Daily News Update

Flying Tadpoles Rain In Japan!

2009-06-19T04:21:00.000-07:00

In Japan, its no longer purple rain but black rain.

Heavy downpours during early summer rainy season are normal, but in recent days the proverbial "cats and dogs" have been joined by tadpoles, fish and the occasional frog.

Meteorologists are bewildered as people around the country report witnessing the phenomenon since the first sightings of stranded tadpoles were made in Ishikawa prefecture last week.

From Hiroshima in the south-west and Iwate in the north-east people say they have stumbled on the dead creatures near their homes, in fields, school grounds, and on car roofs and windscreens.

In Ishikawa prefecture, on the Japan Sea coast, a resident found 13 crucian carp on and around his truck, each about 3cm long.

The suspected culprits so far are waterspouts or bigger birds, but meteorologists say no strong winds have been reported in the areas where tadpoles were found.

But the question as to why now, and the "flying" tadpoles have never been noticed before?

David Carradine Found Dead-Sex Act Gone Wrong

2009-06-04T22:15:00.000-07:00

THE death of actor David Carradine appears to have been caused by a sex act gone wrong, with police saying he was found hanged with a rope tied around his neck and genitals.

The US actor was found dead in the closet of his luxury Bangkok hotel room overnight. He was 72.

The actor was found naked, in a closet with a curtain rope tied around his neck and genitals.

They would neither confirm nor deny suggestions that Carradine was attempting auto-erotic asphyxiation, a practice designed to boost sexual pleasure.

Police said they were alerted to the death of the actor, who won fame as the wandering monk in the Kung Fu television series, yesterday.

A representative for Carradine said the actor would not have commited suicide.

Lori Binder, a representative for Carradine's Los Angeles-based talent manager, said the actor was in Thailand to shoot a film called Stretch. She declined to give further details of his death while it was under investigation.

Carradine, from a family of performers and the eldest son of well-known character actor John Carradine, enjoyed a long career on Broadway, US television and in movies such as director Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill: Vol. 1 and Kill Bill: Vol. 2.

His role as Caine in Kung Fu earned him a nomination for an Emmy, and his turn as the villainous Bill in Kill Bill: Vol. 2 led to his fourth Golden Globe nomination.

He also won critical acclaim for portraying folk singing legend Woody Guthrie in the Oscar-nominated 1976 film Bound for Glory.

Carradine was married five times and had two daughters from previous marriages. His latest wife was Annie Bierman, whom he married in 2004. His brothers include the actor Keith Carradine.

Spielberg Introduces Motion Control For Xbox 360

2009-06-01T14:25:00.000-07:00

Steven Spielberg was on hand to introduce a prototype camera Monday that can be used as a controller for the Xbox 360. Codenamed "Project Natal," the camera can track a player's full body movement while responding to commands, directions and a shift of emotion in voice without the need for a controller.

The announcement was made at Microsoft's flashy Electronic Entertainment Expo press conference at University of Southern California's Galen Center.

Microsoft also debuted 10 exclusive new games Among them: the open-world action sequel "Crackdown 2," New Orleans-set zombie-killer "Left 4 Dead 2," third-person shooter "Splinter Cell Conviction," sleek racer "Forza Motorsport 3" and the psychological thriller "Alan Wake."

Apple Releases iTunes 8.2, iPhone 3.0 Coming Soon

2009-06-01T14:23:00.000-07:00

Apple on Monday released iTunes 8.2, an update to its music jukebox software and online store interface for the Mac and Windows. It’s available for download through the Software Update system preference.

Apple notes that iTunes 8.2 now supports iPhones and iPod touches equipped with the iPhone 3.0 software update. Other accessibility improvements and bug fixes have also been made.

Apple also improved security in iTunes 8.2. According to a notice, Apple has improved bounds checking in 8.2 to prevent a stack buffer overflow problem that could lead to unexpected app termination or arbitrary code execution.

Air France Plane With 228 People On Board Missing!!

2009-06-01T03:27:00.000-07:00

AN Air France passenger jet with 228 (216 passengers,12 crew members) people on board is missing after dropping off the radar over the Atlantic off the Brazilian coast. "We are very worried," a Paris airport official said.

"The plane disappeared from the screens several hours ago. It could be a transponder problem, but this kind of fault is very rare and the plane did not land when expected."

Air traffic control lost contact with the Airbus A330 at 0600 GMT (1600 AEST) after it took off from Rio de Janeiro bound for Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris, where it had been due to land at 0910 GMT (1910 AEST).

Airport authorities have set up a crisis cell at Charles de Gaulle.

Meanwhile the Brazilian Air force is conducting a search.

Article credit Reuters

Nissan & Europcar To Sell & Lease Electric Cars From 2010

2009-05-27T09:02:00.000-07:00

Kyodo News reported that Nissan Motor Co. and Europcar Groupe, a European leader in the passenger car and utility vehicle rental business, have agreed to form a partnership to sell and lease electric vehicles starting next year in a bid to promote zero emission mobility worldwide, officials from the two companies said Tuesday.

Nissan Altra EV, 4-seater, 75-mph maximum,lithium-ion battery with 5-hour recharge time

Nissan will sell electric vehicles to Europcar, which will then lease the cars to its clients, thus serving a broader reach of customers, a Nissan official said. It has yet to be determined whether the vehicles will carry the Nissan brand.

The vehicles will be introduced in various parts of Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, including France, Germany, Spain and Australia, and eventually spread to more countries, the companies said.

Nissan has said it plans to introduce the zero-emission vehicle in Japan, the United States and Europe next year, and that it will begin mass-marketing electric vehicles worldwide in 2012.

More MOX Fuel Offloads In Japan Nuclear Reactors.

2009-05-25T04:20:00.000-07:00

A second shipment of controversial mixed uranium-plutonium oxide nuclear fuel has arrived in Japan amid tight security and protests from anti-nuclear activists. The MOX shipment arrived early Saturday at Kyushu Electric Power Co.'s Genkai No. 3 reactor in northern Saga Prefecture on a ship escorted by a small flotilla of Japan Coast Guard vessels.

Careful, Some Mushrooms Species Are Very Toxic

2009-05-25T03:56:00.000-07:00

In an article published in Nature Chemical Biology on Monday, the researchers said they isolated the poisonous compound in the mushroom, Russula subnigricans, and confirmed its toxicity by feeding it to mice.

The toxin, cycloprop-2-ene carboxylic acid, has only four carbon atoms.

Apart from the usual symptoms of poisoning, such as nausea, diarrhoea, speech impairment, convulsions, pupil contractions, stiff shoulders and backaches, the human victims in Japan also suffered rhabdomyolysis, which is rarely seen.

Rhabdomyolysis is the rapid breakdown of skeletal muscle tissue due to muscle injury. This leads to the release of the protein myoglobin into the bloodstream which harms the kidney.

Myoglobin was found in the urine of the Japanese victims.

Hashimoto said an adult person would die eating just two or three such mushrooms.

Rhabdomyolysis was also observed in victims in France and Poland after they ate another species of mushroom, the Tricholoma equestre. Hashimoto called for more research in isolating the toxin in that species.

To read full article click Reurers

Iran General Says He Can Stop Israel Forever In 'One Strike'

2009-05-25T03:36:00.000-07:00

Iran's former Revolutionary Guards chief Mohsen Rezai warned on Sunday 24, that Israel would not dare threaten the Islamic republic if he is elected president.

"My government... understands missiles and tanks as well as foreign policy and knows exactly where Israel's sensitive spots are. It could stop them forever with one strike," Rezai told a news conference.

"If government falls into our hands...the Israelis and the Americans know us and our friends," said Rezai, who is one of three candidates challenging President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the June 12 election.

Israel and Washington accuse Iran of trying to develop atomic weapons under the guise of a civilian nuclear programme, a charge Tehran has repeatedly denied.

Japan To Start Arms Exports

2009-05-25T02:36:00.000-07:00

The huge engineering and technological might of Japan may be poised for a new lease of life as the country prepares to ditch a self-imposed ban on arms exports that was introduced in the mid-1970s.

The controversial decision, which is likely to encounter bitter opposition from the country's mainly pacifist middle classes, could deliver significant economic benefits to Japan and lead to a realignment in the global defence industry.

To date, the single exception to the ban came as a dispensation in 2005 that allowed Japan to work with US companies on a missile defence system viewed as critical while North Korea continues to flex its military muscles.

Japan sees itself as a logical target for the nuclear-armed Pyongyang regime and has spent about £5 billion on the missile defence shield jointly developed with the United States.

Full article click timesonline

Christmas Island Almost Full

2009-05-24T17:28:00.000-07:00

Christmas Island shire president Gordon Thompson says the island's ability to house asylum seekers will come under pressure if further boat loads arrive.

The Navy intercepted another boat with more than 70 people on board near Ashmore Reef yesterday.

Mr Gordon says the latest arrivals can be accommodated, but it will bring the total on the island to close to 540 asylum seekers.

He says there is still room for single people but housing for families is more difficult.

In a separate development, seven people on Christmas Island have been granted refugee status and will leave today to settle permanently in Australia.

Immigration says the group includes Afghans, Iraqis and Sri Lankans.

Christmas Island is 135 square kilometres, has aa approximate population of 1,600 and 63% of the island is National park.

British Tourists Arrested For Insulting Catholic Church

2009-05-24T17:17:00.000-07:00

SEVENTEEN British tourists have been arrested on the island of Crete today for insulting the Catholic Church after they paraded themselves dressed "in nun attire and naughty lingerie", police said.

The Britons were arrested in the coastal town of Malia, a popular resort for young travellers with a long tradition of drunken tourist antics.

They will be taken to a prosecutor to be officially charged and may be fined but are
unlikely to be jailed for the misdemeanour offence, a police source said.

Fake Australian Priest Abused Boys In Orphanage In India

2009-05-24T16:50:00.000-07:00

The story of a charity worker who conned his benefactors, using his good works to mask his sexual abuse of children across the sub-continent.

"Brother Paul", over three decades, has lied, stolen money and abused children. He scaped Australia with a hundred thousand dollars, the police let his trail go cold and the authorities in India and Australia have done so little to bring this man to justice.

Brother Paul, as he likes to be known, began life like many other young Australians. President of his local surf club, he dabbled in politics becoming a key player in the revival of his local Liberal party branch. But Paul was never quite what he appeared to be.

Fellow surf club members began to question his misuse of club funds. Then he disappeared overseas with a hundred thousand dollars from a travel company he had been involved with. But that was just the start.

Over more than thirty years, using false passports and other documents, this man changed identities and locations, all the time preying on children. First he pretended to be a priest handing out clothes, then a doctor performing operations on lepers and other people too poor to pay for medical care.

While people who knew him describe his kindness and capacity to help people, there is significant evidence that in each location the children he encountered paid a terrible price. To maintain his affection, assistance and the money brother Paul brought, they had to, in effect, become his sexual playthings. For some boys this pressure became too much. At least one boy in his care killed himself. Many others have been scarred for life.

To read full story click abc.net.au

U.S. Artist Eileen Dreizin Undergoes Liver Transplant.

2009-05-24T15:14:00.000-07:00

A noted American painter returned to the United States yesterday after undergoing a successful liver transplant at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital's Kaohsiung Medical Center in southern Taiwan.

It marked the first time that a Taiwanese medical team has performed a liver transplant for an American, according to Chen Chao-long, superintendent of the hospital's Kaohsiung branch who headed the medical team that performed the transplant.

Chen, an eminent liver transplant surgeon, told local news media that the 55-year-old American artist, identified as Eileen Dreizin, had terminal stage cirrhosis when she approached Chang Gung hospital for a liver transplant.

According to Chen, Dreizin's son suggested to his mother to undergo a liver transplant in Taiwan after he discovered through an extensive Internet search that Chen's surgical team has the world's highest survival rate, even higher than counterparts in many advanced countries, including the United States, Japan and major European Union countries.

To read full article click etaiwannews.com

World Music Festival -11 Music Lovers Killed In Crush

2009-05-24T14:53:00.000-07:00

A stampede at a world music festival in Morocco on Saturday night left at least 11 people dead and 30 others injured, the authorities said. Some 70,000 spectators were at the Hay Nahda stadium to see home favorite Abdelaziz Stati sing at a concert which was part of the Mawazine (Rhythms) festival - opened on May 15 by Australian pop icon Kylie Minogue. Alicia Keyes had also featured in the concert.

Clearing site after stampede

Police said the stampede appeared to have been set off by the collapse of a wire fence when the crowd made a big surge.

Viagra Scientist R.F. Furchgott Is Dead

2009-05-24T14:17:00.000-07:00

An American scientist whose work helped lead to the development of the anti-impotency drug Viagra has died at the age of 92 in Seattle.

He discovered that nitric oxide would enlarge blood vessels in the body and so increase blood flow. This provided the theoretical basis that lead eventually to the development of Viagra.

His contribution to humanity will be remembered for a long time.

The "White Ribbon" Film Wins The Palme d’Or

2009-05-24T14:10:00.000-07:00

Austrian film The White Ribbon has won the Palme d'Or, the main prize at the Cannes Film Festival.

Director Michael Haneke's work saw off competition from past winners including Britain's Ken Loach and Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds.

One of its stars, Austrian Christoph Waltz, won best actor for his portrayal of an SS officer.

Charlotte Gainsbourg was named best actress for her role in Lars Von Trier's controversial film Antichrist.

The Danish film-maker's work did not go down well due to its brutal and frank scenes of domestic violence.

1000 Internet Cuts A Day For Music And Movie Piracy In France

2009-05-23T04:16:00.000-07:00

PARIS - A thousand French internet users a day could be taken off-line following approval of President Nicolas Sarkozy's pet project - an unprecedented law to cut the internet connections of people who repeatedly pirate music and movies.

As the husband of supermodel-turned-pop star Carla Bruni and friend to some of France's most powerful media figures, Sarkozy has long basked in his cosy ties with the entertainment industry, which has embraced the measure.

But many in Europe have denounced it, saying government controls needed to enforce the law could open the way for invasive state monitoring that violate privacy. And legal challenges at home could derail it: The opposition is trying to get the law declared unconstitutional.

Predictably, music, film and other industry groups have welcomed the measure. John Kennedy, chairman and CEO of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, said that it represents a "sea change."

Critics, however, worry about civil liberties.

"We should be careful about interfering with the freedom of exchange of information," said Wolfgang Zankl, professor at the University of Vienna and president of the European Centre for E-Commerce. "This is a constitutional right which no one should be barred from."

Some internet experts say the law will be technically impossible to apply. It requires internet subscribers to install special software that would enable authorities to track down and identify those suspected of illegal downloads, but some experts say such programs do not yet exist.

And because it denies accused pirates the chance to defend themselves before their web connections are severed, legal experts say it will not stand up in court.

The measure's first short-term test came on Tuesday, when the opposition Socialists took their objections before the Constitutional Council, which has a month to issue a ruling. If the council decides the law does not violate the constitution, it could take effect by the European summer.

It calls for graduated reprisals against alleged offenders. If a suspected pirate fails to heed email warnings and a certified letter, internet access would be cut for two months to a year - with the subscriber required to keep paying for the service under the contract's terms.

Christine Albanel, the French culture minister, foresees cutting 1,000 internet connections a day and sending 13,000 warnings to first- or second-time offenders.
In the United States, the music industry has waged war on content swappers with limited success. A campaign to sue individuals who repeatedly download free songs was dropped last year in favour of an effort to work more closely with internet service providers to try to block connections of alleged offenders. AT&T, the largest internet service provider in the U.S., is beginning to send the warnings to its subscribers.

To read full article click nzherald.co.nz

Red Bull Cola Banned For Containing cocaine

2009-05-23T04:02:00.000-07:00

Authorities in the German states of Hesse and North-Rhine Westphalia have ordered retailers to stop selling Red Bull Cola after they found traces of cocaine in the popular fizzy drink.

The consumer ministries in the two states confirmed on Friday they had ordered retailers to pull the drink off their shelves after a food safety institute in North-Rhine Westphalia found cocaine in samples of the beverage.

“The institute examined Red Bull Cola in an elaborate chemical process and found traces of cocaine,” Bernhard Kühnle, head of the food safety department at the federal ministry for consumer protection said.

The newspaper reported that German retail group Rewe had already issued orders to remove the fizzy drink from its shops. Wilhelm Deitermann, spokesman for the North-Rhine Westphalia consumer ministry said he expected other German states to follow suit and ban the drink.

But Red Bull Cola has protested the action. “De-cocainized extract of coca leaf is used worldwide in foods as a natural flavouring,” the paper quoted the company saying. The company added that Red Bull Cola as well as other food that contains coca leaf extract is considered safe in the EU as well as in the US.

Red Bull has been dubbed the "clubbers' drink," and is often mixed with vodka. It contains caffeine, vitamins, and sugar which, the company claims, kick-starts the body's metabolism and keeps people alert.

To read full article click thelocal.de

Cancer-Fighting Nanoparticle Developed In Korea

2009-05-22T18:28:00.000-07:00

Scientists in Korea have figured out a way to specifically target malignant cancer cells without harming normal, healthy cells with nanoparticles.

Research in nanoparticle-based medicine has been a major focus throughout the international bio-science community, but never before has anyone developed a multi-functioning nanoparticle that combines diagnosis, treatment and real-time monitoring of cancer progression.

The particle has four key components. The core is a magnetic nanoparticle that acts as a contrast agent for MRI scans. Attached to the surface of this particle is the second component, a peptide that allows the particle to attach itself securely to target cells. The third is a protein dubbed a small interfering RNA or siRNA that is programmed to attack specific genes inside cancer cells. The final component is an organic dye molecule which allows the nanoparticle to emit fluorescent light, making it easy to identify and monitor the diseased area. Once injected into the patient's body the magnetic nanoparticle attaches itself to cancerous cells and begins treatment.

KAIST professor Park Tae-gwan, who led the research with Prof. Cheon Jin-woo at Yonsei University, says the treatment is safe because most of the components are made from non-toxic materials.

So far the research has been limited to tests on cell cultures, but Park says he intends to test the therapy on mice and monkeys and then on humans if successful. Although scores of people are anxious to try out the treatment, scientists predict it will take at least another five to 10 years for the multitalented nanoparticle to reach the market.

To read full article click chosun.com

HIV Experimental Vaccine Developed In U.S.

2009-05-22T18:17:00.000-07:00

U.S. researchers have developed an experimental vaccine against the virus that causes AIDS using a novel technique that leapfrogs the body's natural immune system. The new vaccine, successfully tested in monkeys, is still years away from human use. But it offers new hope of preventing the spread of a disease that has already killed 20 million people and infected 33 million more around the world.

Dr. Philip Johnson and a team of researchers at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine decided to pursue their novel approach because, Johnson says, all previous efforts to get the body's natural immune system to fight off an HIV infection have failed.

"I think that the time has passed and people have seen that the traditional methodologies, the traditional approaches, have not worked. And there's no evidence that they will work in the short term," Dr. Johnson said.

Instead, Johnson and his colleagues pursued a strategy they've been working on for 10 years that focuses on special antibody-like proteins that can neutralize the HIV virus. Bypassing the immune system, the investigators created the proteins from a variant of HIV called SIV, which infects monkeys. They engineered the DNA of these proteins into a harmless cold virus and injected this modified carrier into the muscles of laboratory monkeys that were not infected with SIV.

Once injected into the muscles, the transferred genes began producing and pumping out anti-SIV proteins -- called immunoadhesins -- that circulated throughout the monkeys' bloodstream, binding to SIV and preventing the virus from infecting healthy cells.

In order to produce a vaccine for humans, Johnson says researchers would make immunoadhesins from people who have been infected with HIV for decades, in some cases before they developed AIDS.

"And what we can do is go into those individuals, take cells from them and then actually tease out the genes that are responsible (for keeping AIDS at bay). And then we can use those genes to develop new molecules in the lab that we can turn around and give back to people who have never been exposed to HIV. And in the case of the monkey study that we just published on, we were able to protect the monkeys using that approach," Dr. Johnson said.

To read full article click chosun.com

Lucy Gordon (Actress-Spider-Man 3) Found Dead In Her Paris Flat

2009-05-22T17:43:00.000-07:00

British actress Lucy Gordon - who featured in the Spider-Man 3 film - has been found dead in her Paris flat, two days before her 29th birthday.

British actress Lucy Gordon was found dead in her Paris flat.

Police say there were no suspicious circumstances.

The actress played the role of Jennifer Dugan, a British reporter, in Spider-Man 3.
She was currently working on a film about French musician Serge Gainsbourg, in which she was cast as his British wife, actress and singer Jane Birkin.

Selected scenes from Gainsbourg: Heroic Life have been played this week at the Cannes Film Festival and Gordon was seen in the film industry as a possible future star.

"The film owes a lot to the generous spirit, to the kindness and immense talent of Lucy Gordon," said the film's director, Joann Sfar, and its producers in a statement.
Spider-Man 3 director Sam Raimi said he was shocked to learn of Gordon's death.

"Oh my God. I feel terrible for the family. What a tragedy," he told reporters at

To read full article click abc.net.au

UCV(Unidentified Computer Virus) Hits FBI, US Marshals. Not Again!!

2009-05-22T08:30:00.000-07:00

WASHINGTON - Law enforcement computers were struck by a Mystery computer virus, forcing the FBI and the US Marshals to shut down part of their networks as a precaution.

The US Marshals confirmed it disconnected from the Justice Department's computers as a protective measure after being hit by the virus; an FBI official said only that that agency was experiencing similar issues and was working on the problem.

"At no time was data compromised," said Credic. The type of virus and its origin were not determined."

In addition to their external networks, most federal law enforcement agencies have an internal-only network to prevent cyber-snoopers from sensitive data.

In the incident, the Marshals Service shut down its internet access and some email while staff worked on the problem. The FBI made similar moves to protect its system.

For full article click Newzealandherald

Bank Accounts Wiped Clean Via “Bank Card Copying”-China

2009-05-22T03:23:00.000-07:00

You think your money tucked away in the bank account is safe? Think again.

Not one or two, but dozens of people in Ningbo, Zhejiang province, recently discovered that their hard-earned savings mysteriously disappeared from their bank accounts on May 9 and 10, local police said Thursday.

An officer with the Ningbo municipal public security bureau told China Daily that the cases were under investigation and declined to reveal the number of victims and the total amount stolen.

Xu Jia, a 26-year-old businessman, told Qianjiang Evening News that 150,000 yuan ($22,000) went missing from his Agriculture Bank of China account on May 10.

Xu first received a message on his mobile phone at 9:05 am on May 10 informing him that 20,000 yuan had been withdrawn from his account. "I received similar messages again and again within a matter of minutes till I had only 54.86 yuan left in my account," he said.

The bank told Xu that the money was withdrawn in Shenzhen, which he found hard to believe as his debit card was with him and he "hadn't been to the city lately".

He asked the bank to return his money. The request was turned down.

Read full article on chinadaily

Emirates Flight Attendant Jailed Over Plane Bomb Hoax

2009-05-21T16:13:00.000-07:00

AN Australian flight attendant has been jailed for 18 months in England for leaving a bomb hoax note on a London-bound plane he was working on.

Matthew Carney, 23, of Melbourne, was arrested in March after the Emirates Boeing 777 flight he was on landed at Gatwick airport amid a major security scare about whether there was a bomb on board.

While no explosive devices were found, two notes referring to a bomb on the jumbo were discovered - one in a passenger toilet and another in Carney's luggage.

Carney pleaded guilty to making a hoax.

4 In For Plot To Bomb Riverdale Jewish Temple-NYC

2009-05-21T01:27:00.000-07:00

NEW YORK – The FBI arrested four men Wednesday in what authorities called a plot to detonate a bomb outside a Jewish temple and to shoot military planes with guided missiles.

Officials told The Associated Press the arrests came after a long-running undercover operation that began in Newburgh, N.Y., about 70 miles north of New York City.

James Cromitie, David Williams, Onta Williams and Laguerre Payen, all of Newburgh, were charged with conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction within the United States and conspiracy to acquire and use anti-aircraft missiles, the U.S. attorney's office said.

The men had planned to detonate a car with plastic explosives outside a temple in the Bronx neighborhood of Riverdale and to shoot military planes at the New York Air National Guard base at Stewart Airport in Newburgh with Stinger surface-to-air guided missiles, authorities said.

The defendants planned to "destroy a synagogue and a Jewish community center with C-4 plastic explosives," Acting U.S. Attorney Lev L. Dassin said.

The religious targets were the Riverdale Temple, founded in 1947, and the Riverdale Jewish Center, authorities said.

To read full article click yahoo.com

Obama Warned by FBI on Freed Guantanamo detainees

2009-05-20T14:21:00.000-07:00

The head of the FBI has warned US President Barack Obama there would be risks involved in bringing Guantanamo detainees to the United States.

Earlier the Senate voted overwhelmingly to block the transfer of detainees, also denying Mr Obama the $US80 million ($103 million) he asked for to close the prison.

FBI director Robert Mueller has voiced his concerns about moving some of the 240 suspected terrorists into the United States, even if they are deemed to be no longer a risk and have been set free.

"The concerns we have about individuals who may support terrorism being in the United States run from concerns about providing financing to terrorists, radicalising others, the potential for individuals undertaking attacks in the United States," he said.

"All of those concerns relevant to an individual comes into the United States from whatever source."

Mr Mueller concedes that detainees are unlikely to escape from the so-called "supermax" jails in the United States.

"If you're talking about physical danger, in terms of being able to escape and undertake an attack - no," he said.

But he says the Guantanamo detainees could still pose a threat.

"I will caveat by saying that in gang activity around the country, using it as an analogy, there are individuals that are in our prisons today, as I think you and others are familiar, who operate their gangs from with inside the walls of prison," he said.

For weeks Republicans have been whipping up outrage against Guantanamo detainees coming to the US, and today Democrats joined them in the Senate in voting to block the transfer of any prisoners to the US.

They also denied Mr Obama the money he asked for to close Guantanamo down by his self-imposed deadline of January 22, 2010, leaving it unclear if that timeframe is now in jeopardy.

Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein says it is fear-mongering.

"More than 100 terrorism cases since the beginning of 2001 have resulted in convictions," she said.

"The individuals held at Guantanamo pose no greater threat to our security than these individuals convicted of these crimes who are currently held in prison in the United States."

But Republican Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison says Mr Obama has not come up with a viable alternative to Guantanamo.

"Expediting closure of this detention facility without absolutely ensuring that American lives would be safe would place misguided foreign policy goals above the protection of our homeland and our people," she said.

The White House has promised Mr Obama will reveal details of his plans for the detainees in a speech Thursday (local time) on national security, while the Pentagon has said politicians were making it "exceedingly difficult" to meet his deadline.

To read full story click abc.net.au

Man Applies For $100,000 Bank overdraft , Gets $10million & Disappears

2009-05-20T10:08:00.000-07:00

The amount could have been this much

A Rotorua business owner Leo Gao whose joint-bank-account with girlfriend was mistakenly topped up with a significant amount of money has apparently left the country. The couple, who ran a Rotorua service station, are understood to have applied to Westpac Bank for a $100,000 overdraft and mistakenly had $10 million paid into their account.

Police were alerted to the situation after Westpac mistakenly transferred the money into the business account.

Detective Senior Sergeant David Harvey told Radio New Zealand some of the money had been withdrawn. Gao withdrew $6.7million, but the bank managed to block $2.9million, thus leaving him with $3.8million. The bank has also seized his properties valued at $1.9million.

"We are currently conducting an investigation into the individuals that may have been involved in the withdrawal of that sum of money," he said.

"At this stage I'm not in a position to name either the business or the amount of money which was inappropriately put into the account."

There were reports the amount could have been as much as seven figures.

Police would not say which country the account's owner may have gone to but have sought assistance from Interpol.

Story from NZHerald

America AIDS Awareness Progress Review

2009-05-20T05:38:00.000-07:00

Aids awareness campaign in the US is a cyclical process. The organizations concerned are not allowed access to schools as it happens in Africa and Asia. Thus the campaigners have to repeat the cycle after every 10-years, to net the upcoming sexually active age groups, who are just coming out of school.

This was disclosed by Elton John of the Elton John AIDS Foundation when he featured on CNN in an interview with Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

Elton John also mentioned drinks and drugs as causes of careless sexual behavior.

The US has 1.1million cases of AIDS, 30% of the infected being under 30.

Albino Murders Trial Starts In Burundi

2009-05-20T03:05:00.000-07:00

The trial has begun in Burundi of 11 defendants accused of attacking and killing 12 albino people, starting with the murder of a young girl. They denied the charges.

Albino killings within East Africa have been featured by media houses for a couple of years now, more than 90 mostly young lives lost so far.

Police believe albino body parts are smuggled and sold in Tanzania, to be used in witchcraft.

If convicted, the defendants could be sentenced to life in prison.

Witchdoctors in the region tell clients that potions made with albino body parts will bring them luck in love, life and business.

Military Plane Crash Kills Over 97 In Indonesia

2009-05-20T01:33:00.000-07:00

An Indonesian military transport plane carrying troops and their families has crashed on the island of Java, killing at least 97 people, officials say.

At least two people died on the ground when the plane came down in a village, hitting houses before skidding into a rice field where it caught fire.

The plane had been flying from Jakarta to eastern Java when it crashed.

Visibility appears to have been good and there is no indication yet of what caused the crash.

It missed landing at Iswahyudi air force base and struck houses in the village of Geplak, 4km away, at around 0630 local time (2330 GMT).

Initial reports say the last contact with the crew was a few minutes before the plane came down, as it was making its final approach to land.

To read full & watch video, article click BBCNews

Dolla’s Murder Suspect Held On $US1m Bail.

2009-05-19T13:44:00.000-07:00

Aubrey Louis Berry, 23, from Georgia has been detained on suspicion of murder following the shooting of rap artist Dolla outside a Los Angeles shopping mall, L.A.P.D. said.

Roderick Anthony Burton II. 21, popularly known as Dolla was in Los Angeles from Atlanta his base to record as he had a deal signed with Akon’s Konvict Muzik.

Dolla’s publicist Sue Vannasing told the Los Angeles Times that Dolla had gotten into a fight with a passenger in the flight from Atlanta.

Louis Berry, the suspect arrested at the airport fits the description of the passenger involved in the scuffle and upon arrest he was armed.

GP Saves Injured Boy By Drilling Head With Household Drill.

2009-05-19T13:31:00.000-07:00

A country doctor has saved the life of a dying 12-year-old boy by using a household drill to bore into his brain after the boy had a bike accident.

Dewalt drill-same brand as one used by GP

The emergency "operation", by local GP Rob Carson in the Victorian country town of Maryborough, was yesterday hailed by a leading neurosurgeon as "one of the gutsiest life-saving efforts imaginable".

The drama happened late last Friday when Nicholas Rossi fell off his bike while riding in a quiet cul de sac outside a friend's house in Maryborough, a town of 7000 people 170km northwest of Melbourne. Nicholas was not wearing a helmet and the impact of his head hitting the pavement knocked him momentarily unconscious.

"He was a bit delirious at first, but then he stood up and said he was fine," his father, Michael Rossi, told The Australian yesterday. When he got home, Nicholas kept complaining of a headache and his mother, Karen, a trained nurse, took him to the district hospital where Dr Carson, a local GP, was on duty.

The doctor kept him for observation, but an hour later Nicholas began to drift in and out of consciousness and have spasms.

Dr Carson recognised it as a sign of internal bleeding in the skull that places acute pressure on the brain - the same deadly condition that recently claimed the life of actress Natasha Richardson, wife of Hollywood actor Liam Neeson. He also noticed that one of the boy's pupils was larger than the other - another sign of the internal bleeding.

The boy had fractured his skull and torn a tiny artery between the bone and the brain just above his ear. This created internal bleeding that became trapped between his skull and brain and formed into a huge blood clot, placing pressure on the brain.

If Dr Carson did not act within minutes, the boy would die.

"Dr Carson came over to us and said, 'I am going to have to drill into (Nicholas) to relieve the pressure on the brain - we've got one shot at this and one shot only'," Mr Rossi recalled.

The small hospital was not equipped with neurological drills, so Dr Carson obtained a household De Walt drill, used for boring holes in wood, from a hospital maintenance room.

To read full article click theaustralian

Swine Flu Still On The Rampage In Japan

2009-05-19T07:32:00.000-07:00

Japan has reported 178 swine flu infections on Tuesday and closed more than 4,043 schools, colleges and kindergartens for the rest of the week to slow the spread of the virus, officials said. With the reported figure, Japan is now in the number 4 slot globally in terms of infections count.

The impromptu school break has caused karaoke clubs fill up with students and their friends as schools remain shut.

In Osaka and Hyogo prefectures, firms with infected staff told workers to stay home.

The biggest threat, experts warned is when the infections get to other regions including the capital Tokyo, which with almost 36 million people is the world's most populous urban area and the heart of the Japanese economy.

Ruling Delay For MySpace bully Who Caused Suicide

2009-05-19T05:00:00.000-07:00

A US judge has postponed the sentencing of a woman Lori Drew, 50, who used a fictional online personality on MySpace to bully a 13-year-old girl who later killed herself.

A California judge postponed sentencing to 2 July, saying he needed time to review testimony from two witnesses.

A jury found her guilty of three minor counts of violating MySpace's terms of use, but cleared her of the more serious charges that carried a maximum sentence of 20 years.

To read full article click BBCNews

Rapper Dolla’s Short Pain Filled Life.

2009-05-19T04:00:00.000-07:00

The shooting of 21-year-old rapper Roderick Anthony Burton II, at a Beverly Center parking structure, cuts shot the life of a true fighter.

Image credit:latimes
According to his MySpace.com biography,Burton was born in 1988 in Chicago,lost a twin sister, latter moved with his family to Los Angeles, where he witnessed his father commit suicide at age 5. They latter moved to Atlanta. He turned to crime to support his family at a tender age of 10. He latter began his musical career, composing rhymes and rapping at 12 and formed a group called Da Razkals Cru, impressed rappers P. Diddy and Missy Elliot.

He latter on went solo and recorded a song "Feeling Myself" which was included on the soundtrack for the 2006 dance movie "Step Up." His first single, released in 2007, was "Who the . . . Is That?"

Ants Crawled Out Of Starving Girls Mouth, Accused Parents Say.

2009-05-19T02:58:00.000-07:00

A WOMAN accused of the starvation murder of her seven-year-old daughter allegedly did not try to resuscitate the child because ants were crawling from her mouth, a New South Wales jury has been told.
The NSW Supreme Court, sitting at East Maitland, was told the seven-year-old girl, found dead at her Hawks Nest home on November 3, 2007, had the worst malnutrition one specialist had ever seen.

A post-mortem examination showed the child to be 106cm tall and weighing just 9kg at death, the court was told.

"The face was distorted due to muscle wasting and no fat under the skin," Crown Prosecutor Peter Barnett SC told the jury.

"The doctor found the child died of long-lasting starvation and neglect."

Mr Barnett said the child's father had told police his wife couldn't resuscitate the child because of the "black vomit and bull ants coming from her mouth".

To read full article click news.com

Swine Flu Causes 1,000 Learning Institutions To Closed In Japan

2009-05-17T15:21:00.000-07:00

The latest WHO report released on Saturday 16, indicate that the global figure of swine flu (H1N1) infections has risen by nearly 1,000 over a 24 hour period,
bringing the global number of infections to 8,451 and 72 dead.

Meanwhile, Japan confirmed 78 flu infection cases on Sunday 17. The newly infected are mostly students and their family members in Osaka and Hyogo.

A World Health Organization expert said community-level transmission may have begun in Japan, which could lead the WHO to raise its new flu pandemic alert to the highest level of 6 from the current 5.

Railway, supermarket and convenience store employees in Hyogo, Osaka and Kyoto started wearing masks in line with instructions from their companies. In the affected areas, medical masks were sold out at a number of shops.

On Saturday, the government shifted its new flu action program from ‘‘a period of overseas outbreak’’ to ‘‘an early period of domestic outbreak’’ and called for companies and schools in the areas concerned to allow individuals to avoid commuting during rush hours.

Over 1,000 schools and kindergartens in Osaka and Hyogo will close down to contain the spread.

To read full story click on Japantoday

U.S. To Get High-Speed Rail Expertise From Japan

2009-05-17T13:44:00.000-07:00

The deputy chief of the U.S. Federal Railroad Administration, Karen Rae expressed hope Thursday 14, that Japan will offer its technical expertise to the United States in building a high-speed railway network.

"I think Japan is one of several very good systems that we're interested in looking at," she said in an interview in Washington. "We're impressed with the breadth of technology and the accomplishments," she said, referring to the Shinkansen network.

President Barack Obama has highlighted a multi billion dollar effort to develop a high-speed U.S. railway system, saying such a network would save energy, create jobs and reduce dependence on automobiles and airplanes.

Rae said that Washington is in talks with other countries with high-speed railways, citing Spain and France.

To read full story click on japantimes

Click on Shinkansen to watch a video of their fastest train.

Duwayne Pailegutu Shocking Murder Details Released

2009-05-16T08:42:00.000-07:00

Court documents have revealed the abuse and subsequent murder of 7-year-old Duwayne Pailegutu by his stepfather, Johnny Pukerua Joachim.

Duwayne Pailegutu (murdered): Photo credit NZHerald

Duwayne's mother Mary Joachim, 28, was on Thursday May 14th sentenced in the Auckland District Court to three years in prison for failing to provide her son with the necessaries of life and for watching the assaults and not getting medical attention. She is appealing against her sentence.

In their flat in Nelson, Fergusson St, (New Zealand), Duwayne suffered systematic torture that left the left side of his body disabled after repeated blows to the right side of his head which caused a stroke, and he struggled to eat or drink.

In addition to the hemorrhage, an autopsy found at least 10 deep bruises to his scalp - some of them inflicted by the shoes of his stepfather and a further 75 bruises were found over the rest of his small body.

Duwayne, whose family members in Mangere say was a happy and energetic child before he moved to Nelson with his mother and stepfather in December 2007, was hit, kicked, thrown at walls and struck repeatedly on the soles of his feet with a cricket wicket by Joachim, 37, in what was to be the most violent assault of many he suffered, one week before he died.

For the week before he died, Duwayne sat, partially paralyzed and fitted with nappies; since by this time he was incontinent, slowly suffocating on blood which he inhaled into his lungs as he vomited during "exercises" in which his stepfather made repeated blows to his stomach to make him cough up blood.

In an attempt to "shock" Duwayne into movement, Joachim dipped his paralyzed foot into boiling water, leaving the largest of four scald wounds on his right leg.

When he became frustrated that Duwayne could not move, Joachim threw him against a wall.

And for the six weeks before his death on July 2 2008, Duwayne had been living with three broken ribs.

Duwayne's step father is serving a 18-year prison term.

To read full story click NZHerald

The case is similar to that of a 3-year-old toddler Nia Glassie who died in Starship Hospital on August 3, 2007, 12 days after being taken to Rotorua, (New Zealand) Hospital in a coma. The 3-year-old died of massive bleeding between her skull and brain.

According to the testimonies given in the court, Nia suffered months of misery. She was kicked in the head, beaten, slapped, jumped on, held over burning fire, put in a clothes drier which was turned on at top speed for 30 minutes, folded into a sofa and sat on, shoved into a pile of rubbish, dragged through a sandpit half naked, flung against a wall, dropped from a height onto the floor had wrestling moves performed on her and was flung off a clothes line. She was taken to hospital 36 hours after lapsing into a coma and the mother continued clubbing as Nia lay dying in the hospital.

Nia's mother, Lisa Kuka, 35, Lisa’s partner Wiremu Curtis, 19, Wiremu’s brother, Michael Curtis, 22, Nia's cousin Michael Pearson, 20 and Michael Curtis' partner Oriwa Kemp, 18, are serving different jail terms for their involvement in the murder.

To read full story click Wikipedia

Congress Party Swift Victory In India

2009-05-16T04:06:00.000-07:00

India's Congress party on Saturday won the general elections, leading by more than 60 seats, beating the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The party is headed by Sonia Gandhi.

The projections, based on counting of electronic machines of the Election Commission, said the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) has won 230 seats out of 525 seats counted so far. The BJP won 160 and Third Force 73. Eighteen seats are still being counted.

The Congress has also won all the seven seats in the capital New Delhi.

The outgoing ruling party will thus continue its rule of the country with Prime Minister Manmohan Single to take a second term, according to analysts.

However, the party may still need to gain the support of some parties of the Third Force to set up a government, since they will be short of the 272 majority in lower house of parliament (Lok Sabha,).

GM Axes 1,100 US Dealers

2009-05-16T03:24:00.000-07:00

For General Motors Corp., experts say that the task at hand is so difficult and that a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing is inevitable.

To restructure out of court, GM needs bondholders to swap $27 billion in debt for 10 percent of its highly risky stock, close factories, sell off brands and do massive lay-offs, all in about two weeks.

G.M. just posted a 1st quarter net loss of $6 Billion resulting to a $9.66 loss per share. The task of restructuring before the June 1 deadline is “large”, in the words of GM’s CEO Fritz Henderson.

A day after Chrysler LLC, now in bankruptcy protection announced that they will not renew a quarter of their dealerships contracts, G.M. announced that 1,100 US dealers franchise agreements will not be renewed. The elimination will be based on sales, customer service scores, location, condition of facilities and other criteria. While the targeted dealers represent about 20 percent of GM's total, they make only 7 percent of its sales. Dealers received the news by FedEx letters starting Friday morning.

The GM dealerships will be eliminated when their contracts end late next year. Thereafter in 2010 another 10% will be eliminated. Some of the dealerships affected like the Cleveland-area Chevrolet dealer, a family business owned by Alan Bigelow have been in business for 98 years. Many of the dealership's 45 employees have been there for 30 years or more. Like many of the dealers affected, they vow to fight, first through a 30-day company appeal process, then possibly in court.

While GM doesn't own the dealers, the company says its network is too big, causing dealers to compete with each other and giving shoppers too much leverage to talk down prices and hurt future sales.

US automakers have been losing market share to foreign companies for decades.

The cuts will allow the surviving dealers to expand the size of their markets, so they have a better chance of staying healthy and attracting private investment, said Mark LaNeve, GM's North American vice president of sales and marketing.

New H1N1 Cases Causes 3 Schools 5 Days Closure In New York

2009-05-15T08:44:00.000-07:00

Five new cases of the H1N1 virus in New York City schools has forced two intermediate schools and one primary school in Queens area to close for a week to slow transmission, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said at a news conference on Thursday evening. The three schools have a combined student population of 4000.

Photo credit:China Daily

In one school, four students and the assistant principal have the virus and are critically ill, whereas fifty students at that school have been sent home with flu-like symptoms since May 6.

The primary school reported 29 students suffering from flu-like symptoms. The other intermediate school had 241 students absent with illness on Thursday.

According to the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as of Thursday night 7,412 (4,298 in US & 244 in New York only) cases of H1N1 flu have been confirmed worldwide and 63 deaths attributed to the virus have been confirmed worldwide.

The WHO estimates that up to 2 billion people could be infected with the virus if the current outbreak turns into a pandemic lasting two years.

Meanwhile, experts are studying the possibility of the less lethal, highly contagious swine flu mixing with the highly lethal less contagious H5N1 bird flu to form a new bug that is both highly contagious and lethal and can spread around the world.

Al Qaeda Terrorist Plots Alert In Europe

2009-05-15T06:43:00.000-07:00

CNN reports that European intelligence agencies are on alert for new al Qaeda terrorist plots following the arrest of two men at an Italian port and investigations into the activities of an alleged al Qaeda network based in Brussels.

Bassam Ayachi officiated at the wedding of Malika el Aroud(on picture) (Credit:CNN)

The two arrested are closely tied to a Brussels-based al Qaeda recruiting network, Belgian counter-terrorism officials said. They are Bassam Ayachi, 62, and Raphael Gendron, 33 and they were detained in the port of Bari on November 11 last year after allegedly trying to smuggle three Palestinians and two Syrians into Italy in the false bottom of a camper van they were driving.

A bug planted by Italian police in the suspects' detention facility picked up snatches of conversation about an alleged scheme to attack Charles de Gaulle Airport, in Paris. Charles de Gaulle Airport is the biggest and busiest airport in France.

To read the full story click on CNN

Japan Dispatches P-3C To Combat Piracy Menace

2009-05-15T05:56:00.000-07:00

P-3C patrol aircraft

Piracy in the Indian Ocean has flourished even though several nations now have warships on patrol in the Gulf of Aden. The media is clustered with piracy escapades daily.

On May 2, armed Somali pirates seized a Greek-owned ship with 24 crew members on board and earlier on the same day, a UK-owned ship had been hijacked by Somali pirates. A day before that on May 1, Portuguese navy successfully thwarted an attempted pirate attack on a Norwegian oil tanker in the Gulf of Aden. The Portuguese navy found high explosives on board the pirate ship.

Piracy is socially acceptable and has become fashionable in Somali, pirates have money, power and are getting stronger by the day. They wed the most beautiful girls, build big houses, own new cars and new guns. Most of them are aged between 20 and 35 years and do it all for money. They get a ransom of $2m per captured vessel on average.

In days past, pirates have been known for arming themselves with AK-47s and RPGs (grenades) only, but it appears they are bracing up for real combat.

The move to dispatch two P-3C patrol aircraft and 150 Self Defense force members to bolster an anti-piracy mission off the Somalia coast, taken by the Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada is commendable and should be emulated by other stakeholders if the war on piracy is to be won.

Pooch Rescued From River

2009-05-15T04:37:00.000-07:00

Watch this CNN video tape of a pooch being rescued from a river in Indianapolis.

Click CNN Video

Barbaric Murderer Aged 21 Given 21 Years

2009-05-15T02:58:00.000-07:00

A Brazilian man who killed and dismembered a 17-year-old girl from London before dumping her torso in a suitcase has been jailed for 21 years.

Mohamed D'Ali Carvalho Santos, 21, admitted stabbing to death Cara Burke, from Southfields, in July 2008 after they argued about his heavy drug use.

Miss Cara Burke:murdered girl

The torso of Miss Burke, who he had met in London, was found in a suitcase near the Brazilian city of Goiania.

Santos said he started stabbing Miss Burke with a knife while she grabbed at the blade.

Santos said he then took a bath and went to an all-night party. On the way home, he stopped at a supermarket and bought a larger knife so he could cut up Miss Burke's body.

He said he disposed of the remains near two rivers in Goiania.

To read full story click BBCNews

Vasectomy Is The Savior For Kiwi’s As Recesion Bites

2009-05-14T16:06:00.000-07:00

More New Zealand men get the snip as recession hits.

KIWI families aren't just tightening the purse strings in the recession. They're putting their most intimate assets under the knife.

Doctors in New Zealand say the number of men seeking vasectomies has risen steeply in the past year as the recession bites and unemployment rises.

Kiwi men are now among the most likely in the world to get the snip, with more than half of men over 40 believed to have had the procedure, the Dominion Post newspaper reports.

Vasectomy specialist Dirk Venter, at the Henderson Medical Centre in Auckland, said financial concerns were a key motivator.

A vasectomy is much cheaper and less invasive than a female hysterectomy.

To read full story click Australian Associated Press

Pilot Hits Bird At Red Bull Air Race World Championship

2009-05-14T15:05:00.000-07:00

Photo: Agencies

Austrian pilot Hannes Arch hits a pelican in the final four at the second round of the 2009 Red Bull Air Race World Championship in San Diego, US, May 10, 2009. The incident damaged the plane’s tail and pushed Arch off position.

He incurred a penalty and finished in third place.

French pilot Nicolas Ivanoff was the winner.

Click UTUBE to watch video.

Is The U.S. Green Card Registry Well Kept?- Jason Yuan’s Case

2009-05-14T11:05:00.000-07:00

Taiwan News reported that The Ministry of Foreign Affairs today presented documents between Taiwan’s representative in the United States Jason Yuan and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), confirming that Yuan had sought to cancel his green card application via lawyer.

Media reported Wednesday that Yuan held the U.S. permanent residency for eight months after he took office last August. Yuan clarified in Washington D.C. that it was a repeated mistake made by the USCIS.

To read full story click Taiwan News

Google To Recapture Japanese Cities Street Views

2009-05-14T03:38:00.000-07:00

Google Street View, a feature of Google Maps now covering most major cities has drawn privacy related complaints from some individuals and institutions. Complaints range from photographing of military related setups, peoples faces, car number plates, over-the-fences and compounds around homes. The complaints have been raised from within the U.S., Greece and Japan.

As a result of the complaints raised from Japan, Google product manager Keiichi Kawai issued a statement on Wednesday stating that they have to reshoot all Japanese street views with a lowered camera view. Google has also blurred vehicle license plates in the images.

Ten Dead As Boat Sinks Off Miami Beach Florida

2009-05-14T02:44:00.000-07:00

A boat that left Bimini in the Bahamas on Tuesday night overloaded with around 30 people capsized at about 2 a.m. and sunk off the Florida coast, the incident was reported after 10 hours. The boat occupants were probably Haitians being smuggled to the U.S. Of the occupants 17 were rescued by Coast Guards, but 10 were dead including one child.

The ship’s sinking came as Haitian-American leaders met in Washington on Wednesday to lobby for temporary protective status, or TPS, for those from the country who make it to the U.S. It would be an emergency measure to keep people from being deported to their homeland so they can help their country recover following a natural disaster or major political upheaval. It has been granted to countries including El Salvador and Nicaragua but never to Haiti.

Since October, the Coast Guard had stopped 1,377 Haitians, up from 972 during the same seven-month period last year. Four tropical storms and hurricanes have caused deaths and destruction, thus increasing poverty and famine in several areas of Haiti.

Search for the missing was conducted through the night.

Southwest Airlines Flight Evacuation at Houston Airport

2009-05-14T01:19:00.000-07:00

The swift evacuation and prompt fire quenching after a plane’s tyre caught fire on landing at Houston airport is commendable.

To watch video click BBC News

US Jury Convicts "Liberty City Six" For “Aspirational” Plot

2009-05-13T08:55:00.000-07:00

A US jury has convicted five men of plotting to blow up the Sears Tower building in Chicago and other US government buildings in 2006.

The guilty verdicts on Tuesday followed a three month trial and two previous trials which had ended in hung juries.

The group's leader, Narseal Batiste, was convicted on four counts of conspiracy and could be jailed for up to 70 years, while the others were convicted on lesser counts of conspiracy and a sixth man was acquitted.

Federal agents arrested the men, who became known as the Liberty City Six after the poor Miami neighbourhood where they met, in June 2006 in the city.
It followed a sting operation by the FBI in a case widely hailed by US authorities at the time as a victory in the then so-called war on terror.

The men are due to be sentenced on July 27.

For full story and pictures click Aljazeera.net

Swine Flu Still on The Rampage

2009-05-12T06:50:00.000-07:00

image credit: c n n

Expert from the Imperial College London have warned that a third of the world's population could be infected with swine flu virus if the virus continues to spread at the current rate. The study based on Mexico’s case is published in the Journal Science.

Professor Neil Ferguson who is leading the research told the BBC Radio 4 that the H1N1 virus is about as dangerous as the virus behind a 1957 pandemic that killed 2 million people worldwide. He suggested that the vaccine need to be ready before the cold (flu) season sets in since the spread of the virus is expected to increase when autumn sets in.

Statistics indicate Mexico is the worst affected country, followed by the US and then Canada. Spain is the worst-hit country in Europe now with 57 confirmed cases. The number of laboratory-confirmed swine flu cases has reached 5,251 (US-2,532, Mexico-1,626) in some 30 countries around the world, with 61(US-3, Mexico-48) having died from the disease, the World Health Organization has confirmed.

The World Health Organization (WHO) says that it is no longer possible to contain the deadly swine flu virus first found in Mexico.

Countries are employing different measures to curb the spread of the virus such as circulating information pamphlets on disease, use of hand gloves, distributing emergency masks, stocking anti-viral drugs, installing thermal scanners in entry ports, screening of suspect visitors, issuing media reports, enquiries via questionnaires, travel advisories on citizens, quarantines of suspects and the infected, necessary institution closures, import bans on pig products, discouraging social kissing, setting up telephone advisory centers, advice on use of tissues while sneezing, regular hand washing advice, pandemic committee and task forces set up, public concert bans, football matches cancellation, banning of flights to affected regions.

According to the NHS, we all need to always carry tissues, use clean tissues to cover mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing, bin the tissues after one use and washing of hands with soap and hot water or a sanitiser gel often.

Stay safe.

Conjugal Rights Deprived Kenyan Man Seeks Damages In Court

2009-05-09T13:10:00.000-07:00

A Kenyan man Mr. James Kimondo has sued activists who called on women to stage a one week sex boycott to protest the growing divide in Kenya’s coalition government. Mr. James Kimondo has filed the suit at the High Court for compensation, claiming that prior to the calls for the sex boycott on the 29 th of April, he was a happily married man enjoying all the benefits of marriage, including conjugal rights. He complains that the one week sex boycott has caused him stress, mental anguish, backaches and lack of sleep, as stated by his lawyer. The boycott ended on Wednesday 6th.

The lawsuit filed on Friday claims lack of conjugal rights affected Mr. Kimondo's marriage to his wife Teresia Wanjiku. Mr. Kimondo is now seeking an undisclosed amount in damages from the G-10, an umbrella group for women's activists.

The sex-ban protest by the women groups was prompted by the strained relationship between the two signatories to the power sharing agreement that resulted in Kenya’s Coalition government and calm after the December 2007/January 2008 post-election violence, where more than 1000 persons were killed. The relationship between the two principals President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga has been deteriorating prompting resignations of key public officers notably Martha Karua Minister for Justice & Constitution Affairs. The wrangling between Kibaki and Odinga has sparked fears of fresh violence.

A leading women activist Ann Njogu, executive, director of Centers for Rights Education and Awareness said that though they have not been legally served, "It will be interesting to see the face of a man who is not willing to abstain for the sake of his country."

According to Ann Njogu, plans are under way for women activists to meet with the two key principals.

Major Phil Packer Complets London Marathon 13 Days After Starting

2009-05-09T05:40:00.000-07:00

A serviceman on crutches has just completed the London Marathon today 9th May 2009, a journey he embarked on on the 26th April 2009.

Major Packer has also rowed the Channel and sky dived
Major Phil Packer of the Royal Military Police lost the use of his legs during a rocket attack in Iraq.

The 36 year old was told he would never walk again after he was hurt last February.
But he battled the odds to make the start of the 26mile-race in Greenwich on April 26.

Having achieved his target of two miles a day he has just crossed the finishing line in The Mall.

Major Packer's aim is to raise £1m for soldiers' charity Helpy For Heroes. He has already got pledges of more than £600,000.

To read the whole story, click Sky News

Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma is Sworn in as South Africa's new president.

2009-05-09T05:35:00.000-07:00

Mr. Zuma 67, has been sworn in today Saturday the 9th of May 2009 as South African’s new president. In his inauguration speech he promised to follow Mr. Nelson Mandela Madiba’s footsteps.

President Zuma’s story is one of inspiration and hope. His father died at the end of World War II, by age 15 he took on odd jobs to supplement his mother’s income. Under the circumstances, he did not receive any formal schooling.
He was latter influenced by a trade unionist family member, and he became involved in politics at an early age and joined the African National Congress in 1959. He became an active member of Umkhonto We Sizwe in 1962, following the banning of the ANC in 1960.

While on his way out of the country in 1963, he was arrested with a group of 45 recruits near Zeerust in what was then the western Transvaal (now the Northern West Province). Convicted of conspiring to overthrow the government, he was sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment, which he served on Robben Island.

After his release, Jacob Zuma helped mobilise internal resistance and was instrumental in the re-establishment of ANC underground structures in the then Natal province, (KwaZulu-Natal) between 1973 and 1975.

To read Mr. Jacob Zuma’s complete biography click anc.org

Though Mr. Zuma got a rainy welcome, his message direct. In his speech, he pledged "the dreams and hopes of all the people of our country must be fulfilled", and that "there is no place for complacency, cynicism or excuses".

He has promised to speed up the pace of change in the nation and transform the lives of the poor.

Just like the rest of the world, South Africa's economy already feeling the effects of the global slow down and unemployment levels are close to 24%.

Poverty statistics and housing challenges are worse that they were during apartheid.

To get full story, click news24.com

Hydroxycut-Is the Recall Global?

2009-05-01T10:13:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to know if the recall on Hydroxycut is global. I have seen quite a number of commercials in Paris, France promoting the product under names like Hydroxycut Hardcore, Hydroxycut for women, Hydroxycut Français Hydroxycut Max., Hydroxycut V2 (New) etc.

Now that the dangers of using the drug are confirmed, its only fair for the concerned bodies to sound the alarm globally.

Swine Flu World-Wide Concern

2009-04-30T14:14:00.000-07:00

As the WHO raise the swine flu outbreak alert level from phase 4 to 5, setting the stage for increased efforts by appropriate agencies, industries and communities to combat the infection, more emphasis now needs to be placed on mandatory testing at air and sea ports, with a reverse emphasis so as to concentrate on ports of departure from swine flu high risk regions rather than concentrating on the ports of arrival. This calls for mutual corporation between countries. It also calls for necessary assistance especially where a high risk country lacks the resources to conduct effective screening on the persons using their ports as an exit point. Such a move will reduce the risk to non-infected travelers since closeness and possible contact may not be avoided especially when traveling by air. This closeness necessitated by our mode of traveling is conducive to the transmission of any flu.

Besides, it is frightening to imagine what would happen if the outbreak gets to hit some populations where the number of inhabitants per doctor is about 50,000:1, countries like Angola, Mozambique, Congo, Namibia and Zambia, or even 33,500:1 as in Sudan, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Ethiopia and Niger. The shortage of personnel and equipment in the mentioned regions would lead to serious losses.

According to WHO Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan, the virus "must be taken seriously because of its ability to spread to every country in the world," so lets join hands and bring and end to this pandemic because we can.

iPhones for Bill Gates kids-finally?

2009-04-29T07:29:00.000-07:00

Rumors have been circulating about Microsoft secret iphone project dubbed “iPhone Pink”. Similar rumors have in the past been denied by sources from within the organization. Well who wouldn’t? Every business, just like every institution including our very families treasure our own secrets, and these secrets are what make us what we are as business organizations or families. As long as they join and play by the rules, they are welcome.

The beauty about these rumors is that the consumer of iPhones gadgets will benefit either way. If the rumored project becomes reality, competition will switch to top gear, and a price war will ensue to the advantage of the consumers. Quality will be enhanced and we should expect loads of added features, more storage capacity, enhanced input methods, higher performance speeds, higher mega-pixels, better resolutions, better sound, longer lasting battery life, smaller dimensions & weight, enhanced GPS facilities, more smart sensors & accelerometers, enhanced keyboards for more languages & functions and better mobile phones. Either way, this rumor will keep the players in the industry on alert in terms of innovation and the pricing of future releases.

The biggest gains will go to Bill & Melinda Gates three kids, they will get to experience iphones for the first time. In a past interview with Vogue, Melinda Gates mentioned that, the Gates' kids can play Xbox and run any Microsoft supported programmes as they want, but they couldn’t have iPods or iPhones.

To Microsoft; bring it on, but this time please play fair.

Eliminate Swine Flu in pigpens

2009-04-26T08:47:00.000-07:00

Statistics show that H1N1 and H3N2 swine flu viruses, which were first reported in 1930 are rampant among swine populations world-over. Over 50% of pigs tested in the US, and 25% of pigs tested worldwide have shown antibody evidence of infection with the flu. This calls for necessary legislation to be put in place and to be enforced to tackle the disease from the origin; the pigs pen.

Moreover since vaccines for H3N2 virus in pigs are available, the legislation should enforce the vaccination and monitor it strictly before cases are reported in humans.

History has it that it is easier to deal with any outbreak, as long as it has not affected human beings. Unlike animals, it is not practical to curtail human mobility, thus once humans are infected, any outbreak assumes a new level of complexity in terms of geographical spread. This could be the reason why cases of the swine flu have been reported in North America, South America, New Zealand and France amongst other countries.