventually crossing the line at 11.875 to take the top spot. There's a murmur from the crowd as Hamilton begins his first flying lap, the Englishman subsequently going quickest with an 11.856. Elsewhere, his teammate goes quickest in the first sector, as Alonso goes fourth with a 12.090. A poor middle sector means that Kovalainen can only manage fourth (12.023). Trulli is now sixth, just ahead of Piquet. Glock goes quickest in the second sector, crossing the line at 11.909 to go third, splitting the McLaren and Ferrari monopoly at the top of the timesheets. Both BMWs on track, and both Kubica and Heidfeld are clearly struggling here. While the Pole can only manage eleventh (12.300), Heidfeld goes sixth with a 12.026. The German, who has struggled for much of the season in qualifying, finally appears to have found his form. Kovalainen goes quickest in the first sector, and sector three, crossing the line at 11.768 to make it a McLaren 1-2. Clearly not happy with his time, Raikkonen goes out again, as do Hamilton and Alonso. Indeed, other than Kovalainen, only Massa opts not to go out again. A personal best in sector one from Raikkonen, likewise, Piquet, Webber and Bourdais. Raikkonen fails to improve, while Vettel goes second with an 11.845. Bourdais and Webber look set to improve, which could be bad news for Alonso. Bourdais goes eighth, which is bad news for Piquet, who is demoted to the drop zone along with Webber, Kubica, Coulthard and Barrichello. A massive disappointment for Red Bull, but likewise Kubica and BMW. Quickest was Kovalainen, ahead of Vettel, Hamilton, Massa, Glock, Raikkonen, Heidfeld, Bourdais, Alonso and Trulli. So here we are, the final shoot out for the final race of 2008 and it would be a very brave man to try and predict the outcome. While Hamilton and Massa are looking good, Vettel and Glock appear to have other ideas. Glock is first out, the German opting for the harder (medium) compound. Vettel follows. As Glock begins his flying lap, Massa heads down the pitlane. The German posts 14.311, as Vettel goes purple in all three sectors, crossing the line at 13.155. Massa (softs) goes quickest in the first sector, as Hamilton begins his flying lap, having pushed very hard on his out lap, possibly too hard. Massa is quickest again in sector two, crossing the line at 12.453. Moments later, Hamilton posts 13.252 to go third. Trulli goes second and Raikkonen third, as Kovalainen takes fourth with a 13.059. Two and a half minutes remain and the crowd erupts as Massa takes to the track once again. All ten drivers are on track. A slow out lap from Massa, the Brazilian not following Hamilton's example. A better first sector from Hamilton, as Massa isn't matching his previous pace. However, a superb final sector sees the Brazilian post 12.358, while Hamilton goes second with a 12.830. Raikkonen goes second but Alonso and Kovalainen are still on track, as is Trulli, who goes second with a 12.737. Kovalainen can only manage 12.917, which puts him fifth. Consequently, Massa takes pole for the third successive year here, ahead of Trulli, Raikkonen, Hamilton, Kovalainen, Alonso, Vettel, Heidfeld, Bourdais and Glock. Despite all the talk of cracking under pressure, Massa has delivered, taking pole by almost 0.4s from Trulli, but, more importantly he's ahead of his title rival, who has Raikkonen ahead of him and Fernando Alonso behind. With the prospect of serious heavy weather tomorrow we could be in for a thriller, and don't we deserve it. However, while the weather can add spice to a race, let's hope that we get a good clean fight and that the outcome is decided on track not in the Race Stewards office, or, far worse, the Place de la Concorde, in a couple of weeks. To check out our Brazil qualifying gallery, click here | Felipe Massa at the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix The Autódromo José Carlos Pace aka Interlagos track of the Brazilian Grand Prix Ferrari driver Felipe Massa won yesterday's FIA Formula One (F1) 2008 Grande Prêmio Santander Brazilian Grand Prix at Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo, Brazil. Lewis Hamilton won the championship Lewis Hamilton, who drives for McLaren, was able to hold on to take the F1 Driver's Championship. He had a seven point lead in the season standings entering the Brazilian Grand Prix. Fernando Alonso came second while his Renault team mate Nelson Piquet Jr. slipped in the Senna's S-curve and broke his car's rear due to the wet track. Massa's teammate Kimi Räikkönen came third. On the final lap, Sebastian Vettel passed Lewis Hamilton, with help from the lapped Kubica, seemingly taking the championship chance from the McLaren driver. However, in the short straight before the final corner "Juncao",Timo Glock lost traction due to being on dry weather tyres in the wet conditions and lost his position to Vettel. Hamilton also passed him to win the Drivers' championship of the 2008 Formula One season. Massa missed out on the season title by just one point. Ferrari maintained the lead over McLaren to win the F1 Constructors' Championship. |
Six Months After Gulf Oil Disaster Began, What Progress? Aftershocks of the Gulf oil disaster will continue to cast a long shadow of uncertainty on the Gulf ecosystem 10-20-2010 // Miles Grant Today marks six months since the Deepwater Horizon explosion that killed 11 workers and gushed more than 170 million gallons of oil combined with large quantities of hydrocarbon gases. To put this anniversary in perspective, Doug Inkley, senior scientist for the National Wildlife Federation, compared what we know now about the Gulf disaster with we knew about the Exxon Valdez disaster six months after it had happened. “Looking back at what we knew six months after the Exxon Valdez disaster in Alaska illustrates the danger of too quickly drawing conclusions about the full impacts of the Gulf oil disaster," said Inkley. "Six months after the Exxon Valdez disaster, the herring stocks in Prince William Sound seemed like they’d pull through. It wasn’t until the fourth year after the disaster that herring stocks collapsed due to a delayed population effect of the oil, devastating the people and wildlife that depended on them. Today, more than two decades later, this once-vital fish still hasn’t recovered." It could likely be years, if not decades, before the full impacts of the BP oil spill disaster are known. “The Exxon Valdez disaster was not simply one ecosystem earthquake – the aftershocks have continued to this day,"said Inkley. "What tremors are still to come in the Gulf? The aftershocks of the Gulf oil disaster will continue to cast a long shadow of uncertainty on the Gulf ecosystem and the livelihoods of those who depend upon it for years to come.” As part of NWF's immediate response to the oil spill, Inkley traveled to ground zero of the disaster, reporting how the oil was impacting wildlife in the Gulf. “As I look back on my days in Louisiana’s wetlands wading through thick black oil in prime pelican habitat, I continue to wonder: How long must we wait for lawmakers to act to prevent future disasters? How many more lives, livelihoods and animals must be claimed by our addiction to oil?” ||||| BP is being prevented from selling fuel anywhere in central London this morning by Greenpeace activists who have shut down every petrol station in the capital and put up signs which say: "Closed. Moving beyond petroleum". Later this morning BP is expected to announce the appointment of Bob Dudley as the company's new CEO. Greenpeace is urging Dudley, who once worked at BP's solar and wind business (1), to take the company in a new direction after his predecessor's obsession with high risk, environmentally reckless sources of oil. 50 stations have been immobilised by small teams which used a shut-off switch to stop the flow of fuel at each location. The switches were then safely removed and taken away to prevent the stations from re-opening. At one station in Camden, North London, Greenpeace climbers have replaced BP's now infamous logo with a new version showing the green ‘sunflower' disappearing into a sea of oil (2). Greenpeace Executive Director John Sauven, who is outside the Camden station, said: "The moment has come for BP to move beyond oil. Under Tony Hayward the company went backwards, squeezing the last drops of oil from places like the Gulf of Mexico, the tar sands of Canada and even the fragile Arctic wilderness. "We've shut down all of BP's stations in London to give the new boss a chance to come up with a better plan. They're desperate for us to believe they're going ‘beyond petroleum'. Well now's the time to prove it." This morning the board is also expected to announce record losses after setting aside around $25-30bn to pay for the massive clean up job and legal fees resulting from the huge spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Despite this, BP currently plans to extract oil from risky deepwater wells in the Arctic as well as from the ‘tar sands' of Canada . Extracting oil from the tar sands is around three times more damaging to the climate than drilling for regular crude (3), and a spill in the Arctic wilderness could have consequences even more devastating than the current disaster in the Gulf. Industry analysts agree that Bob Dudley will come under intense pressure to outline a new strategy to revive the company's fortunes as the shareprice is currently 40% lower than before the explosion. Greenpeace is urging Dudley to demonstrate early leadership by announcing that BP will pull out of a trio of planned tar sands projects in Alberta which are due to be developed next year, and massively scale up the company's investment in alternative energy. Bob Dudley was formerly BP's group vice president for alternative energy and renewables. A company presentation delivered by Hayward in March this year shows that over the course of 2010, BP intended to invest US$19bn on its oil and gas business compared with less than $1bn on all alternative technologies combined - which includes spending on controversial biofuels, as well as all renewable technologies put together. (4) Sauven continued: "Forward thinking companies around the world have realised that fossil fuels are the past and clean energy is the future. It looks like Tony Hayward didn't get the memo. "Now the board desperately needs a rethink. The age of oil is coming to an end and companies like BP will be left behind unless they begin to adapt now." For more information, live interviews with the Executive Director of Greenpeace and video from the scene please contact the press office on 0207 865 8255 NOTES: Greenpeace is calling for: An immediate ban on new offshore drilling and exploration of all high-risk unconventional oil sources (including in the Arctic and the Canadian tar sands) An end to fossil fuel subsidies and an increase in support for clean energy Strong laws and policies that limit greenhouse gas emissions and stimulate a clean energy revolution. Greenpeace has written to the UK authorities asking whether they plan to launch an investigation into BP following the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and other environmental breaches. ENDS FOOTNOTES (1) http://www.bp.com/genericarticle.do?categoryId=2012968&contentId=7051363 (2) The logo was designed as part of a Greenpeace competition which attracted over 2,500 entries and 2 million page views over a six week period. See www.greenpeace.org.uk/bp for more information. (3) Alex D. Charpentier, Joule A. Bergerson, and Heather L. MacLean. Understanding the Canadian oil sands industry's greenhouse gas emissions, in Environmental Research Letters 1 (2009) (4) http://www.bp.com/liveassets/bp_internet/globalbp/STAGING/global_assets/downloads/I/IC_bp_strategy_presentation_march_2010_slides.pdf p.67 | A for the , Doug Inkley, has criticised what he described as America's "addiction to oil". Inkley stated it is ultimately responsible for the ''Deepwater Horizon'' disaster earlier this year. File:Oil well.jpg|thumb|left|Doug Inkley, a senior scientist working for the , said that the United States of America's "addiction to oil" was responsible for the ''Deepwater Horizon'' disaster six months ago. Inkley commented on the incident, six months after the explosion which killed eleven rig workers and resulted in over 170 million gallons of leaking into the Gulf of Mexico causing damage to as well as the Gulf's fishing and tourism industries. Inkley is a senior scientist working for the . He stated, "Looking back at what we knew six months after the Exxon Valdez disaster in Alaska illustrates the danger of too quickly drawing conclusions about the full impacts of the Gulf oil disaster." "Six months after the ''Exxon Valdez'' disaster," he continued, "the herring stocks in Prince William Sound seemed like they’d pull through. It wasn’t until the fourth year after the disaster that herring stocks collapsed due to a delayed population effect of the oil, devastating the people and wildlife that depended on them. Today, more than two decades later, this once-vital fish still hasn’t recovered." His remarks echo those issued by another environmental organisation in July. Greenpeace demanded that BP, who the United States Congress has blamed for the disaster, take a "new direction" and end an "obsession with high risk, environmentally reckless sources of oil." A spokesperson for Greenpeace said, "the moment has come for BP to move beyond oil. Under Tony Hayward the company went backwards, squeezing the last drops of oil from places like the Gulf of Mexico, the tar sands of Canada and even the fragile Arctic wilderness ... The age of oil is coming to an end and companies like BP will be left behind unless they begin to adapt now." Statistics show that the United States is by far the largest consumer of oil, using 20,680,000 barrels every day. Its closest rival, China, consumes only 7,578,000 barrels per day. Inkley said incidents in the past showed there can be far-reaching effects. "The disaster was not simply one ecosystem earthquake – the aftershocks have continued to this day," he said, citing which occurred when an ran aground in the . "What tremors are still to come in the Gulf? The aftershocks of the Gulf oil disaster will continue to cast a long shadow of uncertainty on the Gulf ecosystem and the livelihoods of those who depend upon it for years to come," pointed out Inkley. Adding, "as I look back on my days in Louisiana's wetlands wading through thick black oil in prime pelican habitat, I continue to wonder: How long must we wait for lawmakers to act to prevent future disasters? How many more lives, livelihoods and animals must be claimed by our addiction to oil?" |
Man charged with Hong Kong murder A man has been charged by police in Hong Kong with the murder of a British woman whose body was discovered in a flat. Janet Gilson, 64, a Salvation Army worker from Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, was found at her niece's property on Lamma Island on Saturday. It is understood the arrested man is the estranged husband of the victim's niece. Ms Gilson had been reported missing three days earlier by her niece. Police in Hong Kong would not confirm the identify of the suspect except to say he was an "expatriate". Mrs Fareed was quoted as telling Hong Kong's South China Morning Post newspaper that the suspect being held for the past two days was her husband. He was arrested on Saturday and will appear in Eastern Magistrates' Court on Hong Kong Island on Tuesday morning. Ms Gilson reportedly suffered head injuries but police could not confirm if she had died from them. She had arrived in Hong Kong on 6 March and was last seen on Tuesday in the village of Tai Yuen Village. It emerged that she had retired only recently. In a statement Major Carol Bailey, who is a regional manager for the Salvation Army, said: "She was a deeply spiritual woman and was highly respected and loved by all those with whom she came into contact." ||||| Killed woman's relative 'arrested in Hong Kong' HONG KONG — The suspect in the killing of a 64-year-old British woman in Hong Kong is the estranged husband of the victim's niece, reports said Monday. Police arrested a 29-year-old man on Saturday in connection with the death of Janet Gilson, who was last seen on March 15 at her niece's home on Lamma Island, a short ferry ride from the city's glittering downtown core. Authorities did not identify the suspect except to say he was an "expatriate". But the South China Morning Post on Monday quoted Gilson's niece Julia Fareed as saying the suspect is her estranged husband. The pair met when Fareed worked in the Maldives, where the suspect is from, according to reports. The Standard said he has a history of violence and breached an order banning him from going near his wife's home on the island, which is popular with expatriates. Police declined to confirm the reports, and Julia Fareed could not be immediately reached for comment. "We cannot confirm it because we don't have that information," a police spokeswoman told AFP. "We just know he is not a local, he is not from Hong Kong," she added. Police on Sunday confirmed they made the arrest after discovering the missing woman's body at Fareed's residence. Their initial search of the house turned up nothing last week, but a second probe uncovered the victim's body. Gilson, a Salvation Army worker, reportedly arrived in the city on March 5. Copyright © 2013 AFP. All rights reserved. More » | Janet Gilson was found dead at a flat on Lamma Island A man has been charged with the murder of a 64-year old British woman in Hong Kong. Janet Gilson's body was found dead in a flat on on Saturday. She had been in Hong Kong since March 6th and was staying with her niece. It is believed the man who has been charged with her murder was the estranged husband of her niece. Police in Hong Kong would not confirm the identity of the suspect but have said the he was an "expatriate". Gilson's niece Julia Fareed told the that the man police are questioning is her estranged husband who is originally from the Maldives. An official cause of death has not been released but it has been reported that Gilson did receive head injuries. Gilson was a worker for the . Regional director for the Salvation Army Major Carol Bailey paid tribute to Gilson, saying, "She was a deeply spiritual woman and was highly respected and loved by all those with whom she came into contact." |
The prime minister is trying to regain momentum after one of the worst local election results in Labour's history. Mr Clarke will be replaced by Defence Secretary John Reid. Margaret Beckett is the new foreign secretary, with Jack Straw becoming Commons leader. John Prescott will stay as deputy prime minister but lose his department. Trade Secretary Alan Johnson gets education. Labour came third in the overall share of the vote in local elections in England, losing control of 18 local authorities. The Tories were the biggest winners, gaining 316 extra councillors and 40% of the vote. CABINET RESHUFFLE Foreign Secretary - Margaret Beckett Home Secretary - John Reid Education Secretary - Alan Johnson Commons leader - Jack Straw Transport Secretary - Douglas Alexander Environment Secretary - David Miliband Local Government - Ruth Kelly Defence Secretary - Des Browne Trade Secretary - Alistair Darling Party Chairman - Hazel Blears Chief Whip - Jacqui Smith Chancellor of Duchy of Lancaster - Hilary Armstrong Chief Secretary to the Treasury - Stephen Timms Clarke defiant Analysis: Blair wields the axe Reshuffle: At-a-glance The results - which saw Labour lose 319 councillors - prompted Mr Blair to push ahead with a reshuffle originally planned for Monday. The reshuffle comes amid reports a letter is circulating among Labour MPs calling for Mr Blair to name a date for his handover of power to Chancellor Gordon Brown. The PM said he was "sorry" to lose Mr Clarke, who has been under intense pressure over the deportation of foreign prisoners - one of a series of scandals to have rocked the government in recent weeks. But he added: "I felt that it was very difficult, given the level of genuine public concern, for Charles to continue in this post." Mr Clarke, who had wanted to stay in his job to sort the deportation debacle out, refused the offer of other Cabinet posts, opting instead to return to the backbenches. He said he did not agree with the prime minister's judgement in sacking him but insisted he would remain loyal to the government. Prescott's role reduced Mr Prescott has also been accused of damaging his party after revelations about an affair with his diary secretary. He will remain as deputy prime minister but will be stripped of many responsibilities. He will also continue as deputy leader of the Labour Party. ELECTION SCOREBOARD Councillors Councils PARTY +/- TOT +/- TOT CON 316 1830 11 68 LAB -319 1439 -17 30 LD 2 909 1 13 OTH -2 240 0 0 NOC - - 6 66 After 176 of 176 councils NOC = No control Full results Ruth Kelly will take over many of his government roles, in a new department of communities and local government. She also takes on the title of minister for women from Tessa Jowell who remains as culture secretary. Downing Street is insisting Mr Prescott has not been demoted and confirmed he would keep his grace and favour accommodation in recognition, it said, of his heavy workload as deputy prime minister and chairing Cabinet committees. But Shadow Chancellor George Osborne attacked Mr Prescott as a waste of public money. "John Prescott loses his department but keeps the trappings of office - including the car, the salary, and the two grace and favour homes," said Mr Osborne. "Add it all up, and the taxpayer is going to be paying more than a quarter of a million pounds a year. If you're looking for ways to cut waste in government, you can start with John Prescott." Tory 'alternative' Meanwhile, in other moves, Trade Secretary Alan Johnson, a former postman and trade union leader, will replace Ms Kelly as education secretary and Commons leader Geoff Hoon will become Europe minister. Patricia Hewitt stays at health. Giving his reaction to the moves, Conservative leader David Cameron said: "It will take far more than a reshuffle. What we need in this country is a replacement." He said the Conservatives were "showing there is a broad-based alternative that is building while the government is collapsing". In other developments, Douglas Alexander will take over as transport secretary and minister for Scotland from Alistair Darling, who goes to trade and industry. Home Office minister Hazel Blears becomes Labour Party chairman and Des Browne is promoted from chief secretary of the Treasury to defence secretary. Chief whip Hilary Armstrong becomes chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, with a new role as social exclusion minister. David Miliband becomes environment secretary. One of the few senior ministers to remain in his post is Gordon Brown, who called the local election results a "warning shot", and said he would be speaking to Mr Blair over the weekend to plot the way ahead. Meanwhile the chancellor's former key adviser Ed Balls, who became a Labour MP at the last general election, has secured his first government job being appointed financial secretary to the Treasury. The reshuffle followed Thursday's local elections, which saw the Conservatives take control of 11 local authorities, although they failed to make hoped-for progress in Northern cities such as Manchester and Liverpool. The Liberal Democrats failed to make predicted advances, gaining less than 20 councillors, but Sir Menzies Campbell insisted it was not a test of his leadership. He said Mr Blair should have sacked Mr Clarke "before now", saying the prime minister was "trying to shuffle a pretty battered pack of cards". 'Deckchairs on Titanic' Some Labour backbenchers believe Mr Blair must go further than just overhauling his top team. HAVE YOUR SAY It's the Night of the Long Knives - only in broad daylight Kevin Potter, Suffolk, UK Send us your comments Former Health Secretary Frank Dobson said a reshuffle would be like "rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic". "Quite frankly we need the party under new management," said Mr Dobson. If Thursday's polls had been held nationwide, the Tories would have gained 40% of the vote, Lib Dems 27% and Labour 26%. Turnout is estimated at 36% - down three points from 2004. Among the smaller parties, the Greens gained 20 more councillors and The British National Party more than doubled its previous total of 20 councillors, including winning 11 seats from Labour in Barking. George Galloway's Respect gained 11 councillors in Tower Hamlets - but failed to stop Labour keeping overall control. ||||| Tony Blair today sacked Charles Clarke, demoted Jack Straw and stripped John Prescott of his departmental brief in a wide-ranging reshuffle aimed at reinvigorating his government after heavy losses in yesterday's local elections. The home secretary becomes the highest-ranking casualty of sweeping changes to the cabinet and will return to the backbenches after a string of Home Office blunders regarding the deportation of foreign criminals. John Reid is set to be the new home secretary, with Des Browne replacing him as defence secretary. Shortly later a clearly bitter Mr Clarke said it was "the prime minister's right" to remove him but added that he "did not agree" that he would have stood in the way of the reform that is needed at the Home Office. Downing Street confirmed that he had turned down the offer of another, possibly more junior, job. Mr Clarke said it would not be "appropriate" to stay in government and that he would return to the backbenches, where he said he would support Mr Blair staying in power for a full term. David Cameron, on a visit to Hammersmith to celebrate a Tory council win described the sacking of Mr Clarke as a "great reversal" or "climbdown" by Mr Blair. "It's the right thing to do, he lost public confidence so he had to go. A week ago the prime minister did not understand that but the reshuffle is not what is needed. A replacement is what is needed which we are going to have to wait a few years for that." The deputy prime minister, Mr Prescott, has been stripped of much of his power after his affair with secretary Tracey Temple was exposed. Jack Straw was the second senior minister to enter Downing Street at 8.20am as speculation centred on him losing the Foreign Office. He will assume the less prestigious position of leader of the Commons, replacing Geoff Hoon. Margaret Beckett is one of the big winners of the reshuffle, becoming the first female foreign secretary, a reward for years of loyalty to Tony Blair. Mr Blair's spokesman praised her as a "highly experienced minister with lots of foreign experience at Defra". Mr Hoon replaces Douglas Alexander as Europe minister, a role that entitles the minister to attend cabinet but does not have full cabinet rank. The Blairite former communities minister David Miliband, widely tipped as potential future Labour leader, is promoted to Mrs Beckett's old brief at environment, food and rural affairs. His promotion will be seen as a sign that Labour is taking seriously Mr Cameron's focus on the green agenda. Ruth Kelly moves from the education brief, which saw serious Labour divisions earlier in the year over schools reform, to take over John Prescott's departmental brief covering housing and regional policy. As part of the reorganisation, the Office of the Deputy Prime MInister will be scrapped and Ms Kelly will head a new Department for Communities and Local Government, which will also take on some Home Office responsibilities. Alastair Darling moves from transport, given to Mr Alexander, to become the new trade secretary. The Labour party chief whip, Hilary Armstrong, has been replaced by Jacqui Smith. Ms Armstrong was widely blamed by some for a whipping failure that led to a government defeat in the Commons earlier in the year. Alan Johnson will take over the education brief from Ruth Kelly. With Labour MPs threatening to rebel in larger numbers on the controversial education bill when it comes out of committee in three weeks' time, Downing Street believes Mr Johnson can persuade more of them to back the government following his success over higher education top-up fees. Ian McCartney, who joked to reporters on his way into Downing Street at 8.35am that his desired job "had gone to Steve McClaren" has been removed from cabinet to take up the job of trade minister under Mr Darling. The new Labour party chair, Hazel Blears, told reporters in Downing Street she was delighted to be promoted to the cabinet. The Guardian understands that Gordon Brown was not consulted by Tony Blair about the changes, except where the Treasury was involved. The chancellor told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that he had played no part in the process, saying it was "his [Tony Blair's] reshuffle". The lord chancellor, Lord Falconer, and the leader of the Lords, Baroness Amos, both keep their jobs. Mr Blair's spokesman later told journalists that the prime minister and Mr Prescott had discussed removing his departmental brief 12 months ago. Mr Prescott, spared the humiliation of the sack, will still chair a "series of major cabinet committees to deliver the efficient development of government policy," said the spokesman. He will also continue international work, with a focus on burgeoning economies such as China, and work on the environment in co-operation with the new environment secretary - yet to be appointed. He will retain his role as power-broker and mediator between Labour's warring factions, new party chair Ms Blears said today. Further responsibilities are expected to be added to his s brief at a later time. "The role that John's got is really important in bringing the parliamentary party together," she told Sky News. "It's important that government has depth of experience and John Prescott has many years of bringing people together (and) resolving policy differences across government." Ms Blears said Mr Prescott would also be looking into party funding, working with her and the party's national executive committee. Mr Straw's move was said to have come after he made it clear to Mr Blair that after years at the Home Office and then the Foreign Office he wanted a different role. Mr Straw will also have responsibility for House of Lords reform, party funding, and will chair the cabinet's constitutional affairs committee. Mr Reid was said by No 10 to be "the right man to take over" from Mr Clarke - who until now Mr Blair had insisted was himself the right man to repair the damage after the foreign prisoners row. He has often been regarded as the cabinet firefighter and is known by journalists as Mr Blair's rottweiler. The Guardian understands that Mr Blair was urged to bring back John Denham, the chairman of the home affairs select committee, in a bid to heal some of the divisions post-Iraq. That move would have been controversial as Mr Denham has been increasingly critical of the leadership, calling on Mr Blair to set a timetable to handover to Mr Brown, a move fiercely resisted in Downing Street. In an interview with BBC political editor Nick Robinson, Mr Clarke confirmed he had been offered other jobs in the government. "The prime minister made it clear he didn't think I should continue as home secretary," said Mr Clarke. "He did offer me a number of alternative posts in government but I felt it would be wrong to take them. "I felt that I had staked my reputation on solving the problem of foreign national prisoners at the Home Office and I felt if I wasn't able to do that it was best to go to the backbenches. "I think what he feels is the way the media has dealt with events over the recent period means that I as home secretary would be vulnerable over the next two or three weeks to events which could lead to instability and therefore make it less possible to solve the problem." The Liberal Democrat leader, Sir Menzies Campbell, said: "The prime minister is having to shuffle with an increasingly battered pack. No amount of cosmetic surgery can disguise the fact that this government has suffered a permanent loss of credibility. "He should not have waited until now to release the home secretary from his duties. He had said Charles Clarke should remain to sort out the mess at the Home Office. Mr Clarke has gone but the mess remains. "The prime minister needs to spell out his own exit strategy." | The United Kingdom Home Secretary Charles Clarke has lost his position in a Cabinet reshuffle by Tony Blair, on the morning after the Labour Party suffered losses in local elections across England. The news follows two weeks of headlines caused by the release of over 1000 foreign prisoners mistakenly released from prison at the end of their sentence rather than being deported. Current Defence Secretary John Reid will replace Clarke as the new Home Secretary, and Jack Straw will become Commons leader. |
Japanese exports have been hit by the global economic downturn Japan's economy contracted by 3.3% in the last quarter of last year - its worst showing since the oil crisis of the 1970s, official figures show. The contraction means the economy shrank at an annual pace of 12.7% during the October to December period. Economic Minister Kaoru Yosano said Japan faced its worst economic crisis since the end of World War II. The slowdown in the world's second-biggest economy is steeper than that being experienced in the US or Europe. Japan has been hit particularly hard by falling global demand for its products. People had been saying for some time that GDP would be bad, so while the market didn't welcome the numbers there was no excessive reaction Hiroaki Osakabe, Chibagin Asset Management Exports, particularly of electronics and cars, have slumped and production has been slashed. Consumers have cut back too, alarmed by rising unemployment. "This is the worst economic crisis in the post-war era. There is no doubt about it," Mr Yosano said at a news conference. "The Japanese economy, whose growth is heavily dependent on exports of automobiles, machinery, and IT equipment, was literally battered" by the global downturn, he said. Mild reaction However, Japan's stock market largely brushed off the latest economic news. The Nikkei share index lost 0.4%, while the broader Topix rose 0.7%. "People had been saying for some time that GDP would be bad, so while the market didn't welcome the numbers there was no excessive reaction," said Hiroaki Osakabe at Chibagin Asset Management. Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play. "The next quarter is likely to also be tough because consumption may well fall off." Mr Yosano said the government would consider new stimulus measures to aid the economy. "Japan alone won't be able to recover. The economy has no border. It is our responsibility to rebuild the domestic economy for other countries," he added. Prime Minister Taro Aso is hampered in his response by a divided parliament and a fractious ruling party. There were reports over the weekend that he is considering another stimulus package of government spending worth 20 trillion yen ($218bn; £152bn). But the latest opinion poll has showed that fewer than 10% of people support the prime minister, who must call a general election by September. Are you in Japan? Have you been affected by the downturn? Send us your comments using the form below: In most cases a selection of your comments will be published, displaying your name and location unless you state otherwise in the box below. Name Your E-mail address Town & Country Phone number (optional): Comments The BBC may edit your comments and not all emails will be published. Your comments may be published on any BBC media worldwide. Terms & Conditions Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? E-mail this to a friend Printable version ||||| By Yuzo Saeki TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's economy shrank in the last quarter by its most since the first oil crisis in 1974, hit by an unprecedented slump in exports, which is likely to lead to more calls for extra stimulus. Japan has not suffered much directly from the bursting of bubbles in U.S. credit and housing markets, but its heavy dependence on exports and persistently soft domestic consumption has led to a sharper contraction than other major economies. As the rich world faces its worst downturn in decades, the Group of Seven (G7) policymakers pledged at the weekend to do all they could to combat recession. Japan's economy shrank 3.3 percent, or an annualized 12.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008 -- three times the fall in gross domestic product in the same quarter in the United States, at the epicenter of the current global crisis. With exporters cutting production and laying off staff and many retailers reporting sharp falls in sales, economists saw little hope of a bounce back for Japan. "The data showed a severe picture of the Japanese economy and highlighted the weakness in exports," said Takeshi Minami, chief economist at Norinchukin Research Institute. "The January-March quarter is likely to show another minus figure (annualized) in double digits or something close to double digits." ADDICTION FEAR Spooked by sliding U.S. Treasuries and reports that the heavily indebted Japanese government may be planning further big stimulus spending, March 10-year government bond futures fell a third of a point. "There's no question that this is the worst recession in the post-war period," Economics Minister Kaoru Yosano told a news conference. The government had to pursue all options to keep the economy afloat, he said, but he struck a cautious note on large scale spending, saying it could not get "addicted to pain killers." The Nikkei share average fell 0.2 percent but the yen rose slightly, after the G7 omitted any reference to the currency's strength in its final communique. The yen's 24 percent against Japan's key trading partners in the quarter has added to the pain for big exporters such as Toyota and Panasonic. The big slide in Japanese GDP in the October-December quarter was its second-worst in modern times, lagging only a 3.4 percent contraction in 1974, after the first Middle East oil shock. The contraction was bigger than economists' median forecast of a 3.1 percent fall and also worse than the downturn ensnaring all other major economic powers in the same quarter. Continued... | Official figures show that has shrunk by 3.3% in the last quarter of 2008—or an annualized 12.7%, the fastest decline since 1974, when the economy contracted by 3.4% in a quarter. The decline in Japan has been sharper than in either Europe or North America, mostly because global demand for the country's products, such as automobiles and electronics, has fallen. The contraction was also larger than the 3.1% decline that was predicted by economists, the worst decline of any major economic power in the same quarter. Japanese Prime Minister In comparison, the contracted 1.5% in the same quarter, and the United States GDP shrank by an annualized 3.8%. "The data showed a severe picture of the Japanese economy and highlighted the weakness in exports. The January-March quarter is likely to show another minus figure annualized in double digits or something close to double digits," said the chief economist at Norinchukin Research Institute, Takeshi Minami. There have been reports that Japanese prime minister Taro Aso is considering launching a 20 trillion (approximately 218 billion) stimulus plan in response to the recession, but he is hindered by a divided parliament, and an approval rating which concurrently fell below ten percent. |
Trypanosomes are parasites responsible for many human and animal diseases, primarily in tropical climates. One disease these parasites cause, African sleeping sickness, results from the bite of infected tsetse flies, putting over 60 million Africans at risk in 36 sub-Saharan countries. The recent 1998-2001 sleeping sickness epidemics in South Sudan, Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda killed tens of thousands of people and resulted in over a half million infected individuals. A team of researchers at the University of Georgia and Glasgow University has now shown, for the first time, just how one species of these parasites evades the human innate defenses. The finding could open the way for new classes of drugs and more in-depth studies about how parasites manage to kill so many and cost governments billions of dollars to fight. "We believe this research represents a paradigm shift and causes us to think more broadly about how pathogens avoid host defense mechanisms," said Stephen Hajduk, professor and head of the department of biochemistry and molecular biology at UGA and one of the leaders of the research. "It turns out that African trypanosomes have evolved a diversity of ways to avoid human innate and acquired immune systems." The research, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, was a joint effort between UGA and a group led by Annette Macleod at the University of Glasgow in Scotland. Other authors of the paper include Rudo Kieft, a research professional in Hajduk's lab at UGA; Paul Capewell and Nicola Veitch in the Macleod lab in Wellcome Center for Molecular Parasitology in Glasgow; and Michael Turner of the Biomedical Research Center at the University of Glasgow. The department of biochemistry and molecular biology at UGA is part of the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. Hajduk also is a member of the Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases at UGA. The need for a clearer understanding of how these parasites evade human immune systems is at the heart of a serious public health problem, Hajduk said. During the recent epidemics of African sleeping sickness, as many as half the occupants in some African villages were infected with trypanosomes. The geographical isolation of these villages and ongoing civil wars contributed to what many believe were the worst epidemics of sleeping sickness in five decades. This led to the realization that many of the existing therapies now available to fight African sleeping sickness are often ineffective and have extreme toxicity, frequently causing death. Additionally, there is increasing evidence that while new therapeutics may cure the disease, long-lasting neurological damage can be caused by infection. The World Health Organization reports that the recent introduction of aggressive population screening in rural areas and distribution of more effective drugs has dramatically reduced the number of deaths, however. Several species of African trypanosomes infect non-primate mammals and cause important veterinary disease yet are unable to infect humans. The trypanosomes that cause human disease, Trypanosoma brucei gambiense and T. b. rhodensiense, have evolved mechanisms to avoid the native human defense molecules in the circulatory system that kill the parasites that cause animal disease. Two of the major challenges faced by scientists studying human sleeping sickness have been the identification of the naturally occurring human defense molecules that are active against the trypanosomes causing animal disease, and the identification of the strategies used by the human sleeping sickness parasites to avoid the action of these molecules. Human innate immunity against most African trypanosomes is mediated by a subclass of HDL (high density lipoprotein, which people know from blood tests as "good cholesterol") called trypanosome lytic factor-1, or TLF-1. This minor subclass of human HDL further contains two proteins, apolipoprotein L-1 and haptoglobin-related protein, which are only found in primates. These proteins work together, in the lipid environment of the HDL particle, as a specific and highly active toxin against the trypanosomes that infect non-primate mammals. Despite its activity against some African trypanosomes, the toxin is completely nontoxic to the human sleeping sickness parasites. The parasite that causes fast-onset, acute sleeping sickness in humans, T. b. rhodensiense, is able to cause disease because it has evolved an inhibitor of TLF-1 called Serum Resistance Associated (SRA) protein. Another species, T. b. gambiense, causes slow onset, chronic sleeping sickness and is responsible for over 95 percent of the human deaths caused by these parasites. Until the just-published research by Hajduk, Macleod and their colleagues, nothing was known about TLF-1 resistance in T. b. gambiense. Hajduk and Macleod report, for the first time, that T. b. gambiense resistance to TLF-1 is caused by a marked reduction of TLF-1 uptake by the parasite. So how is this happening? To survive in the bloodstream of humans, these parasites have apparently evolved mutations in the gene encoding a surface protein receptor. These mutations result in a receptor with decreased TLF-1 binding, leading to reduced uptake and thus allow the parasites to avoid the toxicity of TLF-1. "Humans have evolved TLF-1 as a highly specific toxin against African trypanosomes by tricking the parasite into taking up this HDL because it resembles a nutrient the parasite needs for survival," said Hajduk, "but T. b. gambiense has evolved a counter measure to these human 'Trojan horses' simply by barring the door and not allowing TLF-1 to enter the cell, effectively blocking human innate immunity and leading to infection and ultimately disease." The parasite may pay a price for blocking the uptake of a nutrient, but still the strategy works and the parasite can infect humans. Now that researchers know how the parasite survives, this may provide an intervention target that could keep the parasites from evading the human defense system. The result could be a newly strengthened innate defense system that halts the parasites in their paths. The research was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health and the Burroughs-Wellcome Fund. Email or share this story: Story Source: The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by University of Georgia . The original article was written by Philip Lee Williams. ||||| Athens, Ga. - Trypanosomes are parasites responsible for many human and animal diseases, primarily in tropical climates. One disease these parasites cause, African sleeping sickness, results from the bite of infected tsetse flies, putting over 60 million Africans at risk in 36 sub-Saharan countries. The recent 1998-2001 sleeping sickness epidemics in South Sudan, Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda killed tens of thousands of people and resulted in over a half million infected individuals. A team of researchers at the University of Georgia and Glasgow University has now shown, for the first time, just how one species of these parasites evades the human innate defenses. The finding could open the way for new classes of drugs and more in-depth studies about how parasites manage to kill so many and cost governments billions of dollars to fight. "We believe this research represents a paradigm shift and causes us to think more broadly about how pathogens avoid host defense mechanisms," said Stephen Hajduk, professor and head of the department of biochemistry and molecular biology at UGA and one of the leaders of the research. "It turns out that African trypanosomes have evolved a diversity of ways to avoid human innate and acquired immune systems." The research, published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, was a joint effort between UGA and a group led by Annette Macleod at the University of Glasgow in Scotland. Other authors of the paper include Rudo Kieft, a research professional in Hajduk's lab at UGA; Paul Capewell and Nicola Veitch in the Macleod lab in Wellcome Center for Molecular Parasitology in Glasgow; and Michael Turner of the Biomedical Research Center at the University of Glasgow. The department of biochemistry and molecular biology at UGA is part of the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. Hajduk also is a member of the Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases at UGA. The need for a clearer understanding of how these parasites evade human immune systems is at the heart of a serious public health problem, Hajduk said. During the recent epidemics of African sleeping sickness, as many as half the occupants in some African villages were infected with trypanosomes. The geographical isolation of these villages and ongoing civil wars contributed to what many believe were the worst epidemics of sleeping sickness in five decades. This led to the realization that many of the existing therapies now available to fight African sleeping sickness are often ineffective and have extreme toxicity, frequently causing death. Additionally, there is increasing evidence that while new therapeutics may cure the disease, long-lasting neurological damage can be caused by infection. The World Health Organization reports that the recent introduction of aggressive population screening in rural areas and distribution of more effective drugs has dramatically reduced the number of deaths, however. Several species of African trypanosomes infect non-primate mammals and cause important veterinary disease yet are unable to infect humans. The trypanosomes that cause human disease, Trypanosoma brucei gambiense and T. b. rhodensiense, have evolved mechanisms to avoid the native human defense molecules in the circulatory system that kill the parasites that cause animal disease. Two of the major challenges faced by scientists studying human sleeping sickness have been the identification of the naturally occurring human defense molecules that are active against the trypanosomes causing animal disease, and the identification of the strategies used by the human sleeping sickness parasites to avoid the action of these molecules. Human innate immunity against most African trypanosomes is mediated by a subclass of HDL (high density lipoprotein, which people know from blood tests as "good cholesterol") called trypanosome lytic factor-1, or TLF-1. This minor subclass of human HDL further contains two proteins, apolipoprotein L-1 and haptoglobin-related protein, which are only found in primates. These proteins work together, in the lipid environment of the HDL particle, as a specific and highly active toxin against the trypanosomes that infect non-primate mammals. Despite its activity against some African trypanosomes, the toxin is completely nontoxic to the human sleeping sickness parasites. The parasite that causes fast-onset, acute sleeping sickness in humans, T. b. rhodensiense, is able to cause disease because it has evolved an inhibitor of TLF-1 called Serum Resistance Associated (SRA) protein. Another species, T. b. gambiense, causes slow onset, chronic sleeping sickness and is responsible for over 95 percent of the human deaths caused by these parasites. Until the just-published research by Hajduk, Macleod and their colleagues, nothing was known about TLF-1 resistance in T. b. gambiense. Hajduk and Macleod report, for the first time, that T. b. gambiense resistance to TLF-1 is caused by a marked reduction of TLF-1 uptake by the parasite. So how is this happening? To survive in the bloodstream of humans, these parasites have apparently evolved mutations in the gene encoding a surface protein receptor. These mutations result in a receptor with decreased TLF-1 binding, leading to reduced uptake and thus allow the parasites to avoid the toxicity of TLF-1. "Humans have evolved TLF-1 as a highly specific toxin against African trypanosomes by tricking the parasite into taking up this HDL because it resembles a nutrient the parasite needs for survival," said Hajduk, "but T. b. gambiense has evolved a counter measure to these human 'Trojan horses' simply by barring the door and not allowing TLF-1 to enter the cell, effectively blocking human innate immunity and leading to infection and ultimately disease." The parasite may pay a price for blocking the uptake of a nutrient, but still the strategy works and the parasite can infect humans. Now that researchers know how the parasite survives, this may provide an intervention target that could keep the parasites from evading the human defense system. The result could be a newly strengthened innate defense system that halts the parasites in their paths. ### The research was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health and the Burroughs-Wellcome Fund. ||||| Fly-killing fake cow made in Greenwich 'top discovery' Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play. The creation of an "artificial cow" that kills deadly flies in Africa has been named as one of the ten most important university discoveries by UK academics. The device, developed at the University of Greenwich, south-east London, was voted the eighth most important university breakthrough of the last 60 years. It replicates the smell of a cow, attracting the tsetse fly which is then killed. Tsetse flies spread the killer sleeping sickness. The cow's inventors, Professors Glyn Vale David Hall and Steve Torr, have spent 40 years finding ways of controlling the tsetse fly in Africa. The one-centimetre-long insect is responsible for spreading sleeping sickness, which kills 30,000 people and two million cattle every year. 'Huge area affected' Professor Torr, who is still part of the research team said: "Tsetse-transmitted diseases are a dreadful problem in Africa, killing 30,000 people. "I am thrilled that this research, which tackles a really important issue in the developing world, has been recognised." Professor Hall said: "Tsetse affects a huge area and a huge number of people - and if this discovery contributes to improving their overall standard of life, it is important." The scientists have developed a blend of odours which tsetse mistake for the smell of a real cow. The flies are drawn to the 'cow' where they are killed by insecticide. The technique is now being used in countries such as Uganda, Ethiopia, Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. Sleeping sickness attacks the nervous system Sleeping sickness, which is spread through the tsetse fly, is fatal without treatment. It initially appears as a fever, but later affects the central nervous system manifesting as confusion and poor coordination. Disturbance of the sleep cycle is also a key symptom of the disease. Cattle lost to the disease affects the livelihoods of millions locked in poverty throughout Africa. The tsetse fly exists across 11 million square kilometres of land, an area of land larger than the United States. Scientists estimate it impacts the lives of up to four million people across Africa. Dr John Kabayo from Pattec (Pan African Tsetse and Trypanosomiasis Eradication Campaign) coordinates the African effort to eradicate the fly. He says the work of scientists in the developed world plays a key role. He said: "There, scientists are better equipped - they have grants, budgets and better equipment to develop the science. The work they do is crucial." Pattec aims to eradicate the deadly tsetse fly from sub-Saharan Africa by 2031. ||||| Nation. Empower Africa. Welcome to our new brand! We come to you in great new ways, all created to empower every single one of you. | File photo of brucei Research teams from the universities of and discovered the mechanism the parasite evolved for "sleeping sickness" disease to circumvent the human immune system. Their study follows a recent African outbreak of this parasite causes. The discovery is expected to help develop a cure preventing future deaths. A , generally responsible for the spread of the condition. The 1998–2001 sleeping sickness epidemics in Sudan, Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Uganda caused tens of thousands of deaths. The parasites are spread by . It is considered one of the worst epidemics in the last five decades. As WHO reported, subsequent recent introduction of population screening in rural areas and distribution of more effective drugs had potentially reduced the number of death incidents. However, the main effect of these measures being a decrease in spreading of the parasite and not in decrease of the death rate, the researchers decided to tackle the puzzle. The scientists studied the molecules the human immune system activates in response to the attack. They were looking for the way the parasites inhibit it and lead to the death of the victim. Of the several known parasite species, the two that can infect humans were chosen to study, called ''Trypanosoma brucei gambiense'' and ''Trypanosoma brucei rhodensiense''. Several others also exist, but they affect only animals. Researchers knew that the Trypanosoma attacks typically are repelled by an , more specifically ''trypanosome lytic factor-1'' (TLF-1). It is generated in the humans' immune system and is toxic to the parasites but not to humans. It was known that one of the parasites, ''T. b. rhodensiense'', has evolved an inhibitor of the toxic chemical, called Serum Resistance Associated (SRA) protein. However the other one, ''T. b. gambiense'', was responsible for over 95% of human deaths, and it had been previously unknown why. The study showed that a gene mutation has lead to a change in the parasite's surface protein receptor. It doesn't bind to TLF-1 as well as for other species, leading to a substantial decrease in TLF-1 uptake by the parasite. The receptor is more strict, causing a lower nutrient intake as well, but it suffices, and the parasite defends against the human immune system. As professor and head of the department of biochemistry and molecular biology at UGA (and one of the leaders of the research) Stephen Hajduk explained, "Humans have evolved TLF-1 as a highly specific toxin against African trypanosomes by tricking the parasite into taking up this HDL because it resembles a nutrient the parasite needs for survival. But T. b. gambiense has evolved a counter measure to these human 'Trojan horses' simply by barring the door and not allowing TLF-1 to enter the cell, effectively blocking human innate immunity and leading to infection and ultimately disease." Based on the results of the research, humans could possibly develop a defense mechanism to keep the parasites from evading the human defense system. Stephen Hajduk commented, "We believe this research represents a paradigm shift and causes us to think more broadly about how pathogens avoid host defense mechanisms. It turns out that African trypanosomes have evolved a diversity of ways to avoid human innate and acquired immune systems." == Sources == * * |
VfL Wolfsburg are the champions of Germany for the first time. Felix Magath's side turned over Werder Bremen 5-1 (3-1) for their 16th home victory in 17 games to crown an unforgettable season with the Bundesliga title. A sell-out 30,000 crowd applauded team captain Josué when he raised aloft the championship plate after the match, before the team headed off to Wolfsburg city hall, where the celebrations were set to continue. Wolves wrap it up early VfL wasted no time in ensuring they would not trip up at the final hurdle. With only six minutes played, Zvjezdan Misimovic pounced on a loose ball from Werder's Petri Pasanen to put the home side in front. After quarter of an hour Grafite made it 2-0, extending his lead at the top of the scoring chart in the process with his 27th goal of the campaign. Eleven minutes later, an own goal from Sebastian Prödl effectively made the result, and the championship, safe for the Wolves. Strikers to the fore once more Bremen playmaker Diego, making his last league appearance for the Green-Whites, pulled one back in the 31st minute. Nine minutes into the second half however Grafite restored the three-goal cushion, before his strike partner Edin Dzeko put the icing on the cake with number five in the 74th minute. All of which means Dzeko and Grafite set a new one-season scoring record for the Bundesliga with 54 goals between them. One more chance for Bremen Still clearly hung-over from their midweek UEFA Cup final disappointment against Shakhtar Donetsk, Bremen were no match for a well-oiled and ultra-motivated home side. Thomas Schaaf's team now have one last chance to redeem their season in next week's DFB Cup final against Bayer Leverkusen in Berlin. Schaaf's opposite number, Felix Magath, meanwhile heads west for his next assignment at Schalke 04 as a champion once again. ||||| VfL Wolfsburg sealed their first Bundesliga title by demolishing Werder Bremen 5-1 on the final day of the season on Saturday. Hundreds of fans poured on to the pitch at the final whistle, cheering and hugging the players and ripping the shirts off their backs, to celebrate a remarkable achievement for a team regarded as rank outsiders at the start of the season. Bayern Munich, who went into the final round of matches two points behind, at least managed to clinch second spot, and automatic entry to the Champions League, thanks to a 2-1 win over direct rivals VfB Stuttgart, who finished third. Stuttgart will go into Champions League qualifying, while Hertha Berlin and Hamburg SV will play in the new Europa League. Arminia Bielefeld and Karlsruhe were relegated while Energie Cottbus will play a relegation play-off with the third best team of the second division. Wolfsburg, holding that precious two-point advantage, ensured nerves would not be an issue as they roared into a 3-0 lead through Zvjezdan Misimovic, Grafite and an own goal from Sebastian Proedl. Werder pulled one back through Diego before Grafite and Edin Dzeko sealed the title with two second half goals. "It is a dream come true," Magath, who will be leaving to join Schalke next season, told Premiere. "Before the season started I never thought we had a chance to win the championship. "It is hard to be leaving now, obviously," added a soaking Magath, who led Bayern Munich to successive league and cup doubles before being sacked by the Bavarians. "I am not quite dry. We were in the locker room and there was quite a bit of champagne flying through the air." More than 30,000 fans in the stands and on the pitch broke into songs when captain Josue lifted the Bundesliga shield to a clear blue sky. Wolfsburg became the first team in the history of the Bundesliga to have two strikers score 20 goals or more in one season, with Grafite netting 28 times and Bosnian Dzeko 26. "It is just insane," said Dzeko. "It is great feeling to be German champions. I did not think it was possible to win it in only my second year in Germany. We are going to do a lot of celebrating." Bayern, who needed a slip-up by Wolfsburg to have any chance, managed to hold on to a 2-1 win against Stuttgart after an own goal by Khalid Boulahrouz and one from captain Mark van Bommel had put them in the lead. Mario Gomez pulled one back. "We won four matches and had one draw. I think I fulfilled my mission," said interim Bayern coach Jupp Heynckes, hired to salvage Champions League qualification after Juergen Klinsmann was sacked in late April. "It is just a shame that we could not win the championship. This team has so much potential. Normally a team this good should win the title," Heynckes added. | The German First Bundesliga ended its season on Saturday. VfL Wolfsburg claimed its first season title with a win over UEFA Cup runners-up Werder Bremen by 5–1. The win was Wolfsburg's sixteenth of seventeen at home. Wolfsburg manager Felix Magath Wolfsburg went into the match holding a two-point advantage over Bayern Munich and VfB Stuttgart, who played each other at the same time. Since VfL had a goal difference of 35 to FC Bayern's 28, even a draw would have effectively clinched the title for them. Additionally, Wolfsburg faced a tired Werder Bremen side that had just lost the UEFA Cup final to Shaktar Donetsk after extra time. VfL got the scoring started after six minutes, when Zvjezdan Misimović latched onto a loose ball just outside the Werder penalty area and put it into the top of the net. Nine minutes later, Grafite, the league's leading goalscorer, made it 27 goals on the season. The game was effectively over when Sebastian Prödl scored an own goal in the 26th minute. Though Diego pulled one back for Werder five minutes later, it would not be enough. Second half goals from Grafite (56th) and Edin Džeko (74th) put an exclamation point on the afternoon for Wolfsburg. However, this was the last game at the helm for Wolfsburg's manager, Felix Magath. His contract was not renewed and he will be heading to FC Schalke 04, who lost their final game under interim managers Mike Büskens, Oliver Reck and Youri Mulder. Bayern won 2–1 over Stuttgart, so they join Wolfsburg in the UEFA Champions League 2009–10 group stage, while Stuttgart must start from the play-off round. Hertha BSC and HSV will represent the Bundesliga in the UEFA Europa League. Hertha managed to hang on despite being beaten 4–0 by seventeenth-placed Karlsruher SC. |
BUS SERVICE EXPANDED: Bus riders on Monday boarded OCTA route No. 43 at Harbor Boulevard and Commonwealth Avenue in Fullerton. Limited service on routes 57 and 60 were added Monday before the striking drivers ratified their contract. BRUCE CHAMBERS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER MORE PHOTOS What is this? Save & share this article These icons link to social bookmarking sites where you can share this story and discover new Web pages. Google del.icio.us Newsvine Spurl.net Slashdot Digg Yahoo! StumbleUpon Reddit Vote ends bus strike Bus drivers vote 696-35 to OK contract. Orange County transit board also approves pact. Buses expected on full schedule by midweek. The Orange County Register ORANGE Bus drivers voted yes to approve the proposed contract with the Orange County Transportation Authority, and OCTA has also approved the contract, which brings the weeklong strike to an end. The vote by union members was 696 yes, 35 no. We call it a victory, but it was at a loss not only to our drivers but to the riders, said Patrick D. Kelly, secretary-treasurer for Teamsters Local 952. It was a bittersweet victory. I'm very pleased at this point, said Carolyn Cavecche, chairwoman of the OCTA board. Kelly said 67 percent of the members turned out Sunday to cast their vote, a lower turnout than the strike vote. I read that as people are not as mad now as they were before the strike, Kelly said. The union hall was packed with smiling drivers this morning who said they were excited to go back to work. We are more than ready because there are a lot of people who depend on us and we are ready to serve, said Leticia Abreu, who has been a bus driver for nine months. There are people who are totally dependant on buses and they got hurt more than our people, said Arthur Aguilera, a bus driver of 17 years. Our hearts go out to them. The contract provides a raise for all the drivers, with slightly higher increases for more experienced drivers. It also gives bus drivers a boost in their pension plan and medical benefits. OCTA spokesman Joel Zlotnik said that with approval by both sides, buses are expected to be back up and running on full schedules by midweek. ||||| BUS SERVICE EXPANDED: Bus riders on Monday boarded OCTA route No. 43 at Harbor Boulevard and Commonwealth Avenue in Fullerton. Limited service on routes 57 and 60 were added Monday before the striking drivers ratified their contract. BRUCE CHAMBERS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER MORE PHOTOS What is this? Save & share this article These icons link to social bookmarking sites where you can share this story and discover new Web pages. Google del.icio.us Newsvine Spurl.net Slashdot Digg Yahoo! StumbleUpon Reddit Vote ends bus strike Bus drivers vote 696-35 to OK contract. Orange County transit board also approves pact. Buses expected on full schedule by midweek. The Orange County Register ORANGE Bus drivers voted yes to approve the proposed contract with the Orange County Transportation Authority, and OCTA has also approved the contract, which brings the weeklong strike to an end. The vote by union members was 696 yes, 35 no. We call it a victory, but it was at a loss not only to our drivers but to the riders, said Patrick D. Kelly, secretary-treasurer for Teamsters Local 952. It was a bittersweet victory. I'm very pleased at this point, said Carolyn Cavecche, chairwoman of the OCTA board. Kelly said 67 percent of the members turned out Sunday to cast their vote, a lower turnout than the strike vote. I read that as people are not as mad now as they were before the strike, Kelly said. The union hall was packed with smiling drivers this morning who said they were excited to go back to work. We are more than ready because there are a lot of people who depend on us and we are ready to serve, said Leticia Abreu, who has been a bus driver for nine months. There are people who are totally dependant on buses and they got hurt more than our people, said Arthur Aguilera, a bus driver of 17 years. Our hearts go out to them. The contract provides a raise for all the drivers, with slightly higher increases for more experienced drivers. It also gives bus drivers a boost in their pension plan and medical benefits. OCTA spokesman Joel Zlotnik said that with approval by both sides, buses are expected to be back up and running on full schedules by midweek. | Teamsters Local 952 and the Orange County Transportation Authority made peace this morning as coach operators voted 696 to 35 in favour of ratifying a tentative agreement, thus settling a labour dispute that had simmered since May and ending a week-old work stoppage. |
Press Releases Violent Crime Falls Following Blitz on Alcohol Related Disorder Violent crime fell by 11 per cent during the Christmas blitz on alcohol related disorder, the Government announced today. The six week campaign, which began in November last year, focused on tackling alcohol related behaviour and targeting those selling alcohol to children. During the campaign police and trading standards officers carried out over 6,000 test purchase operations, dealt with more that 30,000 offences and made over 25,000 arrests. Provisional data from forces shows that in the areas that took part in the campaign, more serious violent crime also fell by 21 per cent, the biggest drop of all previous alcohol crackdowns. Police force data from the Alcohol Misuse Enforcement Campaign (AMEC) show that: All violent crime decreased by 11 per cent during the campaign; Serious violent crime decreased by 21 per cent; within this category wounding and other acts endangering life fell by 14 per cent; During the six week campaign police dealt with 33,358 offences; Police and partners visited 27,154 licensed premises (21,995 on and 5,159 off licence); 25,486 arrests were made; Out of test purchase operations, 29 per cent of on licence and 19 per cent of off licence premises were found to be selling to minors; Police issued 8,179 fixed penalty notices - 38 per cent for being drunk and disorderly, 37 per cent for public order offences and harassment, 10 per cent for selling to minors and 15 per cent for other alcohol-related offences; 649 summonses were issued as a result of test-purchase operations or visits, including: - 593 for selling to minors; - 17 for selling to drunks; - 39 for other alcohol offences. Mr Clarke said: "Today's figures are a credit to all those committed to tackling alcohol related disorder. Delivering results, reducing violent crime and underage sales in local communities takes us another step closer to removing such unacceptable behaviour from our streets. "It is the Governments intentions to eliminate once and for all the sale of alcohol to children and it is encouraging to see our recent work with the supermarkets has resulted in an initial improvement, with a drop in test purchase failure rates to 17 per cent from almost 50 per cent over the summer. The failure rate for pubs has also reduced, and now lies at just under 30 per cent. These figures are still too high but nonetheless represent a significant achievement. "The police work that has lead to the success of AMEC will now continue on a daily basis as part of everyday mainstream police activities to help drive home the message that we will not allow the drunken behaviour of the minority to impact the lives of the decent majority of people who enjoy a sensible drink with family and friends." Culture Secretary, Tessa Jowell said: "We won’t eradicate alcohol-related crime and disorder overnight, we know that. "But today’s figures show a problem in the process of being dealt with. They send a clear message to rogue traders and drink fuelled troublemakers everywhere - we’re using the full weight of the law to come after you. "And, thanks to the new licensing laws, the police and local authorities have joined forces to use tougher powers to deal with the problem at the source. We’ll be checking over coming months to ensure the new laws are having a tangible, positive effect on the streets of our town and city centres." ACPO lead for Alcohol, Chief Constable Michael Craik, said: "Drunken violence and disorder will not be tolerated. This AMEC campaign has shown just what can be achieved when police and their partners focus on an issue of major public concern. "The figures speak for themselves. What is important now is that we continue to develop the strategy, tactics and leadership of this campaign into mainstream policing, so that we can build public trust and confidence in our ability to tackle alcohol related disorder throughout the rest of the year." Notes to Editors AMEC 3 was a six week police campaign running from the 12 November 2005 to 24 December 2005. See Press Notice 175/2005 dated 15 November 2005. The Home Office dedicated £2.5 million for AMEC 3 to help fund a range of specialist operations including: • issuing of fixed penalty notices for alcohol related disorder; • test purchasing activity to target underage sales; • early intervention using CCTV to diffuse potential disorder; • closure of premises using existing and tough new powers in the Licensing Act 2003; and • multi-agency enforcement action against problem premises/retailers. Test purchase results for the individual supermarkets for AMEC 3 show: Store Mini-AMEC Amec 3 Asda 42.5% 7% Co-op (all companies) 47.2% 17% Morrisons 46.1% 14% Sainsbury's 30% 16% Somerfield 44% 20% Tesco 52.7% 16% Waitrose 22% The Government published the Violent Crime Reduction Bill on 8 June 2005 which includes a package of measures to reduce alcohol-fuelled violence: • Alcohol Disorder Zones which will require licensed premises to contribute to the cost of alcohol-related crime and disorder in specific areas where it has been identified as a problem; • Exclude individuals responsible for alcohol-related disorder from entering licensed premises by imposing "Drinking Banning Orders" which could run for up to two years; • Create powers for the police to ban the sale of alcohol from licensed premises for up to 48 hours for selling alcohol to under 18's; and • Provide police with the power to exclude individuals at risk of carrying out alcohol-related crime and disorder from a specific area for up to 48 hours. The campaign was supported by two hard-hitting posters warning of the penalties for drunk and disorderly behaviour. The posters depict a young man urinating against a wall following a night out, leaving a stream of one pound coins pouring down the drain; and a pile of vomit in the shape of £80. The strap line is "Get drunk and disorderly, get arrested and an £80 fine". PDF copies of the posters are available for media. back to top ||||| Serious violent crime has fallen by more than a fifth since the licensing laws were liberalised, police figures show. Major industrial cities, seaside resorts and market towns from the south coast to Cumbria are reporting dramatic falls in alcohol-fuelled assaults and woundings after the country's antiquated drinking laws were overhauled. Article Length: 840 words (approx.) ||||| Police detaining a woman Newly-released Home Office figures show violent crime recorded in England and Wales fell 11% at the end of 2005, despite longer opening hours coming in. But the Conservatives say the figures are "bogus" because this period coincided with a £2.5m policing boost. Ministers deny "spinning" the figures to make the policy appear a success. The government should not use these bogus, inappropriate and spun statistics to justify its 24-hour drinking proposals David Davis Shadow home secretary David Davis said: "What this shows is that if you put more bobbies on the street you will cut crime. "However these figures are a result of a six-week crackdown on violence which cost £2.5m - what happens when this money runs out?" He added: "The government should not use these bogus, inappropriate and spun statistics to justify its 24-hour drinking proposals, especially just after the Home Secretary admitted how concerned he was that Government crime statistics were confusing. "They should wait and assess the effect of longer drinking hours over a 12-month period at least." But Culture Minister James Purnell told BBC News: "We did not spin these figures to say that they meant that any conclusions could be drawn about the Licensing Act. That's absolutely clear -- all the way through. "What we're saying is that it's far too early to make any decisions about what this data shows. We will assess it over months and years." Binge drinking The Home Office gave the police and trading standards departments £2.5m to target binge drinking between 12 November and Christmas. With more officers on the streets at night, violent crime went down by 11% overall compared with the same period in 2004, with a 21% fall in more serious types of offence, the figures show. The figures are the first since licensing laws were changed in November to allow extended drinking hours. Half of all violent crime is linked to excessive drinking and the government had been waiting to see how the figures would be affected by longer opening hours for pubs and clubs. The projections of government and the industry have proved far closer to the truth than the prophesies of the peddlers of doom and gloom Mark Hastings Earlier on Wednesday, Home Secretary Charles Clarke said the figures represented a step forward in removing "unacceptable" behaviour from Britain's streets. In a statement, he said progress had been made on cutting sales of alcohol to under-18s and it was the government's intention to eliminate the problem altogether. Mr Clarke said police work would continue to drive home the message that the "drunken behaviour of the minority" would not be allowed to "impact the lives of the decent majority of people who enjoy a sensible drink with family and friends". Mark Hastings, of the British Beer and Pub Association, said the figures showed the combination of flexible opening hours and law enforcement was having a "positive impact". He said: "Communities are seeing a reduction in violent crime and the pub trade is seeing positive changes in drinking patterns and behaviour. "The projections of government and the industry have proved far closer to the truth than the prophesies of the peddlers of doom and gloom." BBC crime correspondent Neil Bennett said it was not possible to draw firm conclusions about the effects of extended opening hours from these figures alone. He said: "The extra money to tackle drink-related violence has now run out and - as the figures for mugging showed recently - when specially targeted operations stop, so crime tends to go up again." When the new licensing laws came in on 24 November, police forces said the full implications would not be clear for at least six months. | The Home Office department of the UK government have released statistics claiming an 11 percent drop in violent crime over the 2005 Christmas period, with a 21 percent drop in 'serious violent crime'. This drop in violent crime coincided with a six week police campaign, aimed at reducing the level of alcohol related disorders. Home Secretary Charles Clarke said "these figures are a credit to all those committed to tackling alcohol related disorder. Delivering results, reducing violent crime and underage sales in local communities takes us another step closer to removing such unacceptable behaviour from our streets." The police campaign followed the introduction of new UK licensing laws which allow pubs and bars to potentially open for longer than the previous 11PM curfew, with '24 hour' opening a possibility. Critics, including the opposition Conservative party, had predicted that this would lead to a rise in drunken behaviour. Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell, a strong proponent of the new laws, said of the statistics "thanks to the new licensing laws, the police and local authorities have joined forces to use tougher powers to deal with the problem at the source." The Conservative Party are accusing the government of spinning the statistics, suggesting that the drop in violent crime was due to the police campaign. Shadow Home Secretary David Davis said "what this shows is that if you put more bobbies on the street you will cut crime. However these figures are a result of a six-week crack down on violence which cost £2.5m - what happens when this money runs out?" |
Robert Hunter, the poet and writer who provided the Grateful Dead with many of their vivid and enduring lyrics, died Monday night. He was 78. No cause of death was provided. “It is with great sadness we confirm our beloved Robert passed away yesterday night,” Hunter’s family announced in a statement. “He died peacefully at home in his bed, surrounded by love. His wife Maureen was by his side holding his hand. For his fans that have loved and supported him all these years, take comfort in knowing that his words are all around us, and in that way his is never truly gone. In this time of grief please celebrate him the way you all know how, by being together and listening to the music. Let there be songs to fill the air.” Considered one of rock’s most ambitious and dazzling lyricists, Hunter was the literary counterpoint to the band’s musical experimentation. His lyrics — heard in everything from early Dead classics like “Dark Star” and “China Cat Sunflower” and proceeding through “Uncle John’s Band,” “Box of Rain,” “Scarlet Begonias,” and “Touch of Gray”— were as much a part of the band as Jerry Garcia’s singing and guitar. Born Robert Burns in California in 1941, Hunter met Garcia in 1961. Garcia asked Hunter to play in a jug band, but Hunter passed, instead seeing a future for himself as a writer. At Stanford, Hunter took part in early LSD experiments and dabbled in Scientology before leaving for the Southwest, where he battled drug issues. There, he sent several lyrics to the Dead in San Francisco before moving to the Bay Area to reunite with Garcia. When the band was working up an instrumental at a show north of San Francisco, Hunter listened and began writing lyrics to accompany the music; the result, “Dark Star,” was both a landmark for the band and also the official start of Hunter’s new role as the band’s lyricist in residence. The role completely recast Hunter’s life goals. “What we were doing was almost sacred. The spirit of the times. … there was a time I felt this was the way the world would be going in a spiritual way, and we were an important part of that. I didn’t feel we were a pop music band. I wanted to write a whole different sort of music.” He told RS that his favorite line was in “Ripple: “Let it be known there is a fountain that was not made by the hands of men.” Hunter was also a proudly irascible member of the Dead scene, sometimes nixing requests to use Dead songs in commercials or similar licensing deals. He rarely gave interviews. “There are things I have to do, like get a good picture, and I don’t take a good picture,” he told Rolling Stone in 2013. “I don’t know if it’s because I’m ugly or the camera doesn’t like me. Like everyone in the Dead community, Hunter was shaken by Garcia’s death, although he told RS he felt it wasn’t completely unexpected: “I always saw it coming, but seeing it coming is not the same as seeing it. I didn’t get the feeling he intended to live for very long. There are things about Jerry I just don’t understand. Or maybe am not capable of knowing.” Hunter’s work didn’t end with Garcia’s death. In the years after, he wrote songs with Elvis Costello, Bruce Hornsby, country singer Jim Lauderdale and Dead drummer Mickey Hart. His best-known collaborator after Garcia, though, was Bob Dylan. Starting with “Silvio,” the two co-wrote many songs on Dylan’s Together Through Life in 2009. “He’s got a way with words and I do too,” Dylan told Rolling Stone. “We both write a different type of song than what passes today for songwriting.” Hunter told RS: “He’s the only guy I work with who I give the liberty to change things. After all, he is who he is.” Hunter, who is survived by his wife Maureen (whom he married in 1982), recorded several albums in his own and occasionally toured. In 2013, he went on his last solo tour as a result of medical bills; the year before he had had a spinal abscess and, by his own admission, hit the road to help pay his medical bills. “I’m always glad that people are still out there performing the stuff, and the closer they are to the origination, the better,” he told RS in 2013. “There will be a time when there aren’t any of the originators left.” ||||| “There were other lyricists involved in the writing of the Grateful Dead canon,” he wrote in the foreword to “The Complete Annotated Grateful Dead Lyrics” (2005; annotations by David Dodd). “Had I not joined, by invitation, as lyricist in residence, a year after they chose the name and nailed down the job through sheer prolixity, the band would have developed differently. It might have been less odd and more popular, for one thing.” Mr. Hunter first met Jerry Garcia, the singer and guitarist who would become the band’s most recognizable member, in Palo Alto, Calif., when the two were still teenagers. They found that they shared an interest in music and even played together a bit. “Our first group was Bob and Jerry, and our first gig was at Stanford,” he told Rolling Stone in 2015. “We got $5 for both of us. We kept it for a couple of days until we needed cigarettes, and then that was that.” Mr. Garcia, Ron McKernan, Bob Weir, Phil Lesh and Bill Kreutzmann formed the Grateful Dead in 1965 (after briefly calling themselves the Warlocks). Mr. Hunter was in New Mexico when he was invited to join the party a year or so later. “I had written ‘St. Stephen’ and ‘China Cat Sunflower,’” Mr. Hunter said, naming some early songs, “and I sent those — and ‘Alligator’ — off to Jerry, and he uncharacteristically wrote back. He said they were going to use the songs and why didn’t I come out and be their lyricist?” Sometimes he would put lyrics to riffs the band was trying out. He came up with the lyrics for “Uncle John’s Band” after listening to a long instrumental tape over and over. | On Monday, US singer and lyricist died at his home in , California. His family's announcement of his death specified no cause, but, according to his agent, Hunter had undergone surgery recently. The former lyricist of rock band Grateful Dead was 78. Robert Hunter, 2013. Hunter composed lyrics for several songs by US band the Grateful Dead, including many of their biggest hits. He also collaborated with Dead associates and and artists such as , Bob Dylan, and . Born Robert Burns in , California on June 23, 1941, he took his stepfather's name sometime in his youth and met future Grateful Dead guitarist when both were in their late teens. The duo formed a brief musical partnership that was interrupted by Garcia joining a band and Hunter having personal complications from participation in , a CIA mind control program to test on US citizens. After Hunter retreated to New Mexico and continued to write songs he would mail to Garcia in the , Garcia invited him to collaborate in Garcia's new group, the Grateful Dead. Hunter joined the group as a songwriter, providing lyrics to songs such as "", "", and "" throughout the late 1960s and into the 1970s. He continued as a solo performer, releasing several albums and occasionally touring into the 2010s. He also wrote for other artists, including co-writing several songs on musician Bob Dylan's 2009 release ''''. Hunter is survived by wife Maureen. |
22-year-old Ryerson student Jodi Behan is seen during a fake freak out as seen in this video posted on YouTube. 22-year-old Ryerson student Jodi Behan is seen during a fake freak out as seen in this video posted on YouTube. YouTube bride video has hair company roots CTV.ca News Staff It appears a popular YouTube video of a screaming bride-to-be with a bad haircut was actually spearheaded by a major hair product company. Sunsilk Canada revealed Thursday that a video clip seen so far by more than 2 million people on the popular video portal YouTube was an "initiative" by the hair product company. "We understand very much that women have these moments with their hair, and some of them end up in what we're calling 'wig-outs,'" spokesperson Geoff Craig told CTV News. He added that "it was certainly never our intent to do anything other than provide a dramatization of one of these moments from the get-go." There had been widespread debate about the authenticity of the clip, titled "Bride Has Massive Hair Wig Out." As it airs on YouTube, the video appears to be an amateur recording of a young woman frantically chopping her hair off during a meltdown an hour before her wedding. It's not obvious that the video is a dramatization, nor that it's affiliated with any organization. It was revealed earlier Thursday that the video, which even made it Wednesday onto NBC's The Today Show, was indeed fiction. However, the 22-year-old aspiring actress playing the bride, whose real name is Jodi Behan, really did cut her hair in the video filmed by Toronto-based Ryerson University grad Ingrid Hass. Behan told Canada AM Friday that she doesn't regret it. "I mean, there's going to be lots of different things you're going to have to do for acting parts so why hold out?" The girls say they did the stunt to promote their acting skills and as a way of getting their names out there. "We're all actors so we're really excited for all the opportunities for everyone," Jessie Behan, the real-life sister of Jodi, told Canada AM. The girls appeared on Good Morning America and and had been due to make an appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. But when the producers told the foursome that only two could appear on the show, they turned down the offer. In the six-minute clip, Behan enters a hotel room filled with bridesmaids and complains of her bad haircut. Then, in a burst of anger, her character, also named Jodi, takes a pair of scissors and begins furiously cutting off her hair -- repeatedly telling the camera operator to stop filming. Haas, a local performance artist, came up with the idea as a way to gain notoriety on YouTube. "I would love to tell you all about it. I will have to hold off," Haas told the Toronto Star, without elaborating. When asked if he thought the video was real, Toronto film director Norman Jewison told the newspaper on Wednesday that he suspected the video was staged. But he said he'd give her a job in an instant. "Wouldn't you hire her as an actress? I sure would," Jewison said. "If she's not one, then maybe she should become one. It's hysterical." ||||| It was a hair scare viewed around the world. A YouTube clip of a Canadian bride cutting off her unflattering updo got 2.8 million clicks after it was posted Jan. 18 by someone who appeared to be a back-stabbing bridesmaid. While it was undoubtedly entertaining, many wondered whether the clip was real. More than 1,000 people on YouTube debated the legitimacy of the frenzied hair-hacking. Even the mainstream media couldn't figure it out. This week, though, Jodi Behan, the video's star, came clean. Far from a "bridezilla," Behan is a 22-year-old aspiring actress from Toronto. Advertisement The whole escapade was staged to make a splash on the Web, like Lonelygirl15, who duped millions over the summer. Lonelygirl15 -- aka Jessica Lee Rose -- appeared in videos on sites like MySpace and YouTube, and was supposedly a precocious home-schooled 16-year-old until it was revealed that she was really a a budding actress. In an exclusive interview on "Good Morning America" today, Behan; Ingrid Haas, the co-creator of the video; and the two women who played Behan's bridesmaids talked about the video and what drove them to make it. Haas said a hair horror story from her high school prom inspired the video. Talking with other women, she realized how common it was to want to hack off a frustrating hairdo. "It's a collaborative effort," she said. "Women have stories like this." While many people on YouTube assumed Behan had taken scissors to a wig, she was actually cutting off her own tresses. That meant no do-overs -- the whole video was filmed in one take. "No -- wig," Behan said, shaking her cropped locks. Just Doing Their Jobs The women said they didn't feel guilty for duping YouTube viewers -- they were simply doing their jobs. "We got hired, and we played our parts. We're just actors," said one of the women who played a bridesmaid. Some viewers say they knew the video was a hoax from the beginning. "The moment the bride came in I knew it was a fake," said TV Guide's Rochell Thomas. "She was just too over the top." Now that they've become an international sensation, the four women are hoping more acting job offers are on their way. Asked whether Hollywood had come calling yet, Haas said, "We're waiting." Copyright © 2007 ABC News Internet Ventures (Copyright ©2009 ABC News Internet Ventures.) ||||| Sign-up to receive the weekly top stories, contest and promotion announcements every Tuesday Thanks for signing up! A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it please check your junk folder. The next issue of Canada.com Newsletter will soon be in your inbox. ||||| More than 1.8 million viewers have clicked onto the six-minute clip titled Bride Has Massive Hair Wig Out since it was posted Jan. 18 on YouTube. More than 1.8 million viewers have clicked onto the six-minute clip titled Bride Has Massive Hair Wig Out since it was posted Jan. 18 on YouTube. If she's indeed Canuck, bride's got better ratings than Corner Gas Jan 31, 2007 04:30 AM Peter Howell Movie Critic A backstage peek at a bridal meltdown on YouTube.com has awestruck watchers worldwide popping the question: Is it drama queen or just drama? More than 1.8 million viewers have clicked onto the six-minute clip titled Bride Has Massive Hair Wig Out since it was posted Jan. 18 on the popular video-sharing website, where yesterday it was still on the front page. The clip reportedly comes from Canada. If so, it would rank amongst top Canuck shows. An average episode of the hit CTV series Corner Gas draws 1.5 million viewers. Opinion is divided over whether the clip is for real. It looks that way, but publicity-seeking pranksters might have faked it. Canadian film veteran Norman Jewison watched the clip at the Star's request and he's suspicious. He thinks the bride might be chopping off a wig, not her real hair. (The reference to "wig" in the title might be a deliberate clue.) But he said that even if it's fake, it's still a great performance by the woman some people are calling "Bridezilla." "Wouldn't you hire her as an actress? I sure would," Jewison said from his Toronto office. "If she's not one, then maybe she should become one. It's hysterical." The debate is more than idle amusement for the many who have been passing the video link along the global gossip circuit. It speaks to an increasing uncertainty in today's digital world over what's real and what's not, especially in the realm of popular entertainment where contrived documentaries like Borat and so-called "reality TV" challenge notions of veracity. The only sure thing is it makes for jaw-dropping viewing. Three bridesmaids gather in a hotel room for last-minute preparations for the wedding of their pal Jodie. The nuptials are just over an hour away. Bridesmaids Esther, Jessie and an unseen and unnamed third woman, who holds the camera, chatter happily and toast each other with champagne while waiting for Jodie to return from the hairdresser. Jodie storms in like Hurricane Katrina. She hates her hair, which has been done in curls with flower adornments. She wails inconsolably, despite assurances from Esther and Jessie. "It looks cute! It looks like Shirley Temple or something," Jessie says. "I look like a boy!" Jodie screams, glaring into the bathroom mirror. She bolts from the bathroom and grabs a pair of scissors. As her bridesmaids gape in horror and laugh nervously, she begins hacking away at her hair. As clumps of hair fall around her, Jodie realizes what she's doing. Then the hysterics really start, as she demands to know why her bridesmaids didn't stop her. Jodie finally rushes the camera in a rage and the tape abruptly ends. Now everyone is asking: what did Jodie finally do about her hair? Did she and her beau get married? And did this event really occur or was it staged? The clip was posted on YouTube by someone calling themselves "Wigoutgirl," who claims to be 25 and from Canada. Is "Bridezilla" Canadian? "Wigoutgirl" didn't respond to an email request from the Star for an interview and much prodding of YouTube for information yielded only a boilerplate response from spokesperson David Song: "It is our policy not to comment on individual videos." That's a big difference between new and old media. It would be inconceivable for a TV network or movie studio to release a video or film for public consumption without giving some indication as to its provenance and whether it should be viewed as a documentary or drama. But is it necessary in this day and age for such full disclosure? It seems it all depends on the context. "The whole essence of this website is that anything goes," said Jewison, whose five-decade filmmaking career includes the Oscar-nominated Fiddler on the Roof, Moonstruck and In the Heat of the Night. "I don't think you're watching this website to see anything that's professionally produced. It's people dancing naked or on their head. It's a freak show, is it not?" Jewison added. Another view of the truth vs. reality debate was offered by Allan King, the Toronto pioneer of the cinéma-vérité style of realistic documentaries like Warrendale and A Married Couple. "The whole arrangement of fact and fiction in our time has been extraordinarily blurred," King said from Regina, where he is editing his latest film. He hasn't seen the "Bridezilla" clip yet, but he ventured the opinion that it could be real, because the greater the emotion the harder it is to pretend. "I think if you get into passionate and strong feelings it's hard to fake that. The more emotional stuff is, particularly when it gets to intimacy, it's easier to spot the feigned. It's hard to believe that people would have sufficient acting skills to fake it." Jewison admits he could go either way on "Bridezilla." He's seen professional actresses completely lose their composure on movie sets. So maybe the clip is for real after all. On the other hand, Jewison also knows actors who would willingly chop off their hair for the camera, if it brought them useful publicity. "Maybe (Jodie) will go around and use this as her promo reel." See Bride Has Massive Hair Wig Out at http://tinyurl.com/3dkb2v ||||| Bridezilla wig-out real or fake? Bride 'lops her mop off' with scissors after suffering meltdown (Global National image via YouTube video) TORONTO -- The latest homemade video to make the viral rounds on the Internet is now under intense scrutiny as the online community debates whether the video -- which shows a bride-to-be suffer a meltdown over a poor hair job, and proceed to 'lop her mop off' with a pair of scissors -- is real or fake. Global National Online Extras The video, which is circulating on popular video sharing sites such as YouTube.com and Break.com, shows a bride-to-be arriving back at a hotel with just hours to go before her wedding, upset over her new hair-do. As the woman's bridesmaids try to console her, the woman becomes hysterical and begins cutting her hair off with a pair of scissors while the wedding party looks on in horror. However, the video is now being accused of being 'fake,' and the women shown on the video accused of being actors. There are also suggestions that the video was possibly shot in a Toronto hotel room. But whether it is real of fake, the video has tapped into the viral nature of the Internet -- it has generated over 2 million views on YouTube alone. | The video, which has been on YouTube since Jan. 18 has been watched over 2 million times. A new video on popular internet video site YouTube has raised a question: Is it fake or real? The movie entitled ''Bride Has Massive Hair Wig Out'' that was released on the 18th of January shows a woman who is going to get married within hours, but instead she cuts off all her hair. First, the woman, named Jodie, who has just got her hair done at the hairdressers', comes back to a hotel room where three bridesmaids are doing last-minute preparations. She runs in and falls to the ground screaming that her hair is ugly. They try to comfort her, but that isn't enough for the so called "Bridezilla": she cuts off her hair with a pair of scissors while the bridesmaids watch, taping it all on video camera. The video, which is still on the main page of YouTube, has been watched over 2 million times. The person who posted the video, wigoutgirl, claims to be 25 and from Canada. It is speculated that the video was shot in a Toronto, Ontario hotel room. Some YouTube users are saying that it is fake, some say it's real. |
Militants Blow Up School in Northwest Pakistan Police in northwest Pakistan say suspected Taliban militants have blown up a primary school that educated girls. Local boys walk over the damaged part of a girls school, wrecked by suspected Islamist militants on the outskirt of Peshawar, Pakistan 22 Sep 2009 Officials say there were no casualties in Tuesday's blast because the school was closed for the Eid al-Fitr holiday marking the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Al-Qaida and Taliban-linked militants who oppose the education of women have destroyed hundreds of girls schools across the country. On Monday, police killed a suicide bomber trying to assassinate a regional education minister, also in the northwest. In other violence, Pakistani security forces say they have arrested 11 suspected militants, including three Afghanis, during security operations in Malakand and Swat districts. In a statement released Tuesday, officials say they also found four inter-linked tunnels and bomb-proof bunkers during a separate search operation near Swat's Biakand area. Officials say there were no casualties in Tuesday's blast because the school was closed for the Eid al-Fitr holiday marking the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.Al-Qaida and Taliban-linked militants who oppose the education of women have destroyed hundreds of girls schools across the country.On Monday, police killed a suicide bomber trying to assassinate a regional education minister, also in the northwest.In other violence, Pakistani security forces say they have arrested 11 suspected militants, including three Afghanis, during security operations in Malakand and Swat districts.In a statement released Tuesday, officials say they also found four inter-linked tunnels and bomb-proof bunkers during a separate search operation near Swat's Biakand area. Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP. E-mail Print Digg Yahoo Buzz Facebook del.icio.us StumbleUpon ||||| Enlarge By Mohammad Sajjad, AP Local boys walks over the rubble of the damaged portion of a girls school, wrecked by suspected militants in Pakistan on Tuesday. PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) Suspected Islamist militants blew up a girls school close to the main city in northwestern Pakistan on Tuesday, police said. The school was empty at the time of the blast and no one was injured. A timed explosive device is believed to have caused the explosion that badly damaged the school on the outskirts of Peshawar, police officer Hamdullah Khan said. al-Qaeda and Taliban militants hold sway across much of northwest Pakistan near the border with Afghanistan and have often targeted girls schools in both countries because they believe that women should not be educated. The military has launched large offensives across parts of the region in an attempt to rein the militants in, but they remain strong in much of the mountainous, lawless zone. Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani said Tuesday that the global fight against terrorism requires not just a military solution but also gaining the trust of civilians in regions where insurgents operate. "No war against terrorism can be won without the support of the people," Gilani told a crowd in the eastern city of Multan as part of Eid al-Fitr celebrations at the end of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan. Winning over the hearts and minds of the civilian population was crucial in assisting the military offensive in the northwestern Swat Valley that ousted Taliban militants from power in July, Gilani noted. The army launched the Swat offensive in April after local Taliban leaders, who had imposed their harsh interpretation of Islam on residents there, violated a peace deal with the government and expanded into Buner, a district within 60 miles of the capital, Islamabad. Gilani also said Pakistan will not allow terrorists to plot attacks on its soil against other countries, including archrival India. The comment came a day after the leader of a banned Pakistani Islamist group that India accuses of carrying out attacks on its financial capital late last year was placed under house arrest again. Pakistani police prevented Hafiz Muhammad Saeed from leaving his home Monday. Saeed is a founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba, which New Delhi says masterminded the commando-style assault that killed 166 people in Mumbai last November. Yahya Mujhaid, a spokesman for Saeed, condemned the arrest as illegal and unconstitutional. Pakistan detained Saeed in December, but a Pakistani court freed him from house arrest in June saying there was not enough evidence to hold him. The prime minister said Tuesday that more evidence tying Saeed to the Mumbai attacks was needed for a criminal case to proceed. "The government has taken Hafiz Saeed in custody, but further action against him depends on proof available," Gilani later told reporters. In the northwest, police acting on a tip recovered arms, ammunition and explosives Tuesday hidden near Kohat town — the scene of a suicide bombing Friday that killed more than 30 people, police chief Dilawar Bangash told The Associated Press. Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Guidelines: You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. Read more ||||| Militants on Tuesday bombed a mixed primary school in Peshawar, which is troubled by frequent insurgent attacks, officials said. "The school building, which consisted of three rooms was destroyed in the blast," local police official Hamzullah said. There were no immediate reports of casualties because the school was closed for the Muslim festival of Eid al-Fitr to mark the end of Ramadan. Khan said the bombing bore the hallmarks of the Taliban, who are opposed to the education of women and frequently target girls' schools. Provincial education official Mohammad Nisar also confirmed the incident. Militants have destroyed hundreds of schools, mostly for girls, in the North West frontier Province (NWFP) over the past few years. Nearly 200 schools were destroyed in the Swat valley alone during a two-year violent campaign by radical cleric Maulana Fazaullah to enforce sharia law. ||||| Militants on Tuesday bombed a mixed primary school in Peshawar, which is troubled by frequent insurgent attacks, officials said. "The school building, which consisted of three rooms was destroyed in the blast," local police official Hamzullah said. There were no immediate reports of casualties because the school was closed for the Muslim festival of Eid al-Fitr to mark the end of Ramadan. Khan said the bombing bore the hallmarks of the Taliban, who are opposed to the education of women and frequently target girls' schools. Provincial education official Mohammad Nisar also confirmed the incident. Militants have destroyed hundreds of schools, mostly for girls, in the North West frontier Province (NWFP) over the past few years. Nearly 200 schools were destroyed in the Swat valley alone during a two-year violent campaign by radical cleric Maulana Fazaullah to enforce sharia law. | Police in northwestern Pakistan said that suspected Taliban militants have blown up a primary school that educated girls on Tuesday. Northwest Pakistan Officials say there were no casualties in the blast, which occurred on the outskirts the city of Peshawar, because the school was closed for the Eid al-Fitr holiday marking the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. "The school building, which consisted of three rooms was destroyed in the blast," said Hamdullah Khan, a local police official. He said that the explosion was likely caused by a timed explosive device. Al-Qaeda and Taliban-linked militants who oppose the education of women have destroyed hundreds of girls' schools across the country. Almost 200 schools were destroyed in the after a two-year campaign to enforce sharia law was made by , a radical Islam cleric. On Monday, police killed a suicide bomber trying to assassinate a regional education minister in the country's northwestern regions. In other violence, Pakistani security forces say they have arrested eleven suspected militants, including three Afghanis, during security operations in and Swat districts. In a statement released Tuesday, officials say they also found four inter-linked tunnels and bomb-proof bunkers during a separate search operation near Swat's Biakand area. |
"A potential military confrontation with Taiwan , and the prospect of US military intervention, remain the PLA's most immediate military concerns," the report said, referring to China 's military, the People's Liberation Army. The Pentagon report echoes previous US assessments that China 's top strategic priority is to prevent Taiwan 's independence. 'Blind and deafen' "The PLA is also exploring satellite jammers, kinetic energy weapons, high-powered lasers, high-powered microwave weapons, particle beam weapons, and electromagnetic pulse weapons for counterspace application" Pentagon report Focusing on China 's space warfare programmes, the Pentagon assessment said China was developing "a multi-dimensional programme" to prevent the use of satellites by potential enemies during any future conflict. It pointed to Chinese military publications which "emphasise the necessity of 'destroying, damaging, and interfering with the enemy’s reconnaissance/observation and communications satellites', suggesting such systems, as well as navigation and early warning satellites, could be among initial targets of attack to blind and deafen the enemy". "The PLA is also exploring satellite jammers, kinetic energy weapons, high-powered lasers, high-powered microwave weapons, particle beam weapons, and electromagnetic pulse weapons for counterspace application," it said. Last year China tested an anti-satellite weapon, using a ground-based ballistic missile to destroy one of its own obsolete weather satellites. Military money On Tuesday China announced a 17.6 per cent rise in military spending – the latest in a series of double-digit increases – taking China's official annual defence budget to about $58.76bn The Pentagon in its latest report on Monday said it believed the true figure to be between $97bn and $139bn According to the White House the US military budget for 2007 was $439.3bn, a 48 per cent increase over 2001 figures The test – which was not confirmed by China until two weeks later - caused alarm in the US military which relies heavily on satellites to manage its global communications networks. The test was also criticised by the US for massively increasing the amount of orbiting space debris that could pose a danger to other satellites and spacecraft. In their latest assessment the Pentagon's analysts said that China "views the development of space and counter-space capabilities as bolstering national prestige and, like nuclear weapons, demonstrating the attributes of a world power". Last month the US shot down one of its own crippled spy satellites, saying the operation was necessary to prevent its toxic fuel from potentially harming humans. China and Russia both raised objections to the operation, hinting that the US was using the excuse of the potentially toxic propellant as a cover for testing its own anti-satellite weapons. Cyber warfare Global defence expenditure Spending as a proportion of global total (2005 figures): US 47.77% China 4.10% Russia 2.10% Japan 4.20% UK 4.83% India 2.04% France 4.61% Source: Stockhom International Peace Research Inst. ( www.sipri.org ) The Pentagon report also pointed to China's growing interest in electronic warfare, highlighting what it said were "numerous" intrusions into computer networks around the world, including some owned by the US government. Under the heading "Cyber warfare Capabilities", the report said that intrusions apparently from China into global computer networks used "many of the skills and capabilities that would also be required for computer network attack". The report's authors said that while it was unclear whether the intrusions were carried out or backed by the Chinese military, "developing capabilities for cyber warfare is consistent with authoritative PLA writings on this subject". On the issue of Taiwan the report said China was continuing to focus the bulk of its military build-up along its side of the strait separating the island from the mainland . It said that while the region remained stable, China was adding more than 100 missiles a year to the estimated 1,000 it has pointing at the island. With hundreds of thousands of troops based in the area and hundreds of aircraft, the report said the balance of power was increasingly in mainland China 's favour. China has repeatedly threatened to invade self-governing Taiwan if the island, which Beijing regards as its own, makes moves to declare formal independence. China has not yet commented on the latest US report, but the annual Pentagon assessment usually draws a sharp rebuttal from Beijing . External link Full Pentagon report (requires .pdf reader) Al Jazeera is not responsible for the content of external sites On Tuesday Chinese officials announced a 17.6 per cent increase in defence spending, saying the bulk of the increase would be used to boost salaries and to cover higher oil prices, with only a moderate increase in spending on armaments. Speaking at a Pentagon news conference, David Sedney, the US deputy assistant secretary of defence for East Asia, predicted that China would protest again that the report was misleading. But he reiterated US calls for greater transparency from China on its military expansion. However, he said that for the first time US and Chinese officials would meet to discuss the assessment, adding that China 's top military representative in Washington was being briefed on its findings. Sedney said recent US-China defence talks had been "surprisingly successful", producing agreements to establish a military-to-military hotline and to hold talks on each country's reports on the other's military power. "I think the biggest thing for people to be concerned about really is the fact that we don't have that kind of strategic understanding of the Chinese intentions," he said. "That leads to uncertainty." ||||| By Andrew Gray WASHINGTON (Reuters) - China is developing weapons that would disable its enemies' space technology such as satellites in a conflict, the Pentagon said in a report released on Monday. The report also said "numerous" intrusions into computer networks around the world, including some owned by the U.S. government, in the past year seem to have originated in China. The assessments feature in an annual report on China's military power by the Pentagon for the U.S. Congress. Beijing routinely criticizes the report, saying it unfairly portrays China as a military threat when it is committed to peace. David Sedney, a top Pentagon China specialist, said there was no call for U.S. alarm over China but repeated a frequent U.S. complaint that Beijing has not made clear the reasons for its rapid military modernization and spending growth. "I think the biggest thing for people to be concerned about really is the fact that we don't have that kind of strategic understanding of the Chinese intentions," said Sedney, deputy assistant secretary of defense for East Asia. "That leads to uncertainty," he said, briefing journalists at the Pentagon on the latest report. China has posted a string of double-digit percentage rises in military spending in the past decade and many analysts say Beijing understates the amount it spends. However, even the highest estimates of the true figure are dwarfed by U.S. defense spending. Continued... | The Chinese Space Agency transporting a rocket assemblage in 2007. The United States Pentagon submitted a report to Congress on Monday, detailing the Chinese Space Agency's focus on developing means for "space warfare". CZ-2F. The Pentagon claims that China has been "exploring" laser, microwave, particle beam and electromagnetic pulse weapons, and suggests that China has been "developing the ability to attack an adversary's space assets," and would be able to disable or destroy enemy satellites. Such an offensive could be used to "blind and deafen the enemy" prior to an attack, according to the study. The Pentagon analysis was released the same day that Yang Baohua, head of the Academy of Space Technology, announced that testing of a new EVA spacesuit and airlock had been successfully completed. The two units are being developed for China's first intended spacewalk as part of Shenzhou 7, one of ten Chinese spacecraft being launched this year. The move has caused aerospace analyst Jeff Foust to declare that "a full-fledged space race" has been gearing up between China and the United States. In September, NASA administrator Mike Griffin caused waves when he suggested that China is more likely to put the next man on the moon than the United States, suggesting that "Americans will not like it," but that nothing could be done about it. |
Ford Executive: Automaker Doesn't Need Bailout Enlarge Stan Honda All Things Considered, While General Motors and Chrysler may face structured bankruptcy, Ford has yet to ask for any government bailout funds. William Clay Ford Jr., executive chairman of Ford Motor Co., says that car sales still are not where they need to be. Car sales for the Detroit Three — Chrysler, GM and Ford — are down more than 40 percent. "The good news for Ford is that our market share has been going up and up each month," Ford tells host Melissa Block. He says what's really needed is "a program to stimulate sales for the entire industry." Rep. Betty Sutton (D-OH) introduced the CARS Act in March as a way to modernize the U.S. auto fleet. The bill would provide consumers with a $3,000 to $5,000 incentive to trade in older cars to buy more fuel-efficient cars. Ford says he is enthusiastic about the idea. "It clearly stimulates the economy, and it gets the consumer into the showroom and gets them buying again. But importantly — and this is what I particularly like about it — it really helps the environment quite a bit in two respects." He says it takes an older, less fuel-efficient vehicle off the road and replaces it with a vehicle that is likely to have twice the fuel economy. And, he says, "the older cars tend to be much more polluting. And if you get them off the road and get a newer car with the newest technology, you're helping [reduce] C02 emissions, too." Ford says similar programs are already working in Germany and France, and many other countries are interested in the idea. GM, Chrysler Bankruptcy Impact If GM or Chrysler goes bankrupt, what impact will this have on Ford? "It's the great unknown in terms of what the impact is on us because there are so many ways it could happen," Ford says. "It could get very messy. Therefore, no matter what happens to any of our competitors, the fact that we have a new UAW [United Auto Workers] agreement, we have a new health care agreement, we've taken steps to restructure our debt, and we've invested very heavily in green technology — I think all of those things are exactly the kind of things that the country would like to see us do." He says that if auto suppliers collapse, that could threaten not just Ford, GM and Chrysler but any car companies — including Toyota and Honda — that produce vehicles in the United States. And that's something the Obama administration is well aware of, he says. Future Bailout For Ford? Earlier this week, independent auto analyst Maryann Keller told NPR that Ford remains in a "precarious financial position." If demand for vehicles doesn't improve, does that mean Ford may need to ask the government for a credit line? "We think we have sufficient liquidity," Ford said. "We don't see any need to think about going for additional liquidity. Obviously at some point, if global auto sales don't pick up — not just for Ford but for frankly every other automaker out there — it's not going to be a good thing." He says the outlook for 2009 isn't great, but the company remains well-positioned if there is a modest pickup in sales in 2010. Still, he says, "we're not projecting a huge boost in auto sales." It's possible that when all the dust settles, there will no longer be three car companies in Detroit. "I have no way of knowing how many car companies — American or foreign — there are going to be," Ford says." But what I do know is that Ford is going to be one of the key players." ||||| Economic Times of India GM, Chrysler Bankruptcy to Hurt TCS Most Among India Companies The ripple effect from the U.S. auto crisis will reach India, hitting Tata Consultancy and auto-parts vendors particularly hard The grave financial crisis at US automobile companies General Motors (GM) and Chrysler has put at risk deals worth nearly $1 billion (Rs 5,000 crore) annually for Indian auto parts suppliers and some of the country's top software firms. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), India's largest software exporter, faces the biggest impact among IT companies, while vendors of auto components will be particularly affected if GM files for bankruptcy, analysts and executives from the two industries said. On Sunday, the US government gave GM 60 days to come up with a new plan to cut debt and prevent bankruptcy. Chrysler has been ordered to finalise a partnership with Italian carmaker Fiat within 30 days. A Delhi-based auto parts supplier to GM said there has already been some reduction in orders from the American firm. "We are worried and closely watching the developments in the US to gauge the impact. The decline in auto sales in the US has already hit the order books of Indian suppliers," he said. A GM bankruptcy will have a crippling effect as production lines will be reduced and a number of models scrapped. "Even if the firm doesn't file for Chapter 11 (bankruptcy), it's likely that payments will be delayed. We have already reduced our supplies to GM," an executive at a leading auto component company said. GM and Chrysler's woes-the two have been struggling in recent years-have also put their new IT outsourcing projects in a limbo. "Several new outsourcing decisions are pending at GM and Chrysler because of the uncertainty about their future and the anti-offshoring sentiment that is being voiced by many political lobbyists," said a person familiar with outsourcing decisions at these auto companies. An outsourcing expert said GM and Chrysler award software projects worth $300-350 million annually to Indian vendors such as TCS, Wipro and Satyam. Wipro has a five-year, $300-million contract with GM that was signed in 2006. And TCS signed a $150-million with Chrysler last year to maintain software applications. Any reduction in outsourcing by the US auto companies will hurt TCS the most. The Indian IT firm counts GM among its top 10 clients and also provides services to Chrysler and Japanese automaker Nissan. TCS had to face write-offs when its client Nortel Networks filed for bankruptcy protection earlier this year. While a TCS spokesman said the company does not comment on specific clients, Wipro said it was in the silent period leading up to the announcement of its Q4 earnings. In an email response, a Satyam spokeswoman said, "We would not like to comment on this issue as we are still assessing the impact. As of now, our existing relationship with GM continues unchanged." A GM bankruptcy could hit the revenues of large Indian IT firms by about 2%, said Anand Rathi Securities institutional equities director Tarun Sisodia. However, he added that it was unlikely that the US government would let these companies fail. "The auto majors' existing contracts with Indian vendors are likely to continue but renewals may come under pressure," Mr Sisodia said. SBICAP Securities research head Anil Advani said there could be a negative impact in the short term for Indian IT firms but outsourcing will pick up as the American companies look to cut costs. (With inputs from Chanchal Pal Chauhan in New Delhi) ||||| New vehicle sales in Canada fall 15% Nicolas Van Praet, Financial Post Published: Wednesday, April 01, 2009 General Motors Corp. has reclaimed its number one sales spot in Canada from Chrysler LLC as Canadians punished Chrysler for threatening to pull its manufacturing operations out of the country, an industry consultant said. GM sold 24,867 cars and trucks in Canada last month, besting Chrysler's 15,846, according to data from DesRosiers Automotive Consultants in Richmond Hill, Ont. Ford Motor Co. grabbed second spot, selling 17,021 vehicles. In February, Chrysler bumped GM off its perch as Canada's top-selling auto-maker, marking a historic redrawing of the country's auto hierarchy. It was the first time since 1949 that GM has been outsold by a rival. "We are now back to a more normal world in terms of corporate order," Dennis DesRosiers, president of the consultancy said Wednesday. "Dealers tell me that the buying public reacted very poorly to the threat to leave Canada and this likely cost Chrysler some volume." Tom LaSorda, Chrysler's president, warned Canadian lawmakers earlier this month that Chrysler would pull its manufacturing operations out of Canada if it fails to win US$2.3-billion in aid from Ottawa and secure a radically new labour contract with the Canadian Auto Workers union that cuts all-in costs by $19 an hour. The company said it was preparing contingency plans to move production if it was unable to secure those terms. The federal and Ontario governments this week offered Chrysler $1-billion, including $250,000 million right away to stabilize its Canadian operations. In percentage terms, Chrysler Canada sales fell 23% in March over the same month in 2008, the same as declines posted by Toyota Canada and Honda Canada. GM sales fell 17.3%. New vehicle sales for the industry overall fell 15%, better than previous months when sales were down in the mid 20% range. Honda Canada Inc., whose Civic car has been Canada's top-selling automobile for the past decade, cast a positive light on its dismal performance . "Our March results, although down from last year's record results, are only off by 13% over the last five-year sales average," Honda Canada vice-president Jerry Chenkin said in a statement. "We are encouraged to see that showroom traffic at our dealerships in March was up over the previous months, and that consumer confidence is showing a gradual upswing." Nissan Canada said its sales fell 8.8%. Hyundai Canada, which is selling models under $10,000 at zero per cent financing, saw a 26% sales gain. Industry-wide sales declined for the fifth straight month, mirroring a volume collapse in the United States. GM and Chrysler, subsisting on more then US$17.4-billion in government loans, will be forced into bankruptcy by June if they cannot make deeper cuts to become viable, the U.S. government said on Monday. The sales environment is so weak Toyota is now offering 0% financing on its Canadian-built models for the first time in its history, and a program that protects customers in the event they lose their jobs. The company is urging the federal government to act quickly to jump-start sales and boost confidence, saying it could implement a temporary sales tax holiday to get people back into showrooms. Kia, which is also offering a return program, said its March sales in Canada rose 13% over the same month last year. Audi Canada reported a 25% sales increase for March, proving there is still appetite for certain luxury models. The sector consensus is that Canadian auto sales will fall 10% this year from 2008, representing 200,000 units lost. But it could get much worse. Canada could experience the same 42% peak-to-trough auto sales decline hitting the United States. In that scenario, Canadian auto sales would tumble from 1.7 million units to 1 million, worth $20-billion of taxable revenue. The sales results came Wednesday as GM bonds dove over worries U.S. President Barack Obama favours a quick bankruptcy restructuring as the preferred solution to fixing the automaker. GM's $500-million of 7.7 per cent notes due in 2016 fell 8.8 cents to 10.4 cents on the dollar as of 9:45 a.m. in New York, a record low, Bloomberg said, citing Trace, the bond-price reporting system of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. The debt yields 79.7%, or 77 percentage points more than similar-maturity Treasuries, Trace data show. Washington earlier this week asked GM chief executive Rick Wagoner to step down and is engineering a shakeup of the company's board of directors in what is widely seen as the nationalization of America's largest automaker. ||||| According to the report, Obama is also prepared to let Chrysler LLC, the third-largest U.S. automaker, court bankruptcy and be sold off if it cannot reach an alliance with Italy's Fiat SpA. GM is fighting hard for survival, thanks to the global economic slump and its own follies. The company has received $13.4 billion in federal loans from the U.S. Treasury, as part of Troubled Asset Relief Program, and has sought another $16.6 billion. While receiving the aid, the company was asked to present plans of long-term viability by mid-February. The Obama Administration said Monday that the restructuring plans offered by GM and Chrysler do not go far enough to warrant additional government assistance. Rather, the embattled automakers will be allowed a limited period of time to "fundamentally restructure," Obama said and added that an organized bankruptcy could be the best option for GM and Chrysler. The president noted that the government has no interest in running GM and would instead give the company 60 days to restructure. Sunday, Rick Wagoner stepped down as GM chairman and chief executive officer with immediate effect. Fritz Henderson, the company's president and chief operating officer, succeeded Wagoner as chief executive officer. The new CEO, Fritz Henderson, said Tuesday that more of the automaker's plants could close as part of the company's effort to meet new, tougher requirements for government aid. This is in addition to the five plants the company said it would shut down when it submitted a restructuring plan to the government last month. Speaking at his first news conference as CEO, Henderson also said if agreements can't be reached with the unions, bondholders and other parties, a decision on bankruptcy would be made in consolation with the Obama auto task force. In its effort to spur sales, GM Tuesday unveiled its "GM Total Confidence" plan, whereby customers can get payment protection for the first 24 months of ownership. GM will provide payment protection on vehicle loans or leases of up to nine payments of $500 a month for customers who lose jobs for economic reasons. The offer is available for vehicles purchased April 1 through April 30. U.S. auto sales are at their lowest levels in at least 27 years under the pressure of tight credit and weak consumer confidence. Meanwhile, German Chancellor Angela Merkel paid a 90-minute visit to the Opel Insignia production site, the European subsidiary of GM, in Rsselsheim on Tuesday and reportedly gave assurances that any investor in Opel would have state support. In March, the European unit of the automaker had delivered a plan to save Opel brand and said the confidential plan delivered to the German government would make Opel profitable by 2011. The three point public outline for Opel's survival included receiving 3.3 billion euros in credit or credit guarantees from the government. ||||| Washington, March 30, President Barack Obama Monday took control of the troubled US auto industry, giving General Motors 60 days and Chrysler 30 days to make a final push toward proving they can run viable businesses. Announcing his rescue plans for the two ailing automakers, which have already been given $17.4 billion to keep them running, he said the government would try to help the companies, but prescribed tough conditions holding out the threat of a “structured bankruptcy”. “We cannot, we must not, and we will not let our auto industry simply vanish,” Obama said from the White House. “This industry is, like no other, an emblem of the American spirit; a once and future symbol of America’s success.” The formal announcement of government plans came after White House forced out General Motors Corp’s chief executive Rick Wagoner and pushed Chrysler LLC toward a merger suggesting the two had failed in their own turnaround efforts. The federal government will provide operating funds for both automakers for several weeks, during which time the companies will have to undergo significant restructuring, administration officials said late Sunday night. At GM, part of that restructuring began early Monday with Wagoner, a 32-year veteran of the company who has served in the top post since 2000, announcing his resignation which he said came at the request of the Obama administration. “On Friday I was in Washington for a meeting with administration officials. In the course of that meeting, they requested that I ’step aside’ as CEO of GM, and so I have,” Wagoner said in a statement posted to the GM website. Wagoner will be replaced by GM’s chief operating officer, Fritz Henderson. Kent Kresa will serve as interim chairman. GM will get 60 days and Chrysler 30 days in which to make a final push toward proving they can run viable businesses. If Chrysler succeeds, it will receive a $6 billion loan. In GM’s case, the officials would not specify how much money the carmaker might receive. In the case of both companies, the officials said, stakeholders - and particularly debt holders in both companies - had not done enough to relieve the automakers of ongoing financial burdens. In order to help assuage consumer fears about buying cars from these companies as they restructure, the government is also setting aside funds to back up warranties on vehicles GM and Chrysler sell. Share and Enjoy: Related posts: ||||| General Motors and Chrysler are not viable companies but they will still get up to $4 billion in taxpayer-backed bridge loans, say the federal and Ontario governments. Today Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, Industry Minister Tony Clement and Michael Bryant, Ontario’s Minister of Economic Development, said they would not accept the auto company’s restructuring plans because they were making overly positive assumptions about car sales and had not done enough to reform their companies. Chrysler now has until the end of April and GM until the end of May to redesign their restructuring plans to be eligible for even larger government loans. In the meantime, Chrysler will be getting $1 billion in bridge loans including $250 million that will flow as early as today. GM is still negotiating its $3 billion in bridge loans. Government officials say this short-term funding, first announced in December, will allow the companies to pay employees, suppliers and make cars while they work on their plans. Should the restructuring plans be accepted by governments at the new deadline, Chrysler could be eligible for up to $4 billion in additional government loans and GM as much as $7.5 billion. Government officials say Chrysler is too small to compete in the North American car market and does not offer enough smaller cars. For its plan to be accepted Chrysler must merge with European automaker Fiat which does make fuel-efficient smaller cars. GM has been asked to reduce its legacy costs, including pension and benefit costs, and come back with a proposal that makes more realistic assumptions about future car sales. | General Motors (GM) and will receive from the government of Canada and the provincial government of Ontario, however no more will be forthcoming from either Canadian or US governments unless the companies can reinvent themselves. "This is a regrettable but necessary step to protect the Canadian economy. We are doing this on the assumption that we obviously cannot afford either in the United States or Canada a catastrophic short-term collapse." said Stephen Harper, . "We cannot, we must not, and we will not let our auto industry simply vanish. This industry is, like no other, an emblem of the American spirit; a once and future symbol of America's success," said Barack Obama, . "These companies - and this industry - must ultimately stand on their own, not as wards of the state." Chrysler will receive 1 billion and may in fact be eligible for as much as CA$4 billion. If Chrysler succeeds in the next 30 days with a restructuring plan it would be eligible for a US$6 billion loan. A part of Chrysler's restructuring plan must include a partnership with within 30 days to appease the US administration. Fiat is a supplier of smaller vehicles, and the merger will help Chrysler to be viable in the North American market. A Chrysler court would inevitably lead to it being sold off. As a part of Chrysler's restructuring plans, Tom LaSorda, the president of Chrysler announced that Canadian operations would fold if it does not receive both the US commitment of $2.3 billion of aid and a new CAW contract to reduce all-in costs by CA$19 per hour. As a result of this announcement Chrysler's auto sales volume in Canada dropped 23% compared to March of 2008. GM has until the end of May to restructure its company to receive up to CA$7.5 billion. As part of the companies restructuring, General Motor’s chief executive Rick Wagoner was replaced Sunday with Fritz Henderson, the current chief operating officer. Henderson spoke out on Tuesday that GM has submitted a restructuring plan which would close five plants, and this may be increased to meet the requirements for financial aid. He is in full compliance with Obama's auto task force to seek bankruptcy if GM cannot negotiate with their unions, bondholders and others. GM recently brought forward the ''"GM Total Confidence"'' program providing consumer purchase protection for customers who lose their job for economic reasons within the first two years from purchase. As a result of Chrysler's restructuring announcement in Canada, GM's Canadian vehicle sales volume fell only 17.3% compared to 2008, an increase from the previous month. GM must reduce some of its which include its pensions and union health care costs. A part of GM's ailments arose from investing in supplying truck and during an economy of high gas prices when consumers were demanding fuel efficient vehicles. 2009 , , is hoping that the CAW will support the restructuring process and re-negotiate their agreement. Whereas a negotiator has said, “I don't see how the UAW will do anything until they see what the bondholders will give up." The Obama administration is looking toward bankruptcy proceedings for the automakers, "as a mechanism to help them restructure quickly and emerge stronger. It will quickly clear away old debts that are weighing them down. What we are asking is difficult. It will require hard choices by companies. It will require unions and workers who have already made painful concessions to make even more. It will require creditors to recognise that they cannot hold out for the prospect of endless government bailouts." said Obama. The auto parts suppliers and IT software exporters in India have already been affected by the declining auto sales. GM and Chrysler software contracts provide US$300 to 350 million a year to vendors in India. As well these two major automakers usually award US$1 billion contracts to auto parts suppliers. "We are worried and closely watching the developments in the US to gauge the impact. The decline in auto sales in the US has already hit the order books of Indian suppliers," said a Delhi auto parts supplier. "Going forward, the industry will undoubtedly be smaller, but if our efforts are successful it will be viable and it will support good jobs for Canadians," said Clements. , Congresswoman put forward the CARS act which provides a US$3,000 to 5,000 incentive for those who trade in their vehicle for a fuel-efficient car. "It clearly stimulates the economy, and it gets the consumer into the showroom and gets them buying again. But importantly — and this is what I particularly like about it — it really helps the environment quite a bit in two respects." said William Clay Ford Jr., executive chairman of Ford Motor Co. has not come forward with requests for assistance. Since December GM and Chrysler have received US$17.4 billion government loans. |
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. — The space shuttle Atlantis , carrying a crew of six, a Russian docking module and critical spare parts, vaulted into orbit Friday on a 12-day space station assembly mission, the orbiter’s 32nd and final planned flight after a quarter century of service. With NASA bracing for the looming retirement of the shuttle fleet after a final three missions, Atlantis roared to life and rocketed away from its seaside pad at 2:20 p.m. Eastern time. The eight-and-a-half-minute ascent appeared normal as the spacecraft climbed through a partly cloudy sky, putting on a familiar, soon-to-be-missed show for area residents and tourists who turned out in droves to catch a glimpse of Atlantis’s final launching. A camera mounted on the shuttle’s external tank provided dramatic views of the climb to space with no obvious signs of foam insulation or other debris that might have caused any damage. Strapped in on Atlantis’s flight deck were Capt. Kenneth T. Ham of the Navy, the commander; Cmdr. Dominic A. Antonelli, also of the Navy, the pilot; the flight engineer, Michael T. Good, a retired Air Force colonel; and Garrett E. Reisman, veteran of a three-month stay aboard the space station in 2008. Seated on the shuttle’s lower deck were Capt. Stephen G. Bowen of the Navy, a former submariner, and Piers J. Sellers, a British-born astronaut who arranged to carry a piece of bark from Isaac Newton’s apple tree into the weightlessness of space. All six astronauts are shuttle veterans. If all goes well, Captain Ham will guide Atlantis to a docking with the forward port of the International Space Station early Sunday, kicking off a busy week of assembly work. The day after docking, Captain Bowen and Mr. Reisman plan to stage a six-and-a-half-hour spacewalk to install a spare Ku-band dish antenna and to mount an equipment stowage platform on a Canadian robot arm extension. The next day, Mr. Reisman, operating the station arm from inside the station’s new multiwindow cupola, will attach the 17,760-pound Rassvetmodule to the Earth-facing port of the central Russian Zarya module. The new compartment will serve as an extended docking compartment, providing needed clearance between the Russian segment’s forward port and an American storage module scheduled for installation on the next shuttle mission later this year. The new module was loaded with 1.5 tons of American supplies and equipment for launch aboard Atlantis. The day after the Rassvet installation, Captain Bowen and Mr. Good will stage a spacewalk to begin replacing six 375-pound batteries in the station’s far left set of solar arrays. A final spacewalk with Mr. Reisman and Mr. Good is planned to finish up the work. Atlantis is scheduled to undock from the space station May 23 and land back at the Kennedy Space Center around 8:44 a.m. on May 26. While this is Atlantis’s final planned mission, the shuttle will be processed for use as an emergency rescue vehicle to support NASA’s final planned shuttle flight late this year or early next. NASA managers are looking into the possibility of actually launching Atlantis and a four-person crew on a space station resupply mission to take advantage of the external tank and boosters that otherwise would go to waste. The astronauts could use the space station as a safe haven in the event of major problems and rotate back to Earth aboard Russian Soyuz spacecraft, eliminating the need for a shuttle rescue mission. A decision is expected early this summer. ||||| Space shuttle Atlantis thundered away on its final voyage to orbit Friday, hoisting an experienced crew of six and a full shipment of space station gear. The space shuttle Atlantis sits poised on launch pad 39-A Thursday, May 13, 2010, at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. The final launch of the space shuttle Atlantis is planned for Friday afternoon. (AP Photo/John Raoux) (AP) More Photos (AP) Atlantis sped through a perfectly clear afternoon sky, blazing a trail over the Atlantic before huge crowds eager to catch one of the few remaining shuttle launches. More than 40,000 guests — the biggest launch-day crowd in years — packed the Kennedy Space Center. The shuttle's destination is the International Space Station, which was soaring over the South Pacific at the time of liftoff. The shuttle should catch up with the orbiting complex and its six residents Sunday morning. A piece of orbiting junk, however, was threatening to come too close to the space station. If necessary, Mission Control will order up a maneuver so the station can dodge the debris the night before Atlantis' arrival. The docking will not be delayed, even if the station has to move out of the way of the unidentified piece, NASA officials said. "Good luck, godspeed and have a little fun up there," launch director Mike Leinbach told the astronauts just before liftoff. He said he was speaking on behalf of all those who have worked on Atlantis since construction began in 1980. "Like you said, there are thousands of folks out there who have taken care of this bird for a long time," replied commander Kenneth Ham. "We're going to take her on her 32nd flight, and if you don't mind, we'll take her out of the barn and make a few more laps around the planet." The astronauts — all repeat space fliers and all men — couldn't resist a little humor before they got down to business. They showed up for their steak and cheeseburger breakfast wearing blue and black smoking jackets, white shirts and black bow ties. This 12-day mission is the last one planned for Atlantis, the fourth in NASA's line of space shuttles. Only two flights remain after this one, by Discovery and Endeavour. NASA plans to end the 30-year program by the end of this year. ||||| CAPE CANAVERAL -- Space shuttle Atlantis thundered off its launch pad at Kennedy Space Center into cloudless skies Friday afternoon and headed to the International Space Station on the 32nd and final planned mission of its 25-year career.It was a bittersweet moment for the shuttle workers standing outside the landmark Vehicle Assembly Building to watch the first of the final three launches before the shuttle is retired later this year. It was also emotional for the six-member crew that strapped into Atlantis for possibly the last time.Said shuttle launch director Mike Leinbach, minutes before launch: "I'd like to wish you all good luck and Godspeed and have some fun out there."Replied Atlantis commander Ken Ham: "Thank you to the thousands of folks out there who have taken care of this bird for a long time…. If it's ok with you , we're going to take her out of the barn and take her for a few more laps around the planet."Astronaut Dave Wolf watched the launch from a top of the Orlando Sentinel's office at KSC. "It never gets old," he said.Tens of thousands of spectators crowded Space Coast beaches and causeways to catch a glimpse of the historic flight. Defense Secretary Robert Gates; David Letterman, host of the CBS "Late Show;" and Anatoly Perminov, head of the Russian Space Agency, were among the crowd of 40,000 at KSC, along with 150 space enthusiasts selected by NASA for a "tweetup."Ham leads an all-veteran flight crew: Pilot Tony Antonelli, and Mission Specialists Michael Good, Piers Sellers, Steve Bowen and Garrett E. Reisman, who spent three months aboard the space station in 2008.Atlantis' dramatic liftoff capped a near-perfect countdown and almost trouble-free launch preparations by NASA, marred only by the discovery in the shuttle's payload bay of a ball bearing that had fallen out of a camera system. Engineers had to ensure that the absence of the bearing would not pose a flight danger before they gave the go-ahead for liftoff.Ironically, after 29 years of flight and the loss of two orbiters, NASA's preparations for recent launches have been among the smoothest in the program's history, thanks to multiple modifications to the orbiter and the long experience of the contract workers who prepare it to fly. As many as 9,000 workers are set to lose their jobs when the program ends.A few hours after launch, NASA officials said they spotted a few stray bits of insulating foam that was shed by the shuttle's fuel tank, but nothing large enough to cause problems.During the 12-day mission, the astronauts will conduct three spacewalks to deliver and install a Russian-built mini-Research Module, a set of batteries and a dish antenna, along with other equipment need to complete the $100-billion station before shuttle is mothballed later this year or early next."Twelve days, three [spacewalks], tons of robotics. We're putting on spares that will make us feel good about the long-term sustainability of [the space station]," said shuttle Program Manager John Shannon in a preflight interview. "This flight has a little bit of everything."Reisman, Good, and Bowen will take part in the spacewalks to install the backup antenna, the solar array batteries and other equipment. Sellers, who will operate the station's robot arm during the spacewalks, will help move and install the 7,760-pound research module, also known as "Rassvet," which is Russian for "Dawn."The new module comes with a docking ring so that Russian spacecraft – which will bring American astronauts to and from the station once the shuttle is retired -- can attach to the orbiting complex. President Obama's proposed budget calls for developing commercial rockets that can take crew and cargo to the space station while NASA focuses on developing a new rocket that will carry humans beyond lower-Earth orbit and eventually to Mars.In addition to the spares and equipment, British-born astronaut Sellers has packed a piece of science history: a sliver of wood from the apple tree under which Isaac Newton is believed to have been sitting when an apple fell on his head, inspiring him to post the law of gravity."While it's up there, it will be experiencing no gravity, so if it had an apple on it, the apple wouldn't fall," Sellers said in a pre-flight interview. "I'm pretty sure that Sir Isaac would have loved to see this, assuming he wasn't spacesick, as it would have proved his first law of motion to be correct."The almost 4-inch wood chip was provided by Britain's Royal Society to help celebrate its 350th anniversary. The society has also provided an image of Newton, a former president of the Royal Society, to accompany the piece of tree into space.But it was the symbolism of the launch, more than the work that lies ahead for the astronauts, that drew many of the spectators and long-time NASA officials.Only two more launches are scheduled this year before the program ends. NASA's latest plan calls for Discovery to launch in September, followed by Endeavour in November. However, that schedule could change.There is also a chance that this might not be Atlantis' last flight. After landing in just under two weeks, the spacecraft will be prepared as a mission-ready rescue vehicle for Endeavour's final flight. Associate Administrator for Space Operations Bill Gerstenmaier said at a press conference that he hoped officials would know by June if another Atlantis mission would be launched – possibly in June 2011. | The ''Atlantis'' blasted off earlier today for its final mission. The '''' launched today for its final planned mission in space, . ''Atlantis'' lifted off in fair weather at 2:20 p.m. EDT (1820 UTC) from the in , Florida. The launch was viewed by over 40,000 spectators at Kennedy, including a small group chosen by NASA for a space "tweetup". Carrying six veteran astronauts and an assortment of parts for the International Space Station (ISS), the shuttle took off without any delays. This mission, scheduled to take twelve days, is the aging shuttle's 32nd voyage into space of its 25-year career. While no damage to the shuttle was seen, a piece of near the ISS caused minor concern (but no delays). The shuttle is expected to dock at the ISS early Sunday morning, and the crew will perform maintenance work on the ISS next week. If everything proceeds without incident, ''Atlantis'' will leave the ISS on May 23 and land on May 26. This flight also marks the third-to-last mission of NASA's , which is being retired this year. However, ''Atlantis'' will still be maintained as an emergency rescue shuttle for the final Space Shuttle mission, and while NASA could also use ''Atlantis'' to resupply the ISS, it has not yet made a final decision regarding the plan. |
Washington Post Staff Writer Sunday, February 13, 2005; Page A01 The Bush administration has been flying surveillance drones over Iran for nearly a year to seek evidence of nuclear weapons programs and detect weaknesses in air defenses, according to three U.S. officials with detailed knowledge of the secret effort. The small, pilotless planes, penetrating Iranian airspace from U.S. military facilities in Iraq, use radar, video, still photography and air filters designed to pick up traces of nuclear activity to gather information that is not accessible by satellites, the officials said. The aerial espionage is standard in military preparations for an eventual air attack and is also employed as a tool for intimidation. The Iranian government, using Swiss channels in the absence of diplomatic relations with Washington, formally protested the incursions as illegal, according to Iranian, European and U.S. officials, all speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter. A U.S. official acknowledged that drones were being used but said the Iranian complaint focused on aircraft overflights by the Pentagon. The United States, the official said, replied with a denial that manned U.S. aircraft had crossed Iran's borders. The drones were first spotted by dozens of Iranian civilians and set off a national newspaper frenzy in late December over whether the country was being visited by UFOs. The surveillance has been conducted as the Bush administration sharpens its anti-Iran rhetoric and the U.S. intelligence community searches for information to support President Bush's assertion that Tehran is trying to build nuclear weapons. The Washington Post reported Saturday that the intelligence community is conducting a broad review of its Iran assessments, including a new look at information about the country's nuclear program, according to administration officials and congressional sources. A similar review, called a National Intelligence Estimate, formed an important part of the administration's case for war against Iraq. Bush's senior advisers, including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, said last week that a U.S. attack on Iran is not imminent but that the option remains available. In late December, Iranians living along the Caspian Sea and on the Iraq border began reporting sightings of red flashes in the sky, streaks of green and blue, and low, racing lights that disappeared moments after being spotted. The Iranian space agency was called in to investigate, astronomy experts were consulted, and an agreement was quickly signed with Russian officials eager to learn more about the phenomena. But the mystery was laid to rest by Iranian air force commanders, some of whom were trained more than 25 years ago in the United States and are familiar with U.S. tactics. They identified the drones early last month, a senior Iranian official said, and Iran's National Security Council decided not to engage the pilotless aircraft. That action is considered a major policy decision and reflects Iran's belief that an attack is unlikely anytime soon. The U.S. National Security Agency, which conducts and manages overseas eavesdropping operations, said it has no information to provide on the reconnaissance missions over Iran. The drones are among several tools being used to gather information on Iran's nuclear programs and its military capabilities, U.S. officials said. The United States believes Iran is using its nuclear energy program to conceal an effort to manufacture nuclear weapons, but no one has found definitive evidence to substantiate that. Iran is engaged in diplomacy with France, Britain and Germany aimed at ending a 2 1/2-year crisis over Tehran's nuclear ambitions that began when Iranian defectors exposed a large uranium enrichment facility in August 2002. Inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have been in and out of the country since then investigating nuclear facilities. U.S. officials confirmed that the drones were deployed along Iran's northern and western borders, first in April 2004, and again in December and January. A former U.S. official with direct knowledge of earlier phases of the operation said the U.S. intelligence community began using Iraq as a base to spy on Iran shortly after taking Baghdad in early April 2003. Drones have been flown over Iran since then, the former official said, but the missions became more frequent last year. The spring 2004 flyovers led Iran's military to step up its defenses around nuclear facilities in the southern cities of Isfahan and Bushehr, where locals first reported the UFO sighting. Defenses were added around those sites and others last month, Iranian officials said, after it became clear they were being observed by the drones. A Dec. 25 article in the Etemaad newspaper, translated from Farsi by the CIA, reported on "the presence of unidentified flying objects in the Bushehr sky on a number of occasions, particularly in recent weeks." After Moscow experts were called in, the Russian daily Pravda reported on "UFO mania" sweeping Iran. One U.S. intelligence official said different types of drones with varying capabilities have been deployed over Iran. Some fly several hundred feet above the earth, getting a closer view of ground activities than satellites, and are equipped with air filter technology that captures particles and delivers them back to base for analysis. Any presence of plutonium, uranium or tritium could indicate nuclear work in the area where the samples were collected. The last drone sightings were in mid-January, about the same time that Iran's National Security Council met in Tehran to discuss them, according to an Iranian official. "It was clear to our air force that the entire intention here was to get us to turn on our radar," the official said. That tactic, designed to contribute information to what the military calls an "enemy order of battle," was used by the U.S. military in the Korean and Vietnam wars, against the Soviets and the Chinese, and in both Iraq wars. "By coaxing the Iranians to turn on their radar, we can learn all about their defense systems, including the frequencies they are operating on, the range of their radar and, of course, where their weaknesses lie," said Thomas Keaney, a retired U.S. Air Force colonel and executive director of the Foreign Policy Institute at Johns Hopkins University. But it did not work. "The United States must have forgotten that they trained half our guys," the Iranian official said. After a briefing by their air force three weeks ago, Iran's national security officials ordered their forces not to turn on the radar or come into contact with the drones in any way. "Our decision was: Don't engage," the Iranian official said. Leaving the radar off deprives U.S. forces of vital information about the country's air defense system, but it also makes it harder for Iran to tell if an attack is underway. The Iranian government lodged a formal protest through the Swiss Embassy in Tehran, which passed it on to the State Department, a Bush administration official said. The complaint was then forwarded to the Pentagon and to senior Bush administration officials, the official said. Asked last Sunday about Iran, Rumsfeld told ABC's "This Week" that he had no knowledge of U.S. military activities in Iran. Rice, who helped plan the Iraq war, said during her European trip last week that an assault on Iran was not on the agenda "at this time." So far, the drones have added little information to Iran's nuclear file, according to U.S. intelligence officials familiar with the mission. Estimates vary on when Tehran could build a nuclear weapon using material from its energy program. Iran has agreed to stop enriching uranium, a key ingredient for a bomb, while it is engaged in talks with European governments. Mohamed ElBaradei, the director general of the IAEA, said if Iran resumes that work, it could have enough highly enriched uranium for a bomb within two years and could complete a weapon within three years. Iranian officials have said repeatedly that their country has no intention of building nuclear weapons. ||||| Tensions remain between US and EU By Peter Spiegel and Daniel Dombey in Munich Published: February 13 2005 18:00 | Last updated: February 13 2005 18:00 Over the past two years, the annual gathering of defence ministers, parliamentarians and military experts in Munich has become one of the most public barometers of the transatlantic relationship. Two years ago, as US and British troops were gathering in Kuwaiti ports, Joschka Fischer, the German foreign minister, delivered an emotional plea to Donald Rumsfeld, the American defence secretary seated impassively near him, to stop the march to war, opening two days of anger and bitterness. | Three U.S.-government sources have reported the existence of U.S. military drone flights made over Iran, carrying surveillance equipment and particle filters capable of detecting nuclear materials. Confusingly, U.S.-military sources denied the overflights. Iranian military personnel said they were aware of them, and sightings had prompted a number of UFO reports in the area of Iranian nuclear installations. They viewed them as provocative and probably designed to trick the Iranians into turning on their radar so that the US could determine potential targets. Because Iran does not have political ties with the US, it has formally issued its objections to the flights through Swiss diplomats. |
Story Highlights • Internet encyclopedia to ask some writers for credentials • Contributors will still be able to remain anonymous • College dropout wrote for site claiming to be a professor • Anonymity is a main force behind Wikipedia's growth Adjust font size: (AP) -- Following revelations that a high-ranking member of Wikipedia's bureaucracy used his cloak of anonymity to lie about being a professor of religion, the free Internet encyclopedia plans to ask contributors who claim such credentials to identify themselves. Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales said in interviews by phone and instant message Wednesday from Japan that contributors still would be able to remain anonymous. But he said they should only be allowed to cite some professional expertise in a subject if those credentials have been verified. "We always prefer to give a positive incentive rather than absolute prohibition, so that people can contribute without a lot of hassle," Wales wrote. Wales suggested such a plan two years ago, but the idea suddenly gained currency after the recent discovery that a prolific Wikipedia contributor who wrote under the pen name "Essjay" and claimed to be a professor of theology turned out to be a 24-year-old college dropout, Ryan Jordan. Jordan's fraud came to light last week when The New Yorker published an editor's note stating that a 2006 Wikipedia profile in the magazine had erroneously described Essjay's purported academic resume. The New Yorker said a Wikipedia higher-up had vouched for Essjay to the author of the piece, Stacy Schiff, but that neither knew Essjay's real identity. In addition to contributing thousands of articles to the sprawling Web encyclopedia, Jordan had recently been promoted to arbitrator, a position for trusted members of the community. Arbitrators can overrule an edit made by another volunteer or block people who abuse the site. Jordan also was hired in January by Wikia Inc., a for-profit venture run by Wales. He has since been dismissed. Jordan has not returned an e-mail seeking comment from The Associated Press. But in a note on his Wikipedia "user page" before it was officially "retired," he apologized for any harm he caused Wikipedia. "It was, quite honestly, my impression that it was well known that I was not who I claimed to be, and that in the absence of any confirmation, no respectible (sic) publication would print it," he wrote. Wikipedia is full of anonymous contributors like Essjay, whose user page also once proclaimed: "My Wikipedia motto is 'Lux et Veritas' (Light and Truth) and I believe more individuals should contribute with an intention to bring light to the community and truth to the encyclopedia." The anonymity of the site is a frequent cause of mischief -- from juvenile vandalism of entries to the infamous case involving journalist Robert Seigenthaler, who was incorrectly described as a suspect in the Kennedy assassinations. And that has raised concerns about the credibility of the site. But anonymity is also considered one of the main forces behind Wikipedia's astonishing growth, to nearly 1.7 million articles in English and millions more in dozens of other languages. Wales has said he is an "anti-credentialist" -- because anonymity puts a reader's attention on the substance of what people have written rather than who they are. Wales said Wednesday that belief is unchanged. But, he said, if people want to claim expertise on Wikipedia, they ought to be prompted to prove it. If they don't want to give their real names, they shouldn't be allowed to tout credentials. Had that policy been in place, Wales said, Jordan probably would not have gotten away with claiming a Ph.D. in religion. "It's always inappropriate to try to win an argument by flashing your credentials," Wales said, "and even more so if those credentials are inaccurate." Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. ||||| From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia R E T I R E D This user is no longer active on Wikipedia. My comments here will be short and to the point: I'm no longer taking part here. I have received an astounding amount of support, especially by email, but it's time to go. I tried to walk away in August, and managed to do so for quite a while, but I eventually came back, because of the many requests I received urging me to return. Many of you have written to ask me to not leave, to not give up what I have here, but I'm afraid it's time to make a clean break. I ask that the first steward to see this message please remove my various flags from this wiki, as well as from Meta, Commons, and Wikiquote, and remove the bot flags from my bots, which of course will no longer be running. My tools will be taken down shortly. I had planned to delete my user-space myself, but I don't want anyone to think I was going on a rampage, so instead, I ask that one or more administrators who are friends please delete the 288 pages that form my userspace (leaving only my userpage and this talk page). I've enjoyed my time here, and done much good work; my time, however, is over, and leaving is the best thing for me and for Wikipedia. I walk away happy to be free to go about other things. I hope others will refocus the energy they have spent the past few days in defending and denouncing me to make something here at Wikipedia better. ||||| From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia This talk page is automatically archived by Werdnabot. Any sections older than 7 days are automatically archived to User talk:Jimbo Wales/Archive 18. Sections without timestamps are not archived. I have blanked my entire talk page to make sure this statement gets adequate attention. Hopefully someone more clueful than me :-) can archive things properly. I have been for several days in a remote part of India with little or no Internet access. I only learned this morning that EssJay used his false credentials in content disputes. I understood this to be primarily the matter of a pseudonymous identity (something very mild and completely understandable given the personal dangers possible on the Internet) and not a matter of violation of people's trust. I want to make it perfectly clear that my past support of EssJay in this matter was fully based on a lack of knowledge about what has been going on. Even now, I have not been able to check diffs, etc. I have asked EssJay to resign his positions of trust within the community. In terms of the full parameters of what happens next, I advise (as usual) that we take a calm, loving, and reasonable approach. From the moment this whole thing became known, EssJay has been contrite and apologetic. People who characterize him as being "proud" of it or "bragging" are badly mistaken. On a personal level, EssJay has apologized to me, and I have accepted his apology on a personal level, and I think this is the right thing to do. If anyone else feels that they need or want a personal apology, please ask him for it. And if you find it to be sincere, then I hope you will accept it too, but each person must make their own judgments. Despite my personal forgiveness, I hope that he will accept my resignation request, because forgiveness or not, these positions are not appropriate for him now. I still have limited net access... for a couple of hours here I will be online, and then I am offline until I am in Japan tomorrow morning. I beleive I will have a fast and stable Internet connection at that time, and I will deal with this further at that time. Wikipedia is built on (among other things) twin pillars of trust and tolerance. The integrity of the project depends on the core community being passionate about quality and integrity, so that we can trust each other. The harmony of our work depends on human understanding and forgiveness of errors. --Jimbo Wales 06:42, 3 March 2007 (UTC) ||||| March 2, 2007 Essjay, the Ersatz Academic Back in July, Stacy Schiff of The New Yorker profiled a Wikipedia administrator called Essjay as part of a sprawling piece on the open-source encyclopedia. To many scholars who read the piece, Essjay was a fascinating figure -- a "tenured professor of religion at a private university" who not only edited articles on penitential rites and transubstantiation but also corrected errors in Wikipedia's write-up of Justin Timberlake. But as it turns out, Essjay's story was a bit too good to be true. In fact, the Wikipedia editor doesn't even hold a doctorate: He's a 24-year-old named Ryan Jordan, and he has never taught a class in his life, according to WebProNews. (Mr. Jordan was recently hired by Wikia, a for-profit Web venture associated with Wikipedia.) On his own Wikipedia "user talk" page, Mr. Jordan apologized, but said he created the false identity to protect him from critics who make a point to publicize the names of Wikipedia contributors. Some Wikipedians were quick to offer support to Essjay, but others were harshly critical. A few people even suggested Mr. Jordan be banned from posting to the encyclopedia. But Jimmy Wales, the Wikipedian whose opinion matters the most, strongly defended the beleaguered editor. "EssJay has always been, and still is, a fantastic editor and trusted member of the community," wrote Wikipedia's chief. "He has been thoughtful and contrite about the entire matter, and I consider it settled." Like most of the controversies that swirl around Wikipedia, the incident has wider ramifications than a simple personal dispute. Mr. Wales is right that Essjay's autobiographical fabrications don't change the quality of his contributions to the site. And it would seem like an overreach for a site that thrives on anonymous editing to ban someone for misrepresenting his or her identity. But the incident is clearly damaging to Wikipedia's credibility -- especially with professors who will now note that one of the site's most visible academics has turned out to be a fraud. --Brock Read Posted on Friday March 2, 2007 | Permalink | Comments Previous: Oracle Buys Another Business Next: A Wikipedia for the Right Wing ||||| Ode to Wikipedia Riddled with Errors In a feature story about Wikipedia, it appears The New Yorker fell prey to just the sort of pseudo-truths for which the online encyclopedia is famous. An editors' note in the current issue notes that the article, written by Stacy Schiff and published July 31, 2006, contained extensive quotes from "a Wikipedia site administrator and contributor called Essjay," described as "a tenured professor of religion at a private university" with "a Ph.D. in theology and a degree in canon law." It only took the magazine's vaunted fact-checking department seven months to discover that Essjay is actually a 24-year-old named Ryan Jordan who has never taught anything and holds no advanced degrees. Be sure to check back in September to find out if the Bush administration has really decided to back Sunni radicals against their Shiite rivals. Image: The Fed ||||| [WikiEN-l] Arbcom appointments I hereby appoint Mackensen and EssJay to the Arbitration committee. After consulting with the existing arbitration committee and others, I decided to appoint Mackensen to Dominic's seat (Dominic is retiring), and EssJay to an expansion seat in the shortest tranche. --Jimbo | * July 31, 2006 — ''The New Yorker'' publishes story about Wikipedia by Schiff. * January, 2007 — Essjay hired by Wikia. * January 15, 2007 — Essjay posts autobiographical details on his user page at Wikia, giving his name, age, previous employment history from age 19, and positions within various Wikimedia Foundation projects. * February 23, 2007 — Wales announces his appointment of Essjay to Wikipedia's Arbitration Committee. * February 28, 2007 — Radar Online notes the fact correction appended to the ''The New Yorker'' article. * March 3, 2007 — Wales issues a statement on his user talk page at Wikipedia. * March 4, 2007 — Essjay announces his retirement from Wikipedia on his user talk page at Wikipedia. : with update as of March 4, 2007. A photo which Essjay uploaded, claiming it was himself. Controversy and discussion erupted on internet forums on 28 February 2007, when publicity was given to Essjay, a prominent Wikipedia administrator and editor, having claimed false credentials which were published in a magazine. Internet encyclopedia Wikipedia co-founder Jimbo Wales was travelling in India, and at 06:42 on March 3 he issued a statement that further information had come to his attention and he had asked the editor to resign his positions of trust within the community. At 03:17 on March 4 Essjay announced on his user talk page that he had retired and was no longer active on Wikipedia. The affair became public when the ''The New Yorker'' issued a retraction to their article about Wikipedia which they had published at the end of July 2006, stating that biographical details they had printed about an administrator and contributor they had interviewed had been found to be false, even though he had confirmed the accuracy of these details as shown on his user page while remaining anonymous. The Pulitzer Prize winning reporter Stacy Schiff was referred by the Wikimedia Foundation for an interview for the article to Wikipedia administrator Essjay, a member of Wikipedia's arbitration committee and generally trusted member of the community. EssJay had fabricated a persona which he described on his user page on Wikipedia, presenting himself as a tenured professor at a private US university. After the news broke, EssJay claimed that the false details were intended to avoid cyberstalking. The following is an excerpt of a statement Wales issued on his talk page: Essjay revealed his identity as Ryan Jordan, a 24-year-old with no advanced degrees, who has never taught, when he was hired by Wikia, a company that runs community-based wikis. Jordan has since posted that he was shocked Schiff would publish such information; "It was, quite honestly, my impression that it was well known that I was not who I claimed to be, and that in the absence of any confirmation, no respectible publication would print it." Five-hundred edits were made to his talk page between 09:45, March 1, 2007 and 17:04, March 3, 2007, and the barrage of comments was expected to continue for an extended period. EssJay subsequently retired from the English Wikipedia, and requested that his bureaucrat, checkuser, oversight, and sysop privileges be revoked. Wikipedia allows its users to be anonymous, by creating usernames as pseudonyms. However, it is considered unethical to purposely misrepresent oneself to the media, or to use unjustified claims to qualifications to support arguments with other contributors. |
MIAMI (Reuters) - A Cuban immigrant shot and killed four people including his estranged wife before taking his own life early on Sunday in Miami, police and local media said. A sergeant with the Miami Police Department's homicide division who declined to give his name said the man, wielding a semi-automatic handgun, shot his victims inside a house in the city's Little Havana district shortly after midnight. He then sped off in a pickup truck and turned the gun on himself at his home, which he had apparently set on fire, about 3 miles away. "It was domestic-related," the sergeant said. "The wife left him and he tracked her down, unfortunately." He declined to elaborate, saying the case was still under investigation. But the Miami Herald said victims of the shooter, who had moved to Miami from Cuba about 10 years ago, included his wife, her daughter and her mother. The daughter's boyfriend was also killed, according to the newspaper. In Alabama last week, near that state's southeast border with Florida, a man shot and killed 10 people including his mother, grandmother, uncle and two cousins, before shooting himself dead. (Reporting by Tom Brown; Editing by Cynthia Osterman) ||||| MIAMI — A man barged into a birthday party early Sunday, shot his estranged wife and three other people to death, then went home, set his truck and house on fire and killed himself, police said. Witnesses described a chaotic scene that started when the man showed up uninvited at the party and told about a dozen people there that he blamed them for his wife leaving him, said homicide detective Ervens Ford. Then he opened fire. Some took cover while others, including a pregnant woman, ran into the street. "It was chaotic," Ford said. "I can't imagine what it was like in there." The man also killed his 51-year-old wife's mother and daughter, along with her daughter's boyfriend, whose birthday they were celebrating, Ford said. Police did not release the victims' names because other family members had not been notified. They said the man and his wife were married about four years and they weren't sure when she left him. Officers got a call shortly after midnight that numerous shots had been fired and a red pickup truck had been spotted leaving the scene. Juan Sosa, who lives a block away, was out walking his dog early Sunday when he heard two shots and saw people running toward him, screaming. Then he heard as many as two dozen more shots and ducked behind a large tree to call police. Story continues below advertisement "I didn't want to get hit," he said. The pregnant woman who fled was taken to the hospital as a precaution, but she was not hurt. Soon after, someone called 911 to say a building about three miles away was on fire and more shots had been fired. That's where officials found the alleged gunman dead. Ford said he set fire to both his truck and the building he lived in before shooting himself. Janseen Almodovar, who lives across the street, rushed outside when he heard people screaming and honking. He said the entire building and a truck out front were in flames. "We thought the truck was going to blow up," Almodovar said. Panicked neighbors weren't sure if anyone was inside the one-story ivory stucco building, but they couldn't knock because the fire was so intense. Landlord Abel Loredo, who owns the building where the alleged gunman shot himself, said the man had lived there for five years and had always been on time with the rent for his one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment. Loredo declined to identify the man but said he had moved from Cuba about a decade ago and seemed very nice. The man was a cook at a restaurant in nearby Little Havana for a time before becoming an electrician a few years ago. Neighbors said there had never been any problems with police and the man and his wife were often seen in their yard barbecuing. Loredo said the man's wife and her son had lived with him at some point, but he didn't know if they were still living there. Sosa, who lives in the quiet neighborhood where the family gathering took place, said about 20 people ran into the street after the shots were fired. The last person he saw was a limping man who got into a red pickup truck and sped away without turning his lights on. Sosa said he had seen the truck driving around the neighborhood earlier and that his father remembered seeing it several times in the last few weeks. He did not know the people who were killed but said he felt badly for them. "I feel sorry for the family," he said. "There's no excuse for that." (This version CORRECTS spelling of detective's first name to Ervens.) | Calle Ocho (SW 8th St) in Little Havana, Miami, Florida just east of SW 27th Avenue where it starts one-way eastbound. Five people are dead following a murder-suicide in Miami, Florida today, after a man crashed a birthday party early Sunday morning. He informed the party-goers that they were responsible for his wife's decision to leave him, and then proceeded to open fire with a semi-automatic hand gun. The guests fled the scene into the street, or found cover. The man, whom police identified as Guillermo Lopez, 48, immigrated to the United States from Cuba about 10 years ago. There were about a dozen people in attendance at the party. He killed his wife, who had left him, and shot her daughter, her daughter's boyfriend, and the boyfriend's grandmother. They were killed at approximately 12:15am in Little Havana, Miami. Police first responded to the 2800 block of Southwest 38 Court following reports of gunfire. Four bodies were discovered behind the house. "It was chaotic. I can't imagine what it was like in there," said homicide detective Ervens Ford. Lopez fled the scene in a red Toyota Tacoma pickup truck to his home, which was about from the original scene. He set both the house and truck on fire and committed suicide. Police and firetrucks responded to a second 911 call regarding the blaze at the 700 block of Southwest 33 Avenue where the assailant's body was found with a gunshot wound. The victims have been identified as Lazara Mendez, 50; Nayla Canfux, 19; Francisco Casas, 27; and Maria Lefran Christ, 77. |
For Immediate Release April 13, 2005 Print Version Kevin Bonderud & Michael Fleischer, (202) 667-0901 College Students Report High Levels of Spirituality and Religiousness: Major Study Has Implications for Colleges, Health, and Politics Today’s college students show a very high level of interest and involvement in spirituality and religion, are actively engaged in a spiritual quest, and have high expectations for the role their universities will play in their spiritual and emotional development, according to a major new study released today. Four in five students have an interest in spirituality, three-fourths say they are “searching for meaning or purpose in life,” and more than three-quarters believe in God. These are some of the key findings of a survey conducted last fall of 112,232 freshmen attending 236 colleges and universities. The study, carried out by UCLA’s Higher Education Research Institute (HERI), also analyzes how varying degrees of spirituality and religiousness translate into differences in students’ political and social attitudes, psychological and physical well-being, and religious preference. Some of the findings include: 80% are interested in spirituality 76% are searching for meaning/purpose in life 74% have discussions about the meaning of life with friends 81% attend religious services 80% discuss religion or spirituality with friends 79% believe in God 69% pray According to a report on the survey, entitled The Spiritual Life of College Students, students “are searching for deeper meaning in their lives, looking for ways to cultivate their inner selves, seeking to be compassionate and charitable, and determining what they think and feel about the many issues confronting their society and the global community.” Despite their strong religious commitment, today’s students are very tolerant of the non-religious. More than eight in ten (83%), for example, say “non-religious people can be just as moral as religious believers,” and nearly two-thirds (64%) say that “most people can grow spiritually without being religious.” High Expectations for Colleges The students have “high expectations for the role their institutions will play in their emotional and spiritual development,” according to the report. More than two-thirds (69%) consider it “essential” or “very important” that their college enhance their self-understanding and a similar proportion (67%) rate highly the role they want their college to play in developing their personal values. Nearly half (48%) also say it is “essential” or “very important” that colleges encourage their personal expression of spirituality. “College students appear to put a premium on their spiritual development,” said Alexander W. Astin, the Co-Principal Investigator for the project. “They are clearly very interested in these larger questions in life, and many of them hope that the college experience will support them in their spiritual quest. The challenge for higher education is to understand the priority young people place on these issues and explore how well they are supporting their students’ quest.” Funded by the John Templeton Foundation, the UCLA study is part of a multi-year project examining how college students think of spirituality, its role in their lives, and how postsecondary institutions can better facilitate students’ spiritual development. Political Orientation and Attitudes The study found striking political differences between students at the high and low ends of spirituality and religious engagement, but also a “convergence on a number of social concerns and on the ideals, virtues, and values that students espouse.” Among the most religious students, conservatives outnumber liberals by more than three to one. Conversely, liberals outnumber conservatives by a similar margin among highly skeptical students. Highly spiritual students are also likely to be conservative, but more liberals than conservatives are on a spiritual quest, espouse an ethic of caring, and embrace an ecumenical worldview. Similar proportions of conservatives and liberals exhibit high levels of charitable involvement and compassionate self-concept. There are also sharp differences on political and social issues when students who are at high and low ends of spirituality and religiousness are compared. Some of these differences correspond to general population trends. For example, students with high levels of religious engagement are far less likely to believe abortion should be legal, think casual sex is ok, support same-sex marriage, and endorse legalization of marijuana than students are with low levels of religious engagement. The largest differences on issues between students with high levels of religious engagement and those with low levels are: 54 points – legalized abortion (23% of highly engaged support vs. 77% of low) 52 points – casual sex is ok (15% of high vs. 67% of low) 48 points – support same-sex marriage (28% of high vs. 76% of low) 30 points – support legalizing marijuana (19% of high vs. 49% of low) But attitudes don’t always correspond to what might be assumed. According to the report, highly religious students “clearly do not subscribe to a uniform set of conservative viewpoints, and actually assume relatively liberal perspectives on [some] issues.” Very religious and spiritual students, for example, are more likely to oppose the death penalty and less likely to oppose affirmative action than students who show low levels of spirituality and religious engagement. Of highly spiritual students, 42% support abolishing the death penalty, while only 26% of those with low levels of spirituality do. Highly spiritual or religious students don’t vary appreciably from their low-scoring counterparts on issues of race, the rights of criminals, women’s roles, and gun control. Three-quarters of those with high levels of religious engagement say government should do more to control handguns, compared to 78% of those with low levels of engagement. Relationship to Psychological and Physical Health The relationships between spirituality/religiousness and “psychological health are nuanced and complex,” the report says. While there is a positive correlation between being more spiritual and having more psychological distress, there is also a positive link between being highly spiritual and attributes for coping with hardship. There are much stronger positive associations with various measures of physical well-being. Highly spiritual and highly religious students are more likely to abstain from alcohol and cigarettes, maintain healthy diets, and report better physical health than their less spiritual or religious peers. Three-quarters of students with high levels of religious engagement say they never consume beer, for example, compared to 44% of those with low levels. And 66% of the highly engaged, versus 39% of low-engagement students, abstain from wine or liquor. Religious Diversity The study also looked at characteristics of 19 different categories of religious preferences. The largest percentage of students is Roman Catholic (28%), with another 17% choosing one of the mainline Protestant faiths (Episcopalian, Presbyterian, Methodist, and Lutheran). Other sizable groups include Baptist (13%) and “other Christian” (11%). Another 17% say they have no religious preference. About one-fourth (26%) say they are born-again Christians. The survey analysis reveals two clear-cut clusters of religious preference. One, involving Mormons, 7 th Day Adventists, Baptists, and “other Christians,” is strongly spiritual, religious, and religiously/socially conservative. The second, involving Unitarians, Buddhists, Hindus, Episcopalians, Jewish students, and members of the Eastern Orthodox Church, tend to score low on religiousness, and high on such traits as religious skepticism, ecumenical worldview, ethic of caring, and charitable involvement. Roman Catholics, the largest group, tend to score below the overall average on religious commitment, engagement, and skepticism, as well as on religious/social conservatism. With the exception of religious skepticism, Baptists and the “other Christian” group tends to score high on all of those dimensions. Mormons receive the highest scores on five of 12 measures and above average scores on three more, while students with no religious preference show a reverse pattern. Unitarians exhibit the most distinctive pattern, with high scores on spirituality, spiritual quest, ethic of caring, and ecumenical worldview and low scores on religious commitment and engagement. # # # HERI is widely regarded as one of the premiere research and policy organizations on postsecondary education in the country. Housed at the Graduate School of Education & Information Studies at UCLA, it serves as an interdisciplinary center for research, evaluation, information, policy studies, and research training in post-secondary education. For more information, please visit the project Web site at www.spirituality.ucla.edu. ||||| US freshmen reveal their spiritual side | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor Nearly two-thirds of American college freshmen pray at least weekly, according to the first comprehensive nationwide survey about their spiritual and religious views. College life requires just the right balance between study, work, and play. And for many, there's a fourth essential: prayer. On public and private campuses alike, spirituality has moved beyond the chapel. Whether students prefer meditation, sacred music, or grappling with meaning-of-life questions around the dinner table, many schools are responding by making more space for spiritual exploration. "We've been inclined to say, 'Well, these issues are very personal, they don't fit into the sort of scientific objectivist framework of higher education,' ... [but] there's a lot we can do to address students' spiritual concerns without ... promoting any particular sectarian religious point of view," says Jon Dalton, director of the Hardee Center for Leadership and Ethics in Higher Education at Florida State University. Forty-eight percent of freshmen say it's "very important" or "essential" for their college to encourage their personal expression of spirituality, reports the Higher Education Research Institute (HERI) at the University of California, Los Angeles. Yesterday it released "The Spiritual Life of College Students," a study of more than 100,000 American students, weighted to represent all first-time, full-time freshmen at four-year schools. It reveals many facets of students' inner lives, including: • Why they pray. Frequently it's for help solving problems, for forgiveness, and to express gratitude. • Their level of confidence in their views about religious or spiritual matters. Forty-two percent identify themselves as "secure"; 23 percent "seeking"; 15 percent "conflicted"; 10 percent "doubting"; and 15 percent "not interested" (respondents could check off more than one). • Correlations between spirituality and well-being. Although students who score high on scales of religious commitment or spirituality aren't immune from feeling depressed or overwhelmed, they are more likely to say they frequently feel at peace, and that they can find meaning in times of hardship. They're also more likely to have a healthy diet, abstain from alcohol and tobacco, and avoid staying up all night. In college, "you're in a state of flux and change," says Elizabeth Sherlock, a senior at Smith College in Northampton, Mass. A member of the United Church of Christ, she says her faith grounds her amid the stresses of daily life. Ms. Sherlock is also active in an ecumenical group, and she's seen a growth in spiritual seeking in her four years on campus. One of Smith's responses has been "Spiritual-i-Tea," a series of discussions that plays off the school tradition of afternoon tea. Chaplains - representing Jewish, Muslim, Roman Catholic, and Protestant faiths - host it in the library rather than in the chapel, attracting a wide range of students. In the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, the war in Iraq, and the recent US elections, Sherlock says, "issues of theology and God are being thrown about and used in various ways, and I think students are looking for ways to discuss that and reconcile with their own notions of spirituality." Perhaps not surprisingly, college freshmen aren't as prayerful as the overall adult population: 82 percent of American adults pray during a typical week, a recent survey by the Barna Group found. But HERI's finding that 61 percent of freshmen pray weekly and 28 percent pray daily presents a much different image of a group that's often typecast as a reckless party crowd. GRATITUDE: A professor reads a passage thanking God for freeing Jews from slavery during a seder held at Northeastern University. MARY KNOX MERRILL As students progress in college, church attendance often declines, previous studies report. "That may create the impression that there is lack of religious commitment, when in fact, it's strong, [but sometimes] more private," says Alexander Astin, one of the principal investigators of the study. The survey shows that 17 percent of freshmen score high on a scale of religious skepticism, while more than half score high on either religious commitment (things such as following religious teachings in daily life) or religious engagement (attending church or reading sacred texts). A follow-up study will measure how their views and practices have changed in two years, when they are college juniors. The survey also indicates much tolerance for others' views. Eighty-three percent agree that "nonreligious people can lead lives that are just as moral as those of religious believers." Mr. Dalton of the Hardee Center sees the broader interest in spirituality not as antireligious but as "just another expression of the search for meaning and transcendence, right alongside religion." On the second floor of a building at the heart of its busy Boston campus, Northeastern University offers the Sacred Space, an expansive room with softly lit wall panels of translucent green glass. Students stop by to chant, pray, sing, walk in meditative circles, or sometimes just lie on the floor listening to their iPods, says Shelli Jankowski-Smith, director of the Spiritual Life Center. Set up in 1997, the Sacred Space is also often used by Muslim students for prayer, and the antechamber has an area where they can perform ablutions. About half the time, the room is reserved by groups or classes. On a recent Thursday morning, several dozen undergraduates took off their shoes and sat on carpet squares or cushions for an introduction to meditation and relaxation techniques, a small part of the curriculum in a wellness class taught by Prof. Dorett Hope of the nursing school. Ms. Jankowski-Smith asked them to focus on their breath, to let go of thoughts about the past and the future, and to focus on the present. After a few minutes, when the room became palpably still, she told them in a quiet voice to ask themselves these questions: "What is my spirit? Where does it exist?" Aimee Bailey, a physical therapy major who hadn't known about the Sacred Space, said afterward that the wellness course is adding an important dimension to her studies. "We're supposed to be helping other people be healthy, but no one is taking care of themselves." Compared with science classes, where "there's no room for interpretation," she says, this one asks students to think for themselves. "At first, it's weird.... Students just want the answer - What is wellness? What is spirituality?" Ultimately, they have to find their own answers. Fostering openness to religious and spiritual diversity is important, but there also need to be boundaries, says Jankowski-Smith, the campus's first full-time director for spiritual life. Some cults "prey on college campuses," she says. She recently drew up guidelines, including a distinction between evangelizing and unacceptable forms of proselytizing. Spirituality has been integrated much more quickly into the student-life aspects of campus than into the classroom, says Peter Laurence, executive director of the Education as Transformation Project, which works with colleges nationwide to create more dialogue about spirituality. In many cases, it's not the right subject for classroom discussion, he says, but a growing number of professors are finding ways in which the overlap can be appropriate. MULTICULTURAL SEDER PLATE: To commemorate the Jewish holiday of Passover, Northeastern students and faculty prepared a multicultural seder at the school's African-American Institute. MARY KNOX MERRILL Links of interest Most-viewed stories ||||| These are the 3 least punctual U.S. airlines of 2020, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation | Results of the second phase in an ongoing major study of the spiritual lives of college students was released Wednesday, April 13 by a research center at UCLA. The study is a groundbreaking attempt to gain insight into the spiritual lives and concerns of students and improve how faculties and administrators at US colleges and universities address this part of their students' lives. The study, named The Spiritual Life of College Students, was conducted by the Higher Education Research Institute (HERI), a research center of higher education in the United States. HERI is based in the Graduate School of Education & Information Studies (GSE&IS) at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). HERI also produces a widely-cited annual Survey of Entering Freshman through its Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP) program. |
Local artist inspired by Palouse; worked as graphic designer to create art for companies in Olympia and surrounding areas WSU alumna creates art in various mediums inspired by her time in Pullman and the greater Palouse area. Pictured above is Leaf Lady. WSU alumna Rebecca Thorgaard paints the Palouse to express her emotions, giving more than just an image. Her painting’s such as “Thunderhead” and “Leaf Lady” express feelings and energy beyond the physical painting. Having resided in the Palouse for a long time, Thorgaard has seen Pullman from its many angles. She was able to see the sunsets from Webster Hall’s top floor and create art both in 2-D and 3-D form as a graphic designer for the science lab. During the 10 years she worked in the lab, she was able to watch Pullman sunsets and views of the hills from the best seat in the house. She said those images helped inspire her work, giving a golden touch to the art that represents Pullman’s glow. A favorite painting of hers, “Leaf Lady,” is based on a photograph of maple trees and worked into the painting with sand dunes and the landscaped hills of the Palouse. The artwork contains her friend’s face, emoting a struggle to break free. The piece of work is heavily influenced by the Palouse Hills and dark night skies that graze Pullman on occasion. “Thunderhead” was inspired by a very dark sky in the fall. The flowing, ready to be harvested wheat is golden, intensely contrasting against the dark storm clouds, she said. Thorgaard graduated from WSU with a fine arts degree and minor in communications. This helped her move straight into graphic design. Having been a graphic designer for a while, while living in Olympia for a few years, Thorgaard worked for a realtor company coming up with a brochure to use for the best salesman’s prize. They gave her free reign, and she came up with an interactive brochure that turned into a pyramid, resembling monuments of the company’s prize location for the best sales worker. Thorgaard’s idea to involve the children in her brochure won her a national title for graphic design. “When I came on board, they said “free reign,” their point was to use imagination as much as possible,” she said. “And, so, I got the kids involved with the project.” Relocating back near the Palouse, one of Thorgaard�?s favorite works of the area was her card series called “Barns of the Palouse.” The series consists of old barns that were rapidly disappearing in the area. Most of the barns in the series date back to the early 1900s and are no longer standing according to her website, Rose Creek Graphics. This project first began when her mom and a former friend helped form the Washington Idaho Symphony, Thorgaard said. As a simple way to raise money, the symphony decided to sell an academic calendar. Thorgaard�?s mom excitedly volunteered her for it. Thus was born the Barns of the Palouse card series. “I try to stay diverse and like to dabble in other art forms, like calligraphy, many of which, but not all, can be viewed on my website,” Thorgaard said. Thorgaard said she likes to step out of the box when it comes to art styles. She tries to combine tools that are not generally meant to work together. “For ‘Leaflady,’ I used a combination of colored pencils on watercolor paper to create a unique texture,” Thorgaard said. After taking a break from art for a while, Thorgaard�?s regrouping. She said she decided that it is time to get back into art and into the thing that she loves. If you would like to get in contact with her, she can be reached at learjet3@hotmail.com ||||| 'Reading Rainbow' Reaches Its Final Chapter GPN/Nebraska ETV Network; WNED Buffalo For 26 years, Reading Rainbow host LeVar Burton (left) shepherded kids through the exciting world of books. The show, which fostered a love of reading, was the third longest-running program in PBS history, outlasted only by Sesame Street and Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. Even if you can't remember a specific Reading Rainbow episode, chances are, the theme song is still lodged somewhere in your head: Butterfly in the sky, I can go twice as high, Take a look, it's in a book — Reading Rainbow ... Remember now? Reading Rainbow comes to the end of its 26-year run on Friday; it has won more than two-dozen Emmys, and is the third longest-running children's show in PBS history — outlasted only by Sesame Street and Mister Rogers. The show, which started in 1983, was hosted by actor LeVar Burton. (If you don't know Burton from Reading Rainbow, he's also famous for his role as Kunta Kinte in Roots, or as the chrome-visored Geordi La Forge on Star Trek: The Next Generation.) Each episode of Reading Rainbow had the same basic elements: There was a featured children's book that inspired an adventure with Burton. Then, at the end of every show, kids gave their own book reviews, always prefaced by Burton's trademark line: "But you don't have to take my word for it ..." "The series resonates with so many people," says John Grant, who is in charge of content at WNED Buffalo, Reading Rainbow's home station. Enlarge GPN/Nebraska ETV Network and WNED Buffalo. "I think reading is part of the birthright of the human being," Burton said in a 2003 interview. "It's just such an integral part of the human experience — that connection with the written word." GPN/Nebraska ETV Network and WNED Buffalo. The show's run is ending, Grant explains, because no one — not the station, not PBS, not the Corporation for Public Broadcasting — will put up the several hundred thousand dollars needed to renew the show's broadcast rights. Grant says the funding crunch is partially to blame, but the decision to end Reading Rainbow can also be traced to a shift in the philosophy of educational television programming. The change started with the Department of Education under the Bush administration, he explains, which wanted to see a much heavier focus on the basic tools of reading — like phonics and spelling. Grant says that PBS, CPB and the Department of Education put significant funding toward programming that would teach kids how to read — but that's not what Reading Rainbow was trying to do. "Reading Rainbow taught kids why to read," Grant says. "You know, the love of reading — [the show] encouraged kids to pick up a book and to read." Linda Simensky, vice president for children's programming at PBS, says that when Reading Rainbow was developed in the early 1980s, it was an era when the question was: "How do we get kids to read books?" Since then, she explains, research has shown that teaching the mechanics of reading should be the network's priority. "We've been able to identify the earliest steps that we need to take," Simensky says. "Now we know what we need to do first. Even just from five years ago, I think we all know so much more about how to use television to teach." Research has directed programming toward phonics and reading fundamentals as the front line of the literacy fight. Reading Rainbow occupied a more luxurious space — the show operated on the assumption that kids already had basic reading skills and instead focused on fostering a love of books. Simensky calls Reading Rainbow's 26-year run miraculous — and says that its end is bittersweet. Reading Rainbow's impending absence leaves many open questions about today's literacy challenges, and what television's role should be in addressing them. "But" — as Burton would have told his young readers — "you don't have to take my word for it." ||||| Did Education Dept.'s Shift Help Kill PBS's 'Reading Rainbow'? By Ed O'Keefe The PBS reading show "Reading Rainbow" -- starring "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and "Roots" alum LeVar Burton -- ends its 26-year run on Friday. Its longevity was the third-longest for a public television children's show, beaten only by "Sesame Street" and "Mister Rogers Neighborhood." Actor LeVar Burton, host of "Reading Rainbow" (Reuters) (As a young child in the '80s, The Eye fondly recalls watching all three programs every weekday before switching over to "The Price is Right" later in the morning. But we digress...) A Friday morning NPR report noted the show's conclusion and aired comments by John Grant, director of content at the show's home station, WNED in Buffalo. Producers were unable to secure the several hundreds of thousands of dollars needed to renew the show's broadcast rights, Grant said. Why? According to NPR: Grant says the funding crunch is partially to blame, but the decision to end Reading Rainbow can also be traced to a shift in the philosophy of educational television programming. The change started with the Department of Education under the Bush administration, he explains, which wanted to see a much heavier focus on the basic tools of reading -- like phonics and spelling. Grant says that [the Public Broadcasting Service], [the Corporation for Public Broadcasting] and the Department of Education put significant funding toward programming that would teach kids how to read -- but that's not what Reading Rainbow was trying to do. "Reading Rainbow taught kids why to read," Grant says. "You know, the love of reading -- [the show] encouraged kids to pick up a book and to read." In the report, a PBS official acknowledged the shift in reading philosophy from "how do we get kids interested?" to a focus on phonics. A spokesman for the Education Department did not return a request for comment or clarification. (If and when an answer arrives, we'll post it here.) In the meantime, take a trip down Memory Lane and sing along with the show's theme song. Oh, and leave your thoughts in the comments section below. Read the follow-up item here. | ''Reading Rainbow'', an American children's television series is to stop showing on television. It ceased to be shown on Friday after a 26 year long run because of a funding shortfall of several hundred thousand dollars needed to renew the broadcast rights. The PBS show has more than two-dozen Emmy awards, and its run is shorter only than ''Sesame Street'' and ''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood''. Each episode of the show would focus on a theme in a specific book and then explore that theme through multiple stories. Each show would also provide recommendations for books that children should look for when they went to their library. John Grant, from WNED Buffalo (Reading Rainbow's home station) said "Reading Rainbow taught kids why to read,... the love of reading — the show encouraged kids to pick up a book and to read." Linda Simensky, vice president for children's programming at PBS, said "We've been able to identify the earliest steps that we need to take. Now we know what we need to do first. Even just from five years ago, I think we all know so much more about how to use television to teach." She went on to say that the running length of the show was "miraculous". It is believed by some, including John Grant, that both the funding crunch and a shift in the philosophy of educational television programming contributed to ending the series. |
A series of explosions has ripped through an arms depot at a military base in Uzbekistan, killing at least three people and injuring about 20. The blasts happened in the mining town of Kagan near the ancient Silk Road town of Bukhara. Reports said the explosions were caused by a fire at the Soviet-era base. Soldiers fought the flames but were unable to prevent the fire reaching a store of artillery shells. "All those injured are being given necessary medical assistance," said the Uzbek state news agency UzA, citing the emergencies ministry. One woman told Reuters news agency that the explosions shattered windows in her apartment in Bukhara, about 12 km (8 miles) from the site. "I was working on my laptop when I heard a massive explosion which broke the windows. Then the sky lit up like at dawn," she said. I was working on my laptop when I heard a massive explosion which broke the windows Bukhara resident "Hospitals are all full, many are being sent to regional hospitals." Other residents, quoted on the Russian web site Ferghana.ru, said the explosions had begun about three hours after the fire started and continued until morning. State new agencies and television did not report the incident until more than 12 hours after the fire broke out. It is unclear how much damage the explosions have caused. Ferghana.ru said a train station, a hospital and more than 20 homes were destroyed, but an official from the emergencies ministry later denied the report. Sealed off The website reported that Kagan had been sealed off, telephone lines were down and train services to the capital, Tashkent, had been cancelled. The report said the base housed weapons left over from the Soviet-Afghan War. A regional official, quoted by the Russian RIA-Novosti news agency, appealed for calm and said the fire was out. Defence Minister Ruslan Mirzayev later visited the base but the threat of further explosions was hampering the investigation, the Russian news agency Interfax reported. E-mail this to a friend Printable version Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? ||||| MOSCOW, Russia (CNN) -- At least three people were killed and 21 wounded Thursday when a fire at a Soviet-era military base in Uzbekistan spread to an ammunition depot, setting off a series of explosions, officials said. Soldiers evacuated residents in the town of Kagan as they tried to contain the fire, said Uzbekistan government spokesman Bakhtiyar Khasanov. The blasts and fire destroyed a helicopter base, a hospital, a railway station and about 20 houses, the independent Ferghana news agency said. An official from Uzbekistan's Emergency Situations Ministry later denied that report, The Associated Press said. The country's official television and news agencies did not report the blasts for more than 12 hours after the fire first broke out late Wednesday, according to the AP. "We were woken up in the middle of the night and everybody came out onto the street," a woman in Kagan told the AP by phone, asking to remain anonymous out of fear of retaliation. Kagan, with a population of about 50,000, is a major local railway hub. Uzbekistan is a former Soviet republic in Central Asia, north of Afghanistan. Copyright 2008 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report. All About Uzbekistan | An arms depot in Uzbekistan has experienced a series of explosions today after a fire at a military base near the city of Kagan, killing at least three people. The base dates back to Soviet times. The fire broke out late Wednesday. Although information about the accident comes from officials, one official at Uzbekistan's Emergency Situations Ministry denied the report. Local media did not report the fire for at least twelve hours after it ignited, and one local resident who spoke with the Associated Press refused to be identified for fear of retribution by the authorities. The resident was quoted as saying, "we were woken up in the middle of the night and everybody came out onto the street." Independent Russian website Ferghana.ru reports that around 20 houses, a hospital, a railway station and a helicopter base have been destroyed, and 21 people have been injured by the blasts. The biggest explosions blew out windows in Bukhara, which is 7 miles away. The military has stopped people returning for their belongings and has placed them in schools for now. The evacuations were conducted by soldiers who are also working to quell the flames. It is thought that the fire started in the helicopter base and, despite efforts by soldiers, it then spread to the supplies of shells. The risk of more blasts is hampering investigatory efforts, but it is reported by a local official that the fire has been extinguished. "I was working on my laptop when I heard a massive explosion which broke the windows. Then the sky lit up like at dawn," said one resident. The explosions started three hours after the fire initially broke out. Kagan has a population of 50,000 and is an important part of the local rail network. The town's phone lines have become inoperative due to the blasts, and rail services from the capital, Tashkent, have been canceled. The military currently has the town sealed off. Defense Minister Ruslan Mirzayev traveled to the site. The base was used to store unused munitions after the Soviet-Afghan War. |
New fears over postal vote fraud System nears crisis point as main parties are told to stop interfering Hugh Muir, Sandra Laville and Audrey Gillan Wednesday April 13, 2005 The Guardian The three main political parties were yesterday urged to withdraw from active participation in the postal voting system amid fears that public confidence in the process has reached crisis point. Returning officers and officials from the Electoral Reform Society have called on Labour, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats to place strict curbs on their activists to ensure there is minimum party intervention in voting procedures. They have reiterated that, except in very limited circumstances, there should be "no third party intervention". Article continues The practice is not illegal but, in the light of the scandal in Birmingham - where a judge found rogue Labour activists and candidates tampered with forms - it is now heavily frowned upon. In the wake of the Birmingham case, in which Richard Mawrey QC found the postal-voting system was "wide open to fraud", guidelines were issued to political parties by the Electoral Commission and the Association of Chief Police Officers, warning them to steer clear of involvement in postal voting. "Because of the risks of suspicions that the application may be altered and the risk of the application form being delayed or lost in transit, the local electoral registration officer's address should be the preferred address given for the return of application forms," the guidelines said. But some candidates are flouting this advice. In a personal letter to voters in east London this week, the Labour MP Oona King told them to fill out the enclosed application form "and return it to me at the address shown", adding: "Then you can vote from the comfort of your own home." Challenged yesterday by her opponent, the Respect candidate George Galloway, who accused her of "corruption of the democratic process", Ms King's office said: "It has always been the case [that we ask voters to send application forms to us] and it has been for around 10 years. We have a strict code of conduct." In Brent East, the Liberal Democrat Sarah Teather sent voters an application form and urged them to "return the form to the Liberal Democrats using the envelope enclosed". Lord Rennard, chief executive officer of the Liberal Democrats, said the party was acting within Electoral Commission guidelines. He said: "There is no suggestion of any postal voting interference whatsoever in this case." But returning officers expressed frustration yesterday that parties were still getting involved in postal voting. Peter Woodward, electoral services officer at Cardiff city council, said Labour and the Conservatives were culpable. "We have had electors talking to us saying that they were not happy with the way this was being done, they felt political parties were pushing them. There is a suggestion from some residents that they have been not exactly pressurised but heavily encouraged into applying for a postal vote and sending it through the party involved. We are not happy about it." In Newham, east London, Mary Bradley, acting returning officer, said: "I think it would be more wise for politi cal parties to stay completely clear of the postal voting system in view of what has happened recently." Experts believe up to 6m of the 44m votes likely to be cast on May 5 will be postal votes and, in marginal constituencies, they could be decisive. The warnings came as the scale of alleged electoral fraud in the UK emerged. A survey by the Crown Prosecution Service, released to the Guardian, revealed there were 39 ongoing investigations into fraud, including cases where criminal charges have been made and those where lawyers were examining police reports. Police forces in Woking, Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Bradford and Burnley are investigating claims of postal voting fraud. Police in Birmingham were told yesterday to start a new criminal investigation into the six Labour councillors who were found guilty of "massive, widespread organised" postal-voting fraud at last June's local elections. A CPS spokesman said prosecution lawyers had asked police to investigate "with urgency". Election officers said they were anxious to rebuild confidence. One senior returning officer said voters had contacted his office seeking to relinquish their postal votes and regain their right to vote at a polling station. Malcolm Dumper, of the Association of Electoral Administrators, said: "We have had an electoral system in place for more than a century built on trust and we now find ourselves in a position of being ridiculed in other countries because our process is flawed." ||||| Hussain admitted arranging the collection of blank voting papers Muhammed Hussain, 61, from Logwood Street, Blackburn, Lancashire, pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud local elections in May 2002. He won a 685 majority in the elections for Bastwell ward on Blackburn Council. But his lawyer, Philip Andrews, said in mitigation that the fraudulent votes would not have affected the final result. Hussain would still have won. Judge Peter Openshaw said Mr Andrews' argument was "extremely unattractive". Earlier this week, in a separate case involving Labour councillors in Birmingham, a judge said the UK's postal voting system would "disgrace a banana republic". 'Stolen votes' An investigation found 233 votes were fraudulent, and Mr Hussain had arranged for campaigners to ask voters to hand over blank voting papers, telling them: "Don't worry, we'll take care of them". The Tories, who came second, complained that more than 75% of people had applied for postal votes. Mr Andrews handed in a petition of 700 signatures supporting the defendant, and said Mr Hussain had been of exemplary good character and a pillar of the community, but had now lost his standing. But Mr Openshaw said Hussain was "entirely unfit" for public office but he was not allowed under current law to disqualify him from holding future posts. He said it was a "public scandal" and told Hussain he was passing a "stiff" sentence to set an example to others. He said the current postal voting system was "wide open to fraud", adding: "The defendant has literally stolen votes." | The British Electoral Reform Society, Electoral Commission and the Association of Chief Police Officers have discouraged the British people from using the postal voting system, and asked campaigners in the general election not to take part in applying for or returning postal votes. The call comes one week after a Labour Councillor in Birmingham was jailed for election fraud, after party campaigners collected blank ballot papers from confused voters in a trial of a postal-only election. On Sunday the judge in the trial of Muhammed Hussain, Richard Mawrey QC, described the postal voting system as hopelessly flawed, and said the government was in denial about the problems. |
One killed, 9 hurt in blast For news details Read on : One killed, 9 hurt in blast For news details visit : http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/politics/26-Jan-2010/One-killed-9-hurt-in-blast QUETTA One security personnel was killed and nine others including six civilians were wounded after a remote controlled bomb exploded in the Panjgur town of Balochistan on Monday morning. Baloch Liberation Front (BLF) accepted the responsibility for the attack.According to sources, unidentified people had planted an explosive device in a motorbike parked at Hospital Road of Panjgur town.The device went off with a big bang when vehicle of security forces passed through the area. Resultantly,10 people including 3 security personnel sustained injuries and rushed to a nearby hospital where security personnel identified as Rafiq succumbed to his injuries.'Seven people including two personnel of Frontier Corps (FC) were injured in motorcycle blast when the vehicle of security forces was passing through the area, Jamil Ahmed, DPO Panjgur said.However, the spokesman of FC rejected the reports of any such attack on vehicle of FC, when this scribe contacted him to ascertain about the incident.Some injured were identified as Zubair, Amjad, Matiullah, Muhammad Anwar, Abdul Razzaq, Gul Muhammad, Tabish and Nazeer.The condition of some injured was stated to be serious.The incident spread panic and fear in the area and forced shopkeepers toclose down their shops.Police reached the scene after the incident and cordoned off the area.Meanwhile, spokesman of Baloch Liberation Front identifying himself as Doda Baloch calling to journalists from unspecified location claimed responsibility for the attack on vehicle of security forces in Panjgur district.He further said that the attack was carried out through remote controlled device that claimed eight lives of security forces including an officer. ||||| Share this story! FC personnel killed, 10 injured in Panjgur blast Staff Report QUETTA: A Frontier Corps (FC) personnel was killed and 10 others were injured on Monday in a bomb blast in a crowded bazaar of the Pak-Iran border town of Panjgur, police confirmed. According to sources, a remote-controlled bomb fixed on a parked motorcycle, which was intended to target a FC convoy, exploded at Saddam Chowk in a crowded market. As a result, FC official Mohammad Rafiq was killed and 10 others were injured. According to eyewitnesses, the blast was so powerful that it was heard in remote parts of the district. The injured people included three FC officials – Mohammad Amjad, Mathiullah and Zubair Ahmed. While the civilians injured in the blast were identified as Mohammad Anwar, Abdul Razaq, Gul Mohammad, Nazir Ahmed, Pervez Ahmed, Mohammad Rahim and Maula Baksh. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack so far. However in Quetta, FC spokesman Murtaza Baig refuted the sources’ report, saying that no FC official was killed or injured in the blast. Home | National Share this story! ||||| PANJGUR—A Frontier Constabulary official was killed and seven other including three FC men sustained injuries in remote-controlled bomb blast in the main market of Panjgur on Monday. According to details, Head Constable Muhammad Rafique of Frontier Constabulary was killed and five others including three FC men were injured when when a remote-controlled bomb device planted in a motorbike exploded in Saddam Chowk of the main bazaar of the city. The intensity of the blast was so high that it was heard from quite distance. The blast also wrecked six parked vehicle including a vehicle of FC. Frontier Constabulary personnel cordoned off the area immediately after the blast whereas the market was also closed due to blast. According to DPO Panjgur, the authorities had initiated investigation into the incident.—Agencies | province of Pakistan. One Frontier Constabulary official died and several other people were injured on Monday when a remote-controlled bomb was detonated at Panjgur, in the Balochistan province of Pakistan. The Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF) later claimed responsibility for the attack. Witnesses say the bomb was planted in a motorbike parked on Hospital Road in the town. When town security vehicles were passing, the bomb exploded. A security official, identified as Head Constable Mohammad Rafique, was killed. Ten others were severely injured; according to witnesses, this included six civilians. The victims were immediately rushed to hospital. The blast was so powerful that the sound could be heard in a significant area of the town. Three of the injured were Frontier Corps (FC) officials. Some victims are said to be in a critical condition. Frightened shopkeepers soon shut down after the incident. Police soon arrived in the area to take control of the situation. Doda Baloch, spokesman for the BLF, called journalists to say that they had executed the attack with a remote-controlled motorcycle bomb. He claimed the attack killed eight from the security forces, including an officer. An investigation into this explosion is underway, said Panjgur police. |
Txeroki is suspected by police of killing two police officers in December 2007 The suspected military chief of the Basque separatist group, Eta, has been arrested in southern France. Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero called the arrest of Mikel Garikoitz Aspiazu Rubina, alias "Txeroki", a "severe blow" to Eta. Mr Garikoitz Aspiazu is suspected of the murder of two Spanish civil guard officers in France in 2007. Eta is blamed for the deaths of more than 820 people in its 40-year campaign for an independent Basque nation. The arrest of Mr Garikoitz Aspiazu, 35, which took place overnight in the Hautes-Pyrenees region of France, follows the detention of Eta's alleged political commander, Javier Lopez Pena, in a joint Spanish-French operation in the French city of Bordeaux in May. However, the BBC's Steve Kingstone in Madrid says that, in the past, high-profile arrests have always been followed by fresh attacks and Eta is far from defeated. KEY ETA ARRESTS May 2008: Political leader Javier Lopez Pena held in Bordeaux July 2007: Logistics chief Juan Cruz Maiza Artola detained in Rodez, southern France October 2004: Long-time political leader Mikel Albizu arrested in Salies de Bearn, southern France December 2002: Military leader Ibon Fernandez Iradi held in southern France Timeline: Eta's campaign Profile: Mikel Garikoitz Aspiazu Rubina Eta down but not out "Today Eta is weaker and Spanish democracy is stronger," Mr Zapatero said. But he admitted Eta would still be a threat. "It has not lost its ability to attack all citizens; it has not lost its ability to cause pain; but with this arrest it has suffered a severe blow." The group resumed its campaign of violence in June 2007, following the failure of secret dialogue with the Spanish government. Correspondents say Mr Garikoitz Aspiazu was a key figure in the decision. Police deaths Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play. Advertisement The Basque news agency, Vasco Press, said that Mr Garikoitz Aspiazu, whose nickname means Cherokee, had been detained along with another suspected Eta member in the town of Cauterets. The French interior ministry did not provide any other details about the arrest, but said he was "suspected of being the perpetrator" of the murder of two Spanish civil guard officers in Capbreton on 1 December 2007. "This arrest shows again the resolute commitment of the French police and gendarmerie in the fight against all forms of terrorism and illustrates once again the excellent co-operation between France and Spain in the fight against Basque terrorism," the French statement added. The two Spanish civil guards were shot during a surveillance operation on suspected Eta members. Their deaths prompted thousands of Spaniards to denounce the separatist group at a march in the capital, Madrid. French police arrested a man and a woman over the attack several days later - but said at the time they were looking for a third suspect. HAVE YOUR SAY Like any army, Eta has a chain of command: when one goes down another takes her or his place Gerard Mulholland, Paris, France Earlier this month, Spanish Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba said two recently arrested suspected Eta members had said Mr Garikoitz Aspiazu had told them he had participated directly in the shooting. One of them had said he "heard Txeroki recognise that he was the assassin of the two policemen," he added. Eta suffered a major blow in May with the arrest of Mr Lopez Pena, alias "Thierry", along with three other suspected members of the group. Mr Lopez Pena is alleged to have ordered the December 2006 bombing of Madrid's airport, which ended the 14-month-old ceasefire with the government and killed two people. Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? E-mail this to a friend Printable version ||||| MADRID, Spain (CNN) -- Police arrested the suspected military chief of the Basque separatist group ETA in a pre-dawn raid Monday in southern France, the French interior minister announced. Suspected ETA military chief Aspiazu is considered a Basque separatist hardliner. The suspect, Mikel Garikoitz Aspiazu, 35, is wanted in connection with the shooting deaths of two plainclothes Spanish Civil Guards last December -- while they were on an anti-ETA investigation in France. He is thought to have been the ETA commander who trained and sent operatives to carry out attacks. French anti-terrorism police arrested Aspiazu, alias "Txeroki," at an apartment in the Pyrenees resort village of Cauterets, about 30 kilometers (18 miles) from Lourdes. A woman, not immediately identified, was also detained in the raid with a warrant from French anti-terrorism judge Laurence Le Vert, CNN partner station CNN+ reported. While French Interior Minister Michele Alliot-Marie called Aspiazu the suspected ETA military chief, CNN+ called him the suspected chief of ETA commandos. The arrests occurred at 3:30 a.m. (9:30 p.m. Sunday ET). Aspiazu and the woman were sleeping and armed, and police kept them in the apartment initially during a search of the premises. "The arrest shows the unfailing determination of the police forces in the battle against any form of terrorism," Alliot-Marie said in a statement. "It also illustrates once again the admirable collaboration between France and Spain in the fight against Basque terrorism." ETA is blamed for more than 800 deaths in its long fight for Basque independence. It has traditionally used France as its rear-guard base for logistics to carry out attacks, mainly across the border in Spain. But French and Spanish police have cooperated on a number of arrests of top ETA operatives in France. Last May, French police arrested the suspected leader of ETA's political, or policy-making wing, Francisco Javier Lopez Pena, alias "Thierry." But even with ETA suspects Aspiazu, on the military side, and Lopez Pena, on the political side, in custody, analysts cautioned that ETA has shown its ability to replace fallen leaders and carry on its fight. Both Aspiazu and Lopez Pena were considered hardliners who opposed ETA's declaration in March 2006 of a "permanent" unilateral cease-fire, which raised hopes of an end to nearly 40 years of ETA violence. An ETA bomb at Madrid's airport in December 2006 killed two men and caused heavy damage. Aspiazu is suspected of giving the order for that attack and providing commandos with the explosives, CNN+ reported. Although the Socialist government immediately ended the fledgling peace process, ETA did not officially end its cease-fire until June 2007. On October 30, a powerful car bomb that authorities blamed on ETA injured 27 people in broad daylight at the University of Navarra in the northern Spanish city of Pamplona. And last week, French police arrested two ETA suspects, both armed, as they were riding bicycles. Aspiazu is thought to have become an ETA member in 2000, rising quickly to become head of the commandos in 2004. In addition to the alleged killings of the two undercover Civil Guards, he is wanted for the alleged killing of a judge in November 2001 in the Basque region, CNN+ reported. There are about 600 ETA convicts or suspects in Spanish jails and 150 others in French jails, authorities in the two countries have told CNN. CNN Madrid Bureau Chief Al Goodman contributed to this report. All About ETA Separatist Group • Spain • France • Basque Country | The suspected military chief of the Basque nationalist group ETA was arrested in a pre-dawn raid on Monday in the town of Cauterets in Southern France. Mikel Garikoitz Aspiazu Rubina, alias ''Txeroki'' (English: ''Cherokee''), was arrested along with a woman who has not been named. Mikel Garikoitz Aspiazu Rubina, alias ''Txeroki'', in a police handout. He was arrested in a joint operation by Spanish and French police. He is being held in France in connection with the killing of two Spanish Civil Guards in Capbreton, France, December 1, 2007. Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero said, "Today Eta is weaker and Spanish democracy is stronger." "The arrest shows the unfailing determination of the police forces in the battle against any form of terrorism. It also illustrates once again the admirable collaboration between France and Spain in the fight against Basque terrorism," read a statement from French Interior Minister Michèle Alliot-Marie's office. The ETA organization is blamed by authorities for the deaths of 820 people since it began campaigning for a separate Basque state in the 1960s. According to CNN, ''Txeroki'' is thought to have joined the ETA in 2000, rising to become the military chief in 2004. |
Well-covered bum and big hips 'good for health' LONDON — Having a well-covered behind, big hips and solid thighs "is good for you", experts said on Tuesday in a new finding likely to delight women the world over. Carrying fat on the hips, thighs and bum, rather than around the waist, has a range of health benefits and actively protects against diabetes and heart disease, researchers at Oxford University said. "Fat around the hips and thighs is good for you but around the tummy is bad," said Dr Konstantinos Manolopoulos, one of three scientists behind the research which has been published in the International Journal of Obesity. A big bottom is much better than carrying fat around the waist, which tends to release more harmful fatty acids into the body, the research shows. Belly fat also releases molecules called cytokines which trigger inflammation - raising the risk of diabetes and heart disease. But fat carried on the thighs traps these harmful fatty acids and stops them from latching on to the liver and muscles and causing range of health problems, including insulin resistance. Although fat around the thighs and backside tends to burn slower and be harder to shift, it can release beneficial hormones which protect the arteries and help blood sugar control, the research showed. "The idea that body fat distribution is important to health has been known for some time," said Manolopoulos, who is a researcher at the Oxford Centre for Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism (OCDEM). "However is it only very recently that thigh fat and a larger hip circumference have been shown to promote health, that lower body fat is protective by itself." It is shape that matters - and as far as health is concerned, being 'pear-shaped' is much preferable to being 'apple-shaped'. In an ideal world, the more fat around the thighs the better - as long as the tummy stays slim, Manolopoulos said. "Unfortunately, you tend not to get one without the other," he said. Copyright © 2010 AFP. All rights reserved. More » ||||| Singer Jennifer Lopez has topped attractiveness polls with her curves Carrying extra weight on your hips, bum and thighs is good for your health, protecting against heart and metabolic problems, UK experts have said. Hip fat mops up harmful fatty acids and contains an anti-inflammatory agent that stops arteries clogging, they say. Big behinds are preferable to extra fat around the waistline, which gives no such protection, the Oxford team said. Science could look to deliberately increase hip fat, they told the International Journal of Obesity. And in the future, doctors might prescribe ways to redistribute body fat to the hips to protect against cardiovascular and metabolic diseases such as diabetes. The researchers said having too little fat around the hips can lead to serious metabolic problems, as occurs in Cushing's syndrome. Shape not weight Evidence shows that fat around the thighs and backside is harder to shift than fat around the waist. Although this may sound undesirable, it is actually beneficial because when fat is broken down quickly it releases a lot of cytokines which trigger inflammation in the body, say experts. These cytokines have been linked to cardiovascular disease, insulin resistance and diabetes. Fat around the hips and thighs is good for you but around the tummy is bad Lead researcher Dr Konstantinos Manolopoulos The slower burning hip fat also makes more of the hormone adiponectin that protects the arteries and promotes better blood sugar control and fat burning. In comparison, carrying excess fat around the stomach, being "apple shaped", raises the risk of diabetes and heart disease. Lead researcher Dr Konstantinos Manolopoulos, of Oxford University, said: "It is shape that matters and where the fat gathers. "Fat around the hips and thighs is good for you but around the tummy is bad." He said in an ideal world, the more fat around the thighs the better - as long as the tummy stays slim. "Unfortunately, you tend not to get one without the other," he said. Fotini Rozakeas of the British Heart Foundation said: "This research helps us better to understand how fat acts in the body in order to develop new approaches in reducing heart and circulatory disease. "If you are overweight, obese, or if you have a waist size that is increased, it is important to make changes to your lifestyle, such as eating a healthy diet and doing regular physical activity, to reduce your risk of heart health problems." Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? E-mail this to a friend Printable version | A new study conducted by researchers at Oxford University has concluded that women with fat around their bum, hips and thighs will have a reduced risk from various ailments. The Oxford Centre for Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism's Dr. Konstantinos Manolopoulos said that "Fat around the hips and thighs is good for you but around the tummy is bad," although he cautioned that "Unfortunately, you tend not to get one without the other." He worked with two other scientists to produce the paper, which was published in the International Journal of Obesity. Fat around the waist has a tendency to release fatty acids, which are toxic. However, that found on curvy bums, thighs and hips actually traps fatty acids, as well as being associated with a reduced risk of diabetes and heart conditions. It releases hormones that help control blood sugar levels and keep arteries in good condition by preventing blockages with an anti-inflammatory. Belly fat releases inflammatory substances called cytokines and it is these that are trapped by the fat on curvy hips, bottoms and thighs. Cytokines also latch upon muscles and the liver, and can cause resistance to insulin, an important chemical. A lack of fat in the areas identified can also lead to metabolic chaos such as that which occurs in Cushing's syndrome. "The idea that body fat distribution is important to health has been known for some time," explained Manolopoulos "However is it only very recently that thigh fat and a larger hip circumference have been shown to promote health, that lower body fat is protective by itself." He stated that future research might even seek ways to ensure people have a healthy layer of fatty curves and that further study may be required to better understand the health effects. |
Togo's parliament has voted unanimously to abolish the death penalty. The vote was witnessed by Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero. He has been campaigning for a global moratorium on the death penalty as a first step towards its total abolition. The BBC's Ebow Godwin in the capital, Lome, says there were at least six convicts on death row. But the country has not carried out an execution since 1978, he says. Mr Zapatero said the Togolese parliament had raised a voice for justice and human dignity. And Justice Minister Kokou Tozoun said: "I think that it's the best decision that we took in this year... we don't have the right to give death to someone if we know that death is not a good thing to give." Amnesty International said the decision means Togo has become the 15th member of the African Union and the 94th country in the world to abolish the death penalty for all crimes. ||||| Togo latest African state to abolish death penalty Togo has become the latest country to abolish the death penalty, in a parliamentary vote held in the presence of visiting Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero. Togo is the 15th member of the African Union and the 94th country in the world to abolish the death penalty for all crimes, according to Amnesty International, which is campaigning for global abolition of the penalty.Addressing the parliament as part of a state visit to the West African country, Zapatero called the vote "a giant step for Togo".Togo carried out its last execution in 1978, although the death penalty has remained on the statutes.Under the unanimous parliament vote, convicts condemned to death will have their sentences commuted to life imprisonment.Zapatero was accompanied to parliament by President Faure Gnassingbe, with whom he held talks on his arrival from Nigeria on the latest leg of a West African tour. | The parliament of Togo has unanimously voted to abolish the death penalty for all crimes. Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, who had been campaigning for a global moratorium on the death penalty, witnessed the vote. Zapatero commented on the vote, calling it a “giant step for Togo”. Togo’s Justice Minister Kokuo Tozoun said "I think that it's the best decision that we took in this year... we don't have the right to give death to someone if we know that death is not a good thing to give." According to human rights organisation Amnesty International, Togo has become the 15th African nation to abolish the death penalty and the 94th country in the world to do so. There were around 6 inmates on death row in Togo despite the fact that an execution had not been carried out since 1978. Those on death row will have the sentence changed to life imprisonment. |
Lebanese express shock, fear 13 December 2005 (DPA)13 December 2005 BEIRUT — The Lebanese expressed shock and fear yesterday after a bomb blast killed Gebran Tueini, along with three others. ||||| Lebanon mass grave reopens file of those missing Lebanon-Syria, Politics, 12/10/2005 The discovery of two mass graves by the end of last week in the Lebanese town of Anjar a close distance from the previous general headquarters of the Syrian intelligence contributed to the reopening of the file of detainees and those who went missing during the Lebanese civil war which lasted between 1975- 1990. The committee of the families of the missing and kidnapped in Lebanon called on the Lebanese authorities to open all mass graves which have recognized sites. The spokeswoman for the committee Widad Helwani said that the committee directed the Lebanese authorities in 2000 several to mass graves and asked for unearthing them, but the government refused to respond, as she alleged. Helwani called on the Lebanese government to invite the heads of former militias to provide what information they have on the sites of these graves, noting that the Druz leader Walid Junblat is the only one among the political leaders who received her and expressed readiness to unmask hidden facts regarding these graves. The committee says that the Lebanese authorities have maps for 25 mass graves sites. For his part, the rapporteur of the parliamentary committee for human rights Ghassan Mukheiber said that the committee will convene a meeting next Tuesday to which it will invite representatives of human rights commission and the International Committee for the Red Cross in order to discuss this matter, stressing the need that "each and every criminal to get due punishment, and cooperation to be maintained among all political sects and groups in order to reach actual reconciliation, rather than false reconciliation." The Lebanese minister of justice announced on Thursday sending samples from the remains of bodies found in the two mass grave in Anjar to have their DNA tested in order to define the date of death, noting that the results will be known within 10 days. In addition to the two cemeteries in Anjar, remains of Lebanese soldiers were also found in another mass grave in the surrounding of the Lebanese ministry of defense, in one of the Lebanese capital suburbs. Worthy mentioning that Amnesty International stressed recently that during the civil war in Lebanon, collective violations of human rights were made. the organization indicated that acts of killing and kidnapping occurred carried out by various Lebanese, Palestinian, and the Syrian and Israeli military forces, acts that went unpunished. Previous Stories: More bodies found in Lebanese mass grave (12/7/2005) MP Khrais underlines strong relations between Syria and Lebanon (12/3/2005) Former Lebanese PM: Syria, Lebanon are sisterly states (12/1/2005) Please add a link on your webiste pointing to ArabicNews.com and bookmark ArabicNews.com & subscribe to our daily email news bulletin. Advertise on ArabicNews.com. MyFlowers.com sold more than $2700 of flowers in one month advertising on ArabicNews.com! Make your company, and products a success. Special rate for new and small business. Inquire! Advertising Info ||||| More bodies found in Lebanese mass grave Lebanon-Syria, Politics, 12/7/2005 Replying to a question on information which attributed the mass graves recently found in Anjar, Bekaa, belong to the period of the civil war in Lebanon in 1990 when the forces of Michel Aawn and Samir Jaajaa clashed, the leader of the opposition trend Michael Aawn told al-Jazeera satellite TV that "this is an irresponsible statement," noting that Anjar was far away from the battle fields. In the same context the Lebanese prime minister Foaud Siniora vowed to continue investigations in order to disclose the facts of the mass graves found in the site close to the former headquarters of the Syrian intelligence leadership in Lebanon. He said, he asked for the help of the ICRC (Red Cross) in this case. Worthy mentioning that the search operations in the graves resulted on Saturday and Sunday in finding 30 bodies in two mass graves in Anjar village, adjoining the Syrian borders. The Lebanese attorney general judge Saeed Mirza said that part of the remains which surfaced after the unearthing operations by bulldozers is for "women and children." For its part, the Amnesty International on Tuesday called on the Lebanese authorities to take immediate necessary measures in order to make sure of preserving all evidence in the site of the mass grave in order to find out who the remains belong to so as to bring sides responsible for these crimes to the judiciary. Amnesty International criticized methods used to unearthed the mass graves and called for "making the investigations later in compliance with international standards, especially the UN norms. Previous Stories: Saad al-Hariri accuses Syria of obstructing his father's murder investigation (12/6/2005) Mass grave found in Lebanon (12/5/2005) MP Khrais underlines strong relations between Syria and Lebanon (12/3/2005) Syrian forces withdrawal from Lebanon complete (4/27/2005) Please add a link on your webiste pointing to ArabicNews.com and bookmark ArabicNews.com & subscribe to our daily email news bulletin. Advertise on ArabicNews.com. MyFlowers.com sold more than $2700 of flowers in one month advertising on ArabicNews.com! Make your company, and products a success. Special rate for new and small business. Inquire! Advertising Info | Two mass graves discovered in Lebanon near a former Syrian intelligence center in Anjar have reopened the investigations for persons missing from the Lebanese civil war (1975 – 1990). Lebanese officials have announced DNA samples of the remains found will be tested. Troops unearthed at least 30 bodies buried in the 1980s and 1990s. Syrian troops withdrew from Lebanon last spring, ending a 30-year occupation. Prior to his assassination, Gebran Tueni commented that "the Syrian regime has been exposed with the discovery of the mass graves." Amnesty International has been critical of the exhumation, calling for UN standards of investigation. |
Why did this happen? Please make sure your browser supports JavaScript and cookies and that you are not blocking them from loading. For more information you can review our Terms of Service and Cookie Policy. ||||| Virgin, Pacific Blue Announce New Domestic Airline MEDIA RELEASE Virgin Blue and Pacific Blue Announce New NZ Domestic Airline With “Pay a Visit Not a Fortune” $39* Fares Thursday 23 August 2007: Virgin Blue Airlines and its three year old New Zealand subsidiary Pacific Blue today announced major plans for a new domestic airline for New Zealand with NZD$39* fares on sale from today for flights commencing in November 2007. Initially the carrier will fly on New Zealand’s key trunk routes Auckland-Wellington, Auckland-Christchurch and Wellington-Christchurch from 15 November 2007^. The decision to enter the New Zealand domestic market comes in the wake of strong support and lobbying from the New Zealand community for Pacific Blue to bring its service style and competitive fares to internal New Zealand flights in the same way it has done on the trans-Tasman and South Pacific routes. Virgin Blue Group of Airlines Chief Executive, Brett Godfrey, said, “The decision was not taken lightly as it is a major investment and a long term commitment to keeping the “air fair” in New Zealand. The time is right to bring some much needed competition to the existing duopolistic market and we are excited to be opening up new travel opportunities for both the people of New Zealand as well as inbound tourists.” Brett Godfrey continued, “When Richard Branson visited New Zealand in January this year to celebrate Pacific Blue’s third birthday, he promised that domestic services were something of interest to us under the right circumstances and at the right time. We are confident the circumstances are now right and there is room for competition and an obvious need for market stimulation. Pacific Blue is well positioned to give the existing players a good run for their money, particularly on the monopolistic Wellington-Christchurch route.” Virgin Group Chairman, Sir Richard Branson said, "I am absolutely delighted to announce that Pacific Blue will soon be shaking up the New Zealand domestic market and bringing its unmistakable fun, flair and affordability to travel within New Zealand. I enjoyed a wonderful trip to New Zealand earlier this year, where I saw first hand the great enthusiasm and support for Pacific Blue. I am thrilled that we can further enhance our commitment to the local market with the launch of our domestic operations. We look forward to Pacific Blue spreading its wings and bringing long term domestic bliss, perhaps not for the competition, but certainly for locals and visitors travelling within New Zealand." The airline will take delivery of two Boeing 737-800 aircraft to join the Pacific Blue fleet and operate both international and domestic New Zealand routes. The routes are tailored to suit the needs of the market in terms of frequency and schedule: Auckland–Wellington Five direct daily return flights from 15 November. A special sale fare has been launched of $39* one way on the Internet. The sale fare is available now until 16 September 2007 or until sold out and is for travel from 15 November 2007 through 29 February 2008. Fair fares will start from $69 one way on the net, 22% lower than the existing fares available on the same route. Auckland–Christchurch Two direct daily return flights from 15 November. A special sale fare has been launched of $39* one way on the Internet. The sale fare is available now until 16 September 2007 or until sold out and is for travel from 15 November 2007 through 29 February 2008. Fair fares will start from $79 one way on the net, 30% lower than the existing fares available on the same route. Wellington–Christchurch Three direct daily return flights from 15 November. A special sale fare has been launched of $39* one way on the Internet. The sale fare is available now until 16 September 2007 or until sold out and is for travel from 15 November 2007 through 29 February 2008. Fair fares will start from $69 one way on the net, 12% lower than the existing fares available on the same route. To ensure maximum benefit for Guests travelling for pleasure as well as business, the internal flights will complement Pacific Blue’s existing international services, providing convenient connections from within New Zealand to Australia, Samoa, Tonga and the Cook Islands. Adrian Hamilton-Manns, General Manager Commercial, said, “The people of New Zealand have supported Pacific Blue in its quest to bring true low fares, genuine competition and fun and flair to trans-Tasman travel and that very support has given us the motivation to bring the same product and affordability to the domestic market where it is much needed. “It is no secret that the existing domestic duopoly results in higher fares and half-hearted competition and we very much look forward to challenging that and championing affordability for local travel.” Domestic flights are now on sale and can be booked via the website (www.flypacificblue.com), by calling 0800 670 000, or by contacting a travel agent. Members of the Velocity Loyalty program will also be able to earn and redeem points when they fly domestically in New Zealand. Pacific Blue plans to double its staff numbers over the next three years as it ramps up domestic operations. New Zealanders interested in joining the dynamic Pacific Blue team in a range of roles can email pacificblue.jobs@flypacificblue.com. About Pacific Blue, Polynesian Blue, and Virgin Blue Airlines International airlines Pacific Blue and Polynesian Blue, along with Australian domestic airline Virgin Blue, operate a fleet of 53 modern Boeing 737 aircraft flying to eight international and 22 Australian destinations including New Zealand, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Vanuatu and the Cook Islands. ^ subject to regulatory approval * All fares are one-way for flights booked on the internet, $15 more by phone. Seats are limited and fares may not be available on all flights or during peak periods. On sale until 16 September 2007 or until sold out for travel from 15 November 2007 through 29 February 2008. ENDS | A Pacific Blue Boeing 737-800 at Auckland International Airport. Virgin Blue has announced that it is to start offering domestic flights within New Zealand starting November. The third commercial flight company in New Zealand will start by focusing on New Zealand's three major cities, Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. Budget airline, Pacific Blue Airlines, which is run by Virgin Blue, already runs flights in New Zealand to international destinations. And, despite only major cities currently being serviced, smaller cities and towns will be considered on November 15. The service is set to start on November 15, with a special deal currently available of NZ$39 for all services per ticket for one way. This deal will be available until the latest of September 16. The normal online air fares range from $69 for Auckland to Wellington and Christchurch to Wellington. These fares are 22% cheaper than those offered by Air New Zealand. An air fare for Auckland to Christchurch is $10 more expensive at $79. Virgin Blue Chief Executive Officer, Brett Godfrey, said they expect to face a few hard years while the new services are starting. "We expect actually to lose a little bit as we find our feet but our loss will be the travelling public's gain." Sir Richard Branson, Chairman of the Virgin Group, said that he was "absolutely delighted" that Pacific Blue is set to enter the New Zealand domestic market, "bringing its unmistakable fun, flair and affordability to travel within New Zealand." It was first rumoured that when Sir Branson was in New Zealand earlier this year that a domestic service was to begin, "Sir Richard Branson promised that domestic services were something of interest to us under the right circumstances and at the right time." Godfrey describes the new services as a major investment and a long term commitment. "The time is right to bring some much needed competition to the existing duopolistic market." Due to Pacific Blue starting a domestic service, New Zealand's flag carrier, Air New Zealand, has lost 8.6% on the share market in total this week. The day before Pacific Blue's announcement, Air New Zealand lost $179 million to due to share value drop. Head of research at Forsyth Barr, Rob Mercer, said, "Air New Zealand has fallen $1 billion in value in the last couple of months, yet their earnings have got stronger." Mercer says, "Call me an optimist but competition can sometimes be a good thing. And if someone really puts in a product that stimulates the market and grows it, it can actually be a good thing, and Air New Zealand being the incumbent can actually be quite a beneficiary out of that environment." The Chief Executive of the Travel Agents Association, Paul Yeo, describes New Zealand's current airfares as too high, due to lack of competition. Yeo now expects this to change with Air New Zealand and Qantas matching Pacific Blues prices. Air New Zealand did in fact drop its cheapest airfares to match those offered by Pacific Blue, effective September 1. For the new flights, Pacific Blue is set to add two new Boeing 737-800 to their existing fleet of 53 Boeing 737s. Australian aviation analyst Peter Harbison said Air New Zealand could come under further pressure on domestic routes with Singapore-based budget airline Tiger Airways expected to cross the Tasman by the middle of next year. Australian aviation analyst, Peter Harbison, expects Singaporean airline, Tiger Airways, to be operating in New Zealand by mid-2008. |
Jackson died two weeks before he was due to return to the stage in London An unheard Michael Jackson song is to be released as a single next month. This Is It, which features backing vocals by Jackson's brothers, will go on sale on 12 October. Jackson's record label Sony Music said the song would also appear on a new album, as will unheard versions of his classic hits. It is not clear when Jackson wrote and recorded the new track. The pop star had been working with artists like Akon and Will.i.am before his death in June. The song will be the first new material to see the light of day since he died. It takes its name from the ill-fated series of comeback shows that were to have been held at London's O2 arena. "This song only defines, once again, what the world already knows - that Michael is one of God's greatest gifts," said John McClain, the music executive who is co-executor of his will and has co-produced the new two-disc album. The first disc will feature his greatest hits, ending with the new song. The second disc will include previously unreleased versions of his best-loved tunes. The new song will also feature in the closing credits of a film, called This Is It, which has been made using footage of rehearsals for his O2 concerts. Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? E-mail this to a friend Printable version ||||| New Michael Jackson Single, 'This Is It,' Out On October 12 Album follows on October 27; film on the 28th. Not only will fans have the film of "Michael Jackson's This Is It" to look forward to next month — they'll also have a brand-new single, appropriately titled "This Is It," and, as previously reported, an album. According to a release on Jackson's official site, the song "This Is It" — which features the Jacksons on backing vocals — will be released on October 12, and the two-disc album will be released on the 27th in the U.S. (the 26th internationally). The film follows on October 28. "This song only defines, once again, what the world already knows — that Michael is one of God's greatest gifts," said John McClain, co-producer of the album. The song will close disc one of the album, which will consist of previously released versions of classic MJ songs in the order in which they appear in the film, which is culled from rehearsals for Jackson's scheduled string of dates in London. Disc two offers "previously unreleased versions of some of the artist's classic tracks," although it does not specify the origin of those recordings; MTV News' requests for comment had not been responded to by MJ's rep at press time. This disc also features a previously unreleased spoken-word poem from Jackson titled "Planet Earth." The compilation will also include a 36-page photo booklet including stills from MJ's final rehearsals for the London shows, which took place in the weeks before his death. "Michael Jackson's This Is It" — a trailer for which premiered at the VMAs — arrives in theaters on October 28 and runs for a limited two-week engagement, with special screenings in some cities taking place on the 27th. ||||| Wednesday, September 23 2009, 19:35 BST By Tim Parks, Entertainment Reporter WENN Sony Music has confirmed that it plans to release a new Michael Jackson album and single. The song 'This Is It' will be made available on October 12, two weeks prior to the release of the concert film of the same name, Entertainment Weekly reports. The track will appear on a two-disc compilation - also titled This Is It - that will follow on October 26. "Disc one will feature the original album masters of some of Michael's biggest hits arranged in the same sequence as they appear in the film," according to the record label. "The disc ends with two versions of the never-released 'This Is It'. This song is featured in the film's closing sequence and includes backing vocals by Michael's brothers, the Jacksons." The second disc will feature "previously unreleased versions" from the late King Of Pop's catalogue of hits. It will also include a spoken word poem entitled Planet Earth and a 36-page commemorative booklet with "exclusive photos of Michael from his last rehearsal". Former Sony CEO Tommy Mottola recently said that fans can expect to enjoy new music from the popstar for "decades to come". | A new Michael Jackson single and compilation album is going to be released in October of this year. Michael Jackson in 1988. "This Is It" is the name of what would have been Michael Jackson's tour, the name of his documentary film, and now a new single and compilation album — both titled "This Is It" — which will be released from his record label Sony Music Entertainment. Sony Music confirmed the plans to release the new two-disc compilation album and single. John McClain, who co-produced the album, said: "This song only defines, once again, what the world already knows — that Michael is one of God's greatest gifts." The single will become available from October 12 this year. It is unknown when exactly it was written and recorded although it has been recently reported that he had been working with such artists as Akon and Will.i.am before his death on June 25, 2009. The track features backing vocals from Jackson's brothers and will also feature on the compilation album. The compilation album will be released internationally on October 26 and in North America on October 27 — just one day before the documentary film will be released. The album will have two discs. The first disc will feature some of Jackson's greatest hits, with the "This Is It" single being the last song. The second disc will feature previously unreleased versions of some of the songs from the singer's catalogue of big hits. The CD will also contain a 36-page commemorative booklet featuring photos of Michael Jackson from his last "This Is It" rehearsals. |
SOFIA Six foreign medics convicted of deliberately infecting hundreds of Libyan children with HIV were freed on Tuesday after a partnership deal between Tripoli and the European Union ended their eight-year ordeal. Their return to Bulgaria ends what Libya's critics called a human rights scandal and lets the long-isolated north African state complete a process of normalizing its ties with the West. Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov pardoned the five nurses and a Palestinian doctor who recently took Bulgarian citizenship after they arrived in Sofia on a French jet. The medics had one point been condemned to death but have always said they were innocent and had been tortured to confess. "I know I am free, I know I am on Bulgarian soil, but I still cannot believe it," 48-year-old nurse Christiana Valcheva said as the medics and their families wept and hugged each other at the airport. They were freed after the EU, which Bulgaria joined this year, agreed a last-minute deal that Libyan Foreign Minister Mohammed Abdel-Rahman Shalgam said would allow "full cooperation and partnership between Libya and the European Union". U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Libya's decision opened a path to better links with the West. "This is an important step in Libya's continuing positive re-engagement with the international community," Rice said in a statement. Bulgaria and its allies in Brussels and Washington had suggested not freeing the nurses would hurt Libya's efforts to emerge from more than three decades of diplomatic isolation imposed for what the West called its support of terrorism. It began the process in 2003 by scrapping a banned weapons program and returned to mainstream international politics. "We hope to go on further normalizing our relations with Libya. Our relations with Libya were in a large extent blocked by the non-settlement of this medics issue," said EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso. COOPERATION DEAL Shalgam said the deal involved EU support and assistance for the more than 400 infected children in European hospitals for the rest of their lives. It also provides for the rehabilitation of two hospitals and a medical centre in Benghazi, the Mediterranean port city where the HIV outbreak occurred. The EU also offered assistance to Libya in education, archaeology and stemming illegal migration. EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner travelled to Tripoli with Cecilia Sarkozy, the wife of the French president, to help free the medics and flew with them to Sofia. She signed the deal with Libya, a European source said. Nineteen Bulgarian medical workers were initially detained in 1999 and six stood trial. One Bulgarian doctor was released in 2004 when the six medics were sentenced to death. Foreign HIV experts testified the infections started before the six arrived at the hospital, and were more likely the result of poor hygiene. Parvanov said in an address to Bulgarians that the only fair resolution to the eight-year saga would have been an acquittal and expressed regrets that Libyan courts ignored scientific proof that the six were innocent. The victims' families have said the nurses were part of a Western plot to undermine Muslims in Libya and the case sparked outrage in Benghazi where 56 of the children have died. Human rights group Amnesty International welcomed the medics' release and urged Libya to proceed with much-needed justice reforms to ensure such a case never happened again. French President Nicolas Sarkozy had pledged to make the medics' release a foreign policy priority and said he would visit Libya on Wednesday to help Tripoli's reintegration. Neither France nor the EU had made any payment to Libya to ensure the nurses' release, Sarkozy said. Last week Libya commuted the death sentences against the six to life imprisonment following the payment of a $460 million financial settlement -- $1 million to each HIV victim's family. That paved the way for the nurses to return home under a 1984 prisoner exchange agreement. The medics, who looked in good health, and their families will stay for the next few days in the presidential residency on the outskirts of Sofia where they will undergo medical checks. The Palestinian doctor, Ashraf Alhajouj, said he will soon travel to the Netherlands to visit his family there. "I want to be a normal man again... I may stay and live in Bulgaria," he told private BTV channel in Bulgarian. The nurses left the relatively poor Balkan country of 7.8 million people in the late 1990s to work in Libya, where health care salaries were much higher. The country has begun opening its big energy reserves to foreign oil firms and the United States said this month it was sending its first ambassador to Tripoli in 35 years. (Additional reporting by Kremena Miteva and Tsvetelia Ilieva in Sofia, William Maclean in Algiers, Salah Sarrar in Tripoli, Jon Boyle in Paris, Paul Taylor and Ingrid Melander in Brussels, Reed Stevenson in Amsterdam) ||||| 1.15pm EU to boost Libya ties after Bulgarian medics freed The EU has agreed to help develop Libyan hospitals as part of a "full partnership" with the country after it released six Bulgarian medical workers, Tripoli said today. The Libyan foreign minister, Abdul-Rahman Shalqam, did not say how much aid the EU would provide, but told reporters that an agreement had been signed paving the way for a partnership between Libya and the EU. Details of the deal emerged after the release of the medics, who were sentenced to death in December 2005 after being convicted of infecting 426 children with HIV while working at a hospital in the city of Benghazi. Fifty-six of the children have since died. In jail since 1999, the medics always maintained their innocence and said they were tortured to make them confess. The six, who had their death sentences overturned by Libya, arrived in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia this morning on a plane with the French first lady, Cécilia Sarkozy, and Benita Ferrero-Waldner, the EU external relations commissioner. The Bulgarian president, Georgi Parvanov, pardoned the medics upon arrival. Back on Bulgarian soil, Kristiana Valcheva, one of the released nurses, said: "Now I still can't believe that I am standing on Bulgarian soil. We were told the news at four o'clock in the morning and we left the jail at quarter to six to board the plane. Now I will try to get my previous life back." Bulgaria made an official request last week for Tripoli to repatriate the medics to serve their sentences in Bulgaria. Relations between the EU and Libya have been improving steadily since Tripoli handed over two nationals indicted for the 1988 bombing of an American Airlines plane over Lockerbie, Scotland. In 2004, Brussels ended 12 years of sanctions and eased an arms embargo after Libya gave up plans to develop nuclear weapons. But relations took a turn for the worse after the conviction of the five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor. Western scientists say negligence and poor hospital hygiene were the real causes of the infections and that the six were scapegoats. Last week Libya's high judiciary council commuted the death sentences on the six following the decision of the victims' families to drop demands for their execution after receiving compensation payments. The French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, said that neither the EU nor France paid money to Libya. This latest visit to Libya was Ms Sarkozy's second on behalf of the prisoners and, like the first, it drew criticism from the opposition Socialists at home. One opposition MP said the president, who took office on May 16, was profiting from the work of other nations and the EU, which have worked on behalf of the nurses for years. As part of the new agreement, the EU promised to provide "life-long treatment" to the infected children, as well as aid to "improve the Benghazi hospital" where the children were infected, Mr Shalqam said. For their part, EU officials said Libya could expect closer ties with the EU. "We hope to go on further (on) normalising our relations with Libya. Our relations with Libya were to a large extent blocked by the non-settlement of this medics issue," the European commission president, José Manuel Barroso, said. Libya, he added, could "expect progress in different fields", such as trade, energy and migration and other policy areas. The EU is keen to enlist Libyan cooperation in stopping illegal immigrants entering Europe, and European countries are eager to invest in Libya's substantial oil reserves. ||||| Six Asian women among eight shot dead in US city of Atlanta Suspect arrested, says killings were not racially motivated; police say it is too early to declare this a hate crime. | "Freedom for the Bulgarian Nurses" symbol. Libya has freed six foreign medical personnel who were convicted of infecting hundreds of Libyan children with HIV and sentenced to . In jail since 1999, the five Bulgarian nurses and one Palestinian doctor arrived in , Bulgaria, today. The president of Bulgaria, , promptly pardoned them. All six have maintained their innocence throughout. They have also claimed that they suffered to extract . International HIV experts testified at the trials that the infections began before the six arrived at the Benghazi hospital. They said the infections were more likely the result of poor hygiene. Last week, Libya lifted the death sentences following a 460 million financial settlement, which works out to US$1 million to each HIV victim's family. However, Libya insisted on further concessions on with the European Union and aid. A deal between the E.U. and Libya, mediated by Qatar, ended the diplomatic standoff. The foreign minister of Libya, , said the E.U. promised to provide "life-long treatment" to the infected children, as well as aid to "improve the Benghazi hospital" where the children were infected. Further, he claimed that deal will allow for "full cooperation and partnership between Libya and the European Union." "We hope to go on further in normalising our relations with Libya. Our relations with Libya were to a large extent blocked by the non-settlement of this medics issue," said , of the . The president of France, Nicolas Sarkozy, said that neither the E.U. nor France paid money to Libya. He also said he would visit Libya on Wednesday to help 's reintegration. "I can quite simply confirm to you that neither Europe nor France have made the slightest financial contribution to Libya," said Sarkozy to reporters in Paris. "I have had the opportunity to thank the Qatari authorities very warmly for their mediation and their humanitarian intervention." , the , said: "I share the joy of their families and friends and of the government and people of Bulgaria. For over eight years, we have never forgotten the suffering of the medical staff who have shown such dignity and fortitude during their long ordeal." "Now I still can't believe that I am standing on Bulgarian soil. We were told the news at four o'clock in the morning and we left the jail at quarter to six to board the plane. Now I will try to get my previous life back," said Kristiyana Vulcheva, 48, upon her release at the airport. |
U.S., Italian ambassadors 'slightly injured' in mortar attack in Sri Lanka, officials say COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) The U.S. and Italian ambassadors to Sri Lanka were "slightly injured" when their helicopters were targeted by mortars fired by suspected Tamil Tiger rebels in the east on Tuesday, officials said. The helicopters used by U.S. Ambassador Robert Blake and his Italian counterpart Pio Mariani had just landed in Batticaloa when several mortars landed close to the aircraft, said Sri Lankan government minister Mahinda Samarasinghe, who accompanied them. "Both the ambassadors are fine and they have suffered slight injuries," Samarasinghe said. Mariani needed medical care and was taken to the area's main hospital for treatment. The nature of his injuries was not immediately known. The Sri Lankan Defense Ministry blamed the attack on separatist Tamil Tiger rebels, who are banned in the United States and in European Union countries as a terrorist group. There was no immediate comment from the rebels Tuesday. The two ambassadors, accompanied by their staff and Sri Lankan officials, had traveled Tuesday morning to Batticaloa aboard two helicopters to attend a meeting about the development of the area, a hotbed of separatist violence. "As their choppers landed mortars were fired by the Tigers," said Lt. Col. Upali Rajapakse, a senior officer the Defense Ministry's information section. He said the diplomats already had gotten out of the helicopters when the mortars were fired. It was not immediately known how they sustained their injuries. Seven Sri Lankan security personnel who were on the ground also were wounded, Rajapakse said. Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. ||||| Death Squad Leaders Seized in Baghdad BAGHDAD, Iraq -- U.S.-led strike forces seized suspected Shiite death squad bosses Tuesday in raids that tested the fragile bonds between the government and a powerful militia faction allowing the Baghdad security crackdown to move ahead. The sweeps through the Sadr City slum were part of highly sensitive forays into areas loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who has ridiculed the 2-week-old campaign for failing to halt bombings by suspected Sunni insurgents against Shiite civilians. Al-Sadr withdrew his powerful Mahdi Army militia from checkpoints and bases under intense government pressure to let the security push go forward. But the U.S.-backed government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki also worries that al-Sadr could pull his support if he feels his militiamen are being squeezed in Baghdad. The pre-dawn raids appeared to highlight a strategy of pinpoint strikes in Sadr City rather than the flood of soldiers sent into some Sunni districts. Bombings have not slackened off, with at least 10 people killed in blasts around Baghdad on Tuesday. However, an apparent success of the clampdown can be measured in the morgues: a sharp drop in the number of bullet-riddled bodies found in the streets of the capital, victims of sectarian death squads. The number of bodies found this month in Baghdad -- most shot and showing signs of torture -- has dropped by nearly 50 percent to 494 as of Monday, compared with 954 in January. The figure stood at 1,222 in December, according to figures compiled by The Associated Press. "We have seen a decrease in the past three weeks -- a pretty radical decrease," said Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno, the No. 2 U.S. commander in Iraq. Many Sunnis have long alleged that most of killings were by Shiite militias, such as the Mahdi Army or rogue elements within the Shiite-led police. The U.S. military said the raids targeted "the leadership of several rogue" Mahdi Army cells that "direct and perpetrate sectarian murder" -- an apparent reference to execution-style slayings and torture. At least 16 people were arrested. "My sons and wife were very terrified," complained Muhannad Mihbas, 30, who said his brother and six cousins were taken in the sweeps. "Does the security plan mean arresting innocent people and scaring civilians at night?" Odierno declined to comment on whether there were special tactics governing the Sadr City sweeps. "We will go after anyone who we feel is working against the government of Iraq," he said. U.S. military spokesman Maj. Gen. William Caldwell told Al-Arabiya television that forces "will increase our operations in the coming days," but noted that the security crackdown in the capital should continue until at least October. Added Odierno: "We will keep at this until the people feel safe in their neighborhoods." Also Tuesday, a roadside bomb southwest of the capital killed three U.S. soldiers assigned to a unit based in Baghdad, the U.S. military said. A fourth Ameridan soldier was killed near Diwaniyah, a mostly Shiite town 80 miles south of Baghdad. Iraqi authorities, meanwhile, have arrested a suspect in the attempted assassination of Shiite Vice President Adel Abdul-Mahdi, an aide said. The aide said the arrest was made after reviewing security camera video from Monday's blast, which ripped through an awards ceremony at the ministry of public works and killed at least 10 people. Abdul-Mahdi suffered leg injuries. The aide declined to give any further details about the arrest or the suspect. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media. Abdul-Mahdi is one of two vice presidents. The other is Sunni. In the southern Qadisiya province, Iraqi security forces said they captured 157 suspects linked to a shadowy armed cell called the Soldiers of Heaven, or Jund al-Samaa. The group was involved in a fierce gunbattle last month with Iraqi forces who accused it of planning to kill Shiite clerics and others in the belief it would hasten the return of the "Hidden Imam" -- a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad who disappeared as a child in the 9th century. Shiites believe he will return one day to bring justice. A U.S. Apache helicopter was shot down in the fighting, and two U.S. crew members were killed. Meanwhile, state television reported that 18 boys were killed when a car bomb exploded in a park in Ramadi, and Iraqi and international officials were quick to deplore the slaughter. But questions about key details of the report emerged just as quickly. Iraqi police and state TV said the attack occurred Tuesday. Later, police said it happened Monday. The confusion grew deeper following an announcement by U.S. forces that 30 civilians and one Iraqi soldier were injured by flying debris Tuesday when troops intentionally detonated 15 bags of explosives found in Ramadi. The news first broke after nightfall when it is too dangerous for local journalists to check the reports independently in Ramadi, a Sunni insurgent stronghold 70 miles west of Baghdad. Western reporters normally tour the area only as part of military patrols. Much of Ramadi is under effective insurgent control, and even the police have difficulty establishing the facts in bombings and assassinations. MORE NEWS Gordon resigns as head of NAACP 8 Afghans die after attack on Marines Properties at risk in project to widen 405 China may close reeducation prisons Obama, Clinton court black vote in Selma | Robert O. Blake, Jr. The U.S. and Italian ambassadors to Sri Lanka were "slightly injured" when their helicopters were targeted by mortars on a landing strip in Batticaloa. The projectiles were fired by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (Tamil Tigers) in Sri Lanka's east on Tuesday, officials said. U.S. ambassador Robert Blake is reported to be "alright", Italian Pio Mariani suffered head wounds from shrapnel. They had already landed and disembarked from their aircraft when the explosions took place. A spokesman for LTTE said they mistook them for a military target, and have apologized. They blame the military, who they say landed the diplomats in a site used for attacks on the rebels, even this very morning. The ambassadors were reportedly visiting the area that was recently liberated by the Sri Lankan forces to observe the development activities of the area. |
Story Highlights • U.S. military says suspected leader of car bomb ring captured • At least 62 killed in three car bomb attacks Sunday • U.S. military says four "terrorist facilitators" killed in raid • Secretary of state makes surprise visit to Baghdad Adjust font size: BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Amid a massive security operation to secure Baghdad, car bombs Sunday struck in two Shiite neighborhoods, targeting civilians and police, Iraqi officials said. At least 62 people were reported killed, most of them civilians killed in a twin car bomb attack. The two car bombs detonated in quick succession near marketplaces and bus stops in the southeastern district of Baghdad known as al-Jadida, or "New Baghdad," killing 60 people and wounding at least 131 others, Baghdad police said. (Watch how attacks raise questions about Baghdad security plan ) The attack happened around 3 p.m. local time (7 a.m. ET) along the main commercial street that runs through the mostly Shiite district. About an hour later, a car bomb detonated near an Iraqi National Police checkpoint in Sadr City, killing two -- a civilian and an Iraqi soldier -- and wounding 11 civilians, an Interior Ministry official said. Sadr City is a stronghold of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. The attacks come as Iraqi forces, supported by U.S. troops, continue their effort to secure Baghdad from insurgent attacks. Some 112,000 coalition and Iraqi security forces are devoted to the Baghdad security crackdown, dubbed "Fardh Al-Qanoon," or "Enforcing the Law." In the past couple of days, Iraqi and U.S. troops have started creating pedestrian-only zones around Baghdad's marketplaces, which are vulnerable to attacks from car bombers targeting civilians, a U.S. Army commander said Friday. "We'll therefore be denying these car bombs the ability to direct themselves as precision weapons where people are the most vulnerable," said Maj. Gen. Joseph F. Fil Jr., commanding general of Multi-National Division Baghdad and the 1st Cavalry Division. "We also do believe they are watching us carefully" to determine their next moves, Fil said. U.S., Iraqi forces report crackdown successes As part of the Baghdad security crackdown, Iraqi security forces over the past day defused a car bomb and 13 other bombs, killed 15 suspected terrorists, and detained six others, according to an Iraqi government news release issued Sunday. Iraqi security forces also helped 327 families displaced by the violence to return to their homes across Baghdad, the news release stated. The U.S. military announced on Sunday the capture of a suspected leader of a car bombing network. The military said the man was found hiding in a hospital, which he was apparently using as "a safe haven to avoid capture during ongoing security operations." He was captured by Iraqi and U.S. forces on Saturday along with two associates, the military said. Meanwhile, U.S.-led coalition forces killed four suspected terrorist facilitators and arrested four suspected terrorists during a raid Sunday in southwestern Iraq, the U.S. military announced. The military said as troops were searching the building, they found three pistols and two AK-47s, along with eight women and 23 children. Why the children and women were present was not explained in the military's statement, but "ground forces confirmed none ... were injured during the operation," it said. In eastern Mosul on Saturday, the U.S. military said the Ninewa special weapons and tactics team, backed by coalition advisers, arrested a man thought to be linked to terrorist group al Qaeda in Iraq. The suspect had reportedly attempted to launch several attacks on Iraqi security and coalition forces in the area. Two U.S. soldiers killed Saturday The U.S. military announced Sunday that two U.S. Multi-National Division-Baghdad soldiers were killed Saturday in separate attacks in Iraq. One soldier was killed when insurgents opened fire on a foot patrol of Multi-National Division-Baghdad soldiers operating just north of Baghdad, the military said. The other died when insurgents threw a grenade at the unit's vehicle during combat operations in Baquba, about 30 miles north of Baghdad. With the deaths, 3,134 U.S. military personnel have died in the Iraq war, including seven civilian contractors of the Defense Department. Rice visits Baghdad U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made an unannounced visit to Baghdad on Saturday to assess the security crackdown there. Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and Rice discussed security and reconstruction in the war-ravaged nation. She also met with U.S. and other Iraqi officials, an embassy spokesman said. Rice then traveled on to Jerusalem for a series of meetings with leaders from the region. (Full story) Rice said she had been told the Iraqis are "doing the job alongside their coalition counterparts and they are off to a good start." (Watch Rice praise the Iraqi prime minister's leadership ) She said that the security plan, which primarily targets militant factions in Baghdad, is "just beginning to unfold" and will grow over time. Speaking Saturday to U.S. mission personnel in Baghdad, Rice made reference to the domestic debate over the war. Rice said Americans appreciate their fellow citizens' efforts in Iraq regardless of what they think of Bush administration policies there. "I know that a lot's going on in Washington and that you're hearing it," she said. "A lot's going on because we are a great democracy, and people have their views and they're going to express them." "People know what you're doing and it's appreciated across the board. I don't care what people think of the policies; it's appreciated across the board." CNN's Jomana Karadsheh and Mohammed Tawfeeq contributed to this report. Copyright 2007 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report. ||||| Unfortunately we are unable to process your request at this time. This error is usually temporary. Please try again later. If you continue to experience this error, it may be caused by one of the following: You may want to scan your system for spyware and viruses, as they may interfere with your ability to connect to Yahoo!. For detailed information on spyware and virus protection, please visit the Yahoo! Security Center. This problem may be due to unusual network activity coming from your Internet Service Provider. We recommend that you report this problem to them. While this error is usually temporary, if it continues and the above solutions don't resolve your problem, please let us know. Return to Yahoo! | Car and suicide bombs killed at least 63 people within a single hour near markets in an area called "New Baghdad" and in Sadr City, Iraq. A United States vehicle in an Iraqi marketplace. The two car bombs were detonated near marketplaces and bus stops in al-Jadida at 3:00 PM local time. Another was detonated near a security checkpoint. At least 134 people were wounded in the attack. A news release from the United States Army forces in Iraq said that troops helped 327 families displaced by the bombings to safe locations. During a search of a building, troops found three pistols, two AK-47s, eight women, and at least 23 children. Major General Joseph F. Fil said that he believes that the insurgents are "...watching us carefully," to determine their next move. |
・A raid of a border armed police division in Xinjiang Monday morning killed 16 policemen. ・The incident was suspected as a terrorist attack, according to the local police. ・The police said the two attackers had been arrested, and one of them got a leg injury. URUMQI, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- Terrorist plot was suspected in the violent attack targeting border police in China's westernmost city of Kashi, which left at least 16 policemen killed and 16 others injured Monday. The attack occurred in the front of the Yiquan Hotel, which is nearly 200 meters away from the Kashi border armed police division, Xinhua correspondent reported from Kashi. The reporter said the police investigation found that two attackers drove a tip lorry to hit a team of policemen who were jogging to pass the hotel in a regular morning exercise at about 8:00 a.m. The suspects then got off the lorry to throw explosive and hack the policemen with knives, after the vehicle veered to knock on a roadside wire pole, said the Kashi police. The reporter corrected the previous account of the raid of the border armed police division, saying that the attackers did not break into the division station and the explosion took place outside the station. Fourteen policemen were killed on the spot and two others died on the way to hospital, according to the police source. Xinhua reporter saw blood stain left on the sidewalk, although the accident site had been cleaned by police. He also saw a broken wire pole and three tree stubs left from the accident. No civilians were hurt in the attack so far. Customers in the Yiquan Hotel said that they thought it was a blast, because they were wakened up by an explosion from outside. The police said the two attackers had been arrested, and one got a leg injury in the raid. The regional public security department said it had got intelligence that the "East Turkistan Islamic Movement" planned to make terrorist attacks during Aug. 1-8, just ahead of the opening of the Olympic Games in Beijing. Chinese police foiled an attempted sabotage instigated and conducted by the "Eastern Turkistan" separatists on board a Southern Airlines flight in March. Three suspects detained by police fully admitted that the attack was masterminded. The "East Turkistan Islamic Movement" was one of the main security worries to the Olympics, which also include separatist forces for "Tibet independence", and the Falun Gong cult, according to Tian Yixiang, a senior PLA commander and also a security chief for the Games. Kurexi Maihesuti, vice chairman of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Government, told a press conference in Beijing last week that Xinjiang police had cracked five terrorism groups in the first half of 2008, detaining 82 suspected terrorists who allegedly plotted sabotage against the Olympics. The Olympic Games would be a target for various anti-China and hostile forces, which are trying every possible way to sabotage the event, Vice Minister of Public Security Yang Huanning said last month. ||||| Clampdown in China Muslim region after bloody attack on police KASHGAR, China (AFP) — Chinese authorities moved Tuesday to keep a lid on further information about a bloody assault on police in Kashgar with a truck, explosives and machetes. At the hotel directly across from the site of Monday's raid, which killed 16 policemen, guests were told in the morning that the Internet had been shut off across the city, on police orders. Police entered an AFP photographer's hotel room and forced him to delete photos he had taken of the scene. Plainclothes police followed journalists as they moved around the city. "We can't talk about that. You must understand if we talk about it, the police will come and arrest us," said a shopkeeper in Kashgar, a remote city in northwest China's Xinjiang region, who declined to be named. Nevertheless some independent information emerged outside of the uniform coverage in China's state-run press, which was all based on reports from the official Xinhua news agency. Foreign witnesses described a "sickening" scene that unfolded as two assailants drove a truck at a group of policemen who were out jogging, then attacked the officers with small explosives and machetes. "My wife almost threw up and had to lie down afterward," said Wlodzislaw Duch, a Polish tourist who watched the assault from his hotel room directly across the street from the scene. The Xinhua news agency said the two, aged 28 and 33, were arrested immediately, and identified the men as members of the Muslim ethnic Uighur group, a Turkic-speaking people that have long chafed at Chinese rule of Xinjiang. The state-controlled China Daily, the government's main outlet to foreign audiences, said the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), listed by the UN as a terrorist organisation, was "likely" responsible. "There is little doubt that the ETIM is behind the attack," said Li Wei, an anti-terrorism expert at the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, according to the paper. The attack showed the ETIM is now "into advanced planning" since "it has rarely used cars or trucks in an attack before," Li was quoted as saying. China has repeatedly warned the ETIM was planning to stage attacks on the Beijing Olympics, which starts on Friday. However Chinese authorities have not gone on the record to blame the ETIM for Monday's attack, allowing only unofficial "experts" to be be used in the state-run press. Beijing Olympic organisers said they did not know yet if there was a direct connection to the showpiece sporting event, but insisted the Games would not be threatened. "There is always the risk to the security of the Bejing Olympics," Sun Weide, a spokesman for the Beijing Olympic organising committee, told reporters. "That is why we have drafted hundreds of security plans, and now we are prepared to deal with these kind of security threats. We can guarantee a safe and peaceful Olympic Games." Xinjiang, a vast area that borders Central Asia, has about 8.3 million Uighurs , and many are unhappy with what they say has been decades of repressive Communist Chinese rule. Two short-lived East Turkestan republics emerged in Xinjiang in the 1930s and 1940s, at a time when central government control in China was weakened by civil war and Japanese invasion. The exiled leader of China's Uighur Muslims condemned the reported killings. "We condemn all acts of violence," Rebiya Kadeer said in Washington, where she has been living in exile since 2005 after spending six years in a Beijing prison. "The Uighur people do not support acts that engender bloodshed." ||||| BEIJING Suspected Muslim separatists with homemade bombs killed 16 police in western China on Monday, state media said, reporting one of the worst attacks by militants on Chinese soil just four days before the Olympics. The attack, about 4,000 km (2,500 miles) from the capital in the old Silk Road city of Kashgar, was a reminder of internal tensions in China, especially in its largely Muslim west. Police had warned ethnic Uighur separatists were planning attacks in the run-up to the Games. They said they arrested the two attackers in Kashgar and identified them as Uighurs. China's President Hu Jintao told a meeting of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) the Games would display the desire of the world's most populous country to join with the rest of the planet in "building a bright future". The Beijing Organizing Committee of the Games said it was sure athletes and spectators would be safe, while the IOC also reassured millions of visitors and more than 10,000 athletes taking part in what it called a "landmark event". "The IOC is confident the Chinese authorities have done everything possible to ensure the security and safety of everyone at the Games," it said in a statement. About 100,000 police and soldiers are on standby ahead of Friday's opening ceremony, and security has been stepped up in Tiananmen Square, scene of the 1989 pro-democracy uprising, with all visitors' bags being screened. American swimming phenomenon Michael Phelps slipped into town to begin an Olympic adventure that could end with him breaking Mark Spitz's record of seven golds in one Olympics. The lanky 23-year-old eluded female fans and a media scrum in the arrivals hall at Beijing's vast new international airport terminal, entering the country through a side door. Phelps won six gold and two bronze medals at the 2004 Athens Olympics and will get a $1 million bonus from sponsor Speedo if he can equal compatriot Spitz's haul from the 1972 Munich Games. There is a strong sense of excitement in the city, but the number of foreign visitors has been disappointing. Hotels said they were slashing room prices by as much as half because reservations have fallen far short of expectations. TICKET SCAM People are thought to have shied away because of visa restrictions and bad publicity about China. Thousands more fans had their hopes of coming dashed after being swindled by an international Internet scam offering bogus tickets. The IOC said it was taking action to shut down the fraudsters, but it was too late to help victims from the United States, China, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Norway and Britain, including relatives of some athletes. The IOC said it filed a lawsuit in California against six Web sites last Friday, but a U.S. lawyer who said he had lost $12,000 in the scam accused Olympic officials of complacency. "They have known about these sites for months and months and did nothing," said Jim Moriarty, partner of a Houston-based firm which is looking to represent fellow victims. Beijing's pollution-fuelled haze was back on Monday after three rare blue-sky days, but authorities said air quality was fairly good. The Communist government says drastic measures -- like ordering nearly 2 million of the city's cars off the road and closing smoke-belching factories -- have helped. The Games organizers blamed the smog on a lack of wind. "We hope it is fine on Friday," said spokesman Sun Weide. "That depends not only on human endeavor but on Mother Nature too." China's leaders hope the Games will showcase their country's economic progress and new global clout. The Olympic torch took a ceremonial lap through a stadium on the edge of China's quake-hit Sichuan province on Monday, with children from affected areas brought in by bus. The quake killed 70,000 people in May. "The Olympics give the survivors here a bit of encouragement," said 22-year-old Zhao Mulan, cradling her four-month-old son. "It gives us confidence that China is very strong and that our lives will be better and better." But the Games have also galvanized critics of China on a range of issues from treatment of internal dissidents, particularly in Tibet, censorship of the Internet, and Beijing's close ties with Sudan's government despite the Darfur conflict. A small group of people, shouting and waving their fists, demonstrated close to Tiananmen Square. The official Xinhua news agency said they wanted better compensation after their houses were demolished to make way for pre-Olympic redevelopment. SEPARATISM In Kashgar in the remote Xinjiang region, attackers drove up and tossed home-made bombs at police jogging through the street on their morning exercises on Monday, Xinhua reported. In addition to the 16 police killed, 16 officers were wounded. Kashgar was calm late on Monday evening, with a heavy security presence around the scene. A crowd gathered and was dispersed forcefully by security men with batons. "Ahead of the Olympics, it is a very powerful symbolic attack because security in Xinjiang is at an all-time high," said Nicholas Bequelin of Human Rights Watch. Xinjiang is home to some 8 million Muslim, Turkic-speaking Uighurs. Many harbor resentments similar to those of Tibetans -- against Chinese controls on religion and the big influx of majority Han Chinese migrants into their region. Authorities have named the Xinjiang separatist "East Turkistan Islamic Movement" as a threat to the Olympics. But in Beijing, public excitement over the Games mounted. Several hundred thousand smiling volunteers, mainly students, man every street corner to shepherd visitors around. "You see, we are not as nasty as some of you in the Western media say we are," said one 21-year-old female engineering student, handing coffee to visiting reporters. (Additional reporting by Crispian Balmer, Alan Baldwin, Simon Rabinovitch, Emma Graham-Harrison, Nick Mulvenney and Guo Shipeng; writing by Simon Denyer; editing by Andrew Roche) (For more stories visit our multimedia website "Road to Beijing" here) ||||| The attack is believed to be one of the worst in Xinjiang Sixteen Chinese policemen have been killed in an attack on a border post in the restive Muslim region of Xinjiang, state media say. Two attackers reportedly drove up to the post in a rubbish truck and threw two grenades, before moving in to attack the policemen with knives. The attack came four days before the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. Both attackers were captured during the raid near the city of Kashgar, Xinhua state news agency reported. Kashgar, known as Kashi in Chinese, is some 2,500 miles (4,000km) from Beijing, near the border with Tajikistan. Xinhua said the attack happened at about 0800 (0000 GMT), as the policemen were jogging outside the compound. Although the episode happened a long way away from Beijing, the very fact that it happened, and the fact that it happened this week, will make the organisers of the Beijing Olympics nervous, says the BBC's James Reynolds in Xinjiang. Uighur suppression Fourteen policemen died at the scene of the attack and two on the way to hospital. Another 16 policemen were hurt. How big is the Xinjiang threat? Q&A;: China's Uighur problem One of the attackers was reported to have been injured in the leg. Xinjiang, in the north-west of the country, is home to the Muslim Uighur people. Uighur separatists have waged a low-level campaign against Chinese rule for decades. Human rights groups say Beijing is suppressing the rights of Uighurs. China has spoken in the past of what it calls a terrorist threat from Muslim militants in Xinjiang, but it has provided little evidence to back up its claims, says the BBC's Daniel Griffiths in Beijing. A spokesman for the Beijing Games Organising Committee told Xinhua he was confident that Olympic participants and spectators would be safe. "China has focused on strengthening security and protection around Olympic venues and at the Olympics Village, so Beijing is already prepared to respond to any threat," Sun Weide was quoted as saying. Warnings Last week, a senior Chinese army officer warned that Islamic separatists were the biggest danger to the Olympics. CHINA'S UIGHURS Ethnically Turkic Muslims, mainly in Xinjiang Made bid for independent state in 1940s Sporadic violence in Xinjiang since 1991 Uighurs worried about Chinese immigration and erosion of traditional culture Col Tian Yixiang of the Olympics security command centre told reporters the main threat came from the "East Turkestan terrorist organisation". The term is used by the government to refer to Islamist separatists in Xinjiang. Late last month a group called the Turkestan Islamic Party said it had blown up buses in Shanghai and Yunnan, killing five people. But China denied that the explosions were acts of terrorism. The Washington-based IntelCenter, which monitors terrorism communications, said the Turkestan Islamic Party had released a video entitled Our Blessed Jihad in Yunnan. In it, the group's leader, Commander Seyfullah, said it was responsible for several attacks and threatened the Olympics. "The Chinese have haughtily ignored our warnings," IntelCenter quoted him as saying. "The Turkestan Islamic Party volunteers... have started urgent actions." 'Evicted' In Beijing, Chinese police and a small group of protesters clashed in Qianmen district, near Tiananmen Square. The demonstrators complained that they had been evicted from their homes to make way for the reconstruction of the district. The Olympic torch is due to be carried round a stadium in Mianyang, Sichuan province, which was used to house thousands of people forced from their homes by a devastating earthquake in May. The torch will go on to the provincial capital in Chengdu on Tuesday before heading to Beijing for the opening ceremony on Friday. Are you in the area? Have you been caught up in events? Please send us your comments using the form below: Send your pictures to yourpics@bbc.co.uk, text them to +44 7725 100 100 or you have a large file you can upload here. Read the terms and conditions At no time should you endanger yourself or others, take any unnecessary risks or infringe any laws. Name Your E-mail address Town & Country Phone number (optional): Comments The BBC may edit your comments and not all emails will be published. Your comments may be published on any BBC media worldwide. Terms & Conditions E-mail this to a friend Printable version Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? ||||| The attack also underscores the ethnic instability China faces in its western regions. In the spring, Tibetans in the southwest erupted in sustained riots against Chinese rule, prompting the authorities to dispatch tens of thousands of troops and arrest hundreds of monks and activists accused of promoting the exiled Dalai Lama or stoking anti-Chinese sentiment, overseas Tibetan groups say. China’s official Xinhua news agency said Monday that the police had arrested the two men responsible for the attack in Kashgar. The agency quoted the police as saying they suspected that it was a terrorist attack. Even before the assault, the authorities seemed on alert for plots against the Games. Beijing has been girded with soldiers, missile launchers and sidewalk cameras. The heavy surveillance did not prevent a small protest near Tiananmen Square on Monday by people who said they had not been compensated after their homes were demolished for a redevelopment project, but a swarm of police officers rapidly broke it up. Photo Officials say they remain confident the events will take place without incident. “We are prepared to deal with any kind of security threat and we are confident we will have a safe and peaceful Olympic Games,” said Sun Weide, a spokesman for the Beijing organizing committee. Officials of the International Olympic Committee said they were also confident that security in the capital would be more than adequate when the Games began. “We all feel the Chinese authorities have done everything possible to assure the safety and security of everyone attending the Games,” said Giselle Davies, a spokeswoman for the I.O.C. According to Xinhua, two men driving a dump truck rammed it into a brigade of border patrol police officers as they jogged outside their barracks near the center of Kashgar, killing or wounding 10 officers. The attackers then jumped out of the truck, stabbing officers with knives, and then lobbed homemade bombs at the barracks, which exploded outside the compound, Xinhua said. Officers, part of the People’s Armed Police, a paramilitary guard force, arrested the assailants, whom they described as Uighurs, ages 28 and 33, but did not release their names. Xinhua said the arm of one man was badly injured when an explosive device detonated in his hand. The police later discovered 10 more such devices and what it described as a “homemade gun” in the dump truck. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Images reportedly taken from local Kashgar television and briefly posted on the Internet showed bodies shrouded in white sheets or on stretchers. The attack, however, received no mention on the evening news in Beijing. Newsletter Sign Up Continue reading the main story Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Invalid email address. Please re-enter. You must select a newsletter to subscribe to. Sign Up You agree to receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. Thank you for subscribing. An error has occurred. Please try again later. View all New York Times newsletters. If the details as reported by Xinhua are accurate, the attack would be the worst eruption of ethnic violence on Chinese soil since the early 1990s, when China blamed Muslim separatists for a spate of violent attacks. In recent years, China has waged an increasingly muscular battle against those it describes as radical Muslims. The East Turkestan Islamic Movement, a group listed as a terrorist organization by the United States and China, is blamed for much of the violence in Xinjiang. The attacks, as recounted by the Chinese government, often involve bombings of police stations, buses, factories and oil pipelines. Human rights advocates say the official accounts are often exaggerated to justify crackdowns on Uighur advocates. Photo Dilxat Raxit, a spokesman for the World Uyghur Congress, an exile group based in Germany, said that the government had been systematically repressing the culture and religion of Xinjiang residents, and that such policies were radicalizing a growing number of people. “These policies are forcing more Uighurs to turn to more militant protest,” he said. Chinese security strategists have cited groups like the East Turkestan Islamic Movement as the greatest threat to the Olympics. At a news conference last week, officials said a crackdown on Uighur separatists this year had led to the arrest of 82 people who the officials said were plotting to disrupt the Games through acts of terrorism. Last month, the authorities executed two men and meted out heavy sentences to 15 others who the government said were members of the East Turkestan Islamic Movement. The men were seized during a raid on what officials said was as a terrorist training camp. Also last month, the police raided an apartment in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang, and shot dead five men who they said were planning a “holy war” against the region’s ethnic Han population. The official media have publicized other acts in recent months, including what the authorities said was a thwarted attack by three airline passengers who were planning to crash a Beijing-bound plane. As in previous cases, the authorities presented little evidence to back up their claims. Yitzhak Shichor, a professor of East Asian studies at the University of Haifa in Israel who specializes in the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, voiced doubt that the attack in Kashgar had been an act of terrorism. Advertisement Continue reading the main story He said he thought the government was trying to continue its vilification of the group, which, if it exists at all, does not have the personnel or weaponry to carry out a sophisticated attack. “I am very skeptical of this kind of information that comes only from Chinese sources,” he said. But Li Wei, a counterterrorism expert at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, said he thought the attack bore the hallmarks of Uighur separatists determined to grab the spotlight when the world was focusing on China. It is unclear whether the attack on Monday was related to a larger plot that included several smaller bombings in parts of China, including bus explosions in the cities of Kunming and Shanghai. Another self-described Uighur Muslim separatist group, Turkestan Islamic Party, released a video dated July 23 that featured a statement by a Commander Seyfullah claiming responsibility for the two bus explosions and making broader threats against the Olympics. | Sixteen policemen were killed by unidentified assailants in , in the predominantly Muslim region of China. Another sixteen officers were wounded in the attack, in which two attackers drove a lorry into the station. The government of the People's Republic of China has repeatedly warned of unrest leading up to the 2008 Summer Olympics. Xinhua News Agency reports that the attackers drove a dump truck into the police officers during the officers' morning exercise at about 8:00 am local time (0:00 GMT), then threw grenades into the police barracks and attacked with knives. The BBC reports that fourteen of the police deaths occurred at the scene, with two more dying en route to hospital. They also report one of the alleged attackers received a leg injury. The attackers were arrested, according to police. After they were arrested by the police, the assailants were described as being 28 and 33, and of the minority, a speaking people who reside primarily in the Xinjiang region. The police found an additional 10 explosives in the truck as well as what was described as a "home-made gun." The autonomous Xinjiang region of China is a large, sparsely-populated territory in the north-west of the country. The population includes many groups, but the largest is the including the largely Muslim . Kashgar is an oasis city at an important junction of trade routes, near China's western borders, and was a part of the historic "." |
When U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents at the Port of Los Angeles opened a shipping container bound for the Netherlands, they discovered a 1965 Volkswagen bus stolen in Washington state 35 years ago.Far out, man!The unusual seizure of the bus on Oct. 19 came during a routine inspection of several Volkswagens that were being shipped by an Arizona restorer to customers in Europe. The vehicle identification number of the bus, which was swiped in Spokane on July 12, 1974, was still in police computers."Pretty amazing, isn't it?" customs spokesman Jaime Ruiz said Thursday when the find was announced.The restorer, who was not identified, isn't a suspect in the long-ago theft, authorities said."He's a victim himself. He was an innocent purchaser," said Mike Maleta, an investigator with the California Highway Patrol, who will attempt to trace the vehicle's ownership back through interviews and registration documents."I'm going to try my best to find the crook," he said.Groovy.Maleta said Spokane police couldn't find the owner."Allstate paid her $2,500 or so to settle the claim," he said. "Now it's worth $25,000. . . . It's in pristine condition. It looks like it's brand new. So Allstate wanted it."Bummer. ||||| Van stolen here 35 years ago turns up in shipping container Shawn Vestal The Spokesman-Review The Spokesman-Review Customs agents in Los Angeles got a surprise last month when they opened a shipping container headed for the Netherlands: a restored 1965 Volkswagen van reported stolen in Spokane more than 35 years ago. Investigators are still trying to figure out how the van made it from Spokane in the midst of Expo ’74 to the Los Angeles seaport last month, though they assume it changed hands several times. The van was reported stolen from an auto upholstery shop on July 12, 1974; authorities have not been able to find the original owner, whom they would not identify. The operators of a custom restoration business in Arizona were the latest to have possession of the van, which they refurbished and planned to sell overseas along with three restored VW Beetles, said Michael Maleta, an auto theft investigator with the California Highway Patrol. He said the custom shop, which he would not identify, is also considered a victim in the case. The legal owner of the van is Allstate Insurance Co., which paid off the owner back in 1974, and the highway patrol turned over the van to the company this week. Customs agents came across the van Oct. 19 in a shipping container at the Los Angeles/Long Beach seaport complex. When they ran the vehicle identification number they discovered it was still listed as stolen. Maleta said that federal officials at the border check vehicles against the National Insurance Crime Bureau database, which includes all old stolen-car cases. Most police databases remove stolen cars from “active” status after five years – after which stolen cars may be sold and resold to buyers who can register the vehicles with state agencies, he said. In 1974, the van was nine years old and the owner apparently was trying to spiff it up – taking it to a detail shop and then an upholstery shop in the 1600 block of West Second Avenue, from where it was stolen, according to the police report. Maleta said the van had been restored to pristine condition. The value of a 9-year-old VW van back then would have been counted in the hundreds of dollars. “Now it’s probably worth 27 grand,” he said. “It’s a beautiful van.” Megan Brunet, a spokeswoman for Allstate, said the company has been digging through old records trying to find the original policy and theft claim. She said the company could not identify the original owner, under its privacy rules. “We’ve been looking through our files to find the original policy,” she said. “Trying to find paper files from that far back can be pretty challenging.” She said the company will likely have the van appraised and go through the process of getting a replacement title before selling it at auction. | A 1965 Volkswagen minibus that was stolen in 1974 has been recovered by customs agents in Los Angeles. The vintage minibus was in pristine condition, valued at $25,000, and was found during a routine inspection of a shipping container scheduled for departure to The Netherlands. A routine computer database search on its vehicle identification number flagged it as having been stolen from a vehicle upholstery shop in Spokane, Washington on July 12, 1974. A custom restoration business in Arizona was attempting to deliver it to overseas clients last month when authorities intercepted the vehicle. The theft appeared on the National Insurance Crime Bureau database, which is used by border authorities and contains all stolen vehicle records. Most police databases remove unsolved vehicle thefts after five years. The California Highway Patrol does not suspect the restorer of wrongdoing, according to investigating officer Mike Maleta. Possession of the vehicle apparently changed several times. Police in Spokane have not yet located the rightful owner, whose identity has not been released to the press. Maleta hopes that a trail of registration documents and interviews will uncover the thief. The Allstate insurance company paid $2500 shortly after the theft occurred and wants to take possession of the vintage minibus. Allstate spokeswoman Megan Brunet expects that after the necessary paperwork is processed the firm will sell it at auction. |
KABUL, Afghanistan (CNN) -- Hundreds of militants attacked American and Afghan troops in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday, opening fire on an outpost from multiple locations with rockets, mortars and heavy-caliber machine guns, according to an initial U.S. military report on the battle. U.S. troops walk past a group of armored vehicles on Saturday at a military base in Afghanistan. At least eight American troops and two members of the Afghan National Security Force died -- the largest number of Americans killed by hostile action in a single day in more than a year, according to CNN records. At least 13 Afghan police officers were captured in the attack, according to Haji Abdul Halim, the deputy governor of Nuristan province, where the battle took place. The fighting lasted about 12 hours, with the militants firing down on the joint U.S.-Afghan outpost from ridgelines above the base, a senior U.S. military official with direct knowledge of the first reports told CNN. The official said the report was preliminary and subject to change as more information came in. The official said portions of the outpost burst into flame and burned down, but was not able to say if the blaze caused injuries or deaths. Watch how attack involved hundreds of militants » The militants also fired from a local mosque, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force said. The Afghan Ministry of Defense said hundreds of militant fighters surrounded two outposts in the attack. The terrain and the weather worked against U.S. troops, the U.S. military source said. The attackers' firing positions in the mountains made it tough for U.S. troops to fight back, and bad weather made it hard for troops to fire back effectively, the source said. Coalition forces repelled the attack, inflicting "heavy enemy casualties," and calling in airstrikes, the alliance said. The military source said air support arrived within 30 minutes, and that the attackers did not succeed in getting inside the outpost. The official asked not to be identified because the incident is under investigation and the Pentagon is trying to ensure families of the deceased are informed before the military says more. "My heart goes out to the families of those we have lost and to their fellow soldiers who remained to finish this fight," said Col. Randy George, commander of Task Force Mountain Warrior. "This was a complex attack in a difficult area. Both the U.S. and Afghan soldiers fought bravely together; I am extremely proud of their professionalism and bravery." ISAF withheld the identities of the deceased until family members were notified. The U.S. does not have any indication that the death toll will rise, a U.S. military representative in Afghanistan told CNN. Before Saturday's incident, the U.S. had announced plans to leave the post that came under attack. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, has said he wants to focus more on protecting Afghan civilians rather than holding remote outposts like the one that was attacked Saturday. The last time American troops suffered so many casualties in a single day was July 13, 2008, when Afghan militants attempted to overrun a base in the village of Wanat, also in eastern Afghanistan. At least nine Americans died that day, and the base was abandoned days later. Militants "attempted to break into that base," said Mark Laity, a NATO spokesman, a day after the attack last summer. They did make some penetration, he said, "but overall they were repelled and they took very heavy casualties themselves." Two days later, the base was "disestablished," ISAF said. The Wanat attack was the deadliest attack on U.S. troops in three years, and prompted a Pentagon investigation. The U.S. Army unit that came under attack didn't get enough intelligence that 200 insurgents were in the area and poised to attack, two officials told CNN in the wake of the battle. However, the failure of intelligence is only one angle the Pentagon investigated. The report has not yet been released. The U.S. military in Afghanistan declined to comment on comparisons between the Wanat attack and the one on Saturday. CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr and CNN's Atia Abawi and journalist Matiullah Mati in Kabul, Afghanistan, contributed to this report. All About Afghanistan • NATO • U.S. Armed Forces Activities ||||| Eight American soldiers and two Afghan troops have been killed in the deadliest attack on coalition troops for more than a year, officials say. The battle happened in Nuristan province in the remote east of the country when military outposts were attacked, a Nato statement said. The Taliban said it carried out the attack, and had captured local police. Violence has escalated in eastern Afghanistan as insurgents have relocated from the south. In a statement, Nato's International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) said that tribal militia launched attacks on foreign and Afghan military outposts from a mosque and a nearby village. My heart goes out to the families of those we have lost and to their fellow soldiers who remained to finish the fight... Both the US and Afghan soldiers fought bravely together Col Randy George US area commander The attack is thought to have taken place in the Kamdesh district of Nuristan, and lasted several hours. "Coalition forces effectively repelled the attack and inflicted heavy enemy casualties while eight Isaf and two ANSF [Afghan National Security Forces] members were killed," the statement said. The US area commander, Col Randy George, said his heart went out to the bereaved families, adding that US and Afghan soldiers had "fought bravely together". It was the worst loss coalition troops have suffered since August 2008, when 10 French troops were killed in an ambush in Kabul province. A Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said the movement was behind the attack. According to AP news agency, Mr Mujahid also said some 35 Afghan police officers had been taken into Taliban custody, and their fate would be decided by a council. A local deputy police chief is reported to have said contact had been lost with 19 police officers, though the provincial governor is quoted as denying any such development. Dangerous province WORST SINGLE ATTACKS ON FOREIGN FORCES Sept 2009: Six Italian soldiers die in suicide bomb in Kabul Aug 2008: Ten French troops killed in ambush in Sarobi, east of Kabul July 2008: Nine US soldiers die in militant siege in Wanar, bordering Nuristan and Wanar provinces Nov 2007: Six US soldiers and three Afghan troops killed in ambush July 2007: Six Canadian soldiers and Afghan interpreter die when vehicle hits IED in Kandahar province May 2007: Five US, one UK, one Canadian soldier die in hostile attack on helicopter in Helmand province June 2005: Sixteen US soldiers die in attack on helicopter in Konar province It is not the first time coalition forces have suffered damaging attacks in this region, says the BBC's Martin Patience in Kabul. Nine US soldiers were killed in a single incident last year when more than 100 fighters breached a US outpost in the village of Wanat on the border of Nuristan and Kunar provinces. The incident, which is still being investigated, was the biggest American loss of life in battle in Afghanistan since operations began in 2001, and forced US and Afghan soldiers to abandon the village. The province's mountainous terrain makes it easier for insurgents to sneak up and launch attacks, but more difficult for military forces to access the area, our correspondent says. Nuristan has been for decades been a crossing point for fighters entering the country from Pakistan, he adds. US anxiety The security situation in northern and eastern Afghanistan has deteriorated since the beginning of the year. An insecure security situation has been exacerbated by political uncertainty The instability has been exacerbated by political uncertainty created by August's presidential poll, which has been marred by widespread fraud allegations. The commander of the more than 100,000 Nato and US forces in the country, US Gen Stanley McChrystal, has described the situation as "serious" and is believed to have requested up to 40,000 additional troops. But US President Barack Obama - who has already sent thousands of extra troops to the country - says strategy in Afghanistan must be agreed before a decision can be made on whether to bolster military forces further. Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? E-mail this to a friend Printable version | Officials say that eight US soldiers and two members with the Afghan National Security Force were killed on Saturday, following a battle with militants in Afghanistan. Another thirteen Afghan security officers were captured. The clashes occurred in the Nuristan province, a remote area in the eastern part of the country, NATO said. It was the largest number of US troops killed in a single battle for over a year. The militants had reportedly attacked two security posts in the province with rifles and rockets, according to the International Security Assistance Force. The posts were surrounded by several hundred fighters. In response, the US dispatched jets to launch air strikes on the area. A statement by NATO announced that "coalition forces effectively repelled the attack and inflicted heavy enemy casualties while eight ISAF and two ANSF Afghan National Security Forces members were killed." The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attacks. |
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