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Article 1: The 2010 Ukrainian presidential election will go into a runoff vote as no candidate has 50% of the popular vote. The top two candidates are Viktor Yanukovych and Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko. The runoff will be held February 7.
According to exit polls, Viktor Yanukovich is currently leading with 31-36% of the vote, with Yulia Tymoshenko in second with 25-27%. Eighteen other candidates, including incumbent president Viktor Yushchenko, have been eliminated from the election.
This election is expected to be scrutinized by third party auditors, as opposing candidates have accused each other of attempting to rig the election. President Yushchenko said that "Ukraine once again will demonstrate that it is a European democratic country, that it is a free nation, free people and free election."
fi:Tymošenko ja Janukovytš toiselle kierrokselle
tr:Ukrayna'da cumhurbaşkanlığı seçimi
uk:Вибори Президента України: Янукович і Тимошенко вийшли до другого туру Article 2: The reached a ten-month low against the US dollar earlier today over concerns about Greece's debt crisis.
Euro banknotes.
The euro traded at US$1.3436 in the morning, a level not seen since May of last year, although it finished the day back up at $1.3606.
It was, however, up 0.6% against the British pound, at 90.76 pence. The pound also fell today, reaching a trading level of $1.4936 after a loss of 0.4%.
"The spike lower this morning indicates market nervousness about the prospects of a Greek bailout - the message coming out of Europe is still confused," commented an analysts for CMC Markets, Michael Hewson, as quoted by Agence France-Presse.
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Article 1: Hagia Sophia B12-40.jpg|thumb|140px|left|RoweromaniakEuropean Capital of Culture for 2010, celebrated with spectacular fireworks displays, light shows, cultural performances, and concerts, which were arranged at seven locations across the city, symbolising the seven hills on which ancient Istanbul was built.
The European Union chose Istanbul, Turkey's and Europe's largest city, as one of the three European Capitals of Culture for 2010 in 2006, along with Essen in Germany. With its rich heritage and urban life, Istanbul is already recognized as one of the world's great cultural capitals.
Maiden tower.JPG|thumb|140px|left|MkaraarslanIstanbul beat , Ukraine's capital, for the title and became the last European Capital of Culture outside the EU; after 2010, non-EU cities can no longer apply.
The celebrations started with a protocol event taking place at the Haliç Congress Centre, where Ministers from Turkey as well as neighbouring countries participated.
"Istanbul is a European city. With its heart, its culture and civilisation, its people, its past and future, it has always looked towards Europe. Istanbul has shaped European culture and has been shaped by it." said , the country's Prime Minister.
tr:İstanbul, "2010 Avrupa Kültür Başkenti" unvanını düzenlenen törenlerle aldı Article 2: United States Department of Homeland Security as the lead agency protecting Information technology.
The United States announced the declassification of a portion of the Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative, a major part of the US's efforts to thwart cyber warfare, on Tuesday.
The announcement came at the RSA Security Conference in San Francisco, and was given by Howard Schmidt, who is the current US cyber-security coordinator, having been assigned the position in December.
While only a portion of the document was revealed at the announcement, and much remains classified material, including all material related to plans by the government for offensive cyber-warfare, the program has twelve parts, and has three main strategies:
*To create a defensive mechanism against immediate threats, as well as those possible in the near future;
*To create a defensive mechanism against a wide variety of threats, both present and future;
*To initiate efforts to strengthen future cyber-security efforts.
The program includes funding for numerous security measures, including the government's controversial Einstein program, which scans all incoming communications to government-operated websites. The plan also mentions increasing security for classified networks within the government, as well as developing a government-wide plan for counter-intelligence work, although the declassified portions gave little indication as to what that would involve.
The program was begun by President George Bush in 2008 as a National Security Presidential Directive, and has been entirely classified until now. At its inception, it was intended to serve as a program to unify cyber-security efforts within the government and to develop other security programs for use nationwide. No budget has been released for the program, although estimates place the cost at $40 billion until 2015.
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Article 1: Interstate 10 (AZ) map.png|thumb|200px|left|Map of the Arizona Interstate system, with Interstate 10 in red
Multiple people are reported dead after an early Friday bus crash near Phoenix, Arizona. The Arizona Department of Public Safety stated that there were "multiple fatalities and serious injuries" in the incident.
The collision occurred south of Phoenix, near milepost 173 on Interstate 10. Public Safety barred westbound traffic lanes and could not specify any time when these lanes would open. Six people have died while seven more are in critical condition. 10 others received less severe injures
Local ABC broadcaster, KNXV-TV, said the crash occurred 5:27 AM local time (UTC 12:27). Apart from the buses, it involved two trucks and multiple cars. The buses, which lie at one side of the road, are covered by debris, according to witnesses. The ladders of the rescue workers leaned against its side. The bus was badly damaged with most of its windows broken.
An emergency site was constructed to treat the casualties. The injured were gathered on a tarp in the road before being transported by ambulances and helicopters. Article 2: Eric John, the current U.S ambassador to Thailand
Nicole John, the daughter of Eric John, the current Herald Towers, a 25-storey building. She was attending a party and had been believed to have been drinking. Police said that it is suspected that she had climbed out of the window ledge to take a picture when she slipped and fell.
John's death has been ruled as an accident but 25-year old Ilan Nassimi, the tenant of the room she fell from has been arrested on charges of giving alcohol to a minor. John had been clubbing with friends before she arrived at Nassimi's party. She was using a card which stated her age at either 23 or 24.
A spokesman for the club John was at earlier in the night confirmed that security did check her I.D. He said "The technology can be so good that people are developing ways to sneak into places every day," said a source close to the club. "There are some fake IDs that are uncatchable."
Nassimi defends his innocence saying that he was unaware that John was under 21. He told police that he met her in a club and expressed to several people his interest in hosting an after party.
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Article 1: Nine people died in New Zealand after a small tourist plane crashed on Saturday afternoon on the West Coast of the Fletcher FU24 owned by a local sky diving company, crashed and caught fire at 13:15 local time soon after taking off from the Fox Glacier Airport to carry out tandem skydiving over the . The cause of the accident is not yet known, but the plane banked, dipped, smashed nose-first into the ground, and burst into flames.
There were four overseas tourists on the plane, from Australia, England, Germany, and Ireland. The five New Zealanders were the pilot and four divemasters. Police spokeswoman Detective Sergeant Jackie Adams said that the victims were so badly burned that members of the police disaster team had to be called in to assist. She was trying to track a group of tourists who were to have gone on the flight, but wanted to go together as a group so let those who died go ahead of them.
The plane crash was the worst in New Zealand for nearly 17 years. The regional coroner Richard McElrea was travelling to the crash scene to begin inquiries, and the Transport Accident Investigation Commission has dispatched a team of six investigators. The probes may take a year to complete. There was a similar crash near Fox Glacier when a helicopter crashed killing seven people in October 1994, and a crash near the nearby in October 1993 which killed 9 people. Because of the earthquake in Christchurch the bodies had to be sent to the Auckland morgue rather than the nearer Christchurch morgue. Article 2: The message one Indonesian saw when attempting to access pornography today
The Indonesian Ministry of Communications and Information Technology has announced that the government will be banning pornographic sites in the country. The announcement comes before the Islamic holiday of Ramadan.
The ministry conducted a technical test of the banning program with the six largest internet service providers in Indonesia — Telkom, Indosat, IM2, Bakrie Telecom, and . The ministry is optimistic that their ban will make 80% of pornographic sites inaccessable in the Southeast Asian country.
The People's Republic of China runs a similar program that blocks pornographic websites.
Communications minister Tifatul Sembiring said that about 200 ISPs in Indonesia had agreed to block the websites. Sembiring also said that ISPs would not suffer any losses by blocking pornographic websites.
He also added that the ministry would adopt the same approach used by , which involves constantly monitoring offensive content which, when discovered, is immediately removed.
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Article 1: According to local government reports, at least 139 people were killed in Sudan recently after clashes between tribes.
CattleThe violence started when armed men from the Nuer group reportedly attacked herders from the Dinka tribe in South Sudan|south of the country, and took about 5,000 cattle.
"They killed 139 people and wounded 54. Nobody knows how many attackers were killed. But it may be many as a lot of people came to fight," commented a local deputy governor, Sabino Makana.
The clash actually took place several days ago, but news of it only surfaced today, when a security team for the United Nations visited the area, according to the news agency.
"Local sources on the ground said that at least 140 people had been killed, 90 wounded and 30,000 head of cattle had been stolen. This is a matter of deep concern."" said the UN deputy resident and humanitarian coordinator for southern Sudan, Lise Grande to AFP.
Tribes have frequently been involved in clashes in southern Sudan, often caused by feuds and cattle rustling; however, violence has been particularly high this year. The UN reports that around 2,000 people were killed and another 250,000 people displaced by inter-tribal clashes in the past few months. Article 2: In the second quarter of this year, the economy of the United States grew at a slower rate than expected.
The US government announced yesterday that economic growth in the USA has slowed to 2.4% in the second quarter as the economy struggles with high unemployment and the aftermath of the worst recession since the 1930's.
This slower rate compares with a newly revised number of 3.7% for Q1, and 5% in Q4 of last year. Economists had been expecting economic growth of 2.5% for Q2.
For this year's second quarter, the ' report on the economy carried more disappointing news. Consumer spending growth in the North American country slowed from 1.99% in Q1 to just 1.6%. Also, businesses and retailers stocked shelves at a slower pace, and America's trade deficit, the largest in the world, widened as the country imported more goods.
The US Commerce Department also revised some of their estimated economic growth statistics. The Department revised their estimate of Q1 economic growth from 2.7% to 3.7%, and also revised their estimate of the severity of the 2007–2009 recession from a real-GDP contraction of 2.5% to an new figure of 2.8%. Also, there were some economic bright spots in Q2. State and local governments, who have been cutting spending for months, spent 1.3% more than in Q1. Residential investment grew 27.9% from −12.3% in Q1. Nonresidential building investment rose for the first time in two years, and disposable personal incomes rose 4.4%, though it appears that people are not spending it.
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Article 1: Kilmarnock, Scotland
In the Scottish Premier League (SPL), Hibernian F.C. 2-1 on Saturday. Nine minutes into the game in Kilmarnock, Scotland, Liam Kelly became the first player of the game to score for Kilmarnock. He achieved a second goal for his team 43 minutes after the game commenced.
In the second half of the match on the snow-covered field, Liam Miller of Hibernian was given a red card after clipping Craig Thomson (referee)|Craig Thomson decided this rulebreaking occurred immediately outside of the penalty area.
Kilmarnock's position in the SPL table now increases to fifth. Meanwhile, Hibernian remain at ninth. BBC Sport website. "The attitude and the sort of tempo of how we're going about it in the second half is just sort of the place in the right direction where I feel we've gotta go."
In a separate BBC Sport interview, Kilmarnock manager commented: "I thought for the first half we were excellent. You know, the surface was quite tricky today because it was a little bit snowy and the ball skids along but, you know, that possibly helped our passing game. You know, Liam Kelly was sharp, he was quick, he passed round players and he scored two excellent goals. The second half was a little bit stickier for us, owing to Hibs. They're a good team. They put us under pressure but, you know, thankfully our defence did their job and we only conceded one goal which was a fantastic strike from Riordan." Article 2: __NOTOC__
Slovakia into the round of 16 Slovakia eliminated defending champions Italy from the World Cup. First round groups E and F were decided on Thursday: Japan, Paraguay and the Netherlands progress alongside Slovakia.
When a team finishes third or fourth in a group, they are on their way home. After the elimination of France, runners-up in 2006, it was the turn of the reigning champions. Slovakia met Italy in their first World Cup finals as an independent country.
After 81 minutes, the Azzuri (Italy) were down by two goals, both struck by , when they got one back. They were denied a chance to equalize by a rebound from a Slovak knee on the goal line.
Their next goal was disallowed as offside. The Slovaks strengthened their lead when a gross positioning error by Italy led to a goal from a corner. Italy scored their second goal in the closing moments of the game, but it wasn't enough, and the Azzuri were out of the tournament.
For the fourth time in history, the reigning world champion was eliminated in the first round. The previous occasions were Italy in 1950, Brazil in 1966 and France in 2002.
Also on Thursday, Japan achieved a surprise 3 – 1 defeat of Denmark. This, along with their victory over Cameroon on June 14, secured their qualification. Paraguay stamped their ticket for the round of sixteen in a nil–nil draw with New Zealand's All Whites. The draw gave New Zealand a point to take them ahead of Italy, finishing Group F in third place. The All Whites leave the tournament undefeated, recalling Cameroon's elimination in 1982 after three draws, pipped by Italy on goals scored. The Netherlands beat Cameroon, securing Group E's first place.
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es:Italia perdió con Eslovaquia y quedó afuera del Mundial
fr:Coupe du Monde de football de 2010 : arrivederci Italia !
it:Calcio, Mondiali 2010: l'Italia perde 3-2 con la Slovacchia ed è fuori
pl:Mundial 2010: Słowacja 3-2 Włochy
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Article 1: Novoa Piñera recorte.jpg|thumb|left|President Sebastián Piñera
A magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck Chile on Thursday, just 21 minutes before the country's new president, Sebastián Piñera, was due to be sworn in. This earthquake comes several days after a heavy 8.8 magnitude earthquake shook the country, the strongest one in almost half a century.
According to the US Geological Survey, the quake's epicentre was
135 kilometres (85 miles) south of Valparaiso, where the presidential inauguration took place, and 145 kilometres (90 miles) southwest of capital Santiago. Later, it was reported that the epicenter was offshore Pichilemu, a coastal town in the O'Higgins Region.
The Miami Herald reports that the temblor was among seven aftershocks. There were no reports of damage, injuries, or deaths, although some residents rushed outside after the tremors.
According to reports by the Associated Press, the Chilean navy called for a tsunami alert and encouraged residents living along shorelines to move to higher ground; however, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center commented that "a destructive Pacific-wide tsunami is not expected." Article 2: US Representative Democrat from Pennsylvania, says that he was offered a job in the Obama administration if he would drop out of a Senate
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Article 1: File photo of Georges Laraque in 2009.
Former Montreal Canadiens hockey player Georges Laraque has joined the Green Party of Canada, according to the party and The Canadian Press. The player will be filling an undefined role for the time being, but Laraque isn't ruling out running in the next federal elections.
"I'm ready to do whatever I can to help," Laraque said Saturday in Montreal.
"We're destroying the environment now and we have to make a change. To make a change you need public personalities to talk about it, to educate people. And I'm going to be one of them."
"The Green Party has been active in Parliament in Europe and Australia for many years, and it has been to their benefit. It is high time for Canada to build a strong Green Party and to elect MPs who will speak out for a modern, sustainable and just vision of our development and choices," said Jacques Rivard, Deputy Leader of the Green Party of Canada.
Laraque has been a long time vegan, meaning he eats no meat or other products derived from animals, like milk and cheese; and an animal rights activist. Last month he was released by the Canadiens, popularly known as the Habs, after scoring only one goal. Article 2: At 06:34 UTC today, an 8.8 magnitude earthquake hit Chile, triggering a tsunami in the Pacific Ocean. The tsunami has already hit the Fiji Japanese officials expect waves 2.3 metres (7.5 feet high). Australia and New Zealand are expected to receive waves of one metre (three feet) which are expected to hit within 24 hours of the earthquake.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center reported that there may be "widespread damage" from the waves, saying that "authorities should take appropriate action in response to this threat."
In a special report, Wikinews looks at how different parts of the world have been affected by the disaster.
Additionally, the western coast of the United States – extending from California to portions of Alaska – is under a tsunami advisory.
The civil defence spokesman for the Hawaiian island of Oahu, John Cummings, encouraged people to "get off the shoreline. We are closing all the beaches and telling people to drive out of the area."
The centre, which also confirmed the initial Chile earthquake, also added that "sea-level readings confirm that a tsunami has been generated which could cause widespread damage. "Authorities should take appropriate action in response to this threat."
The government noted that the waves were not predicted to have destructive force. According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, the first waves would not hit the country's shores until fifteen hours after the initial quake.
"Stay away from the beaches. Don't go out on the water and if you are already out on the water up anchor and head to deeper water at least half a mile off shore," warned Coastguard Northern Region duty officer John Cowan.
Meanwhile, the Marsden Point oil refinery, the only refinery in New Zealand, put all of its operations on hold as they were waiting for further information about the strength of the expected tsunami, according to production controller Ted Rye.
"We've just had a report from a trader fishing boat out at the Hen and Chick islands, about 10 kilometres off the coast, and they have noticed quite a significant surge," he remarked.
New Zealand Civil Defence Minister John Carter also appealed for residents to heed officials' warnings and stay away from shorelines throughout the day.
The east coast of Australia was placed under a tsunami alert; the impact expected in Sydney from 8:45am local time, Sunday there, and along other parts of the New South Wales coast. Areas in Tasmania potentially affected by the quake would be under tsunami alert until 7:45am local time.
"Boats in harbors, estuaries or shallow coastal water should return to shore. Secure your boat and move away from the waterfront. Vessels already at sea should stay offshore in deep water until further advised," read a warning by the Joint Australian Tsunami Warning Center. "... Tsunami waves are more powerful than the same size beach waves, with the first wave not always the largest."
The centre noted that among the areas with a "potential tsunami threat" include New South Wales state, Queensland state, Lord Howe Island and Norfolk Island. However, it also added that the bays and harbours of Sydney would not likely be affected by waves.
__NOTOC__
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Article 1: At least six people were killed earlier today after a car bomb was detonated in the Colombian city of Buenaventura.
The incident occurred close to the mayor's office, and damaged a local attorney general office, as well as several taxis in the street. Al Jazeera reports that at least twenty people were wounded, although other news services, such as the Christian Science Monitor, said there were at least forty injured.
The head of the country's armed forces, General Freddy Padilla, blamed the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia (FARC) group for the attack, saying that "surely this was the FARC." However, nobody has yet claimed responsibility for the blast.
Colombian president Alvaro Uribe, meanwhile, offered a reward worth US$150,000 for information leading to the arrest of those responsible. He told media in Medellin that "we can't let our guard down."
Guillermo Mendoza, who is the country's chief prosecutor, commented that he wouldn't rule out the cause of the blast being either a gang fight, or an attack by drug traffickers as retaliation against his office.
fr:Colombie : attentat à la voiture piégée Article 2: Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez has declared that the National Army is on maximum alert along the Colombian border, after he broke relations with that country on Thursday. The declaration comes in the wake of the Colombian Secretary of State's claim before the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia|FARC has a "consolidated," "active" and "growing" presence in Venezuela, with some 1500 guerrilla fighters in 87 camps.
Venezuela's Secretary of Defense Carlos Mata told the media that his forces have been mobilised since Thursday morning, and are awaiting the orders of their Commander in Chief, the President.
Chávez announced the breaking of diplomatic ties on behalf of the Venezuelan government after Colombia released documents allegedly showing the active presence of FARC on Venezuelan territory at the Washington headquarters of the OAS, demanding a special inquiry to investigate the matter. Relations between the two countries had previously been strained, after the Venezuelan government voiced its opposition to new US military bases being set up in Colombia.
The Colombian ambassador has been given 72 hours to vacate his offices in Caracas.
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Article 1: A United States appeals court ruling upheld the expulsion of former New York State Senator Hiram Monserrate from the New York State Senate in a ruling on Friday. Monserrate had been found guilty in October of misdemeanor assault, in the criminal trial involving an alleged attack on his girlfriend Karla Giraldo. A U.S. federal judge had previously upheld the expulsion, in a ruling issued in February.
Hiram Monserrate 2009 cropped.jpg|thumb|left|Hiram Monserrate in 2009
Monserrate was expelled from the New York State Senate on February 9 by a majority vote of his fellow senators. The result of the vote was 53 to 8 in favor of expulsion.
In the lower U.S. District court decision, federal judge William H. Pauley III denied a request to temporarily block the expulsion. A lawsuit had been filed by Monserrate, which had asked for a reversal of the former Senator's explusion and in addition sought a block on a March 16 special election for a replacement. The New York Civil Liberties Union supported Monserrate in the case. The former Senator argued that the act of being expelled from the Senate was not appropriate, as he claimed it violated due process.
Judge Pauley ruled, "the question of who should represent the 13th Senatorial District is one for the voters, not for this court." The judge explained that the voting rights of the citizens of the district formerly represented by Monserrate would not be significantly negatively impacted, due to the proximity of the upcoming special election – scheduled for March 16. Monserrate has stated that he will run in the special election, and he is not prohibited from doing so.
Monserrate's opponents in the March 16 special election include Jose Peralta, a sitting member of the New York State Assembly and a Democrat, and Republican Robert Beltrani. According to WNYC, Monserrate has himself not received any official endorsements. Monserrate is running under a party name that he created, titled, "Yes We Can".
The district court's ruling determined that the expulsion by the New York State Senate was not inappropriate, stating, "the power of a body to determine the fitness of its members is embedded in American democracy." Judge Pauley noted, "Similar processes to discipline have long existed in deliberative bodies at all levels of government." New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo issued a statement February, in support of the ruling of the lower court. "We are gratified that the Court has confirmed our position that the Senate had the authority to expel Mr. Monserrate," said the Attorney General.
Prior to the ruling by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit rejecting Monserrate's appeal, the former Senator voiced optimism about the impending decision, "They imposed a different standard on me without due process and I'm confident the court will rectify the violation."
In a statement given to the New York Daily News, Monserrate's attorney Norman Siegel said, "We're naturally disappointed. We'll have more to say when we read the opinion." The hearing on Friday before the U.S. Federal appeals court lasted approximately one hour. During the hearing, one of the appellate court judges commented that Monserrate was aware that what he had done was, "a crime, (and) you’re not supposed to do it."
Monserrate's misdemeanor assault conviction pertained to an incident where he dragged his girlfriend through the lobby while exiting his apartment building. He was acquitted by a judge of charges of felony assault. Felony conviction would have resulted in an immediate expulsion from the New York State Senate.
Monserrate is the first politician to be expelled from the New York State Senate in almost a century. He is a former New York City police officer. Prior to becoming a member of the New York State Senate, he was a city councilman. He became a member of the New York State Senate weeks after the alleged conflict with Giraldo, and was made chair of the committee overseeing consumer affairs. Along with Democrat Pedro Espada Jr., Monserrate started a shift in control of the Senate by aligning with the Republican Party. Article 2: Sharron angle kdwn debate infobox.JPG|thumb|Sharron Angle in 2010
An influential Nevada politician from the Republican Party has stated she opposes United States Senate|Senate in that state due to Angle's "extreme" stance against abortion, and will vote against the candidate in the upcoming general election in November. Sharron Angle is against abortion in all cases, including incidents of incest.
Lieutenant Governor of Nevada. She has served as a member of the Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic United States Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Sharron Angle was asked by the moderator Thursday in a debate with Reid if she would support any US federal tax revenue going towards funding for abortion; she responded with a curt, "No."
Angle's campaign did not respond to queries from the Associated Press about Wagner's statements. Sharron Angle has invited controversy in the past due to her views on. In an article about "Tea Party extremism" in Nevada, The Washington Post reported that Senator Harry Reid's first negative campaign advertisement about Angle criticized the candidate for, "... supporting a Scientology-backed prisoner rehabilitation program."
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Article 1: The attack followed a robbery involving a gang of criminals, including Essel. Three other criminals have been found guilty of manslaughter. Two of those have been identified as 20-year-old Anthony Maina and Simeon Jumah, aged 25. Another individual, who is 17, has had his anonymity protected. Several others have been convicted of conspiracy to rob but not of having any role in the killing.
'Sources'
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Lindsay was taken to Glasgow Royal Infirmary, where she was given treatment for smoke inhalation and burns. However, she died in the hospital on Sunday, according to a statement from Strathclyde Police. Five other members of Aileen's family who were involved in the fire managed to survive. Police investigations to try and determine the cause of the fire are ongoing.
'Sources'
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20-year-old Kyle Flack, who came from deafblind and suffered from , , and substantial learning difficulties. He died in October 2006 after suffocating when his head became jammed in the railings around his hospital bed.
The trust admitted that health and safety breaches were a "significant cause" of his death, said Pascal Bates for the prosecution. There had been significant errors in the hospital's "systems and procedures", as the patient had not been properly supervised, training of staff was inadequate, information had not been passed on correctly, and warnings had not been heeded. Bates told the court that the hospital had reached "markedly short" of the required standard, adding that "management failed to lay down correct procedures."
Earlier this year, Gill Flack, Kyle's mother, called for bosses of the hospital to be held personally responsible for this incident. She described the hospital as the "worst place" for her child to have been cared for, saying that the standards of care there were "absolute crap".
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Article 1: Sri Lankan Tamil journalist J. S. Tissainayagam, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year, has been released on bail of Rs 50,000 (aproximately $437) by Appeal Court judges Ranjith Silva and D. S. Lekamwasam. This move comes ahead of upcoming general elections taking place on January 26th.
Jeyaprakash Tissainayagam, a Tamil, was arrested in 2008 after he wrote articles accusing the government of deliberately cutting off ethnic Tamil areas from food and other essential supplies during the latter stages of the war.
He was convicted on August 31, 2008 under Sri Lanka's Prevention of Terrorism Act on charges of inciting violence and receiving money from rebel groups and sentenced to 20 years in prison with hard labor.
During his trial, Tissanayagam claimed that he was harassed and threatened by the Terrorism Investigation Division (TID) while under detention. He has also filed a fundamental rights petition with the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka.
International rights groups and Sri Lankan journalists have condemned the act of putting a journalist in jail for his reporting. United States president Barack Obama called him one of the "emblematic examples" of reporters jailed for their work. Article 2: John Dankworth.
British jazz musician Sir John Dankworth, said to be "one of the totemic figures of British jazz" and "the first major jazz musician" by Jazzwise magazine, died at the age of 82 in the King Edward VII Hospital in London, England on Saturday after being hospitalised with an undisclosed illness for the last few months. His family and his agent made the confirmation of the obituary.
He was born in Essex on 1927 to a family of musicians. He started playing the clarinet after being musically influenced by Benny Goodman. During the 1950s, he became an active jazz artist with his group, the Dankworth Seven. While auditioning for singers for the group in 1950, he met Dame Cleo Laine, who later became his wife.
Dankworth, who had been working in the British jazz music industry for over 60 years, was the musical director to other famous jazz musicians such as Ella Fitzgerald, Nat King Cole and Charlie Parker. He was also the composer of the theme music for television programmes The Avengers and Tomorrow's World, as well as writing the music score for 1966 film Modesty Blaise. Johnny Dankworth, as he was often known by, was appointed CBE in 1974 and was knighted in 2006 - to become Sir John Dankworth - for his services to music. One of the last performances from John Dankworth was at the London Jazz Festival in November 2009, where he played the saxophone while sitting in a wheelchair. Dankworth also had two children - Jacqui, his daughter and Alec, his son. Both are now jazz musicians.
Singer Dame Cleo Laine, John Dankworth's wife, also announced his death during a concert inside a music venue in Buckinghamshire which she and John founded near to their residence, having established the Wavendon Allmusic Plan in 1969. The concert was to celebrate the venue's 40th anniversary. A statement that was released from the music venue said: "The Stables is greatly saddened by the news that one of its Founders & Life Presidents, Sir John Dankworth CBE has passed away on the day that The Stables celebrated its 40th birthday." In a statement, Jim Murtha, Dankworth's agent, said that "the all-star concert, featuring numerous British stars of stage, screen and recordings, became a tribute to John." Stephen Clarke, who is the chairman of the charity supporting The Stables released a statement which said that "it is a fitting tribute that on the day of Sir John's death that we celebrated on stage...with some of the many artists who have performed with Sir John."
Speaking from New York in the United States, Jim Murtha stated to the BBC: "For British jazz and jazz around the world, I believe John has become such an international figure, particularly since he became Sir John Dankworth a few years ago." A message placed on the Twitter page of present day jazz musician Jamie Cullum said: "Sir John Dankworth - a great man and one of our finest musicians and composers has died. Rest in peace sir."
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Article 1: Not just for smoking: Tobacco oil also makes for an efficient source of biofuel
A team of researchers from the Thomas Jefferson University's Biotechnology Foundation Laboratories (BFL) in the United States have managed to increase the amount of oil produced by tobacco leaves. Tobacco oil can be very efficiently converted to biofuel, but most oil is located in the seeds, which the plant does not produce many of.
Tobacco seeds produce around 40% oil per dry weight but a crop of the plant yields only around 600kg of seeds per acre. The leaves have an oil content of around 1.7–4% oil per dry weight. The oil has previously been tested for powering diesel-fueled vehicles and can be more efficiently converted than the product of many other crop plants.
The team from BFL identified that oil production in the leaves was controlled by two genes: the diacyglycerol acytransferase (DGAT) and the LEAFY COTYLEDON 2 (LEC2) genes. By genetic engineering, they achieved oil yields of 5.8% oil per dry weight by modifying the DGAT while changes to the LEC2 resulted in a yield of 6.8% per dry weight.
"Tobacco is very attractive as a biofuel because the idea is to use plants that aren't used in food production," said cancer biology assistant professor at Thomas Jefferson Dr Vyacheslav Andrianov, Ph.D. "In some instances, the modified plants produced 20-fold more oil in the leaves."
Various efforts are being made to find biofuel sources that are not also potential food, in order to steer clear of causing further rises in global food costs. Last month the US government anounced funding for research that used nonphotosynthesising micro-organisms to manufacture biodiesel, in the hope that this will prove more efficient than options that rely on photosynthesis. This also escapes one criticism of biofuels like tobacco; that competition for land to grow crops on will result in biofuel crops displacing foodstuffs and pushing food prices up. In November 2009 a Spanish team launched a study to determine if tobacco, as well as the prickly pear, was capable of withstanding the harsh conditions of land not suitable for growing food, selecting these plants for their ability to survive water shortages. Article 2: File photo of Hillsborough Castle, where the talks are taking place.
United Kingdom prime minister Gordon Brown and Irish premier Brian Cowen have left Hillsborough Castle in Northern Ireland, where they had been attending talks on justice and the recent Northern Ireland crisis regarding the devolution of policing and justice powers from London to Belfast. No agreement has yet been reached, and the main parties have been given two more days to attempt to broker a deal.
Martin McGuinness, the deputy first minister and member of the republican party Sinn Féin, was "deeply disappointed" by the lack of an agreement on the possible devolution of Northern Ireland's policing and justice powers from Westminster, London to Stormont, Belfast. Brown, however, believes the discussions are salvageable. He said that there is the "prospect of a reasonable agreement" being reached within the next two days, and that they "have the pathway to an agreement" in place. The British unionist Democratic Unionist Party and Sinn Féin—Northern Ireland's two largest parties—have been arguing over the issue for some time.
On Monday, Brown and Cowen travelled to Hillsborough Castle to meet with delegates of Northern Ireland's major parties in an attempt to forge an agreement, and—before he left—Brown gave the remaining delegates 48 hours to find a mutually beneficial solution. He said that the governments of the UK and Ireland will publish their plans if no such agreement is reached. He also said that the devolution could occur "around the beginning of May" this year. Sinn Féin want the devolution to occur as soon as possible, but the DUP argues that "community confidence" is required before the process, which would give Northern Ireland its first justice minister, can begin.
McGuinness said, "We have not concluded a deal today and I am deeply disappointed about that. We intend to study the governments' statement." He said that his party would refuse to give its support to anything that subjected "citizens' rights" to a "unionist veto". Peter Robinson, the leader of the DUP who has been forced to temporarily stand aside as first minister due to a sexual and financial scandal involving his wife, said that his party would not accept a "second-rate deal" in order to keep to "someone else's time limit". He is also reported as saying, "We are not prepared to buy a pig in a poke. We will do what is right for our community." Sinn Féin has accused the DUP of stalling for time, though Robinson denied this, saying that "the party has always wanted to see the devolution of policing and justice and has always wanted it to happen without undue delay but it has to happen on a basis that we believe is sustainable".
It is thought that a failure to come to an agreement could trigger a re-election in the Northern Ireland Assembly, and damage the delicate peace process, which began with the Good Friday Agreement of 1998. Margaret O'Callaghan, of Queen's University Belfast said, "It's difficult to overestimate just how bad relations are between them. They really do not get on. On the other hand people have too much invested in this to allow it to collapse."
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Article 1: Elena Kagan met with US Senators on Article 2: A former Mexican governor has been killed by gunmen. Colima.
Cavazos, 41, was transported to hospital where he later died. Cavazos was the governor of Colima from 2005 until November 2009.
Mexican media report Cavazos was standing outside his house with , economic development Secretary for Colima. Villalobas was also wounded in the attack, but reports on his condition have not been released.
Mexican President Felipe Calderon released a statement on Twitter. He said "it is with great sorrow that I extend my condolences to the family of Silverio Cavazos, ex-governor of Colima," and called the shooting a "cowardly murder".
Cavazos was elected as Governor of Colima in February 2005 after the previous Governor, , died in a plane crash. Colima is a generally peaceful state but has seen a number of recent drug seizures.
In the past year more than twelve mayors and mayors-elect have been killed by . Since Calderon has launched his war on drugs, 30,000 people have been killed.
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Article 1: Cessna310JC-FRYZ.jpg|thumb|left|200px|A similar Ahunt
A electrical pylon in Northern California shortly after taking off Wednesday. All three of the plane's passengers were killed. The plane's wing struck a house which caught fire, along with parked cars. No injuries on the ground were reported.
The crash occurred at 7:55 am local time (15:55 UTC). The Palo Alto Airport of Santa Clara County|Palo Alto Airport and was en route to Hawthorne Municipal Airport in Hawthorne, California.
The persons killed were employees of Tesla Motors, later identified as Doug Bourn, Andrew Ingram, and Brian Finn, all involved with electronics at the company. Tesla's CEO, Elon Musk, released a statement saying, in part, "Tesla is a small, tightly-knit company, and this is a tragic day for us."
The plane was registered to Air Unique Incorporated, in Santa Clara, California, which is owned by another Tesla employee Doug Bourn.
fr:Un accident d'avion fait trois morts en Californie Article 2: According to the US Navy, an aircraft has crashed in the Arabian Sea while returning from a mission in Afghanistan.
The US Navy Fifth Fleet said in a statement that the aircraft, an E-2C Hawkeye surveillance plane, had crashed into the ocean after experiencing "mechanical malfunctions," in what the statement termed a "mishap." The incident reportedly occurred at around 1400 local time (1000 UTC). The aircraft and crew had been stationed on the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69), and were "returning from conducting operations in support of Operation Enduring Freedom."
The aircraft was carrying four crew at the time of the incident, of which three have been rescued. A search for the remaining crew member is currently under way. Pending notification of next-of-kin, the military has not released the identities of the personnel involved. An investigation has also been opened into the incident.
The type of aircraft involved. E-2C Hawkeye, was designed to provide an effective airborne early-warning system, as well as conducting surveillance missions, co-ordinating combat operations and running search and rescue missions. The plane that crashed was used for missions around the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, including command and control operations, as well as longer-range surveillance missions, such as the one it was returning from when it crashed.
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Article 1: Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs: Kevin Rudd
Leaked diplomatic cables between Australia and the US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, have raised controversy in the Australian community. The documents were released by the whistle-blowing website Wikileaks. The cables between the then prime minister of Australia, Kevin Rudd, and the US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, revealed that China may need to be forced to integrate into the international community. The secret documents also contained information of a conversation between Clinton and Rudd in Washington. In the interview, Rudd stated that China was "paranoid" about Taiwan and Tibet.
The sensitive documents may place a strain on diplomatic relations between Australia and China. Despite this, Kevin Rudd reassured the public that the "robust" relationship between Australia and China wouldn't sustain any substantial damage to the relations between the two countries. At this stage, Prime Minister Julia Gillard has provided no further comment on the matter, other than to ensure that the relationship between China and Australia would allow opinions to be expressed without any threat to either side.
At the heart of the leaks is Australian founder, Julian Assange. Wikileaks have now released 821 of their promised 251,287 US diplomatic cables. The cables are being released on a stage-by-stage basis. Earlier this week, Assange was arrested on suspicion of rape in London under a Swedish arrest warrant placed on him from a court in Stockholm on November 18.
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* Article 2: Controlled burn of oil on May 19th.JPG|thumbnail|left|Controlled burns taking place in the Gulf of Mexico to reduce the amount of oil in the water
The British energy company BP will be attempting a "top kill" on the leaking Deepwater Horizon oil well by firing a mud and cement mixture into the blowout preventer on the sea floor later this week. If successful, the oil well will be closed off with cement. A backup plan in case of failure (there is an estimated 30–40% chance of failure) would be another containment apparatus.
BP has been using the oil dispersant to disperse the oil film into small droplets which mix with the seawater. A riser insertion tube inserted into the largest oil leak site is collecting between 1,360 to 2,000 barrels of oil per day. Two relief oil wells are also currently under construction for what is hoped will be a permanent solution to the oil spill. This pair will take about 90 days to complete.
$500 million will be forthcoming from BP for the gulf spill's impact on the environment and damage to regional ecosystems as far as where water currents may spread the oil. BP also put forward a ten-year research plan to study the long-term effects of the oil spill on the environment.
Satellite view of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on May 17, 2010
Controlled surface oil burns and skimming have removed some of the oil spill. It is estimated that 5,000 barrels of oil a day are leaking from the ruptured pipe 5,000 feet (1,500 meters) below sea level. A Natural Resources Defense Council marine biologist, Lisa Suatoni, said that only about 7 to 10 percent of oil from the spill was cleaned up in 1989.
Louisiana Governor Janet Napolitano, is seeking viable options which may be more effective and better for the environment.
“I am angry and I am frustrated that BP has been unable to stop this well from leaking and to stop the pollution from spreading. We are 33 days into this effort, and deadline after deadline has been missed,” said U.S. Secretary of the Interior .
"This is a complex operation requiring sophisticated diagnostic work and precise execution. As a result, it involves significant uncertainties and it is not possible to assure its success or to put a definite timescale on its deployment." said BP. "We’re doing things that have never been done before at that kind of depth, so it’s very fluid. We’re not going to do it until we’re completely sure it’s right."
The oil rig Deepwater Horizon suffered a gas explosion and sank April 22, 2010 off the coast of Louisiana resulting in 11 persons missing (and presumed dead) of the 126 on board. BP and its business vendors were completing a new oil well at the time, constructing a layer of cement in the well to reinforce it, which resulted in the blowout.
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Article 1: Wikinews reporter Mike Morales interviews fellow Wikinews contributor Peter Coti, who is on the scene at a north eastern storm in the United States in New Jersey. Coti tells Wikinews what happened in the area of Ridgewood, New Jersey and provided pictures of the damage and area.
Well on the morning of Saturday it was a normal storm. Bit windier then a normal one though. Then at 4:30 EST (local time) power went out because of a downed tree. I went to church. When I got home it was like war of the worlds.
'How so?'
Wind gusts up to 90MPH ~145 km/h. And trees falling all over. And White, Red and blue explosions of transformers. All around town.
'Do you know which areas are affected?'
All of ridgewoo NJ sic, Ridgewood, New Jersey. Actually according to many people Bergan County was affected; ALL of it and southern parts of New York.
'Besides trees, what other damage occurred?'
Well, signs are on 45 degree angles, but trees are blocking roads and there are powerlines in half.
'Are there any damages to buildings?'
Not that I have seen. The major problem is the trees. They are blocking main roads.
'Do you know of any injuries to people?'
Yes, I know of at least 3 deaths and 5 injuries.
'Are there any details of these deaths and injuries?'
I know a tree fell on someone's car.
'How long until power is restored?'
They say in 2 days. I want to add the fact transformers lit the sky up for miles. Some for a few seconds, some for 30 seconds. Also power is back for businesses.
'How are emergency services responding?'
Well I have been told that every volunteer and cop is on duty. Also all police resources are being used from undercover cars to bikes. Anything with a siren really.
'How are the telephone services and other forms of communication working?'
There are no phone lines working. Wireless phones are the only way to communicate and... router. Article 2: Moe traveled to Sale in a losing effort. Reserve grade side pictured here at last year's second semifinal in Sale.
Two games of round 16 of the Gippsland Football League split the round over the weekend. On Saturday, Sale defeated Moe by 75 points, while on Sunday, Warragul lost to Drouin.
The split round will be completed next weekend with Leongatha traveling to Maffra and Morwell travelling to Wonthaggi. Traralgon has the bye.
The preliminary ladder has, in order, Maffra on top followed by Traralgon, Morwell, Drouin and Leongatha in the the top five. Moe and Sale need to win both of their remaining games and have other results go their way to make the finals. Wonthaggi and Warragul cannot make the finals.
The Gippsland Football League, officially the Gippsland League, is the only major Australian rules football competition in the rural region east from Melbourne to the New South Wales border, according to the .
Scores are quoted as goals-behinds (total).
Sale kicked eight points clear at the end of the first quarter before extending the lead to 51 at half time. A four-goal third quarter from both the hosts and Moe saw Sale's lead increase by only 2 points.
Sale kicked five goals and six behinds to Moe's two goals and two behinds in the final quarter to run out winners, 23-20 (153) to 12-11 (83).
Warragul remain winless and will end the season in last place. Drouin will move up to third pending the completion of the split round.
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Article 1: Logo of the Benet Academy Redwings
The Benet Academy varsity boys basketball team defeated the Wheaton Academy Warriors 64–55 in a non-conference game Tuesday night, handing the host West Chicago, Illinois, United States school its first loss to a team from Illinois and second loss overall this season.
The gym was filled to standing-room-only capacity and Warriors fans donned white t-shirts specifically made for this event, saying "BEAT BENET" and claiming "There is only one Academy." Sixteen Wheaton Academy fans wore their school uniforms during the game. Such a show of support ultimately did not lead the Warriors to victory, however, even with 6-foot, 9-inch The College of William & Mary-recruit Tim Rusthoven on their side.
Rusthoven was the focus of Benet's defensive strategy. As the Redwings point guard Dave Sobolewski said, "We knew that we wouldn't be able to take him out of the game with just a single guy. We had to take him out with our entire team, and we did a great job doing that."
Wheaton Academy had a 19–15 lead at the end of the first quarter. Benet would never trail again for the rest of the game, however, with Sobolewski scoring ten points in the second quarter to give the Redwings a 37–32 lead at halftime. Benet eventually led by a huge margin of 56–41 with four minutes and 31 seconds left in the game. The Warriors managed to narrow that lead to 58–53 with 44.2 seconds left, but the Redwings successfully made eight of 12 free throws in the final one minute and five seconds.
Wheaton Academy coach Paul Ferguson commented, "They were very physical. They killed us on offensive rebounds...Benet played a real good game, they shot ball well and rebounded well." Rusthoven had 21 points and seven rebounds, while Sobolewski also had 21 points but only five rebounds.
The Warriors, now with a record of 20–2, had won seven straight games before this one. "We knew it was a big game from their standpoint. They were 20–1 and hadn't won by less than 12 points. We came in and took care of business," said Sobolewski. Benet, with a record of 18–3, now has an eight-game winning streak as well.
The Redwings, still undefeated in conference, are now in contention for their first East Suburban Catholic Conference championship since the 1994–1995 season. Eddie Burns of the Naperville Sun attributes Benet's success to its defensive strategy, which he says is "making life miserable for the opposition". As of February 5, the Redwings had let their opponents score an average of 41 points. As forward Mike Runger said, "I think everyone on this team really values defense. Players on this team know that defense is what can get wins." Article 2: Shakemap of the earthquake.
Vanuatu has been hit by a 7.2 magnitude earthquake at 04:14 local time on Friday (17:14 UTC on Thursday). The epicenter was located 215 kilometers to the northwest of Lata, Port-Vila, Vanuatu; and 2,070 kilometers to the northeast of Brisbane, Australia.
The earthquake had a depth of 36.1 kilometers, approximately 22.4 miles. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in issued a tsunami warning for Vanuatu, Solomon Islands and New Caledonia. They said on the report: "It is not known that a tsunami was generated. This warning is based only on the earthquake evaluation. An earthquake of this size has the potential to generate a destructive tsunami that can strike coastlines in the region near the epicenter within minutes to hours." The Vanuatu government Meteorological Office reported infrastructure cracks, and power outages, but does not foresee major damage. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries, CNN reported. USGS initially reported the earthquake as 7.6, but they later downgraded it. Magnitude 5.7, 5.2 and 6.4 aftershocks were reported later by USGS.
The tsunami warning was cancelled an hour after it was issued. Geophysicist Barry Hershorn said to The Huffington Post that they had confirmed there was no tsunami from ocean buoys and from coastal sea level gauges in Vanuatu. The Vanuatu goverment said they were pleased the tsunami alert had been canceled. "We haven't received any reports yet about earthquake damage," said Salesa Kaniaha, Meteorological Office acting director of Vanuatu. "The very close proximity of the epicenter to Espíritu Santo the closest island meant there was nothing much we could do to alert residents to any danger," he added.
Vanuatu is an insular country located in southern Pacific Ocean, located 1,750 kilometers to the east of Australia.
de:Tsunami-Warnung nach Magnitude-7,2-Erdbeben in Vanuatu aufgehoben
sr:Снажан земљотрес у јужном Пацифику
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Article 1: The African Union (AU) has agreed to consider a proposal to resettle Haitians affected by the recent magnitude 7.0 earthquake to Africa, and perhaps create a separate state for them on the continent.
File photo of Aboulaye Wade, who initially came up with the idea to resettle Haitian earthquake victims Atlantic slave trade|slaves initially from Africa, and that gives them a right to return to the continent. Wade commented that African countries should naturalise Haitians wanting a new nationality, and called for a mass adoption programme.
"It is out of a sense of duty and memory and solidarity that we can further the proposal to create in Africa the conditions for the return of Haitians who wish to return after the effect of the disaster that ravaged Haiti," commented AU chairman Jean Ping at the AU's annual summit, held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. "What happened to Haiti is a tragedy that transcends borders. We have attachment and links to that country. The first black republic in 1804, that carried high the flame of liberation and freedom for the black people and has paid a heavy price for so doing."
The United Nations general-secretary, Ban Ki-moon, thanked the AU "for reaching out to Haiti in this time of need", remarking that "the nation of Haiti is an ocean away, yet I know it is close to every African heart. Today the Haitian people are enduring one of the greatest humanitarian challenges in recent years and loss of life on an
unimaginable scale."
The Haiti earthquake, which struck on January 12, is estimated to have killed approximately 170,000 people, and left over a million without homes. Article 2: The Pichilemu costanera after the earthquake and tsunami of February 27.
Chilean police confirmed via a DNA test last Sunday that the body found in Chorrillos, Pichilemu was Juanita Carey Moring, daughter of lawyer Guillermo Carey. Mr. Carey along with his wife and four children was caught by the tsunami.
After the DNA test was completed, it was also discovered that Juanita's name was written on her undergarments. Her one-year-old brother, León Carey Moring, is still missing, after being taken by the February 27 tsunami while both children were with their mother.
Fishermen in Pichilemu found the body last Sunday evening on the beach of Pichilemu as they roamed around the coastline in Chorrillos at 17:00 (UTC). They immediately called the police.
Police did various tests on the body last Monday to try to determine the body's identity and sex. That evening, DNA was taken also from the relatives of other minors who are missing.
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Article 1: Image of the exterior of a New York City Subway station
A Queens, New York pleaded guilty to lying to federal officials on Thursday. 38-year-old Ahmad Afzali, an Afghan national, made his plea in Brooklyn Federal court.
Afzali faces up to six-months in prison. Under the plea deal Afzali must leave the United States within 90 days of leaving prison. "I failed to live up to my obligation to this country, my community, my family, and my religion. I am truly sorry," Afzali said in court.
The plea is related to the subway bomb plot surrounding , who also pleaded guilty earlier last month to conspiracy to commit murder, conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction, and material support for al-Qaeda.
Federal officials allege Zazi spent more than a year plotting the attack with co-conspirators and that he received bomb-making instructions in Pakistan in 2008. The U.S. government also says he bought components to build improvised explosive devices and traveled to New York City on September 10, 2009, to move forward with his plans. Zazi's father was also arrested in September and charged with lying to federal officials. Zazi faces life in prison if convicted. Article 2: Witnesses say Algerian footballer slapped Asma Halifi, a woman journalist from his home country with whom he has had a year-long feud, after Algeria's defeat by the United States on Wednesday evening. Halifi filed a complaint with FIFA regarding the assault.
The incident was witnessed by fellow journalist Richard Connelly of the BBC World Service. He said that "Rafik Saifi slapped the face of journalist Asma Halifi. She hit him back as a reflex. He then threw a bottle of sports drink which missed and had to be restrained from attacking her again."
Speaking about the attack, Halifi said that she intends to make a complaint to the police and to FIFA, the world governing board of football. She also spoke about the on-going dispute between herself and Saifi. The footballer objected to an interview she had translated for Competition, an Algerian newspaper, she told the BBC.
The had no comment to make about the incident. FIFA confirmed that it had received Halifi's complaint and would investigate.
Algeria were making their third and final appearance at the FIFA World Cup. They drew in Group C along with England, Slovenia and the United States but failed to make it past the group stage.
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Article 1: Red Shirts march through Bangkok on March 20, 2010.
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva declared a state of emergency in Bangkok, Thailand and its surrounding areas today with the intention of combating anti-government protesters. The proclamation was made shortly after a group of Red Shirts, the common name for a political group in Thailand, stormed parliament. Senior officials were airlifted in a Black Hawk helicopter while other ministers were forced to jump over a wall at the back of the compound. The protesters left without violence after meeting opposition from members of parliament in the building.
The declaration of a state of emergency terminated military regulations and suspended certain civil liberties; one of these being the right to public gatherings of more than five people. This is the fourth state of emergency declared in Thailand because of political turmoil. Although the army has used violence in the past, they have been largely reluctant to attack or disperse large mobs. With a disabled military, one soldier carrying an M16 rifle was forced to flee from protesters; his weapon was stolen from him after being wrestled to the ground. Prime Minister Abhisit and army officials understand that a violent clash between authorities and anti-government protesters would worsen the political climate.
The military has been cautious about taking violent action against the people, but these feelings have not been reciprocated by Red Shirts. Two policemen were harmed by a grenade explosion at the central headquarters of the Abhisit's Democrat party in an altercation on Tuesday. These protesters view their prime minister as an "Oxford-trained economist" being controlled by an unelected cabal. The protesters have resolved that if another election went underway they would respect the results and call off further disturbances. Article 2: Twitter logo.
Social networking website Twitter announced an advertising platform to enable paid tweets to be displayed at the top of search results. This new feature is called Promoted Tweets; Best Buy Co., Sony Pictures, Starbucks Corp. and Virgin America are some of the participants in this.
Twitter has not allowed advertising in the past. According to Biz Stone, the co-founder of the site said that such tweets must "resonate with users" and be conversational in nature. Promoted tweets should be "ordinary Tweets that businesses and organizations want to highlight to a wider group of users".
Promoted Tweets would initially appear only in search results in Twitter, according to the company. Only one such Tweet will be allowed in a search results page. This follows Twitter's acquisition of Atebits, the developer of "Tweetie", an iPhone application used to access the site, announced during the weekend by company officials.
Analysts mentioned that there were some risks involved with allowing advertising, saying that Promoted Tweets could become unpopular with users.
Christine Overby of research company Forrester mentions that there is a possibility that users "may get turned off by too much advertising," "But I think this risk is easy to manage - they can look at how Google for example has handled this," she added.
She mentioned that the company's "pay for resonance" model could prove to be risky as advertisers would be paid for how much user attention a tweet receives. "Advertisers are accustomed to 'pay per click' or 'pay per thousand' advertising units models," she said. "They may not appreciate this model - there will certainly be a discussion as to what the 'pay for resonance' model actually is."
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Article 1: File Photo of Brian Cowen in 2008
UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Brian Cowen, the current Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland, have met in Northern Ireland for emergency talks about policing and justice. The talks follow a failed lunchtime meeting between Northern Irish politicians Peter Robinson, the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, and Martin McGuinness, the Deputy First Minister.
The meeting between Robinson—who recently stood down as First Minister temporarily due to a sexual and financial and scandal concerning his wife Iris—and McGuinness lasted less than one hour. This prompted Brown and Cowen, who had been discussing similar issues in London, to make an unscheduled trip to Ulster in an attempt to attempt to prevent the collapse of the Irish political system due to a conflict about the DUP's refusal to transfer the Irish policing and justice system from London to Belfast. On his way to the failed meeting, McGuinness said that he was "frustrated" that Sinn Féin had been stalling for time by waiting three years for the devolution of power.
Sinn Féin—a political party promoting an independent Ireland—called the meeting, before it occurred, a defining moment in the crisis. The DUP says that there is insufficient public confidence for the powers to be transferred, and claims that a date for the transfer was never set. It also demands that, before any transfer attempts begin, the Parades Commission—which is responsible for the conditions of a number of contentious marches—be disbanded. Sinn Féin responds to this by accusing the DUP of giving the organisers of the parades, the loyalist Orange Order, a veto. The Orange Order organises parades and rallies in support of Ireland being a part of the United Kingdom.
Brown and Cowen are both confident that the issues are resolvable. Before departing, Brown said "We believe that the problems that exist in devolving policing and justice are all soluble problems. We believe that it is right for Northern Ireland to move forward in this way now and we believe that together we can assist the completion of these talks. And while I recognise that there are difficult issues, we believe that these issues can be overcome," and Cowen said "We are going to Belfast to see in what way we can assist. It is very important that we get a successful outcome to these discussions and we believe that our going there should help bring a conclusion to the devolution issues."
Negotiating teams from Sinn Féin and the DUP have arrived at Hillsborough Castle to discuss the issue. No other political parties are currently involved in the talks. DUP Member of Parliament Sammy Wilson said Sinn Féin had "thrown a hissy fit", and that they should "pull back from the brink" in order for the conflict to be resolved in a mutually beneficial manner. He also said, "People said we could never deliver this assembly up and running again. When we believed we had got the right things in place we went out and sold it - we have persevered with it and we have had the assembly running now for three years. So if we can get something we believe is workable that's the only criterion we will make - it's not about 'have we won or have we lost?' - if we get something workable we will sell it, and we will sell it hard because we want to see this place working." Article 2: Leongatha hosted Morwell last Saturday in round two of the Gippsland Football League (officially Gippsland League, GL). Leongatha had previously come off a one point loss to Wonthaggi, and Morwell had beaten Warragul by 84 points.
'Around the Grounds'
April 3
Warragul v Sale
April 10
Traralgon v Wonthaggi
Maffra v Moe
Bye
Drouin
In other round two matches, Warragul lost to Sale, Traralgon defeated Warragul, and Maffra defeated Moe.
Morwell cemented their place on top of the GL ladder with a seven goal victory. They lead by four goals at the end of the first quarter and by two goals at half time. Leongatha could not overtake Morwell in the second half, kicking only five goals compared to Morwell's ten. Ultimately, Morwell's score of 19-12 (126) defeated Leongatha's 12-11 (83).
The Gippsland Football League is considered one of the "major leagues" controlled by the Victorian Country Football League, the governing body of Australian rules football in regional Victoria, Australia. At the league's annual general meeting in December, it changed it's name from the West Gippsland Latrobe Football League.
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Article 1: Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende
The Dutch coalition government has collapsed over "irreconcilable differences" between the two largest parties over Afghanistan troop deployments.
According to prime minister Jan Peter Balkenende, the Labour Party, the second largest party in the government after the ruling Christian Democratic party, was resigning from the government, effective immediately. Balkenende said, "You could see from the last few days that we couldn’t come up with an agreement." He added, "Where there is no trust, it is difficult to work together. There is no good path to allow this cabinet to go further."
The split occurred after 16 hours of talks over the future of the Dutch presence in the Afghanistan War, which ended early Saturday. While the Christian Democratic Party supported keeping a reduced military presence in the Uruzgan Province, the Labour Party demanded the immediate return of all Dutch troops in August.
With the resignation of the Labour Party, the Christian Democratic Party is left with an unworkable majority in the government. While Prime Minister Balkenende made little mention of the future of the government, saying only that the remaining two parties would continue in office, with the Labour Party's seats being "made available."
According to the leader of the Labour party, Wouter Bos, the third party in the Dutch government, the Christian Union Party, would also resign its seats along with the Labour Party's seats when he offered the resignation of the party to Queen Beatrix later on Saturday. Despite Balkenede's statements, political analysts said that early elections seemed inevitable, despite a year remaining in the current term.
Dutch troops were deployed to Afghanistan in 2006, and were originally intended to return in 2008, but were forced to remain as no other nation was willing to provide replacement troops. Under the new commitment signed in 2008, Dutch troops were to return in August, a stance reinforced by a Dutch courts' ruling in October 2009 requiring that all troops return by that time, although that ruling has yet to be ratified by the government.
de:Niederlande: Sozialdemokratische Partei beendet Regierungskoalition wegen Afghanistan-Einsatz
fi:Afganistan-kysymys kaatoi Alankomaiden hallituksen
fr:Pays-Bas : probables élections anticipées à la suite de la chute du gouvernement Article 2: A Vietnam registered fishing vessel sank Thursday in the South China Sea, leaving at least 27 fishermen missing. Chinese state media and officials have revealed that the vessel capsized and sank in high winds.
Reports reveal that the name of the vessel is "Phu Tan", however the reports did not state the nationalities of the fishermen. The Phu Tan sank 185 kilometres (115 miles) west of Hainan province.
Both China and Vietnam have sent rescue vessels to assist the fishermen. An officer at the Hainan maritime safety administration was quoted as saying, "We received a message asking for help from the vessel today. It has 27 fishermen on board." An official from Vietnam's National Search and Rescue Committee also said, "We just sent our vessels to look for it a few hours ago. This ship belongs to us." The official also revealed that the ship was a container ship.
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Article 1: USGS intensity map of the Baja California, Mexico earthquake
Map of southern California and northern Baja California with earthquakes shortly after the main earthquake
The US Geological Survey (USGS) on the afternoon of Easter Sunday monitored a large earthquake in the southern Imperial Valley south of Mexicali, Mexico near the Colorado River, at about 15:40 PDT (22:40 UTC). It was felt throughout the surrounding area for a great distance, with shaking said to have lasted for about a minute.
The USGS reports that the epicenter was 26 kilometers (16 miles) south-southwest of Guadalupe Victoria, Baja California, Mexico, and 173 kilometers (108 miles) east-southeast of Tijuana, Baja California, at a depth of 10 kilometers (6.2 miles).
According to witnesses, the quake was felt as far away as Los Angeles and San Diego, California. The Reuters news agency reports numerous aftershocks, and the USGS has reported at least three at this time. One reached magnitude 5.1, another one, which occurred in the same place as the first quake, reached 5.4, and a third in Sonora reached 5.1. A Wikinews correspondent in the Los Angeles area, Mike Morales, felt the earthquake and reports, "I was at home and then I almost thought it was vertigo, but really it was the earthquake. I'm surprised I could feel it here; it was in Baja California."
One casualty has been reported in Mexicali, and the Los Angeles Fire Department has been put on alert. It was reported that a number of people were stuck in an elevator in , Anaheim.
There were about 30 earthquakes of magnitude 3.0 or greater in southern California and northern Baja California in the two hours immediately following the earthquake (see map below and right). Nine of them were of 4.0 or greater. A small number were in the immediate vicinity of the main earthquake. The majority of them were centered on an area about 40 miles to the northwest. The rest were scattered over a wide area of the southern California desert, as much as 100 miles from the main earthquake. Seismologists have not yet announced what relationship, if any, these earthquakes have to the main earthquake.
According to the Chilean Oceanographic and Hydrographic Service (SHOA), no tsunamis are expected to reach the coast of Chile. Article 2: left
Rescue efforts are underway to free more than 200 skiers trapped Tuesday at Maine's Sugarloaf ski resort, which is located 120 miles north of Portland. Several injuries were reported after a broke down; an employee at the resort said this caused several people to fall to the ground.
The Spillway East lift reportedly came to a halt during high winds due to a derailment. Around 10:30 a.m. ET, a cable slid over one tower's pulley leading to five chairs falling about 30 feet.
Ethan Austin, a resort spokesperson, revealed that several individuals were taken to near-by hospitals with non-life-threatening conditions. At the time, winds originating from this month's blizzard were blowing up to 43 miles per hour, according to the . Austin confirmed Tuesday afternoon that the lift was carrying around 220 people at the time of the breakdown.
Efforts to remove trapped skiers are in progress Tuesday afternoon.
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Article 1: Sonia and mayor cropped.jpg|left|thumb|Sonia McMahon in 1971.
Lady Sonia McMahon has died in a Sydney, Australia hospital. A statement from St. Vincent's Private Hospital reported that McMahon died late on Friday with her family.
McMahon was born in August 1932, and was the wife of former Australian Prime Minister Sir William McMahon. Sonia was also a Sydney socialite. McMahon made world headlines after being photographed at the White House wearing a revealing dress in the company of her husband and United States president Richard Nixon, in 1971. McMahon had three children: Melinda, Debra, and Julian; Julian is a noted actor in the United States. She became Lady after Billy McMahon was knighted in 1977. She became a board member and patron of many charities after Billy's death in 1988, including the National Brain Foundation, the Sydney Children’s Hospital Foundation, the Australian Cancer Research Foundation, the Microsearch Foundation and Australia’s Sudden Infant Death Syndrome association.
Sonia McMahon was seriously injured in a fall last year. At the time of her death she reportedly had been fighting cancer for over a year. Article 2: Boca Juniors
Argentine Francisco Varallo has died at the age of 100. Varallo was the last surviving participant of the first Gimnasia y Esgrima. The cause of death was not announced.
Varallo played for the Argentine national team and appeared at the 1930 FIFA World Cup in Uruguay. He played in the final match in which Argentina lost 4-2 against the host nation. During celebrations for his 100th birthday Varallo spoke about the tournament. He said "In my whole life I've never felt such a bitter pain as losing that World Cup final against Uruguay in 1930. We ran out of steam, to tell you the truth, with all due respect to my teammates, we weren't gutsy enough. How I cried that day. Even now when I look back it still makes me angry."
After the World Cup he played for Argentine teams Gimnasia y Esgrima and Martin Palermo overtook his record.
FIFA President released a statment about Varallo's death. He said "In these grief-filled moments I can take immense pride from the fact that a character such as Francisco Varallo, whom we shall never forget, represented the football family with such dignity".
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Article 1: The oil company BP has said that one of three leaks from a ruptured oil well in the Gulf of Mexico has been sealed off, in an attempt to stop the oil from the destroyed Deepwater Horizon rig from contaminating the sea further.
Although 800,000 litres of oil a day are still pouring into the sea, officials say it will be easier to combat the spill with only two leaks.
"As we speak today we now only have two leak sources but I would stress the amount of oil being leaked is still the same," commented BP chief operating officer Doug Suttles.
Meanwhile, remote-controlled submarines will be used tomorrow to try to place a large iron dome over the other two leaks, according to BP spokesman John Curry.
The Deepwater Horizon exploded on April 20, killing eleven workers; the cause of the disaster is not known. Article 2: Jason Henderson lost both hands and an eye after building home-made fireworks in 2007.
Public firework display at the Staff Sergeant Lono Kollars
Last week, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) held a press conference on the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF); Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA); the
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Article 1: After an explosion aboard an oil rig four days ago, an oil spill caused by the sinking of the rig has expanded to cover an area of around 600 square miles (1550 square kilometers), and efforts to shut off the leak have thus far been unsuccessful.
Officials have begun to use robotic submersible vehicles to stop the leak. The efforts began yesterday, although it could be as late as tomorrow before they are completed. The vehicles will attempt to engage a device called a , which can seal the well shut to prevent sudden releases of pressure within the well, like the one that may have caused the rig to explode. According to BP, the company that operated the well, the attempt was the first of its kind in the world.
The leaks are on a pipe from the ocean floor called a riser. They are currently estimated to be releasing around 42,000 gallons of oil a day into the Gulf of Mexico, and the oil slick on the surface of the ocean is estimated to cover an area about 48 by 39 miles at its widest points. Officials say oil is not expected to reach land until at least Thursday, and would remain at least 30 miles from land through Tuesday. The impact of the spill on wildlife is currently unknown; there have been no reports of animal casualties, though whales were seen in the vicinity of the spill yesterday.
According to officials, there are two other possible ways to contain the oil spill if the attempt to seal the well is unsuccessful. One option would be to install a large dome over the leak and send the collected oil to the surface, where it would be collected by ships. This has been done before, although only in shallow water. The second option is to drill an entirely new well that would intersect the original, although this could take months to complete.
cs:Únik ropy v Mexickém zálivu se snaží zastavit ponorky
de:Bohrinsel-Unglück: Großer Ölteppich bedroht die Küste Louisianas Article 2: Norfolk UK locator map 2010.svg|thumb|left|The incident occurred in Norfolk, England.
Five people are thought to be seriously injured after a coach carrying elderly people overturned near Norwich, Norfolk, England. 44 others have suffered minor injuries.
Emergency services are reportedly at the scene, including at least seven ambulances. confirmed a "major incident" had occurred; it is thought only one vehicle, the single-decker coach, was involved. A statement released by the force said several people had become trapped in the vehicle in the incident, but all had been freed.
A spokesperson for Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital; others are being treated in a community centre near the site of the incident.
"I've seen four of five fire crews and at least seven ambulances going through to the scene of the crash, and they were still coming about an hour after the incident," reporter Cath Saunt, at the scene of the incident, said. "A couple of ambulances left the scene with blue flashing lights and people who do not need immediate treatment have been taken to a community centre."
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Article 1: West Mercia Police have made the announcement that a five-year-old girl that was physically involved in a crash involving a car going into a river has died in Birmingham Children's Hospital, United Kingdom. The child has been identified as Gabrielle Grady. She was also known as Gabby.
Gabrielle was involved in a vehicle crash on Thursday when the car she was in crashed into the River Avon in the town of Evesham in Worcestershire, England. There were three occupants in the Vauxhall Vectra, including Gabrielle, her six-year-old brother Ryan, and her 41-year-old father Chris Grady, who was driving the vehicle. It took 12 minutes for divers to free Gabrielle from the car, which was partially underwater.
West Mercia Police announced on Sunday that Gabby had died in Birmingham Children's Hospital at approximately 1330 (1:30 pm) GMT that day. From the time of her entry into the hospital, she was considered to be in a critical condition. Her family was with her at the time of her death. West Mercia Police also commented that Ryan was still recovering in the hospital.
This incident is currently being treated as suspicious, with Chris Grady being remanded in custody for offences of attempted murder. The police have stated that this incident is currently being handled as a murder investigation. Article 2: A meeting in Brussels has produced a plan, supported by all 16 countries in the eurozone, to make available up to 22 billion euros in financing to support Greece, which is laden with debt.
The deal would come into force only if Greece was unable to borrow money from commercial lenders, and would require approval from all 16 eurozone countries. While no figures were included in the agreement, anonymous officials said the total package would be around 22 billion euros, of which European countries would provide two-thirds. The remainder would be supplied by the International Monetary Fund.
Germany and France were the architects of the document, which was subsequently approved by the other members of the eurozone. While it is seen as a partial retreat for countries such as France that previously opposed any IMF participation in the loans, it is nevertheless regarded as a breakthrough in negotiations. Germany had been insistent on relatively strong terms for the plan, a large amount of which was in the final version.
Despite the agreement, there are no plans for it to take immediate effect, as the Greek government has not requested financial aid, and officials said that they hoped the option would never have to be used. The president of the European Central Bank, Jean-Claude Trichet, said that "the mechanism decided today will not normally need to be activated."
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Article 1: An elderly woman who was a crossing guard or a "lollipop lady" has been killed in an accident involving a truck in Glasgow, Scotland. The woman has been identified as 59-year-old Catherine Gibson, who came from the Dennistoun district of Glasgow. At around 0850 GMT on Thursday, Gibson was assisting children in crossing a road as part of her job near St. Anne's Primary School, located in the east side of the city. Gibson was suddenly struck by a truck and dragged underneath the wheels of the vehicle. The children being assisted witnessed the entire collision.
After the accident occurred, Gibson was transported to a hospital but died shortly afterwards. The truck driver, who is aged 64, was not injured in the crash. The vehicle itself was taken away from the scene of the accident at approximately 1200 GMT on the same day. A person working in a garage near where the accident occurred said: "There were children waiting to cross the road and they were all screaming and crying. They all ran back from where the accident had happened. She was found face down and it looked as though the lorry had driven over her shoulder. She was alive when she was found but died a short time later. It was horrific and the kids will probably need counselling.
"It could have been a case of the driver not being able to see her because the vehicle is quite high as he caught her on the passenger side. It's not clear whether she gave him enough time to stop or whether the driver has failed to stop. It was snowing as well so that could have been a factor."
Louise Jarvie is the head teacher of St. Anne's Primary School. "Our thoughts and condolences are with the family at this very sad time," she said in reference to the incident. "Support and counselling for pupils and staff will be available to anyone who needs it." Article 2: File photo of brucei
Research teams from the universities of Georgia and Glasgow discovered the mechanism the Trypanosome parasite evolved for "sleeping sickness" disease to circumvent the human immune system. Their study follows a recent African outbreak of the disease 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 South 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 HDL, 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."
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Article 1: Norfolk UK locator map 2010.svg|thumb|left|The incident occurred in Norfolk, England.
Five people are thought to be seriously injured after a coach carrying elderly people overturned near Norwich, Norfolk, England. 44 others have suffered minor injuries.
Emergency services are reportedly at the scene, including at least seven ambulances. confirmed a "major incident" had occurred; it is thought only one vehicle, the single-decker coach, was involved. A statement released by the force said several people had become trapped in the vehicle in the incident, but all had been freed.
A spokesperson for Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital; others are being treated in a community centre near the site of the incident.
"I've seen four of five fire crews and at least seven ambulances going through to the scene of the crash, and they were still coming about an hour after the incident," reporter Cath Saunt, at the scene of the incident, said. "A couple of ambulances left the scene with blue flashing lights and people who do not need immediate treatment have been taken to a community centre." Article 2: A typical US school bus
A Georgia, United States, earlier today on
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Article 1: Port Authority police on Friday arrested a New Jersey man in connection with a security breach at Newark Liberty International Airport last Sunday that contributed to widespread delays on all major flights to and from the airport.
According to a statement released by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Haisong Jiang, aged 28, of Piscataway, New Jersey was arrested and charged with a single count of defiant trespassing. No further details about the circumstances of Mr. Jiang’s arrest and the overall status of the ongoing investigation have yet been provided.
This Thursday, at the behest of U.S. Senator Frank R. Lautenberg of New Jersey, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) released a surveillance video of what exactly had transpired.
According to the tapes, a man—allegedly Mr. Jiang—wearing a light-colored jacket stood inside a rope barrier, and a guard approached him apparently telling him to stay within said security cordon.
Passengers at Newark Liberty International Airport (Circa 2007).
However, less than a minute later, the very same guard is allegedly shown leaving his assigned post, and disappearing into the sea of passengers. Following this, the man is accused of having slipped undetected underneath the barrier. He then is said to have met a departing woman, who appeared to have already passed through security. He then apparently proceeded to kiss her, before the two walked off holding hands.
A bystander waiting for an arriving family member noticed the breach and told the guard. TSA officials then discovered that security cameras at the checkpoint were not fully operational, and consequently had not recorded what had occurred. As a result, investigators were forced to consult backup cameras maintained by Continental Airlines.
In an address to the media, Senator Lautenberg heavily praised the joint investigative team for their efforts. “With this arrest, law enforcement will be able to take a closer look into how and why this incident occurred and make sure that it never happens again.”
The guard in question is now on administrative leave, and could face possible disciplinary charges. Article 2: The International Air Transport Association (IATA) said on Wednesday that 2009 was the "worst year" that the airline industry has ever seen since 1945.
"In terms of demand, 2009 goes into the history books as the worst year the industry has ever seen," said IATA boss Giovanni Bisignani. "We have permanently lost 2.5 years of growth in passenger markets and 3.5 years of growth in the freight business."
According to the group, passenger traffic was down by 3.5% compared to a year earlier, and freight by 10.1%. The group estimated that the airline industry lost a total of US$11 billion in 2009 last year, and will lose another $5.6 billion in 2010.
Airlines in Africa had the biggest passenger demand drop, at 6.8%; North American airlines and Asian carriers had demand go down 5.8%. European airlines saw a drop of 5%. Middle Eastern and Latin American carriers, however, had rises in demand, with gains of 11.3% and 0.3%, respectively. According to the Agence France-Presse news agency, part of the reason Middle Eastern carriers performed better is because of their position between Asia, Africa, and Europe, resulting in more connecting flights through hubs.
"While both North American and European carriers saw demand improvements in the first half of the year, the second half was basically flat," said IATA.
IATA represents 230 airlines, accounting for 90% of scheduled air traffic, although some budget carriers are not included.
The IATA boss said that, although the worst appeared to be over due to the global economic recovery airlines would have to keep their costs low. "Revenue improvements will be at a much slower pace than the demand growth that we are starting to see," he noted.
"Profitability will be even slower to recover and airlines will lose an expected 5.6 billion dollars in 2010. The industry starts 2010 with some enormous challenges. The worst is behind us, but it's not time to celebrate. Adjusting to 2.5 to 3.5 years of lost growth means that airlines face another spartan year, focused on matching capacity carefully to demand and controlling costs," Bisignani continued.
Costs for security were also an issue. Bisignani said: "Governments and industry are aligned in the priority that we place on security. But the cost of security is also an issue. Globally, airlines spend US$5.9 billion a year on what are essentially measures concerned with national security. This is the responsibility of governments, and they should be picking up the bill."
Analysts, however, say that cost cutting measures, intended to attract more customers, would also harm airline profits. Saj Ahmad, an independent airline analyst, commented: "Continued fare wars between airlines mean that yields and profitability will be low. Airlines are struggling to fill their airplanes and discounted ticketing has done little to alleviate the pressures on their costs," as quoted by the BBC.
"Capacity has come out of the global airline system, but until a few airlines perhaps exit the industry through bankruptcy or mergers, there is still a very long road until we see serious stability, let alone growth," Ahmad added.
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Article 1: Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende
The Dutch coalition government has collapsed over "irreconcilable differences" between the two largest parties over Afghanistan troop deployments.
According to prime minister Jan Peter Balkenende, the Labour Party, the second largest party in the government after the ruling Christian Democratic party, was resigning from the government, effective immediately. Balkenende said, "You could see from the last few days that we couldn’t come up with an agreement." He added, "Where there is no trust, it is difficult to work together. There is no good path to allow this cabinet to go further."
The split occurred after 16 hours of talks over the future of the Dutch presence in the Afghanistan War, which ended early Saturday. While the Christian Democratic Party supported keeping a reduced military presence in the Uruzgan Province, the Labour Party demanded the immediate return of all Dutch troops in August.
With the resignation of the Labour Party, the Christian Democratic Party is left with an unworkable majority in the government. While Prime Minister Balkenende made little mention of the future of the government, saying only that the remaining two parties would continue in office, with the Labour Party's seats being "made available."
According to the leader of the Labour party, Wouter Bos, the third party in the Dutch government, the Christian Union Party, would also resign its seats along with the Labour Party's seats when he offered the resignation of the party to Queen Beatrix later on Saturday. Despite Balkenede's statements, political analysts said that early elections seemed inevitable, despite a year remaining in the current term.
Dutch troops were deployed to Afghanistan in 2006, and were originally intended to return in 2008, but were forced to remain as no other nation was willing to provide replacement troops. Under the new commitment signed in 2008, Dutch troops were to return in August, a stance reinforced by a Dutch courts' ruling in October 2009 requiring that all troops return by that time, although that ruling has yet to be ratified by the government.
de:Niederlande: Sozialdemokratische Partei beendet Regierungskoalition wegen Afghanistan-Einsatz
fi:Afganistan-kysymys kaatoi Alankomaiden hallituksen
fr:Pays-Bas : probables élections anticipées à la suite de la chute du gouvernement Article 2: At least seven policemen were killed in northeastern Afghanistan yesterday, according to reports, after a bomb went off near a police patrol vehicle.
The incident occurred in the Badakhshan, considered to be the least violent province in the country.
Another policeman was injured, and subsequently evacuated to a provincial hospital; deputy provincial governor Shams-Ul Rahman Shams said his condition is apparently critical. Afghan Taliban spokesman claimed responsibility for the attack.
Meanwhile, in a separate incident, an Afghan army convoy full of soldiers struck upon another roadside bomb in , killing a further three people.
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Article 1: England with Herefordshire highlighted in red.
A woman has died after the vehicle she was travelling in plus a second vehicle were both struck by a train at a level crossing in Herefordshire, England. The woman, who was aged 50, was reported to have been involved in a collision involving two cars and a train at a level crossing located near to the village of Moreton-on-Lugg at 1034 GMT on Saturday.
The woman, who has currently not been identified, was airlifted to a hospital where she later died of the injuries that she had sustained. The woman's husband, who was travelling in the same vehicle as her at the time of the crash, suffered from shoulder and pelvic injuries. The occupents of the other vehicle — a 12-year-old girl and her mother — were also given treatment for minor injuries and shock and were subsequently discharged.
The British Transport Police "are currently investigating an incident which took place at Moreton-on-Lugg level crossing in Herefordshire," according to a spokesperson for the police force. He stated: "Two vehicles were struck by a train on the crossing at 10:34AM on Saturday. The occupants of the first vehicle, a husband and wife who live locally, were taken to hospital. The female, aged 50, sustained serious injuries and was airlifted to hospital where she has sadly died. Her husband was taken to hospital by ambulance where he was treated for minor injuries." Article 2: A jury in Northumbria Police's Police Constable Stephen Mitchell faced five counts of rape, six of misconduct in public office. He is guilty of two rapes, three indecent assaults and six counts of misconduct, with most of the sex charge convictions coming yesterday.
In all the case involved 16 women aged from 17 to 48, all of whom were arrested on drugs charges or shoplifting thefts between 1999 and 2006; the prosecution said Mitchell picked his victims based on vulnerability. The prosecution claimed Mitchell used blackmail to demand sex in exchange for favours; Mitchell described a conspiracy to frame him involving "...a very small-knit community in Newcastle city centre's criminal fraternity." Mitchell's defence dismissed the claims as driven by one woman motivated by "self-preservation;" he refused to explain this further in open court.
It was alleged he told one woman who wanted a female officer present when searched said "I am the law. I can do anything. I don't need a woman here," and later attacked her in his patrol car. The woman had been arrested for possession of drugs and was 37.
"Each victim was vulnerable, whether because of drug abuse, health problems, domestic circumstances or a combination of these factors. The defendant took advantage of their vulnerabilities, usually providing or offering favours, but then requesting, or in some cases requiring by force, sexual favours in return," was how prosecutor Paul Sloan QC explained the circumstances early in the trial.
Testimony in October included that of one lesbian, now 32, who in June 1999 was interviewed by the officer in Newcastle's Pilgrim Street police station, and claimed he groped her and "that was the beginning of hell for me". She told the court from behind a screen how he undid his trousers, saying that in arranging for her to be bailed he had helped her and he expected this reciprocated. "I was gay and had never had sex with a male," but she claimed she was grabbed by the hair and forced, with a warning her girlfriend would be contacted if she made allegations. She had been arrested for cheque fraud.
She said the next month she was arrested again and he made a similar demand. Her testimony stated that he blackmailed her for four years, receiving regular sex after driving her into the country, culminating in a 2003 handcuffed rape at her home. She told the court he gave her drug money, as well as a lighter and foil to take heroin, after discovering she was in rehab. She says she pretended to take the drug but disposed of it, leaving rehab and beginning to study in 2002 in the belief the man had been evaded.
However, "my world just crumbled before me" when he arrived at her door and stole her spare keys, she said. She claimed he regularly visited her house when she was away and once left a knife embedded in her pillow. She testified her fear made her sleep beneath her bed. Her testimony stated the policeman used what he said was video evidence of her committing fraud at a Post Office and in 2003 said he was going to hand the tape over.
She said when he arrived "he was furious, he said I had disrespected him by not being in touch. I was trying to calm him down but he handcuffed me and said he was arresting me for fraud at the post office. He threw me over the settee, I couldn’t move with the handcuffs on, I was petrified. He said this is what you’ve wanted for a long time and he raped me." She moved to shortly after.
Detective Constable Cath Easton of Northumbria Police's Professional Standards Unit said she visited one woman in June last year during the investigation. Although stating she had no problems with police treatment, Easton testified the woman called the following day. "She was crying, she was hysterical," Easton told the court.
"It took her a while to get her words out, but she was saying 'how do I know I can trust you? How do I know he has not sent you to test us?' She was frightened and she told us she was frightened. She was in a real state... She was absolutely terrified that he knew I had contacted her."
The alleged victim was assured the investigation was genuine and later called again, claiming Mitchell forced her to perform a sex act following the former heroin addict's arrest six years previously. Another woman told the court Mitchell raped her whilst in uniform in the woman's flat, hands cuffed behind her, and blackmailed her for years demanding sexual favours.
One woman, 25 at the time, said while in Newcastle's Pilgrim Street police station following her arrest for a minor offence she was grabbed and kissed by the policeman. "He put his hands on my shoulders and kissed me, it was a passionate kiss. The door was open and I was shocked, anyone could have walked past or seen him or anything." She told the court this occurred in the fingerprint room.
"After I was photographed he told me he was finishing his shift, which I took to be a hint," the witness, another former heroin addict who said she was drunk at the time, continued. "Then when I came out of the station PC Mitchell pulled up in a car and offered to take me home, it seemed the safest way of getting home was with a police officer." She had no complaint about him during the journey but said she resisted another kiss upon arrival at her house.
The woman, who says she has not used drugs for nine years, stated that he arrived at her house the following day and gave her a second lift. “He said he had a wife and kids but that he would like to see me again. Obviously it was never going to happen but he was saying he wanted some kind of relationship where he was seeing me on a regular basis, I would imagine for sex or something like that. He said we would have to be discreet because he had a wife but I was not interested and eventually he accepted my ‘no’."
She said he gave her money, suggested they get a private room and was "very persuasive". Her mother also gave evidence to say Mitchell had called her to discuss the daughter's drug-addict boyfriend. "You want to stop her going with him, he's trouble, he's a bad lad," she claimed Mitchell said, adding her daughter told her the officer "was pestering her, she said he wanted to take her out." The boyfriend also gave evidence, saying he had known the officer during former heroin addiction and giving a description of him.
One young mother met Mitchell when released from prison in 2001 after a theft sentence. Days later, he had given her heroin and felt she "owed him" according to testimony, receiving sex in return. She failed to attend Gateshead Magistrates' Court in December the following year and he arrested her, she told the court. She wept, claiming he raped her in his vehicle. "I could not get out of the car, the doors were locked," she told the trial.
"He said he wanted to have sex and that it would be the last time. I was shouting for him to let me out of the car, just screaming and shouting at him to let me go. He said if I told anybody, nobody would believe me because I was just a dirty junkie and I would never get my children back," she said, describing him telling her he would plant drugs at her home and prevent access to her children if she made claims against him.
In November a woman in her fifties, who has four children and was 48 during her alleged attack, testified Mitchell raped her in a room used for reading reports at Pilgrim Street following her July 2006 theft arrest. "No one's going to believe a thief," he is claimed to have told her. "I said if you just let me go I'm not going to say anything; I'm not going to tell anyone. No one will ever know this has happened. I just wanted to be away." She says she explained she was ill and taking cancer medication although "he did not seem bothered."
Outside the police station following the alleged attack, "...there was two young lasses coming along. I will always remember one had a red Berghaus coat on. They seemed to know PC Mitchell and he did not seem to know whether to stay with me or talk to them and I just walked straight across the road. I was in total shock. I got on the bus home and I was trying to keep from crying and I had a pain in my throat."
She said her life had been severely affected; "I was always thinking about it and crying for no reason. I just used to burst into tears for no reason and I’m not a crying person. I’m normally bubbly and happy and I really just let myself go. I never ever went with my partner again and from that day to this I have never slept with another man." She triggered the probe that resulted in Mitchell's prosecution by reporting him when, she says, he began arriving at her house.
She told Sloan she had not immediately contacted police because "I thought no-one would believe me. I was a shoplifter and he was a police officer. I still would never have been here to this day if he had not kept coming back to the house. If he had not done that it would have been a secret till the day I died."
Mitchell, who has been a policeman since leaving the military in 1991, stated in the dock this month that the women had discussed their "host of rumours" amongst themselves and they were similar for this reason. "I think it has been demonstrated that people have been talking about this on a number of occasions... I know these people are not always truthful." "But you are?" responded prosecution QC Paul Sloan. "Yes, these people will grab any opportunity they can," according to the officer. "They are lying," he later added.
In an attempt to disprove this defence the prosecution produced a sex tape in which Mitchell uses similar phrases to his partner as the women alleged he had said to them. "So it just so happens the words used are exactly the words you used in the video?" Sloan inquired. PC Mitchell desribed this as coincidence and rejected claims he had used such words to any of the women. He also said supplying heroin to one addict was far too risky for him; "I know police monitor drug dealers’ homes and it would be a massive risk to take my vehicle to the address of a drug dealer. I don't want people to be on drugs. If I could help them I would."
Mitchell, 42, divorced in 2005, admitted meeting a woman he had met on duty for sex in 2006, having admitted the same at an internal misconduct hearing in September 2007. He told the court that if interviewing woman it was in his interests as an officer to be friendly, but insisted this was all.
Defended by Toby Hedworth QC, Mitchell said his father's murder meant he could not possibly have committed one rape in Burdon, near Sunderland, on August 31, 2001 as he had returned to his original home city of Glasgow following his father's murder. He was accused of raping the woman in a parked car in a field.
"Have you ever been with her in the fields in the Burdon area of Sunderland?" asked Hedworth. "No, I haven’t. My dad was attacked on July 30, 2001 by somebody and subsequently died on August 10, 2001." Hedworth: "Had your father in fact been murdered?" Mitchell: "Yes. And from the 9th to the 16th of August I was in Glasgow," he explained. Hedworth took him through denials of every charge, which he said there was "no truth whatsoever" in.
The defence also produced a recording secretly recorded by Mitchell with Detective Chief Inspector Chris Sharman, who headed the rape investigation. Hedworth told the court Mitchell is warned on the tape, made in March, that if he is charged he would "probably be front page of the national newspapers and they are horrible" but the team would "stop digging" if he stepped down.
Hedworth likened the offer to a Monopoly "get out of jail free card" and claimed despite a warning his client was "running the risk of going to jail and going on the sex offender register", Mitchell chose to fight the allegations - a fact which demonstrated innocence. "What it means is: ‘Resign and this will go away’." The prosecution denied Northumbria Police were seeking to offer their colleague an alternative to investigation, stating the allegation - made during Hedworth's closing speech - was untrue and the recording did not indicate an offer to drop the probe.
The jury began deliberations on Wednesday. After three days, on Friday they cleared Mitchell of three rapes, two indecent assaults and two counts of misconduct in a public office. Following this, trial judge Mr Justice Wilkie said he would accept majority verdicts on the remaining charges, instead of unanimous verdicts. The jury departed for the weekend, returning on Tuesday to convict him of six misconduct charges and clear him of the same number; another indecent assault charge also produced an acquital.
Yesterday, the verdicts were delivered on the remaining charges. The remaining seven misconduct charges were acquitals, as did the other indecent assaults. Two charges of rape and three of indecent assault produced guilty verdicts.
At least one of the misconduct charges he was convicted of was unrelated to indecent assault or rape; it concerned a drug-addicted woman caught with non-prescriped (valium) when her friend was arrested for shoplifting in 2003. Her testimony was that he stroked her leg and tried to kiss her in Pilgrim Street, returned the drugs upon her release, obtained her number and met her several times to give her drugs. She says although he asked to go at night to a hotel she refused, and ultimately she began ignoring his calls while he ceased supplying drugs.
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Article 1: A file image of a Canadian CF-18 A Cathay Pacific passenger aircraft from Hong Kong was escorted by two Canadian military aircraft after the pilot issued an alert of a bomb threat to the aircraft.
The aircraft landed without incident at UTC). Passengers were initially kept on board the aircraft before being allowed to get off; the plane was moved to a secure section of the airport while police investigated the incident.
Two Canadian Vancouver Island to intercept the plane after the pilot's alert. A Canadian official said that "As a precaution, NORAD fighters escorted the aircraft until it landed safely in ."
According to a police official authorities had taken the threat seriously, even though no dangerous substances had been found on board the plane, and passengers had not been in danger. An unidentified passenger from the flight said that "They told us there was some sort of terrorist problem and the baggage would be held up." Article 2: The wreckage of an aircraft carrying eleven mining executives from Australia has been found in Cameroon, according to the country's information minister.
According to the official, Issa Tchiroma Bakary, either nine or ten bodies have been recovered from the aircraft, which was reported missing on Saturday and apparently crashed in the Congo. Bakary said that "the wreckage has been found in Congo. Unfortunately there were no survivors."
The plane, a , was traveling from Cameroon to Congo, where Sundance Resources, an Australian mining company whose entire board of directors was on the plane, is trying to develop an iron ore mine. Contact with the plane was lost around an hour after it took off.
In addition to six Australians, including one of the country's richest men, , there were two British, two French, and one US citizen on board the plane. The search for the downed plane had involved Cameroon, Australia, the United States, and Canada, and had included four aircraft, although operations had been disrupted by fog.
Sundance said that they had halted all African operations in the wake of the crash, which led to the cessation of trading the company's shares and the appointment of an acting CEO, the firm's Chief Financial Officer Peter Canterbury. Another Sundance official said that although significant, the crash would not "mortally wound" the company.
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Article 1: Al-Shabaab, the Somali opposition group, has said it will stop food operations by the United Nations' World Food Programme (WFP) in the country, accusing the agency of being politically motivated and disadvantaging local farmers.
Al-Shabaab said that the agency was ruining local farming, as the quantity of the food aid didn't allow farmers to sell their goods at reasonable prices.
A statement from the group read that "given the problems caused by the food WFP distributed, the movement of Shabab Al-Mujahideen banned the operations of the agency in Somalia generally starting from today. The contractors working with WFP must avoid collaborating ... anyone working with the agency will be seen serving the interest of WFP."
The WFP, meanwhile, says that armed members of al-Shabaab have blocked off food aid to refugee camps in the city of .
Peter Smerdon commented on the move to the BBC, saying: "The WFP is extremely concerned about the health of the displaced families who rely on humanitarian assistance reaching them. The people in Afgoye last received a general food distribution from WFP in November 2009, so we fear that they are going very hungry."
"We fear they are suffering even more because food assistance cannot reach them, and some of them may be forced to leave Afgoye as conditions in the camp deteriorate," he added. A statement released by the WFP claims that its motivations in Somalia were "impartial and non political". On the agency's official website, the WFP describes Somalia as being "one of the most dangerous places in the world", and having "the highest humanitarian need for the size of its population".
The official Somali government does not control much of the country outside of the capital Mogadishu; many areas in southern Somalia are controlled by al-Shabaab. Article 2: A RENFE Class 490 train, similar to the one involved in the incident. A train accident in northeastern Spain killed at least twelve people, and injured fourteen more, late on Wednesday evening.
According to the Spain's interior ministry, the incident occurred at the Castelldefels Playa station in the city of Castelldefels, south of Barcelona.
A group of about thirty beach-goers exited a commuter train and were crossing the tracks when they were struck by a high-speed train not scheduled to stop at the station. According to witnesses, the group did not use the underpass to exit the station.
Local media reports say, of those injured, all were younger than 28 years, except for one woman who is 45 years old. Most of the group were en route to a celebration of the Saint John's Day summer festival to mark the shortest night of the year.
A day of mourning was called for in Catalan region following the disaster.
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Article 1: An US Coast Guard to rescue the men.
A Florida man was killed and another man hospitalized after their boat sank off , New Jersey, US.
The Sea Wolf sent a distress signal via emergency satellite beacon at about 1:35 AM on Thursday, seven miles off Cape May. A member of the State Police informed the Coast Guard who sent out an rescue helicopter and two rescue launches.
The helicopter managed to save Steve Hopkins of the District of Columbia but was unable to do the same for Gregory Arlotta of Florida. The 62 year old disappeared among the debris in eight-foot waves.
Arlotta had recently bought the vessel in New York; its previous owner was in his seventies and had decided to sell the ship. The Sea Wolf had been operating for a couple of decades prior to the sinking, and was described by one local as unfit for the voyage it was undertaking to New Orleans. A 1963 Gilligan, it was designed for use within ten miles of shore for fishing.
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* Article 2: The Club steering lock installed in a car.
The inventor of The Club steering lock James E. Winner, Jr. has died in a head-on car accident in Clarion County, Pennsylvania aged 81 today. Two others died in the accident.
Authorities say the accident occurred when Winner drove his SUV into oncoming traffic. The others who died were in Winner's car. They were Bobby Jarrett, 82, and Raymond Fair, 76.
Winner created The Club steering lock in the early 80s after his car was stolen. He came up with the idea while fighting in the ; he secured his vehicle with metal chains to stop anybody taking it. He said, "If they can’t steer, they can’t steal."
He sold the first Club in Pennsylvania and later founded and sold over ten million units. Winner also owned hotels, a steel company, and other companies.
A spokesman for Winner International said in a statement, "this is a very difficult time for all of us and the family would request that you honor their privacy."
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Article 1: Malayan Tiger swimming (2007)
Ministers from thirteen countries in Asia pledged on Friday to doubling the wild tiger population on the continent by 2022, to seven thousand.
The commitment was made in Thailand, and is Asia's first ministerial conference on tiger conservation; the thirteen countries that upheld the pledge were Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Russia, Thailand, and Vietnam — all countries in which the wild Asian tiger is still found.
"The wild tiger is already in crisis. This may be our last chance to save it," commented Thai Prime Minister in a video address.
The meeting was partially organised by the Smithsonian Institution and various conservation groups.
Meeting host Suwit Khunkitti, who is also the Thai minister of natural resources and environment, also remarked that "tigers are at a tipping point. There were 100,000 tigers across our range countries 100 years ago. Today, there are about 3,500 left."
Wild tigers are primarily found in China, Russia and most of southern Asia; according to the (WWF), tiger numbers have been reduced due to a poaching epidemic. The animals live in only seven percent of the territory they had a hundred years ago, according to Voice of America.
Michael Baltzer, who is with the WWF, noted: "This is important because the tigers are in a serious decline and it's really the tipping point for tigers. This is the Year of the Tiger and it's the year that all of the concerned organizations have come together and said enough is enough. We really need to turn around the future for wild tigers and so it's really this year or never."
The program director for the Global Tiger Initiative, Keshav Varma, said: "You know if you save the tiger, you are saving the habitat for a lot of other species. So the tiger is symbolic about this and as the apex and the most charismatic species, it is drawing attention to the habitat and to the prey base, to encroachment, to corruption, to so many issues." Article 2: File photo of Denny Hamlin
Texas Motor Speedway , the race track where the race was held.
Denny Hamlin, who qualified thirtieth, won the 2010 AAA Texas 500 held on Sunday at Fort Worth, Texas|Fort Worth, Texas, United States. This became his eighth win of the season, and his second at Texas Motor Speedway. Throughout the course of the race there were nine cautions and thirty-five lead changes among fourteen different drivers.
On the final restart, Mark Martin finished third. Greg Biffle, from the Kevin Harvick followed Biffle in sixth, while could only manage seventh.
Jimmie Johnson, and Jeff Gordon, another driver in the Chase, finished thirty-seventh. Following the race, Johnson commented, "It was just a long day. I had speed in the car. We worked our way forward and had issues on pit road. ... We gave away so much track position from the beginning. It's tough to get back where we needed to." "The past four years, we've been in a different position," Johnson continued. "I've lost plenty of championships in the past, and this is racing, and it doesn't come easy, and you are not going to get what you want every single year and every single weekend. "I can promise you this — I am trying as hard as I can. I know my team is. We're doing everything we can. Thirty-three points back is not where we want to be, but we're going to work to get back on top."
Hamlin became the Drivers' championship leader with 6,325 points, thirty-three points ahead of Johnson. The Manufacturers' сhampionship standings is led by Chevrolet with 249, 40 points ahead of Toyota and 91 ahead of Ford with two races remaining in the season.
Looking forward to next week, Hamlin said, "I'm going to race Phoenix as if I'm 33 behind, to be honest with you. There's no comfortable margin going into Homestead, because anything can happen. So for me — Phoenix being an up-and-down race track for me — I've got to really be focused on practice day to get what I need, to give crew chief Mike Ford the information that I need — just 100 percent stay focused is all I can do. But like I say, I'm not going to be conservative having the lead. I'm going to want to stretch that out before we get to Homestead. So that's pretty much my mind-set."
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Article 1: Astley performing in Singapore, August 2008.
Rick Astley is preparing for a 2010 80's music tour. Astley will be heading a revival concert at the opening of the Open Air Theatre of Scarborough on July 31 with artists such as Boy George, Paul Young and Kid Creole and the Coconut. Other acts are Nik Kershaw, Midge Ure, Heaven 17, T'Pau, Hazel O'Connor and Toyah. All of them have scored a combined total of 70 Top Ten Hits. There will be at least four more tour dates according to Rick Astley's website.
Additionally, Rick Astley's website announced last Sunday the re-release of his first two albums, Whenever You Need Somebody and Hold Me in Your Arms, in Deluxe Editions. The albums will retail for £7.99. The publishing company, Edsel Records, said that the album will feature a number of remixes of Astley, including a never-released before Hold Me in Your Arms remix called Hold Me in Your Prayers. The Deluxe albums will contain also the song When You Gonna, a song that was the first single by Astley, in collaboration with Lisa Carter. Astley's website is promoting the albums with a competition in which, competitors have to answer a question about the British singer.
Rick Astley became famous in the eighties when his first single, Never Gonna Give You Up, achieved number one on the United Kingdom and United States charts. Subsequently he released several other successful singles including Whenever You Need Somebody, Together Forever. He retired from music in 1993, after releasing his album, Body and Soul. Astley did a comeback in 2001, with the release of Keep It Turned On, and in 2005, Portrait. In 2007, Rick Astley unexpectedly became famous on the Internet, when the rickrolling internet meme was born. In 2008 and 2009, he took part in the nostalgia tour, Here & Now, visiting countries such as the Philipines, Chile and the Dominican Republic. Article 2: Leafcutter ant|leafcutter ants deploy several antibiotics to protect fungi they grow as food for their queen and larvae. It is the first time ants have been found using more than one antibiotic in combination. The new antibiotics discovered have anti-fungal effect, and can be useful for modern medicine. UK Medical Research Council funded the investigation.
Leafcutter ant Acromyrmex octospinosus on a stick carrying a leaf
leaf cutter ants form the biggest known animal colonies, reaching several million individuals. They are native to South and Central America, but are now found in the southern United States as well. They are known to grow fungi gardens, and this is why the researchers looked into the interaction of ants and fungi. The scientists collected them from three colonies in Trinidad and Tobago. UEA professor Dr Matt Hutchings explained, "This was really a fun project which started with a PhD student, Joerg Barke, streaking leaf-cutting ants onto agar plates to isolate antibiotic producing bacteria."
The health of a certain type of fungus gardens is vital for the ants colony since the fungus is used to feed larvae and the queen. The antibiotics act both as herbicides and regulators of fungus growth. The antibiotics are produced by symbiosis with the ants, and are found on the bodies of the ants themselves. The symbiotic relationships benefit both the ants and the bacteria.
As a result of the study, a new antibiotic has also been discovered. It's related to , one of the antifungals used in modern medicine. The researchers expect to discover more new antibiotics and are optimistic about their use in medicine. Dr Matt Hutchings who was leading the research said, "It's also very exciting that ants not only evolved agriculture before humans but also combination therapy with natural antibiotics. Humans are just starting to realize that this is one way to slow down the rise of drug resistant bacteria — the so called superbugs."
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Article 1: The (UDA), a paramilitary group in Northern Ireland that wants Northern Ireland to remain in the United Kingdom, said today that it has rid itself of its weapons.
A statement by the group read, "The Ulster Defense Association was formed to defend our communities. We state quite clearly and categorically that this responsibility now rests with the government and its institutions where legitimacy resides."
UDA spokesperson Frankie Gallagher spoke at a press conference in Belfast, stating that the group regrets the approximately 400 people, primarily Catholic civilians, that they were responsible for the murder of between 1971 and 2001. He added, "But we are determined and are willing to play our full part in ensuring that tragedy of the last 40 years will never happen again."
The destruction of ammunition and explosives was verified by the , stating that other groups have a deadline of February 9 to destroy arms they may still hold, after which they may potentially face imprisonment.
Ireland's Foreign Affairs Minister, Micheál Martin, said in a statement, "This is a statement of confidence in the political process and in the devolved institutions. Another obstacle to dialogue and partnership has been removed."
Mary McAleese said the group's choice was "a very positive milestone on the journey of peace."
The other main "loyalist" groups, the Red Hand Commandos (RHC), are reported to have destroyed their arms last June, with the Irish Republican Army (IRA) having destroyed their arms four years ago.
However, two republican splinter groups, the Real Irish Republican Army (RIRA), have refused to lay down their arms and have continued to undertake attacks including three murders in March of 2009.
The Real IRA attacked the Massereene Barracks in Antrim, County Antrim on March 7 and killed two British soldiers. Three days later, The Continuity IRA claimed responsibility for the murder of Police Service of Northern Ireland officer Stephen Carroll, who was shot by a sniper responding to a call.
There is also concern that the power-sharing government between Democratic Unionist Party may collapse because of disagreements between the parties on the issue of transferring policing and justice powers from London. Article 2: File photo of brucei
Research teams from the universities of Georgia and Glasgow discovered the mechanism the Trypanosome parasite evolved for "sleeping sickness" disease to circumvent the human immune system. Their study follows a recent African outbreak of the disease 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 South 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 HDL, 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."
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Article 1: Map of England with highlighted in red.
Two children were killed in a "suspicious" house fire in Derbyshire, England, on Friday evening. Police arrested a 17 year old in the early hours of Saturday morning.
During the fire, which occurred in the town of Buxton at approximately 2245 UTC on Friday, 23-year-old Fiona Adams and an eight-month-old baby successfully escaped through a first floor window, jumping down onto a child's trampoline. Both mother and child are currently in a hospital, having suffered from severe burns. The two children killed have been identified as five-year-old Niamh and two-year-old Cayden.
Assistant Chief Constable Steve Cotterill stated that police attended the house, following reports of nuisance and noise in the garden. Nothing was found, and the area has now been cordoned off as investigations continue. Cotterill said that incident had been referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission, and that "someone on the estate may well know any particular intelligence that we're after, or information which may assist us in this case. And I would offer for them to come forward to us in full confidence."
Flowers and teddy bears have now been placed at the house where the fire occurred, with one tribute reading: "Sleep with the angels little darlings. God bless." Karen Jackson, a resident of one of the nearby houses, spoke out about the family. "They were brilliant, a lovely family," she commented. "Everyone liked them, everyone. They didn't have any enemies. It's heartbreaking, I'm still in shock now. I just feel numb." Article 2: A spokesperson stated on Monday that UK television company ITV have been fined A$3000 (about US$2591 or £1663) for cruelty to animals in an incident on programme "I'm a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!", where two celebrities killed and ate a rat.
The incident involved actor Stuart Manning and television chef Gino D'Acampo, who went on to win the ninth series of the programme, which was broadcast in 2009. Inside the jungle, having been reduced to rations of beans and rice, the two celebrities caught a rat before killing it and then cooking it, to give the beans and rice "more protein", before eating the rat, which contestant and actor George Hamilton described as "actually quite nice". Inside the programme's video diary room, at the time of the recording of it, Gino D'Acampo said: "I saw one of these rats running around. I got a knife, I got its throat, I picked it up."
RSPCA Australia had stated that performing an act like this on television was "not acceptable". Initially, Manning and D'Acampo were charged for animal cruelty. However, their charges were dropped when ITV made the confession that production staff had allowed the celebrities to carry out the act of killing the rat. After a court trial in Sydney, Australia, ITV got a fine of A$3000. The company also had to pay costs of A$2500 (US$2192 or £1396).
An ITV spokesperson said that "ITV has apologised for the mistake which led to this incident. The production was unaware that killing a rat could be an offence, criminal or otherwise in New South Wales, and accepts that further inquiries should have been made. This was an oversight and we have since thoroughly reviewed our procedures and are putting in place a comprehensive training programme to ensure that this does not happen in future series."
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Article 1: An image of Iran's Natanz Nuclear Facility
Iran, Turkey, and Brazil emerged with an agreement yesterday from talks regarding Iran's nuclear program.
In this new deal, Iran will send its to Turkey for processing in return for nuclear fuel. Turkish foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu revealed the agreement Sunday night, which may alleviate international tensions about Iran's nuclear program. However, he did not specify how much uranium would be transferred, or how the plan will be implemented. Leaders of each country will finalize the plan later today.
The eighteen-hour discussion in Tehran yesterday included Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who acted as a neutral broker in the deal. Lula da Silva also visited Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran, although only Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was actively involved in the talks.
Prior to the meeting, many had thought the chance of an agreement slim. Iran, however, seemed to be open to new ideas. Iranian atomic director Ali Akbar Salehi said Saturday that “things are moving along positively” in regard to such proposals. Iran had originally refused to trade its uranium, but seemed to indicate last week that it had changed its mind.
Earlier, Iran denied claims by other countries that it plans to advance its nuclear arms program using enriched uranium, saying that it will be used for energy purposes only. The country had also rejected a previous plan by the United Nations for processing uranium elsewhere. Article 2: Wikinews contributor Patrick Gillett interviewed Andy Thissling of the Traralgon Football Club. Andy is the statistician for the Gippsland Football League clubs senior side, or first XVIII.
The Gippsland Football League (officially Gippsland League, GL) is the only major Australian rules football competition in the Gippsland region according to the Victorian Country Football League.
On match day, I do the stats for the Traralgon Football Club, for the seniors. And I love it so much. I want to have this job for ever.
'Sounds good. How Long have you been doing this?'
What do you meen mate? How long have I been doing the stats for?
'Yeah.'
I've been doing it since 2004. I got asked to do it and since then, I've been doing since 2004 to today's date.
'How often do you talk to the coach and provide him with the stats?'
Each quarter I go to the coaching staff and get them all my stats to them and tell it to them what's what. An the I do them at the end of the quarter. And then at the end of the game I'll hand them my stats.
Andy works for Coles Supermarkets. A South Australian store is pictured here
'What is your job out side of football?'
My job outside of football is, I work at a supermarket called Coles Supermarket in Traralgon. I work there three days a week. That keeps me out of mischief for a few days.
'Sounds a bit like me.'
laughs Yeah mate, that's like us.
Traralgon won the 2009 minor premiership, equivalent to the premiership in association football, but failed to win the premiership, equivalent to the championship
'Does working at Coles effect your involvement with the footy club?'
Not really. It's just three days of work and that's all. The rest I'll stay home do some house work and get ready for footy on Saturdays. Goes like lightning during the week.
'Doesn't sound to bad. Will Traralgon win the minor premiership this year, like they did last year?'
We take one game at a time and that's all. Footy's a funny old sport mate.
'Damn straight it is, Good to hear.'
Yeah that's right mate.
'Has there ever been a point when you've wanted to give up doing the stats?'
No. I just like to do it and if I want a break it give someone else a go and tell then the action.
'Good to hear mate. Final question - do you want to add anything for readers?'
Thanks for you time Pat and keep up the good work mate.
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Article 1: Shakemap of the earthquake.
A strong earthquake hit Chile at approximately at 14:52 local time (1852 UTC) on Friday. The United States Geological Survey first reported it reached a preliminary magnitude of 5.5, and the epicenter was located very close to Pichilemu, a coastal town in the O'Higgins Region. Exact distances were: 102 kilometers to the northwest of ; 165km to the southwest of Santiago de Chile and 167km to the south of Valparaíso. The earthquake lasted approximately 30 seconds.
SHOA (Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service of the Chilean Army), reported it reached a magnitude of 5.5. USGS updated their information later, and specified the earthquake reached a 5.7 magnitude, with a depth of 10 kilometers, and the epicenter was located 70km at the northwest of San Antonio, Chile|San Antonio, 140km southwest of Santiago.
Wikinews reporter Diego Grez, who was in Santa Cruz at the time of the tremor, reported that the power went out for approximately 30 minutes and people evacuated their houses quickly. In Pichilemu, the power also went out, but came back in a few minutes. Desperate people quickly ran to the now well-known .
USGS' Did you feel it? users have reported the earthquake was felt in Colina, Santiago (Santiago Metropolitan), Curicó (Maule), Rengo, Rancagua (O'Higgins), and Valparaíso (Valparaíso).
Metropolitan Region and Article 2: File photo of South Korean President Lee Myung-bak
On Sunday, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak proposed a tax to begin to save for the cost of reunifying the North Korea in the process. Lee expressed optimism about reunification while maintaining demands that North Korea abandon its nuclear arms ambitions.
In a speech commemorating the 65th anniversary of the Korean liberation from Japanese rule, Lee stated he "believes that the time has come to start discussing realistic policies to prepare for that day of reunification such as a reunification tax." The tax would fund the absorption of the North Korean economy — which is less than three percent of the size of the South Korean economy — and could cost up to $1 trillion, according to ' sources.
However, "North Korea will take a unification tax as the expression of a South Korean attempt to prepare for a sudden collapse of the North Korean government," according to Kim Yong-hyun, an analyst at Seoul. Additionally, while opinion polls show that more than 60% of South Koreans want unification, these polls also show that South Koreans would prefer that reunification happen later due to the cost.
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Article 1: Many homes were flooded by previously benign creeks and tributaries.
Severe flooding in the southern United States left 28 people dead and caused extensive damage over the weekend. Two days of torrential rainfall, amounting to 13 inches (330 mm) in Nashville, Tennessee, swelled rivers and triggered rapidly rising waters.
The states of Tennessee, Kentucky, and Mississippi were hit the hardest. The deluge caught many off-guard, forcing stranded residents to be rescued by boat. Parts of downtown Nashville were evacuated, and bus service there was suspended. Thousands of homeowners also lost electricity.
The Cumberland River rose to extremely high levels, nearly 12 feet (3.7 m) above flood stage, and is not expected to return to normal levels until Wednesday morning.
Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear issued a state of emergency in response to the floods. He said, "The safety of our citizens is my first priority. That is why I urge individuals who encounter high waters to use extreme caution and avoid unnecessary contact with flood waters if at all possible. Our thoughts are especially with those who lost loved ones in the tragic deaths that have been attributed to the weekend's storms." Forty-five counties in the state posted emergency declarations.
In Tennessee, where the storms' death toll continues to rise, Governor requested federal assistance from President Barack Obama. After surveying the damage, Bredesen remarked, "We’re going to need a lot of help over these weeks ahead to get out of this."
Total damages from what may be a 500- or 1,000-year flood event could be worth billions of dollars. Many prominent buildings were submerged in the Nashville area, where about 50 schools sustained damage.
Meteorologists explain that the flooding came as a result of a slow-moving weather system that tapped into moisture from the Gulf of Mexico and pulled it northward into an unstable air mass. The storms' effects were even felt in Atlanta, Georgia, although to a lesser degree. Article 2: Photo of Pete Souza NASCAR Jimmie Johnson and his wife Chandra Johnson welcomed their first child Wednesday. The child was born at 1:44 p.m. US EDT (1744 Charlotte, North Carolina|Charlotte, North Carolina, and was a female. She weighed six pounds and fourteen ounces, and she was 19.5 inches long. However, they have yet to name the child.
Since the child was born on Wednesday, Jimmie Johnson will be able to race at Chad Knaus|crewchief, and his car owner had prepared as a substitute driver, in case Johnson had to leave during a race because of birth.
The Johnsons were not the only family in NASCAR to expect the birth of a child. Some others include Juan Pablo Montoya, and Johnson's teammate Jeff Gordon.
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Article 1: A spokesperson stated on Monday that UK television company ITV have been fined A$3000 (about US$2591 or £1663) for cruelty to animals in an incident on programme "I'm a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!", where two celebrities killed and ate a rat.
The incident involved actor Stuart Manning and television chef Gino D'Acampo, who went on to win the ninth series of the programme, which was broadcast in 2009. Inside the jungle, having been reduced to rations of beans and rice, the two celebrities caught a rat before killing it and then cooking it, to give the beans and rice "more protein", before eating the rat, which contestant and actor George Hamilton described as "actually quite nice". Inside the programme's video diary room, at the time of the recording of it, Gino D'Acampo said: "I saw one of these rats running around. I got a knife, I got its throat, I picked it up."
RSPCA Australia had stated that performing an act like this on television was "not acceptable". Initially, Manning and D'Acampo were charged for animal cruelty. However, their charges were dropped when ITV made the confession that production staff had allowed the celebrities to carry out the act of killing the rat. After a court trial in Sydney, Australia, ITV got a fine of A$3000. The company also had to pay costs of A$2500 (US$2192 or £1396).
An ITV spokesperson said that "ITV has apologised for the mistake which led to this incident. The production was unaware that killing a rat could be an offence, criminal or otherwise in New South Wales, and accepts that further inquiries should have been made. This was an oversight and we have since thoroughly reviewed our procedures and are putting in place a comprehensive training programme to ensure that this does not happen in future series." Article 2: Residents of a crime, overcrowding, and community tensions.
Hyde Park, England, where crime has increased by seven percent over the last year. Residents have written to the council asking for help to improve the area.
Hyde Park, Leeds|Hyde Park, who said they were worried about the increasing level of and worsening community relations. A report will be unveiled on Wednesday by a council delegation, highlighting the problems in the area. "The people living in Hyde Park come from widely different population groups... these groups have very different customs, needs and living styles and this can provoke high levels of tension in the area," the delegation said.
The council claims that because of the 28 per cent cricket competition and activities which bring old and young together.
The report says that the council are trying to build relationships between Muslims and police, something which they said is "particularly important after the area's connection to the London bombings on 7th July 2005." A local newspaper reported that "the Shebab project introduces young Muslims to role models from sport and culture and also runs scholars' talks to counter extremist ideologies."
Crime has increased by 7% in the past year in Hyde Park, and residents noted that anti-social behaviour was getting worse. The council said that an anti-burglary task force had helped to reduce the number of thefts from homes. Residents complained that there was a lack of pride in the area, and at the end of the academic year in the summer, large piles of rubbish were left in streets, yards and alleyways. The report adds that the council operates a recycling scheme aimed towards teenagers, and that rubbish collections have increased.
reported on Wednesday that campaigners are attempting to "take control of a derelict school building and transform it into a community hub are appealing for sponsors and partners in a bid to turn their dreams into reality." They say that the unused building, owned by the council, could be used for meetings and events. A volunteer group of residents have been working on a business plan, and have gained support from local businesses to create "a vision of an open, accessible and valuable resource for all."
A member of the commitee, however, said he was "frustrated" with the council's attitude towards the plans. "The RPCC is slightly frustrated with certain communication issues that we've had with the council, but we're working with them and hoping to gain further assistance going forward," he said. "It's a shame that certain setbacks could have been avoided."
The deputation added that "a major factor in Hyde Park's suffering is its high level of population density", which they conceded is something they are unable to change. The council responded to complaints that streets are "cheap and unhealthy takeaways, letting agents and boarded-up shop fronts," by saying that Hyde Park Corner and Headingley are, according to the , "thriving shopping areas and work had taken place to ensure a good mix of outlets."
The report concludes: "The council acknowledges that because of the very particular circumstances which exist in the neighbourhood, Hyde Park faces difficult challenges which affect the quality of life of residents and that 'normal' service levels may not be sufficient to tackle some of these. The council will do more to enable local people to influence how services work and how local problems are tackled. Local community and voluntary groups will be invited to play an active role."
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Article 1: The QE2
RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 (the QE2) will not be sailing to Cape Town, South Africa. Cape Town has refused the vessel permission to berth for use by owner Dubai World as a floating hotel.
The Transnet National Ports Authority said that the famed vessel is much too large for Cape Town and that the facilites for the ship do not exist. Dubai World had hoped the ocean liner could serve as a hotel to accommodate football fans attending the World Cup and had previously told the Associated Press that Cape Town was among several possible destinations. No others have been named.
Transnet National Ports Authority port manager Sanjay Govan commented that "It's the length of stay that was an issue ... They wanted to stay much longer than just the World Cup. You have to sacrifice a normal cargo-working berth for such an operation. You wouldn’t do that for such a long time." Dubai World has confirmed the trip to South Africa is off. South Africa's Protea Hotels were thought to have won a contract to perform the management of the hotel during its stay in Cape Town. Dubai World also considered private terminals but met the same issue.
Dubai World's investment arm Istithmar World paid Cunard US$100 million for the British liner in 2007. Since then it has been moored off Dubai's Port Rashid, having arrived in the emirate in 2008. Original plans were to create a luxury floating hotel for tourists that would be moored beside an artificial island in the shape of a palm tree, but this idea was cancelled in the wake of global market uncertainty.
State-owned conglomerate Dubai World is currently in severe financial difficulties. The firm is seeking an extra six months to pay at least US$22 million in debts and the government has supported a six month delay as the first step towards a restructuring plan. Dubai World's main units Nakheel and Limitless are the most indebted companies. World markets and media reacted sharply to the revelations on November 25 last year.
Dubai World is rumoured to need to sell assets, including the Queen Elizabeth 2. The company has refused to confirm or deny this, only stating that "There are a number of options being considered for the QE2. Istithmar World is considering which option will best maximise value of the vessel."
The same year as the Queen Elizabeth 2 the conglomerate also obtained Barneys New York, a luxury retailer based in the United States. Istithmar World paid US$942.3 million for the company. Istithmar World chief executive David Jackson resigned last week; he presided over the acquirements. In December a New York foreclosure auction sold off the W Hotel Union Square for US$2 million, which was owned by Istithmar World. Article 2: The Russian embassy in Minsk, Belarus has been attacked by . Unknown assailants threw two of the explosives into the embassy premises. No one was injured but a car was destroyed. After the attack security was tightened around the Belarussian embassy in Moscow.
The released a statement on the event stating that "we view this incident as an outrageous act in which there is a clear desire by certain forces to interfere with the normal work of the embassy and to bring distrust and tensions to bilateral relations."
This is not the first time the embassy has come under attack. In 2007, a grenade was thrown at the building while then Vladimir Putin was visiting.
Belarussian–Russian relations have been tense in recent months, as in June, Russia shut off Belarus's gas supply over unpaid bills.
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Article 1: Celebration logo plays a pun as "half a lemon" means "half a million" in Russian jargon
The Russian Language Wikipedia surpassed 500,000 articles at 10:02 UTC on February 25, 2010, after "Ys", an article about a Joanna Newsom album, was created by Nurse fiction, a newcomer to the Wikipedia.
The Russian language Wikipedia is the tenth largest language edition of Wikipedia, boasting over three hundred and fifty "Featured Articles" and 930 "Good Articles", shown to be the best in the freely-editable encyclopaedia. Russian Wikipedia is also one of the few languages to adopt the Flagged Revisions system.
Wikipedia is a multilingual encyclopaedia that can be edited by almost anyone with an internet connection, meaning that the Russian Wikipedia has 437,862 registered users with 12,929 making at least 1 edit within the last month. The youngest known user is 10 years old, and the oldest is 80.
Last year, the Russian chapter of the Wikimedia Foundation, the organization behind Wikipedia, started active work supporting Wikipedia editions in the numerous languages used in Russia — such as Tatar, Chuvash, Ossetian and Yakut.
ru:Полмиллиона статей в русской Википедии
pl:Rosyjska Wikipedia ma już pół miliona artykułów Article 2: Hungarian food critic , who was associated to British eateries, died on Saturday morning. He was known for publishing guidebooks, popularizing the concept of restaurant reviews.
Ronay was born in Budapest, Hungary in 1915, but he left the country due to World War II. He departed and has lived in London since October 10, 1946. Ronay was able to work in many hotels and restaurants, such as Princess Restaurant in Piccadilly.
He was also a contributor to the Daily Telegraph and editor for its food column. Ronay published the book Egon Ronay's Guide to British eateries in 1957.
Ronay had fallen sick earlier and died on Saturday, reported friend Nick Ross.
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Article 1: A bus carrying the football team of the African country of Togo was ambushed by gunmen earlier today, wounding at least two players, as it crossed the border into Angola. Some reports suggested that the driver was killed.
The attackers reportedly opened fire on the bus with machine guns as it was travelling though Cabinda. The Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda, a separatist group, soon claimed responsibility for the ambush.
Central defender Serge Akakpo and the back-up goalkeeper, Obilale Kossi, was hurt as well, according to Gabriel Ameyi, the Togo Football Federation vice-president.
"We had just crossed the border ... everything was fine. Then there was a powerful burst of gunfire. Everyone dived under the seats and the police fired back. It felt like war had broken out. It's shocking," said Thomas Dossevi, a Togo striker, to the RMC radio station.
The incident occurs two days before the start of the largest football competition in Africa, the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations. The contest's organisers said that Togo's team will still participate in the event despite the ambush; however, midfielder Alaixys Romao commented that his team might have to withdraw.
"No-one wants to play. We're not capable of it. We're thinking first of all about the health of our injured because there was a lot of blood on the ground," he said to RMC radio.
"If we are still not sure about security then we will be leaving," captain Emmanuel Adebayor, of Manchester City, commented. "It's a football game, it's one of the biggest tournaments in Africa and a lot of people would love to be in our position but I don't think anybody would be prepared to give their life," he said to BBC Afrique.
"So I will talk with the team and we will discuss between us and take a group decision that we think is good for our careers, good for our lives and good for our families because at the end of the day it is only football."
fr:Coupe d'Afrique des nations de football 2010 : attaque du bus de l'équipe du Togo
ta:அங்கோலாவில் டோகோ கால்பந்தாட்டக் குழு மீது துப்பாக்கிச் சூடு
tr:Togo Millî Futbol Takımı silahlı saldırıya uğradı Article 2: Bill Clinton @ Hillary Rally.jpg|thumb|left|220px|File photo of Bill Clinton in 2008.
Former US President Bill Clinton left New York Presbyterian Hospital on Friday after undergoing an hour-long operation to insert two stents into one of his coronary arteries the previous day. Clinton has had previous heart troubles. For instance, in 2004, the former president underwent quadruple bypass surgery in order to restore blood flow to four blocked arteries.
Dr. Allen Schwartz, the chief of cardiology at the hospital, publicly stated that there was "no evidence of a heart attack or of damage to Clinton's heart," and that what occurred was "not a result of either his lifestyle or diet, both of which have been excellent."
According to a statement from a personal assistant to Clinton, he is currently convalescing at his home in Chappaqua, New York.
Those close to the family subsequently speculated that Clinton's "punishing schedule" could possibly have caused these problems. Some of his recent work has included being a United Nations special envoy to Haiti, having previously visited the country twice since the 2010 Haiti earthquake, which struck the island nation on January 12 2010.
Clinton is now said to be in "good spirits" as having resumed much of his normal work.
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Article 1: China's military spending will increase by 7.5% for 2010, the first single-digit increase since 1989, a spokesman for the Chinese parliament, Li Zhaoxing, said.
Mr. Li said that China would spend 532.1 billion yuan ($77.9 billion) on the country's military over the course of 2010, an increase of about 36.9 billion yuan ($5.4 billion) over 2009's spending. Regardless of the increase, China still spends significantly less on its military as a proportion of its gross domestic product (GDP) than other countries around the world. China spends about 1.4% of its GDP on the military, while the United States spends about 4% of its GDP on the military. The US, which accounts for 48% of the world's military spending, has frequently encouraged China to be more transparent about its military spending, a challenge which China said it was meeting.
At a press conference, Mr. Li said that the increase was in response to various security threats to China, although the nature of the threats were not specified. He did, however, say that, "The only purpose of China's limited military strength is to safeguard China's sovereignty and territorial integrity." He also said that the government has limited military spending to the best of its ability, and had tried to ensure a balance between the military and other needs.
According to US military analysis and official Chinese reports, China has been steadily increasing military spending since the late 1980s, when the country began a program of improving its entire armed forces, including developing and producing weapons and equipment. The US Pentagon issued a report in 2009, saying that military spending had increased by an average of 12.9% annually since 1996. Based on this, analysts say that the earlier large spending increases could explain the slower increase for 2010. China in the past few years has seen dramatic spending increases in other sectors, especially costs related to the global financial crisis, and these sectors have complained about the amount of military spending. As one analyst, David Shambaugh from George Washington University, put it, "There have been complaints from some other sectors that it has been distorting expenditures. Maybe some of those arguments have come home to roost."
cs:Čína dále zbrojí, ale prý pomaleji Article 2: At least twelve civilians have died and over 25 wounded in a suicide bombing in the Thall|Tall, in Hangu District to the town of Kurram Agency, FATA was targeted.
The victims, some of them women, were at a petrol station in Hangu. The wounded were taken to adjoining hospitals.
According to police, the attacker detonated a bomb near a fully loaded bus. The convoy carried several people, vehicles filled with provisions and commodities for trading. A majority of the people in the group were Shia Muslims.
No one has yet claimed responsibility for the attack. Several insurgents have attacked the country's North West Frontier Province in the last year. Earlier, three died in another suicide attack on a police station in Karak, located in the same area.
Many Shi'as dwell in the Parachinar and Orakzai area which has been home to violence in the past. The Tall-Parachinar road was closed to the public in 2008 and 2009 due to Taliban activity. The latter targeted Shia Muslims, sources say. The road was re-opened about two months ago, with convoys guarded by security forces forming the bulk of the traffic.
Hangu borders Pakistan's tribal regions, where several militant groups are believed to be operating. However, security forces say that arrangements have improved from the past.
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Article 1: British Isles with the Isle of Man highlighted in blue.Two people have been injured in a road traffic accident involving two vehicles on the Isle of Man. One of the two men was driving a Toyota Celica and the other a Renault Laguna.
Police reported that the collision occurred at around 2150 GMT on Sunday near to the location of Greeba Castle. The two men, who were aged 32 and 19, were both injured, with the 19-year-old man having to be physically cut out of his Toyota by workers from the emergency services.
Both gentlemen had to be transported to Nobles Hospital; however, police officers noted that neither of the two suffered from life-threatening injuries. The road which the collision occurred on had to be closed for roughly five hours. Article 2: Archive photo of .
Colonia Dignidad, an enclave used for torturing and exterminating political prisoners during Augusto Pinochet's dictatorship. Hr was convicted for sexually abusing 26 children for years, and retained thousands of people under his own tyrannical regime, that worked as an aside territory in the country, where people spoke the .
Jorge Zepeda, magistrate who investigated the crimes made in Colonia Dignidad, reported that Schäfer was unconscious when he died. He was to stay in prison for 33 years. Hernán Fernández, one of the lawyers against Colonia Dignidad, said that Schäfer's death should help to accelerate the judiciary processes. Chilean President Sebastián Piñera said, "Paul Schäfer will be judged by the divine justice."
Schäfer was born in 1921, in Nazism|Nazi officer, who moved to Chile after the Second World War, evading accusations of sexual abuse of minors. He established an organization in a rural area of Chile, in favour of the poor people, located 400 kilometers south of Santiago, to the border of Argentina. He named this place Villa Babiera.
He began his rule of this area in 1961; he established a private tyrannical regime, where almost 300 Germans worked for decades without pay. Men and women were segregated, and people who tried to escape were killed. Adults and children considered it an "honour" for Schäfer to chose to have sex with them.
When Pinochet's regime ended, Schäfer escaped from Chile in 1996 to avoid being imprisoned, after he came under investigation for human rights violations and abuse to minors. He was detained in Argentina, and then extradited back to Chile in 2005. Since then he was imprisoned. Colonia Dignidad still exists, though without the power they had before, less secluded and with new leaders.
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Article 1: A 2007 Toyta Camry.
Toyota has been accused by a U.S. House of Representatives committee with misleading the public and investigators over its recent recalls.
The accusations, in a statement from the House Energy and Commerce Committee, claim that Toyota both relied on a flawed study in its assessment of the issue of sticking accelerator pedals at the heart of the recalls, and then made misleading statements about its response. According to the authors of the letter, Bart Stupak, Toyota dismissed, rather than investigated, the idea that the cars' computers were at fault. In a statement, James Lentz, the president of Toyota's American division, claimed that hardware issues were to blame, and that dealers were repairing the faulty part. Toyota also released a study commissioned from the research firm Exponent that said electronic systems were not to blame.
According to the House committee, however, the study involved only six vehicles, none of which had problems with their electrical systems, and was insufficient to produce an accurate result. "Our preliminary assessment is that Toyota resisted the possibility that electronic defects could cause safety concerns, relied on a flawed engineering report and made misleading public statements concerning the adequacy of recent recalls to address the risk of sudden unintended acceleration."
The company is under a criminal investigation, and has received two subpoenas for documents from two House committees relating to the recalls, although whether they are directly related to the letter is unclear. The documents are related to accelerator issues in several models, as well as brake problems with the Prius hybrid car, and were served earlier in in February by a federal grand jury and the Securities and Exchange Commission. Toyota has released upwards of 75,000 pages of documents under the requests.
In a separate, though related, development, it has emerged that Toyota last year negotiated a limited recall for two models, the Lexus ES, that were affected by the accelerator recalls, saving the company an estimated $100 million. A confidential internal presentation in July 2009 made the claim, and a month later, a Lexus ES, one of the models under the limited recall crashed in California, killing four people. The claims apparently referenced a September, 2007 recall of floor mats that could trap gas pedals, the same problem that triggered a full recall of numerous Toyota cars to fix the same problem. In the same presentation, the company claimed to have avoided recalls of another model related to rust, as well as delaying new federal safety regulations. Article 2: US President Barack Obama's approval ratings have hit new lows.
According to new polls, US President Barack Obama's approval ratings have dropped across the board. According to a new USA Today/September 11 attacks|crashed planes into the buildings in New York on September 11, 2001. Barely a third of respondents favoured Obama's strategy in the two Middle East wars. In another Gallup poll, just 36% of poll respondents supported the way Obama was handling Afghanistan, a sharp decline from 48% in February.
The drop in support for the ongoing wars (though the one in Iraq is slated to end soon) has been hastened by rising casualties and the Wikileaks leak of over 90,000 confidential military documents that paint a grim picture of the war in Afghanistan. About 76,000 of these have been released to the public. However, two-thirds of the people polled in the USA Today/Gallup Poll said it was wrong for the whistle-blower website to publish the documents, which have often been compared to the . Also, 57% of respondents said they want a timetable for removing American troops, and two-thirds of those 57% said they want a gradual withdrawl.
Obama's personal approval rating also hit a new low in the poll. Just 41% of poll respondents approved of Obama's handling of his job, while 53% disapproved. The above poll was conducted Tuesday through Sunday, and a Gallup poll on Monday had him at 45% approval. A poll has Obama's July approval rating at 46%, while 54% disapprove.
Also, according to another poll, Obama's quarterly job approval average has hit an administration low. The quarterly rating, which is compiled of Gallup polls averaged out each quarter, has sunk every quarter Obama has been in office, but at different rates. In his sixth quarter of office, Obama averaged 47.3% approval, which varied from 52% in a poll conducted in mid-May to just 44% in another one conducted in mid-July. The biggest quarterly drop that Obama had was from Q2 to Q3 of his presidency, when health-care reform ran into trouble. Obama's approval rating declined from 62% to 52.9% during that period. Since then, the approval slide has plateaued, with declines of 2% of average from Q4-Q6.
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Article 1: An Ethiopian Airlines 737 similar to the aircraft involved in the crash
Ethiopian Airlines Flight 409|Flight 409, scheduled to fly from Beirut, Lebanon, to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia crashed into the shortly after taking off Monday morning. Ethiopian Airlines report 83 people on board.
Flight ET409, a Boeing 737, was set to leave at 2:10 am local time, but was delayed until 2:35. The passenger plane took off in stormy conditions, and it disappeared from radar five minutes later.
Eyewitnesses reported a ball of fire as the plane went down. Debris has already been seen off the Lebanese coast.
Rescue efforts are underway amid continuing heavy rains. However, it is unknown if there are any survivors. Among the passengers are 23 Ethiopian, 51 Lebanese, 1 Turkish, 1 French, 2 British, 1 Russian, 1 Canadian, 1 Syrian, 1 Iraqi nationals. The French embassy also stated that the wife of the French ambassador to Lebanon was on board.
Lebanon's Transport Minister Ghazi al-Aridi said that the crash site "has been identified three-and-a-half km west of the village of Na'ameh".
cs:Boeing se zřítil do Středozemního moře
de:Flugzeug stürzt vor der libanesischen Küste ins Meer
fi:Ethiopian Airlinesin kone syöksyi Välimereen – 90 kuoli
ta:எத்தியோப்பிய விமானம் பெய்ரூட்டுக்கு அருகே கடலில் வீழ்ந்தது Article 2: The government of Dubai announced that it intends to provide $9.5 billion to Dubai World to allow the government-owned investment company to restructure its debt.
The announcement comes as part of Dubai World's plan to restructure more than $23 billion of debt, including converting nearly $9 billion of debt into equity, after its collapse last fall. The package includes $8 billion of funding to Nakheel, Dubai World's real estate subsidiary, as well as $1.5 billion to Dubai World as a whole. The restructuring plan also seeks to, within eight years, repay all of Dubai World's creditors.
According to the government of Dubai, $5.7 billion of the aid was from a former $10 billion loan to Dubai World, with the remainder being internally funded. The plan would transfer ownership of Nakheel, formerly a subsidiary of Dubai World, to the direct control of the Dubai government.
Response to the deal was largely positive, with one analyst saying the move "boosts sentiment because this is a strong commitment." Christopher Davidson, author of books on Dubai and Abu Dhabi, said that while the new funding would "keep the wolves outside the gates a little longer," the government could not be the sole funder of Dubai World and Nakheel.
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Article 1: A UPS worker delivering parcels
(UPS), the world's largest package delivery service, has announced that it will cut 1,800 administrative and managerial jobs.
The firm, based in , Georgia, is to reorganise its five regions into three, and slash the number of districts to twenty from 46, in addition to the job cuts. The company currently has 340,000 people in its employ.
Economic analysts are paying considerable attention to the financial status of UPS, as many see a large connection between the overall state of the US economy and the amount of parcels shipped.
"They're not cutting sales jobs, they're cutting back office jobs. They take out back office, they take out cost," commented Helane Becker, an analyst for Jesup & Lamont Securities. Article 2: Joseph Cerniglia, a chef who had appeared on Kitchen Nightmares, has commited suicide. Cerniglia was the owner of Italian restaurant Campania. He jumped off a bridge into the on the New York–New Jersey border. At the time of filming in 2007, Cerniglia owed suppliers $80,000.
Officials reported that 39-year-old Cerniglia had jumped off of the into the Hudson. His death has officially been ruled as suicide. His body was retrieved from the river after reports of a man jumping off of the bridge.
Ramsay released a statement to the saying "I was fortunate to spend time with Joe during the first season of Kitchen Nightmares. Joe was a brilliant chef, and our thoughts go out to his family, friends and staff."
Cerniglia told Ramsay about his personal debt when he came to the restaurant in 2007. He said "I am financially in trouble. The debt of the restaurant alone is overwhelming. My personal debt — wife, kids, mortgage — that's a lot of debt".
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Article 1: According to a spokesman for the Kyrgyzstan's ministry of health's press-service, at least 97 people have been confirmed dead from recent ethnic clashes between Kyrgyz and Uzbeks. Meanwhile, thousands of ethnic Uzbeks have fled to the border with Uzbekistan to escape the ongoing violence.
"Currently, in the regions of Jalalabad, Kyrgyzstan|Jhalalabad, 97 people have died. A further 1247 have been hospitalised," a spokeswoman commented. Some reports caution that the actual death toll might be higher than the figures announced.
The violence, now in its third day, initially began in the city of Osh, but has since spread to neighbouring vicinities. A resident in told the Agence France-Presse news service by telephone that "at the current moment, there are shoot-outs going on in the streets." Another witness described there being "a veil of smoke covering the whole city."
Cars and buildings were also been set alight by the fighting groups, with many apartments, stores, and other shops burnt to the ground in Osh. Supplies now have to be shipped in from outside the region, as it is difficult to obtain anything within the city. Meanwhile, the Kyrgyz interim government announced that it would be mobilising part of its armed forces today in an attempt to quell the violence.
A spokesman for the Ministry for Emergency Services said that supplies and medical aid has been sent down to the Kyrgyz-Uzbek border to help the refugees there; as many as 75,000 Uzbeks are crowding the border trying to get into Uzbekistan. They are comprised mainly of children and elderly people; some have gunshot wounds.
es:Aumenta violencia étnica en Kirguistán: alrededor de 100 muertos y 75.000 desplazados Article 2: The city of Zibo is in Shangdong province in eastern China
A man armed with a 2-foot long knife killed three children and a teacher in a brutal attack in Zibo in eastern China. The Chinese government has been mostly silent on the incident.
The man who killed the people was identified as 26 year-old Fang Jiantang, and he later turned himself in to police. His motive for killing the children and the teacher is unknown.
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The disputed border between Israel and Lebanon is known as the Blue Line (click to enlarge)
After a rare clash between Israeli and Lebanese forces over the cutting down of a tree near the border of the two countries, it appears that all sides are attempting to restore peace.
The skirmish started after an Israeli soldier started cutting down a tree that has the capability to provide cover for Lebanese infiltrators. Israel has stated that they clear the border of underbrush weekly. After the tree was cut down, the Lebanese army started firing. The Lebanese were allegedly aiming at a base nearby, and the resulting skirmish killed a senior Israeli military officer, a Lebanese journalist, and two Lebanese army soldiers.
The United Nations peacekeeping force in south Lebanon has stated that Israel was operating in their own territory. However, Lebanese Information Minister Tarek Mitri said that the area of land which had the tree "was Lebanese territory," and also stated that though Lebanon respects the border, the country still contests part of it.
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Musician and presidential candidate Wyclef Jean pictured in 2006
According to TIME magazine, Haitian-American music star Wyclef Jean is to seek Haiti's presidency this Thursday. Last week Jean, who is a former member of the Fugees music group, took legal steps to run for the presidency, and Jean said in an interview that "if I can't take five years out to serve my country as President, then everything I've been singing about, like equal rights, doesn't mean anything." His younger brother also said that his candidacy was "very serious."
On January 12 of this year, Haiti was rocked by a devastating 7.0 magnitude earthquake that killed 300,000 and displaced millions. Whoever wins the presidency will face the task of rebuilding the crippled country. The presidential elections are scheduled for November 28.
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Asif Ali Zardari, Pakistan's president, has been criticized for continuing a tour of Europe while Pakistan suffers some of the worst flooding in living memory.
The president of Pakistan, Asif Zardari, is facing criticism for continuing a tour of Europe while his homeland is facing the worst flooding in 80 years.
Opposition politician Imran Khan called for the president "to head home immediately." Khan citicized Zardari for "going on this lavish tour — this money could be used on the victims. Remember, Pakistan is bankrupt right now so the government doesn't have enough money, so he should be mobilizing people to help these victims of the floods." Zardari is scheduled to meet UK Prime Minister David Cameron on Friday.
The flooding has killed over 1,500 people and has left over three million others in need of assistance. According to Islamabad's National Weather Forecasting Center, rain has been falling at a rate of 25-30% higher than average.
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The Boeing 787 Dreamliner's first flight.
With the 15 dropped 787 orders, Boeing has lost four more orders than it gained for the aircraft this year. Boeing has gained 28 orders for the 787 and lost 32 in 2010. Boeing has gained 255 orders for its lineup this year, which consists of the 737, 747, 767, 777 and 787. 229 of those orders are for the 737 jet.
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File photo of Alex Rodriguez
With the home run, Rodriguez, also known as A-Rod, became the seventh player in Major League Baseball history to reach the 600 milestone.
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Article 1: Brazil has announced, and the World Trade Organization (WTO) has approved, new trade sanctions on US goods, in response to illegal subsidies paid by the US government to American cotton growers.
A list was published by Brazil of the items on which import tariffs would be placed, which includes more than 100 different American products, worth nearly $600 million. Cotton products would face the highest penalty, with the tariff increasing from 6% to 100%. Other American products will be included in the sanctions as well, although the tariff increase will not be as significant.
According to a Brazilian official, a wide range of products was chosen, in order to "maximize pressure." The tariffs will go into effect in 30 days, unless the two countries can reach an agreement before then.
The subsidies cited by Brazil as justification for the tariffs pay out around $3 billion to American cotton growers annually. Brazil has argued for eight years that these subsidies were the reason that the US was the second-largest producer of cotton in the world, and in 2008, the WTO ruled that they were illegal. The National Cotton Council in America, however, argued that that the system of subsidies has changed since the WTO's first ruling on the matter in 2005.
A senior executive at the council said that the subsidies were justified, and that they were an "important financial safety net for producers." Article 2: United States Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano has announced that the US Government has ended funding for a controversial "virtual fence" along the US-Mexico border.
The program, called SBInet, will have $50 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 that was allocated to it withdrawn in favor of investment in other, immediately available technology for the purposes of security along the border. The program will also have all further funding immediately frozen; as a result, all work will halt on the project beyond two small test projects in Arizona. Officially, the move is in light of a pending reassessment of the program, though it is likely that it signals the end of the five-year project, which has come under mounting criticism based on cost and the time taken to complete the project.
In a statement, Napolitano said that, "effective immediately, the Department of Homeland Security will redeploy $50 million of Recovery Act funding originally allocated for the SBInet...to other tested, commercially available security technology along the Southwest border."
Criticism of the project has been largely based on the cost, which has been commented on by several government officials, including Senator John McCain, who criticized the program as "spending over $1 billion of taxpayers' dollars on a failed system of sensors and cameras." According to statements released last year, at the beginning of construction, the project would cost a total of $6.7 billion, of which $3.4 billion has been spent on the first phase of the plan. The shortcomings were acknowledged by Napolitano in her statement, which said that "the system of sensors and cameras along the Southwest border known as SBInet has been plagued with cost overruns and missed deadlines."
The project was originally introduced in 2006 by President George W. Bush, and was envisioned as a high-tech system, dubbed a "virtual fence," that combined cameras, radar, and sensors to allow the Border Patrol to intercept up to 85% of incursions with as few as 22,000 officers. The contract was awarded to Boeing, which has since come under criticism for developing costly new technologies rather than using off-the-shelf systems. Under Barack Obama, the government initially continued to support the program, and laid out a new timetable for the its completion. Last month, however, under questioning from Congress about the program's viability, the administration reduced funding to complete the first phase by 30%, to $574 million.
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Article 1: Photo of Dale Ogden California gubernatorial election, 2010|2010 California gubernatorial candidate, talks with Wikinews reporter Mike Morales about his platform.
Ogden is a member of the United States' Libertarian Party.
Libertarianism is a political philosophy of minimum government espoused by the founders of our nation. People should be free to enjoy the fruits of their labor and government should be limited to protecting the life, liberty and property of its citizens. That includes such things as national defense, a court system to resolve disputes, and the enforcement mechanisms to enforce contracts between consenting adults and legal entities. A key characteristic of the Libertarian Party is that we do not believe that coercion should be used to effect change. When joining the LP, we take the following oath: "I certify that I oppose the initiation of force to achieve political or social goals."
'On one of California's major issues today, how do you propose to fix our failing economy?'
We need to roll-back spending to the level of 1998, adjusted for inflation and population (does anyone think we didn't have enough government in 1998?); lower taxes significantly (especially income and sales taxes); eliminate harmful, useless, and duplicate regulatory agencies; significantly reduce the number of employees at most state agencies; and permanently limit future spending increases based on population and inflation and limited to the tax receipts available (no more deficit spending).
We need to roll-back excessive salaries and pensions for state employees and increase the retirement age for both current and future state employees to 65 to 70 (from the current 50 or 55). We need to end collusion between politicians, bureaucrats and government employee unions. No elected or appointed official should ever get a pension or post-employment benefits.
The friendly business and low tax environment in California will attract tens of thousands of businesses and millions of jobs to California and, eventually, tax receipts will soar. However, any excess revenue should be used to retire debt or returned to the taxpayers.
'What is your stance on gay marriage?'
Why not just get government out of people’s personal lives? Let people choose how to live their lives, choose with whom they share it, and decide for themselves what arrangements (marriage or otherwise) should be made for all of life’s situations. Treat every individual equally. Do not discriminate in favor of or against married couples (or groups). Let them decide what promises to make to one another and embed those promises in contracts. The state can then enforce the contracts, as it should enforce all contracts between consenting adults. If religions want to put their “stamp of approval” on a wedding, let them; let the people involved decide what to do.
'Do you believe in the legalization of marijuana and why?'
Yes. I believe in the legalization of marijuana. The government does not have either the right nor the moral authority to prohibit what substances people put into their bodies for either medicinal or recreational or other purposes. Practically, the war on drugs has been a dismal failure. Just like prohibitions on alcohol, gambling, prostitution, etc., they do not work. They push the activity underground and create opportunities for the criminal element and, likewise, opportunities for the corruption of police and other public officials. Generally, such laws are enforced inconsistently and to the detriment of the most vulnerable individuals in society.
'Explain how you think California's immigration laws should work.'
Philosophically, I believe in open borders. People should be able to come and go as they please. However, the government should not take money from one group of individuals (taxpayers) and give it to others. We should not subsidize nor penalize immigrants. If people want to come to the United States and California to work and take care of their families, they should be allowed to do so. However, those who commit crimes against persons or property should be either imprisoned (for serious offenses) or deported. In that regard, the United States government needs to monitor and control its borders.
'Why should California "permanently roll-back spending to or below the level of 1998... and absolutely limit future spending increases?" '
Over the past 20-30 years, the state of California has continuously increased the share of the economy that it confiscates through taxes and spends, mostly, on unionized government employees and social welfare. It has reduced the amount of money that benefits the general populace in infrastructure. I chose 1998 because that pre-dates the pension scam perpetrated by Gray Davis, the Democrats in the state legislature, and the government employee unions, in which retirement ages were reduced to absurd levels and benefits were increased by about 50%. Were we to roll back spending to 1998 levels, we could both eliminate the state income tax and have a budget surplus. In my opinion, that process was a fraud perpetrated on the taxpayers of California and should be prosecuted criminally. The politicians took bribes in the form of campaign contributions and support and the leaders of the government employee unions paid bribes.
'Why is it necessary to repeal the global warming laws?'
There is no global warming crisis. The alleged warming trends do not exist and there has actually been a cooling trend over the last ten or so years. The "scientists" who raise the alarm on global warming trends have been discredited as having manipulated their data and destroying data that does not support their beliefs (if they even believe them). Billions of dollars of taxpayer money has been diverted to politically correct scientists and scammers like Al Gore who have gotten rich from this falsehood and who propose to use global warming as an excuse to control mankind's behavior (their real intent). Even if there is some minor global warming (which there has been in some earlier periods in history), there is no reason to believe that it would be harmful to the climate as a whole. Some areas may benefit and some may lose, but that would be true if we had global cooling, too. As an intellectual exercise, ask yourself these questions (originally posed by )
:"Is global warming a reality?
:"If it is a reality, is it man-made?
:"If it is a reality, is it a problem? Will the people in the world, and now I have to say "globally" be better-off or worse-off due to small increases of global temperature?
:"If it is a reality, and if it is a problem, can men prevent it or stop it? Can any reasonable cost-benefit analysis justify anything within the range of current proposals to be done just now?"
Even if we can say yes, with some degree of probability, to the first question, the answers to the remaining questions clearly is no.
'Why should the state remove itself from the education of children? Would you also cut funds for the University of California?'
Like everything the government does, it does a miserable job of educating children and spends way too much doing so. Private competitive schools, perhaps funded by vouchers, would be better. Public school systems have way too many administrators and lack accountability. Teacher unions have the same adverse effect on education that government employee unions have on other government "services." Let's give parents choices by eliminating the monopolistic, union-controlled schools. Competition works and freedom works.
As far as the UC system, it is a massive overfunded boondoggle. Higher education has been protected from price competition for many decades. The more government subsidizes education, the higher the price charged for that education with the result that the students and their parents end up paying as much as before. The cost of education has increased far faster than inflation over the past several decades. From what I've seen and read, most university professors are grossly underworked. They need to spend more time teaching; there needs to be more innovation in teaching to keep the cost down (like online education, but certainly not limited to that). Many of the services provided to students at our universities are more baby-sitting than education. We need real competition in education and we need to privatize our public universities. Let people keep their tax money and use it to decide where to go to school. I propose we sell the UC system to private owners and let it compete. Article 2: Aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. US president Barack Obama has endorsed buiding a mosque and Islamic community center near the site of the attacks.
US president Barack Obama has endorsed permitting a mosque to be built a few blocks away from the site where terrorists intentionally crashed two planes into the World Trade Center towers in 2001, otherwise known as 'Ground Zero'. The site is located in New York City.
Obama, who stated his endorsement at an annual dinner celebrating the Islamic holiday of , said, "As a citizen, and as president, I believe that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as everyone else in this country. That includes the right to build a place of worship and a community center on private property in lower Manhattan, in accordance with local laws and ordinances. This is America, and our commitment to religious freedom must be unshakable."
Reaction to the presidential endorsement was mixed. New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, a staunch supporter of building the Cordoba House Islamic Center, has said that Obama's comments were a "clarion defense of the freedom of religion." However, many Republicans were angry, including US Representative Peter King, Republican-New York, who said that "President Obama is wrong." Conservative commentator Charles Krauthammer stated that "the governor of New York offered to help find land to build the mosque elsewhere. A mosque really seeking to build bridges ... would accept the offer." Other right-wing politicians, including Sarah Palin and Newt Gingrich, have opposed the mosque, calling the World Trade Center site "hallowed ground."
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Article 1: An international court in Strasbourg issued a ruling yesterday that powers allowing UK police to stop and search anyone without reason are in breach of European law. The European Court of Human Rights deemed powers contained in the Terrorism Act 2000 denied the human right of privacy.
Under the European Convention of Human Rights people in the UK are granted the right to privacy, although their government felt that the threat of terrorism meant that the breach of this was justifiable and allowable under exemptions in the Convention. Previously, the powers have been unsuccessfully challenged before the English and Welsh High Court, upheld by those nations' Court of Appeals and finally upheld again before the UK's House of Lords.
Section 44 of the Terrorism Act allows the Home Secretary to designate an area for use of the powers for a certain period. If this period was more than a month then at the end of the month then the Home Secretary can renew them. The entirety of Greater London has spent several years with the powers in effect. Under the Act, the police do not need to have any reason to search whoever they like and have the power to confiscate articles they believe to be of use to terrorists. They can also make arrests if these are found.
Yesterday's ruling was made in a case brought by Kevin Gillan and Pennie Quinton, both stopped outside a military exhibition in London's Docklands area. Gillan was stopped while cycling past and kept there for twenty minutes while journalist Quinton was ordered to stop filming even after showing her press card. She claims to have been detained for roughly thirty minutes at the scene, while police claim she was there for five minutes. The court awarded €33,850 (£30,400) to cover the costs incurred by bringing the case.
UK Home Secretary Alan Johnson expressed disappointment at the ruling and stated that an appeal will be launched. Chief Constable Craig Mackey of the Association of Chief Police Officers said that while this appeal was pending Section 44 of the Act would continue to be used by police.
The court found that the humiliation and embarrassment of searching people in public was a clear breach of privacy as well as criticising that the way power was authorised did not require a test that its use be "necessary," merely "expedient." The court singled out London's designation under the Act as an area where the powers could be used continuously since it became law as an example of why this was not appropriate.
Further criticism in the ruling was aimed at the idea that the decision to search could be "based exclusively on the 'hunch' or 'professional intuition' of the police officer". The judgement added that "the absence of any obligation on the part of the officer to show a reasonable suspicion made it almost impossible to prove that the power had been improperly exercised," with no judicial oversight. Racism was a further concern, with the court expressing a fear that the powers could easily be used in a discrimminatory manner. Four times as many blacks and Asians have been searched compared to whites. Article 2: Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the president of Iran, is visiting Zimbabwe to sign trade agreements with the country and meet with Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe.
Ahmadinejad, in comments at the trade fair located in , said the amount of trade between the two nations should be increased. The Iranian president remarked that Zimbabwe and Iran made a friendship based on a principled stand against Western interference, and accused the West of seeking control over Zimbabwe's natural resources.
Mugabe commented: "Because of the principled positions we have taken at both the domestic and international level, Zimbabwe and Iran have been unjustly vilified and punished by Western countries. Be also assured, comrade president, of Zimbabwe's continuous support of Iran's just cause on the nuclear issue."
The US wants new UN sanctions against Iran, due to the latter's refusal to stop its uranium enrichment, saying that it it is intended for nuclear weapons. Iranian authorities, however, insist the programme is only for peaceful purposes.
According to the The Sunday Telegraph, the trades will consist of Iran supplying oil to Zimbabwe, in exchange for the latter's allowing Iran to obtain access to uranium deposits in the country. "Iran secured the exclusive rights last month when minister of state for Presidential affairs, Didymus Mutasa, visited Tehran. That is when the formal signing of the deal was made, away from the glare of the media," a Zimbabwean government source stated, as quoted by the Telegraph.
Ahmadinejad’s visit brought another source of friction between Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai. Tsvangirai's (MDC) party said that Mugabe's invitation sent the wrong message to the rest of the world as Zimbabwe was re-engaging the West and trying to rebuild its economy. MDC sources said Tsvangirai flew to South Africa on Thursday, the day on which Ahmadinejad arrived.
In a statement, the MDC remarked that "Ahmadinejad's visit is not only an insult to the people of Zimbabwe, but an affront to democracy and to the oppressed people of Iran."
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Article 1: Peter Porter, an Australian-born British poet, has died at the age of 81 after suffering from liver cancer for a year. The poet was born in Brisbane, Australia in 1929 and moved to London, England in 1951. His first collection of works, entitled "Once Bitten, Twice Bitten", was first published in 1961. He went on to become a broadcaster, reviewer, journalist and a full-time poet in the year 1968.
Porter created "The Cost of Seriousness" in 1978, after his first wife committed suicide in 1974. Some of the prizes he won for his creations included the Duff Cooper prize, the Forward prize — for "Max is Missing" — the Whitbread poetry award and the Queen's Gold Medal for poetry. "Afterburner", created by Peter in 2004, was also shortlisted for a T.S. Eliot Prize for Poetry. One of his latest collections, "Better than God", was on the shortlist for the Forward Prize in 2009.
, another English poet, a friend and a colleauge to Peter Porter, stated that he "never quite knew where he belonged". He stated: "In Australia he was considered English, and in England he was considered Australian. He sort of floated." Thwaite would describe Porter as "one of the finest poets of our time". Article 2: Norfolk UK locator map 2010.svg|thumb|left|The incident occurred in Norfolk, England.
Five people are thought to be seriously injured after a coach carrying elderly people overturned near Norwich, Norfolk, England. 44 others have suffered minor injuries.
Emergency services are reportedly at the scene, including at least seven ambulances. confirmed a "major incident" had occurred; it is thought only one vehicle, the single-decker coach, was involved. A statement released by the force said several people had become trapped in the vehicle in the incident, but all had been freed.
A spokesperson for Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital; others are being treated in a community centre near the site of the incident.
"I've seen four of five fire crews and at least seven ambulances going through to the scene of the crash, and they were still coming about an hour after the incident," reporter Cath Saunt, at the scene of the incident, said. "A couple of ambulances left the scene with blue flashing lights and people who do not need immediate treatment have been taken to a community centre."
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Article 1: Eugene Terreblanche Many of South Africa's major political leaders are urging for calm after the recent murder of a prominent white supremacist leader, Eugene Terreblanche.
Terreblanche was killed last night at his home in South Africa's North West province; police have arrested two males, aged 15 and 21, in connection with the murder. The suspects were workers at Terreblanche's farm who were apparently involved in a wage dispute. Terreblanche died from injuries to his head, apparently from a machete and club.
In response to the killing, South African President Jacob Zuma called the murder "cowardly," and said that it was a "sad moments for our country that a leader of his standing should be murdered." South Africa's Police Minister also asked for calm, saying that "We call on all South Africans across whatever divide—across the racial divide, across the political divide—to desist from making any inflammatory statements."
Despite Zuma's statement, opposition leaders said that his remarks, as well as those from other members of his party, increased tensions in the country. The Afrikaaner Resistance Movement, which Terreblanche led until his death, also called for calm, but said that the party "will decide upon the action we are going to take to avenge Mr Terreblanche's death."
Terreblanche was a prominent figure in South African politics, and had first emerged in the 1980s as leader of a small group who opposed the end of apartheid. Since then, he had been a proponent of creating an exclusively white republic in South Africa. Despite his political views, the ruling African National Congress denied that his murder had been motivated by politics, although Terreblanche's party disputed that claim. Article 2: A court in Paris has jailed several men for attempting to murder police officers and related offences during riots in a poor suburb in 2007. The violence began after two teens died when a police car collided with their motorbike.
The Canadian Press names a fifth convict. Half-brothers Adma and Abderhamane Karama, both 29, and Ibrahima Sow, 26, were convicted of attempted murder. The court found that they had used hunting rifles to shoot buckshot at police in over two nights of violence.
The Canadian Press names Maka Kante, 24, as also convicted of attempted murder. Adama was jailed for twelve years and Abderhamane for fifteen years; the brothers were described in court as the ringleaders of the shootings in the primarily black and Arab suburb. The Canadian Press says Kante received three years for his role. Sow will spend the next nine years in prison.
Samuel Lambalamba, 24, was convicted of supplying a firearm to one of the rioters and jailed for three years. One defence lawyer, Michel Konitz, told the RTL radio station that he is uncertain whether his client will appeal "even though he is not guilty." Another, Patrick Arapian, said "with sentences this harsh, one can feel political meddling in the justice system." Prosecutors had sought between seven and twenty years for the accused.
According to (RFI), the prosecution had struggled to find witnesses willing to testify among the locals. Instead, RFI says the case centred largely on anonymous written statements. The trial's last day stretched late into the night yesterday, with the verdict and sentencing following this morning. President Nicolas Sarkozy and his government are attempting to reduce violence in city suburbs.
The police union Alliance welcomed the convictions. They "will give new confidence to our colleagues," according to spokesperson Ludovic Collignon, who called the trial "symbolic". The riots in November 2007 left 119 police officers injured. Rioters burned shops, cars, a police station, two schools and a library to total more than seventy vehicles and buildings.
The European Court of Human Rights has previously been asked to consider cases where the right to a fair trial may have been breached by the use of anonymous witnesses. In the case of Van Mechelen and Others v. the Netherlands it stated that "it should be recalled that a conviction should not be based either solely or to a decisive extent on anonymous statements."
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Article 1: West Yorkshire and surrounding area map
Police in the United Kingdom have arrested a 40-year-old man on suspicion of being a serial killer. The man is being questioned over the death of one prostitute and the disappearances of two others in , West Yorkshire, England.
The man was arrested on Monday after 36-year-old Suzanne Blamires vanished on Sunday. Body parts believed to be hers were found floating in a river yesterday afternoon, and police today announced they were questioning a man on suspicion of her murder and that of two missing prostitutes.
The man, who lives in Bradford's magistrate granted extra time to question the man, which will expire tomorrow evening.
Rushworth was last seen on a double-decker bus heading to Thornton Road. She had three children, was addicted to heroin and suffered from epilepsy. Armitage was last seen on CCTV in the red-light district. She lived just three streets from Blamires and the two knew each other. Blamire's suspected remains were found in the Shipley by a member of public at 2:00 p.m.
River Aire in West Yorkshire
The area is being examined by forensics experts, crime officers and police divers. West Yorksire Police's homicide and major enquiries team is conducting the investigation. Police dogs have been used to search a drainage culvert and undergrowth on Thornton Road, and black bags from skips behind nearby halls of residence have been examined. Members of the police underwater search unit were also at work. Previously, separate searches have been held for Rushworth and Armitage.
Assistant Chief Constable Jawaid Akhtar said the remains from the river are of a single unidentified woman. He said that all three women's families are being assisted by family liaison officers. Speaking at an on-scene press conference at the junction between Dockfield Road and Otley Road in Shipley, he described the investigation as "a very thorough and painstaking inquiry into three missing women, all of them sex workers, with all the necessary resources and expertise devoted to it."
Some British media has compared the case to the serial killer , often referred to as the Yorkshire Ripper. Sutcliffe lived in Bradford and killed three of his thirteen victims there; he also attempted to murder seven more people before his 1981 conviction. Most of his victims were prostitutes. Article 2: A man accused of being a serial killer has appeared in magistrates court in West Yorkshire today charged with three counts of murder. 40-year-old Stephen Griffiths is accused of killing Suzanne Blamires, 36, Susan Rushworth, 43, and Shelley Armitage, 31, all prostitutes.
Griffiths, a former van driver with a degree in psychology and studying for a CCTV recording that appeared to show a murder.
A caretaker had been reviewing footage from the flats where Griffiths lives when he saw footage of a woman and a man enter a flat early on Saturday morning. Two minutes later, she ran out and was followed by the man, who beat her to the ground and shot her in the head with a crossbow. Over the course of the weekend, the man was seen several times with bin bags and a rucksack.
On Tuesday, the day after the arrest of Griffiths, Blamires' remains were found in the Shipley, West Yorkshire|Shipley. She had been cut into several pieces and her head was located in a rucksack. Police continue to search for the other two alleged victims; Rushworth has been missing since June last year and Armitage vanished in April.
Police have searched much of Bradford's , where Griffiths' third-floor flat is located. Forensic investigations at the flat are expected to last around three weeks. There are plans to search landfill sites for bodies, and police may yet expand the inquiry to cover three more cold cases, although at present they have not been linked to the current inquiry.
Sniffer dogs have been used throughout the city, and police have been taking away plastic evidence bags. Some alleyways remain closed off. Police charged their suspect yesterday.
Griffiths was known as "the lizard man" in his block of flats owing to his habit of walking his two pet Jack the Ripper," and he has spent time in a high-security psychiatric hospital. During his five-minute court appearance he did not enter a plea, kept his head bowed and fidgeted with his cuffed hands. He said "Here, I guess," when asked for his address.
As he stood in the glass-fronted dock, guarded by three security officers, he was watched by the families of Rushworth and Armitage, who were accompanied by police family liaison officers. Blamires' family chose not to be present, but the victim's mother Nicky Blamires, 54, has told the press that Suzanne was a "much-loved" family member even though she "went down the wrong path and did not have the life she was meant to have." "Nobody deserves this," she said. "All these girls were human beings and people's daughters."
Griffiths' morning court appearance was followed by a second one this afternoon, at Bradford . This time, he confirmed his name without incident. He was remanded into custody until next month, when he will appear in court again.
British media has been quick to compare the case to Broadmoor Hospital|Broadmoor high-security psychiatric hospital near London.
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Article 1: Liverpool's John Lennon Airport in 2009
Anke Anusic, age 44, and her mother Gitta, age 66, were arrested at Liverpool John Lennon Airport last Saturday for attempting to smuggle the body of their deceased 91-year-old relative, "Willi" Curt Jaran, on a flight to Berlin, Germany.
The women tried to take the body on to the plane in a wheelchair wearing sunglasses, and they claimed that the person was asleep. They had previously used a taxi to bring the corpse from their home in Oldham.
The deception was discovered by check-in staff; both airport staff and the taxi driver are said to be upset by the events. Though they have not explained their actions, the costs of transporting a body can be several thousand pounds. They have been arrested on suspicion of failing to report a death. Both women are German nationals.
The two women, however, claim that Mr Jaran was alive until check in.
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fr:Royaume-Uni : deux allemandes arrêtées à Liverpool après avoir essayé de transporter un cadavre Article 2: A man accused of being a serial killer has appeared in magistrates court in West Yorkshire today charged with three counts of murder. 40-year-old Stephen Griffiths is accused of killing Suzanne Blamires, 36, Susan Rushworth, 43, and Shelley Armitage, 31, all prostitutes.
Griffiths, a former van driver with a degree in psychology and studying for a CCTV recording that appeared to show a murder.
A caretaker had been reviewing footage from the flats where Griffiths lives when he saw footage of a woman and a man enter a flat early on Saturday morning. Two minutes later, she ran out and was followed by the man, who beat her to the ground and shot her in the head with a crossbow. Over the course of the weekend, the man was seen several times with bin bags and a rucksack.
On Tuesday, the day after the arrest of Griffiths, Blamires' remains were found in the Shipley, West Yorkshire|Shipley. She had been cut into several pieces and her head was located in a rucksack. Police continue to search for the other two alleged victims; Rushworth has been missing since June last year and Armitage vanished in April.
Police have searched much of Bradford's , where Griffiths' third-floor flat is located. Forensic investigations at the flat are expected to last around three weeks. There are plans to search landfill sites for bodies, and police may yet expand the inquiry to cover three more cold cases, although at present they have not been linked to the current inquiry.
Sniffer dogs have been used throughout the city, and police have been taking away plastic evidence bags. Some alleyways remain closed off. Police charged their suspect yesterday.
Griffiths was known as "the lizard man" in his block of flats owing to his habit of walking his two pet Jack the Ripper," and he has spent time in a high-security psychiatric hospital. During his five-minute court appearance he did not enter a plea, kept his head bowed and fidgeted with his cuffed hands. He said "Here, I guess," when asked for his address.
As he stood in the glass-fronted dock, guarded by three security officers, he was watched by the families of Rushworth and Armitage, who were accompanied by police family liaison officers. Blamires' family chose not to be present, but the victim's mother Nicky Blamires, 54, has told the press that Suzanne was a "much-loved" family member even though she "went down the wrong path and did not have the life she was meant to have." "Nobody deserves this," she said. "All these girls were human beings and people's daughters."
Griffiths' morning court appearance was followed by a second one this afternoon, at Bradford . This time, he confirmed his name without incident. He was remanded into custody until next month, when he will appear in court again.
British media has been quick to compare the case to Broadmoor Hospital|Broadmoor high-security psychiatric hospital near London.
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Article 1: A car bomb has exploded outside an army base in Northern Ireland that is the headquarters for MI5 domestic security services. The attack has been claimed by dissidents from the Real Irish Republican Army, a more radical splinter group of the IRA.
According to police, Real IRA members hijacked a vehicle from a taxi driver in Belfast; Al Jazeera reports it was commandeered at gunpoint. A bomb was planted in the car, which was then driven to the rear of the Palace Barracks.
The explosion comes several hours before the Northern Ireland Assembly was scheduled to appoint its first justice minister, and only minutes after the Belfast power-sharing administration regained control over justice and policing in the province for the first time in nearly four decades.
An Ulster Unionist member of the Belfast Policing Board, Basil McCrea, commented on the explosion, saying: "It's obviously people trying to make a statement about the transfer of policing and justice powers. We are going to have to expect more of this over the next period of time ... There will be people who will try to disrupt the process," as quoted by the BBC.
He commented that he believed the incident was a "one-off" occurrence, and said he tried to reassure concerned locals in the area.
Police said IRA dissidents held a Belfast taxi driver at gunpoint in his home and used his vehicle to carry the bomb to the rear of Palace Barracks. Witnesses report hearing an explosion shortly after midnight local time; Al Jazeera puts the precise time of the detonation at 00.24 local time (23.24 UTC). One man was hospitalised following the bombing, although there are no reports of deaths.
According to a local journalist, security has cordoned off the area near the explosion. Article 2: British fashion designer Alexander McQueen has died at the age of 40. He was found dead inside his residence in London, England yesterday.
The Metropolitan Police said they are not treating the death as suspicious. A spokesperson for the police force said, "we were called by London Ambulance Service at about 10.20am this morning to reports of a man found dead at an address in Green Street, W1. He is believed to be 40 years old and from London. Next of kin have been informed, however we await formal identification before releasing the name of the deceased." According to reports, McQueen committed suicide by hanging, however this has not been confirmed.
Between the years of 1996 and 2003, McQueen received Fashion Designer of the Year four times. He was also given a CBE by Queen Elizabeth II in 2003. The fashion designer had a new selection of clothing, entitled "McQ", that was expected to be shown on Thursday; the show has now been cancelled. Alexander's mother Joyce died earlier this month. In response to this, McQueen placed a message on his Twitter page which said "RIP mumxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx." Isabella Blow, who assisted in making McQueen famous, killed herself in 2007.
Yesterday, a statement was released from McQueen's company headquarters stating "On behalf of Lee McQueen's family, Alexander McQueen today announces the tragic news that Lee McQueen, the founder and designer of the Alexander McQueen brand, has been found dead at his home. At this stage it is inappropriate to comment on this tragic news beyond saying that we are devastated and are sharing a sense of shock and grief with Lee's family. Lee's family has asked for privacy in order to come to terms with this terrible news and we hope the media will respect this."
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Article 1: As many as four leaks have been detected in the Deepwater Horizon well cap in the Gulf of Mexico, according to live footage shot by one of BP's ROVs (Remote Operated Vehicles). The leaks were detected early this morning, just after 4:00 (EDT).
The HOS SUPER H ROV 1 made the discovery while performing an "integrity survey" of the well and well cap. It recorded what appears to be a thin metal pipe lining the outside of the oil cap. Four small leaks of what appear to oil bubbles were detected during this survey. The first appears just after the elbow connecting the pipe to the two green pipes. The second can be seen through the hole of the large metal ring. The third is seen just to the right of the metal ring.
Hydrocarbon builds up as oil and gas leaks from a pipe.
It is not yet known what the pipe carries or what it connects to. It is also not yet clear if all leaks are from the pipe, or leaking from the well. BP confirmed the leaks and told Wikinews in a phone call to their Houston, Texas press office, there is a "small leak" releasing hydrates consisting of gases and oil. They are "studying the issue" and are prepared to fix the pipe if it becomes an issue. Live camera feeds show hydrocarbons building up as the oil and gas leak from the pipe.
On July 18, ROV cameras showed bubbles coming from the base of well. BP said it would test the bubbles to determine what they are and as of Sunday, COO of BP Doug Suttles says the bubbles are not methane, but further tests are being conducted. "If you can imagine, it is not an easy operation to collect those bubbles so that they can be tested to see what their make-up is."
Yesterday an unnamed United States official told the Associated Press that there was "seepage" coming from the area at the bottom of the Deepwater well head. The official said the seepage and methane gas were discovered near the Deepwater well head, but did not specify an exact location. Admiral Thad Allen, a former US Coast Guard admiral who is overseeing the spill efforts for the US government said yesterday in a letter to BP that ROVs "detected seep a distance from the well and undetermined anomalies at the well head." So far there is no word what those substances are, but BP says the bubbles detected on July 18 are not of a hydrocarbon nature.
"When seeps are detected, you are directed to marshal resources, quickly investigate, and report findings to the government in no more than four hours," said Allen in his letter to BP. During a press conference today, Allen confirmed seepage about 3km from the well point. He could not specify whether the seep was related to the capping of the well or if it is naturally occurring.
On June 13 the Viking Poseidon ROV (Remote Operated Vehicle) 1 recorded oil and methane seeping from the seafloor at around 2:48 a.m.. The ROV monitors the seep for a minute and even gets covered in a plume of oil and sand before it moved on to the next spot. Smaller eruptions were seen as the ROV traveled. After an investigation, Wikinews determined that the seepage was located just over 50 feet from the Deepwater leak point. BP has denied that any oil or methane gas is leaking from the sea floor. On July 16, Kent Wells, the senior vice president of the company, said on their official Twitter page that "4 ROVs using sonar scanning are looking for anomalies in seabed floor. No indications any oil or gas escaping."
BP issued a press release earlier this morning, but did not state information regarding any leaks or seepage from the well. BP did say that the well cap "measured at approximately 6,792 pounds per square inch and continues to rise slowly."
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill started on April 20 after an explosion on the rig. Efforts to put out the fire failed and the rig subsequently sank to the bottom of the Gulf. On April 22, an oil slick appeared on the surface of the Gulf. BP capped the leaking well on July 13 which effectively stopped oil from leaking into the Gulf. The company has been running a pressure integrity test on the 150,000 pound cap since it stopped the flow of oil. BP hopes for the well's pressure to rise to or above 7,500 PSI. As of Saturday morning the well's pressure was just above 6,700 PSI. BP fears anything lower than the expected PSI could mean a leak in the cap or elsewhere, such as oil or methane seeping up from the seafloor. Article 2: File photo of a Delta Airlines Boeing 737-800
Delta Air Lines flight 1457 departing from Portland, Oregon|Portland, Oregon. There are no injuries reported at this time.
The Boeing 737-800|737-800 departed from Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said that the flight turned around when the flight crew noticed the blown out tire. The flight was forced to go into a holding pattern to burn off fuel for more than an hour before it landed. The 737 landed safely at around 1500 local time (2000 UTC).
Delta did not immediately return calls inquiring about the flight. After some time Delta Spokesperson Anthony Black told the Associated Press that the 160 passengers on board would be put on a future flight to Portland.
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Article 1: New research published in the journal gene and migraines. Scientists hope that this discovery will lead to improved pain management treatments for sufferers, with possible benefits for pain treatment generally.
The breakthrough involves a gene known as TRESK, thought to control the brain's reaction to pain: if it is defective, then many normal activities and actions will be painful. Migraine sufferers (thought in the United Kingdom to number about eight per cent of men and eighteen per cent of women) often complain that light, noise and touch cause pain. TRESK can potentially be affected by drugs that would change the point at which it reports pain, which would alleviate the suffering of those with migraines. Now researchers will need to find such a drug.
The study involved scientists from the DNA of 110 people with migraine and members of their family, and found that TRESK was a major component in migraines. One of the Oxford researchers, consultant neurologist Zameel Cader, described it as a "once in a generation find" and said that it could "potentially lead to a treatment for pain in general." Before this study, no genes had been directly linked to migraines, although parts of the DNA that raised the general risk had been found.
Migraines are described by the Migraine Action Association|Migraine Action, described the news as "fantastic" and "genuinely a really great step forward." Professor Peter Goadsby from the termed it "a novel direction to consider new therapies in this very disabling condition."
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An earthquake of magnitude 7.0 on the Richter scale has been reported as having struck the Pacific island of New Britain, the second island in the Papua and New Guinea group. The quake, which struck at 22:01 UTC yesterday evening, hit at a depth of approximately according to the .
According to a member of staff at the Port Moresby Geophysical Observatory, minor effects of the quake were felt there, more than South West of the epicenter. First reports from the area indicate that the Western parts of New Britain have no power or telecommunications.
A report posted in the local language, 110 Southeast of Madang, and there are no initial reports of any tsunami warnings, and no reports of damage or casualties at press time.
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'Nick Clegg'
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Nick Clegg, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, has been unofficially declared the winner of the first televised election debate in British history.
The results of several early opinion polls concurred that Clegg's ratings surpassed those of Conservative Party leader David Cameron and Labour Party leader Gordon Brown:
*Populus for The Times—Nick Clegg 61%, David Cameron 22% and Gordon Brown 17%
*YouGov for The Sun—Nick Clegg 51%, David Cameron 29% and Gordon Brown 19%
*ComRes for ITV News—Nick Clegg 43%, David Cameron 26% and Gordon Brown 20%
A less scientific sample composed of TheGuardian readers yielded 59% support for Clegg, 32% for Brown and 9% for Cameron. However, pundits have dismissed Clegg's win as irrelevant, since voters vote for local MPs, not the prime minister.
Although such debates are usual in the United States, this is the first one taking place in the United Kingdom. That television election debate, which ran on ITV at 8:30 on the 15th, will be the first of three others and was set to focus upon domestic issues, though one of the questions drifted to cover the British nuclear deterrent and the British involvement in Afghanistan.
The second debate is due to take place on Thursday, 22 April 2010 at 8 p.m. It will be broadcasted by Sky and will focus on international issues. Article 2: The logo of the Scottish Football Association
The Scottish Football Association has apologised after fans booed the Liechtenstein national team|national team during their national anthem at last night's God Save the Queen.
Acting chief executive Hampden Park last night". He added "I apologise unreservedly to our visitors for the crass reaction to their anthem."
Scotland defeated Liechtenstein 2-1 to win them three points. Kenny Miller later scored off the bar to equalise the game. In the final minutes of extra time scored with a header to put Scotland to the top of Group I.
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Article 1: David Cameron - World Economic Forum Annual Meeting Davos 2010.jpg|thumb|left|David Cameron pictured here earlier in 2010
Newly-appointed UK Prime Minister David Cameron today travelled north to Scotland to meet with the country's First Minister, Alex Salmond, for the first time since the general election. According to The Scotsman, around 200 noisy protesters greeted the new PM, forcing security staff to take him into the devolved parliament via a back door.
Cameron's Conservative Party have traditionally been unpopular in Scotland. They won just one out of 59 Scottish seats in the election, gaining around seventeen per cent of the vote. Prior to the meeting, Salmond told reporters he intended to press Cameron for greater Scottish financial independence from Westminster, including greater tax powers— something supported by the Liberal Democrats, the Conservatives' new coalition partners, and the Lib Dem Scottish Secretary and on which Cameron has promised a cross-party commission.
Alex Salmond (crop).JPG|thumb|left|Alex Salmond shown here in 2008
Cameron had been seeking what he called a "fresh start" to restore ties between the parliaments at Westminster and Hollyrood. In addition to meeting the first minister, Cameron also met with the sixteen Conservatives currently sitting in the devolved Scottish Parliament.
After the meeting, both Salmond and Cameron agreed that the conversation had been "positive and constructive" and Cameron pledged a mutual "respect agenda" which would see him address the devolved Scottish parliament every year if invited and, in return, MSPs would appear before Commons committees in Westminster.
Cameron outlined part of his spending plans in preparation for an emergency budget, scheduled for fifty days after the election. He announced that no cuts would be made to the £30 billion annual budget for Scotland though that £6 billion in spending cuts would have to be made— something likely to cause controversy in Cameron's coalition government. However, both Cameron and Salmond anticipate that cuts may need to be made in subsequent years.
At a conference, Salmond said the talks had been "positive, constructive, detailed and substantive. I prefer a 'respect agenda' to a 'disrespect agenda'." He added that "how we judge the outcome of that agenda will be based on the policy options the Westminster government pursues, not just the words". At the same conference, Cameron told reporters "I believe, and Danny Alexander believes, that we should be pursuing the Calman agenda, and that that is a much greater degree of fiscal autonomy for Scotland." Article 2: Satellite image, April 25
According to BP's chief executive Barrel (volume)|barrels of oil is being captured each day in the Gulf of Mexico by a containment cap. Around 12,000 to 19,000 barrels are leaking each day, implying that more than half of the oil being released is captured by the containment cap.
Tony Hayward expressed his company's intention of restoring the Gulf to its original state, after what has been described by many as one of the worst environmental disasters in the history of the US. "As we speak, the containment cap is producing around 10,000 barrels of oil a day to the surface." Hayward said. When asked about what amount of the leak the oil being captured represented, he claimed it was "the majority, probably the vast majority".
Hayward feels confident that almost all of the leaking oil will be captured in the following week. "We have a further containment system to implement in the course of this coming week which will be in place by next weekend so when those two are in place, we would very much hope to be containing the vast majority of the oil." he said.
According to CNN, the US federal government's response manager, Adm. Thad Allen, said it was too early to call the operation a success, while admitting that BP had made progress in the handling of the situation. "We're making the right progress. I don't think anyone should be pleased as long as there's oil in the water," he said.
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Article 1: The EuroMillions lottery draw takes place in nine European countries including the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Austria, Belgium, Ireland, Luxembourg, Portugal and Switzerland.
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On March 5, 2010, Kier McElroy was found to be guilty of the charge of racially aggravated assault occassioning actual bodily harm by the jury in the court. On Friday, he was sentenced to sixteen months in prison.
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Inspector Eddie Henley, who was subsequently present at the scene of the crash, stated: "This is a two vehicle collision with one fatality. There was one vehicle where the one male occupant received fatal injuries. The other vehicle had two casualties with injuries that are serious but not believed to be life threatening."
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From approximately 1:00 p.m. (18:00 UTC) to 4:00 p.m. (22:00 UTC) Eastern Standard Time (EST), the popular free encyclopedia Wikipedia, alongside its sister projects (including Wikinews), went offline due to major server outages. Downtime was later attributed to overheating at the Project's central data center in Amsterdam.
According to a post made by Mark Bergsma at the Wikimedia Foundation's technical blog, the servers "shut themselves down" to avoid further heat damage.
Administrators reportedly attempted a shift of traffic to the Project's servers in Florida. However, "it turned out that this failover mechanism was now broken, causing the DNS resolution of Wikimedia sites to stop working globally."
According to the Project's official Twitter account, programmers were able to resolve most of the server problems by around 4:00 p.m. EST. Since the situation with the servers in Amsterdam is still ongoing, some users may still experience lingering service glitches due to "caching effects".
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Article 1: Pakistani security forces, aided by artillery and tanks killed 38 Taliban insurgents today in two separate attacks near the Afghanistan border in the Orakzai district of the North-West Frontier Province of the country, according to government officials.
Security men say that Orakzai, located to the southwest of Peshawar, became a Taliban stronghold since the army led offensives against other Taliban areas in different parts of northwest Pakistan.
An army checkpoint in Sayd Khalil Baba village was attacked by militants early on Sunday. However, security troops killed 26 insurgents with artillery fire, according to Samiullah Khan, a senior administrative official in the area. Sajid Khan, another government official of Orakzai told the news agency that scores of militants attacked the checkpost in the village on Sunday morning. "They used rocket-propelled grenades, mortars and machine guns, but our soldiers' response was quick and tough," he added. Ten militants were wounded in this attack according to the latter, who is based in Kalaya, the district's principal town.
Within hours, a military convoy was ambushed by Taliban attackers in an adjoining village. At least a dozen insurgents were killed in this attack, according to local authorities. Officials said only Pakistani soldier was injured in the attack. There was no confirmation of the figures provided by administrative officials available news agencies, as journalists are prohibited from entering the area.
Security officials claimed around 250 militants have been killed in several clashes in the Orakzai district. Pakistani Taliban leader Article 2: 160px
According to reports, at least eight people, including three United States military personnel and four schoolgirls, were killed earlier today by a roadside bomb near a girls' school in north-western Pakistan. Another 62 were injured. The incident occurred in a village in the Lower Dir district, near Swat Valley.
The Los Angeles Times reports that the US troops were travelling to the area in a convoy to attend the opening ceremony of the school for girls when the explosion occurred.
In a statement, the US embassy in Pakistan commented that "three Americans were killed and two injured in a terrorist bomb explosion at about 11:20am today in the Lower Dir district of Pakistan’s federally-administered tribal areas.
"The Americans were US military personnel in Pakistan to conduct training at the invitation of the Pakistan Frontier Corps. They were in Lower Dir to attend the inauguration ceremony of a school for girls that had recently been renovated with US humanitarian assistance," it added.
Mohammed Wakeel, the chief doctor at the local hospital, confirmed that some of the dead were schoolgirls, saying: "We have four dead bodies in the hospital. They are schoolgirls aged ten to fifteen. We have received 65 injured; most of them are girls."
Rema Bibi, a sixth-grader, was in the school when the explosion happened. She recalled her experiences, stating that "We were all busy with classwork when the a part of the roof collapsed," as quoted by the Los Angeles Times.
The Taliban, meanwhile, claimed responsibility for the attack. "We claim responsibility for the blast," said a Taliban spokesman, Azam Tariq.
The US does not officially have stationed troops in Pakistan, although there a few personnel are there. Their duties are primarily to train and advise Pakistani security forces over tactics against local rebel groups.
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Article 1: A spokesperson for Huddersfield.
The spokesperson said that one person aged 18 and two people aged 17, all of whom came from the Huddersfield region, had been detained in connection to Gurmail Singh's death on Sunday. The shop owner had sustained head injuries during the robbery. A post-mortem examination carried out on Singh determined that he was impacted in his head nine times by what was possibly a hammer.
Detective Superintendent David Pervin stated: "These men have been arrested as a result of the tremendous public response to my earlier appeals for information about this incident." Pervin pointed out that he still needs information from members of the public, and requested that any local people operating cameras in the area should contact the police. He also made a direct appealed to those involved in the attack: "they know who they are. The spotlight is already directly upon them and I call on them to do the right thing and hand themselves in now before we knock at their door and arrest them." Article 2: An inquest was held this week after a 10-year-old boy died after being shot with an air rifle in Swansea, Wales. On September 27, 2009, Rhys Johnson and his friend, aged 12, took, without permission, an air gun which belonged to Rhys' father. The two boys played with it near to the location of the Johnson house in the district of Llansamlet. They were unsupervised when they were shooting the gun at a bucket that was hanging in a tree and a tin can that was placed on a box.
The friend, who has remained anonymous, shot Rhys Johnson in the heart with the .22 caliber Webley Vulcan air gun at close range. Johnson died in a hospital at 0211 BST the next day from said wound. Philip Rogers, a coroner from Swansea, recorded the verdict as an accidental death. He was told that the friend had no intention of shooting Johnson. Therefore, no legal action has been taken against Johnson's friend accordingly.
Detective Sergeant Nigel Morgan of South Wales Police said that "Rhys was standing to his left calling his friend and laughing. The boy held the rifle at the butt in his right arm with his finger on the trigger. As he turned he felt the gun to be heavy. As it fell away he pulled it towards him and accidentally fired the trigger. Rhys was holding himself to the chest—he thought he was joking then he thought he's shot Rhys in the hand. He saw no blood and Rhys ran to the house." The detective stated that the friend "was crying and apologizing for what happened."
Rhys Johnson's father, David, age 36, an engineer in a workshop and the owner of the air rifle testified, "I would allow him to use it if he was with me when I was up the garden or we were spending time together. Rhys would have shown interest in it from when he was about eight-years-old." The coroner urged "anyone with children to try and ensure that such weapons are not used without parental supervision," going on to say that he was "sure Mr. and Mrs. Johnson were not aware the children were using the weapon unsupervised."
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Article 1: __NOTOC__
Southwest Airlines plane.jpg|thumb|left|A Southwest Airlines aircraft. Currently, the airline only serves the US market; however, if they successfully purchase AirTran Airways they will gain international routes to Mexico and the Caribbean.
An AirTran airplane. The company flew 23,998,000 passengers in 2009.
Low-cost US airline AirTran Airways for US$1.4 billion. The merger announcement comes just days after United Airlines sealed a merger deal with Continental Airlines.
"The acquisition of AirTran represents a unique opportunity to grow Southwest Airlines' presence in key markets we don't yet serve and takes a significant step towards positioning us for future growth," Gary Kelly, CEO of Southwest, said after the merger was announced.
The Southwest-AirTran deal, which awaits antitrust regulatory approval, will gain Southwest a larger US network. By merging with AirTran, Southwest will also be a strong competitor in Eastern United States cities such as New York City, New York, Charlotte, North Carolina, , Georgia and Washington, D.C., cities that Southwest had previously not touched much. Southwest also will be going international for the first time, inheriting AirTran's Mexican and Caribbean routes. The newly merged company would keep Southwest's name and livery.
Southwest will be offering AirTran stockholders US$7.69 per share. That's 69% more than AirTran's Friday, September 24 closing price. However, AirTran stock shot up 62% to $7.36 on Monday, while Southwest's stock rose more modestly to US$14.01. Delta Air Lines stock declined by 2% on Monday, as Southwest will gain an AirTran hub at Atlanta, which is also Delta's primary hub.
The new airline would carry over 100 million passengers, creating the world's fourth largest airline. Last year, Southwest carried 101,338,000 passengers, while AirTran carried 23,998,000 fliers. Southwest will be 25% larger after the merger is completed.
Though some people worry that airfares will go up, as people worried about during the United-Continental merger, others, including Southwest, aren't too worried. "America needs this now. You could go from Rochester, N.Y., to somewhere on AirTran, and from Charlotte to somewhere on AirTran. But with this deal you can now go just about anywhere in the country, and to the Caribbean and Mexico, on Southwest.. . With the more than 100 destinations that Southwest will now have, all the legacy airlines will have to set their prices based on whatever Southwest does," says Tom Parsons of BestFares.com. Parsons also said that "I think America is going to very happy that now they can fly coast-to-coast between 100 U.S. cities and make the legacy airlines be more competitive with the style of Southwest and their low fees."
Consumer advocate Clark Howard also weigned in with a positive remark on the deal. "It's so good for the flying public. This is an opportunity for a discounter to have the kind of heft and national reach of the full-fare airlines," he said.
Southwest even has said that fares could go down, as the "Southwest effect", which is supposed to stimulate competition, "has the potential to stimulate over two million new passengers and over US$200 million in consumer savings, annually" in Atlanta, according to the company. After the merger, Southwest also plans to drop AirTran's checked baggage fees of US$20-25. Southwest currently does not charge for checked baggage.
Others aren't as thrilled with the merger of the low-cost airlines. "This is truly a shocker, and it can only mean further consolidation. I don't think anyone really saw this coming. More than any recent merger, it spells bad news for low fares, since both airlines were leaders in the low fare space and had frequent, almost weekly, sales. I can only imagine that now pressure is on for American to find a partner, and also US Airways, and that will lead to even less fare competition." says George Hobica, of airfarewatchdog.com. Hobica also said that "The era of irrational, stupid, destructive fare sales is over. This is the new normal. JetBlue now has permission to raise prices between Baltimore and Boston. Other airlines now have permission to raise prices between Washington, D.C., and Florida."
Though Hobica was generally pessimistic about the deal, he did state that the Southwest takeover would be a win for AirTran customers, "because Southwest has better service than AirTran and lower fees." Article 2: Kjetil Ree
American economist bailout because of its weak growth and high amount of debt. Roubini made the comments to the newspaper. He said that it is becoming "increasingly likely" that Portugal will need international help. His comments came after Ireland received a €85 billion bailout from the European Union.
Portugal has become the second most likely euro rose around $1.33. After trading at $1.3181 in , it sank to its lowest level since September 21.
Roubini also commented on the situation of Spain, the fourth largest economy in Europe. He said that the country is "too big to bail out." Nicholas Smith, the director of equity research at in Tokyo said: "The one to really watch is Spain, as the eurozone's fourth largest economy, bigger than Greece, Ireland and Portugal put together. The question is whether the Union has the capital firepower to rescue Spain in the way it has for Greece and Ireland."
He commeted on the euro zone as a whole. He said "The economic outlook over the next few quarters, the next few years, is going to be weak economic growth ... The policy consequence is going to be more monetary easing," Roubini added. "The only central bank officially against further quantitative easing is the , but the pressure coming on sovereigns and the pressure coming on the financial sector in the euro zone are going to force the ECB to provide liquidity and increase base money."
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Article 1: American novelist J.D. Salinger, author of The Catcher in the Rye, has died of natural causes at the age of 91. His son confirms that he died in his New Hampshire home yesterday. Salinger was born in New York City in 1919.
J.D. Salinger in 1951
The author had famously remained a recluse since 1953, shortly after the publication of The Catcher in the Rye, his most famous work. He very rarely entered the public eye after that date, emerging only for infrequent interviews and lawsuits. He never responded to fan mail.
His magnum opus was published in 1951, and tells the story of Holden Caulfield, an alienated, rebellious seventeen year-old and his expulsion from an exclusive prep school, but is now known as one of the most influential books of the 20th century. Featuring on Time's top 150 books of all time, it has been translated into many languages, and sold more than 65 million copies worldwide. It was also carried by Mark David Chapman, when he gunned down John Lennon in 1980.
Apart from The Catcher in the Rye, he has published a few other books, none of which have enjoyed such success. These include 9 Stories, Franny and Zooey, and Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour: An Introduction.
Salinger's last work, the novella Hapworth 16, was published in The New Yorker in 1965. Article 2: Apple iPhone vs HTC Hero.jpg|thumb|left|An Apple iPhone and two w:HTC Hero|HTC Heroes Apple sued HTC, a Taiwanese manufacturer of mobile phones, on Tuesday, in a lawsuit claiming 20 different patent infringements, largely relating to the user interface of the iPhone, which is manufactured by Apple.
According to the lawsuit, filed with both the United States District Court in Delaware and the United States International Trade Commission, HTC violated Apple patents pertaining to both multi-touch gestures, which allow users to interact with a device's touchscreen using multiple fingers, as well as patents involving more general touch features. Devices mentioned in the suit are all phones manufactured by HTC that use Google's Android software. The lawsuit says that HTC, in selling the phones, knowingly induced those using the mentioned products to violate patents owned by Apple, some of which were filed in the mid-1990s.
Although the lawsuit named only HTC as a defendant, many viewed the action as an indirect challenge to Google, as the lawsuit only covered HTC devices running Google's Android software. The operating system has seen increasing popularity in the last year, and has increasingly included multi-touch input of the type mentioned in the lawsuit.
One analyst, from Kaufman Brothers, said, "I think this is kind of an indirect lawsuit against Google." Others said that Apple was suing HTC instead of Google because the phone manufacturer was an easier target than Google. Another analyst from MKM Partners said that "HTC is an optimal target for Apple-it's a relatively small vendor with a weak brand."
In the documents, Apple said that their goal was to permanently block HTC from importing and selling devices that had the offending qualities, as well a significant cash payment in damages.
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Article 1: United States Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano has announced that the US Government has ended funding for a controversial "virtual fence" along the US-Mexico border.
The program, called SBInet, will have $50 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 that was allocated to it withdrawn in favor of investment in other, immediately available technology for the purposes of security along the border. The program will also have all further funding immediately frozen; as a result, all work will halt on the project beyond two small test projects in Arizona. Officially, the move is in light of a pending reassessment of the program, though it is likely that it signals the end of the five-year project, which has come under mounting criticism based on cost and the time taken to complete the project.
In a statement, Napolitano said that, "effective immediately, the Department of Homeland Security will redeploy $50 million of Recovery Act funding originally allocated for the SBInet...to other tested, commercially available security technology along the Southwest border."
Criticism of the project has been largely based on the cost, which has been commented on by several government officials, including Senator John McCain, who criticized the program as "spending over $1 billion of taxpayers' dollars on a failed system of sensors and cameras." According to statements released last year, at the beginning of construction, the project would cost a total of $6.7 billion, of which $3.4 billion has been spent on the first phase of the plan. The shortcomings were acknowledged by Napolitano in her statement, which said that "the system of sensors and cameras along the Southwest border known as SBInet has been plagued with cost overruns and missed deadlines."
The project was originally introduced in 2006 by President George W. Bush, and was envisioned as a high-tech system, dubbed a "virtual fence," that combined cameras, radar, and sensors to allow the Border Patrol to intercept up to 85% of incursions with as few as 22,000 officers. The contract was awarded to Boeing, which has since come under criticism for developing costly new technologies rather than using off-the-shelf systems. Under Barack Obama, the government initially continued to support the program, and laid out a new timetable for the its completion. Last month, however, under questioning from Congress about the program's viability, the administration reduced funding to complete the first phase by 30%, to $574 million. Article 2: Carl Edwards won the NASCAR 2010 Ford 400 held yesterday at Homestead, Florida|Homestead, Florida. List of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champions|championship after finishing second — his fifth championship in a row. Throughout the course of the race there were 10 cautions and 25 lead changes among 9 different drivers.
Afterward, Edwards commented, "To finish like this is unreal. It’s just these guys didn’t give up. It’s just a great way to end the season."
File photo of Carl Edwards (2008) at
Jimmie Johnson, the 2010 Sprint Cup Series Series champion.
Richard Childress Racing, and A. J. Allmendinger finished 5th in front of Ryan Newman and Matt Kenseth, and rounded out the top ten finishers in the race.
In the Drivers' championship, Johnson claimed his fifth consecutive championship, after being in second prior to the race. Jeff Gordon and was ninth and tenth.
Showing his excitement, Johnson said, "I can’t believe this! It’s unbelievable. You guys are the best. I can’t thank you enough," on his radio. Chevrolet won the Maunfacturers' championship with 261 points, while Toyota followed with 217.
Afterward, Johnson's crew chief, commented, "I think finally, finally after pulling this off Jimmie will get the respect that he deserves. Knowing what we had to do — come down here and beat them — and we beat them."
"I’m disappointed," Hamlin said afterward. "Our car was lightning fast until that last wreck. When we hit the 16 (Biffle) that knocked the toe-in out. It wasn’t as fast after that. It’s just circumstances but we had a great year. We won the most races (8) and we contended like we have never contended before but circumstances took us out of this one. I don’t think the 48 (Johnson) showed the strength this year like they did in the past and that opened the door for the rest of us."
Next, third place finisher, Harvick commented, "We went down swinging and that is what we came here to do. Those guys outran us on that last restart there. All in all I’m proud of all my guys. We did everything we wanted to do today but win the race. This is a great spot to start building for consistent championship runs next year. We had a top three car but they got by us on the restarts. All in all, it was a good day. What can you do?"
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Article 1: Seventeen insurgents were killed in clashes with security troops in the region of the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan. Several rebels were injured in the attack according to officials. None of the soldiers were injured in the attack.
Security personnel alleged that they had arrested a senior Taliban leader in the attack. Meanwhile, elders of various tribes demanded the government to bar security forces to carry out operations affecting the people of the Mishti Mela, Sanghra and Mishti Bazaar areas. They said that the government should have allowed the people some time to shift from the area before launching such attacks, claiming the air strikes in the region also killed some civilians.
Also, three people were kidnapped in Ghalo Cheena area of Hangu on Friday according to witnesses. The three people were on their way home when unidentified men held them at gunpoint and kidnapped them. Police said they had not heard about the incident. Article 2: The brothers got in a fight over the use of a PlayStation 3
A sixteen-year-old boy from Santiago, Chile has been charged with the murder of his brother after the pair got in a fight over whose turn it was to use a . Police reported that the sixteen-year-old had stabbed his eighteen-year-old brother after he turned the PlayStation on without his younger brother’s permission.
It's reported that the younger brother entered the kitchen and took a knife; he then stabbed his brother in the chest. Chile police reported that the youth said that "things had got out of control". If convicted, the boy would stay five years in prison.
At the time of the death there was no one else in the building. The boy’s birth mother had abandoned them ten years ago and they had been adopted by a Belgian woman. At the time of the attack, she was visiting her home country.
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Article 1: Maffra sit atop the 2010 Gippsland Football League (officially Gippsland League, GL) ladder after convincing wins over Sale and Morwell respectively. The Gippsland League is the only major Australian rules football competition in the Victorian Article 2: Australia's parliament will be hung after this year's federal election. With 73% of the nation wide vote counted, the governing has been confirmed to have 50.7% of the two party preferred votes, and predicted to win 73 seats in the House of Representatives, 3 short of majority.
The coalition of the Liberal and National parties has 70 secure seats and predicted to win 73 seats. This figure includes Queensland's Country Liberal Party, both of which are mergers of the local branches of the Liberal and National parties.
The Adam Bandt is projected to become the member for the . The Greens vote in the Senate reached 12.95%, meaning 1.26 million Australians voted for the party in the upper house. Its predicted tally of nine senators will guarantee it the balance of power in the Senate.
Two days after the election, a handful of seats are still in doubt. Sky News and ABC report that three seats are in doubt, while the lists four.
, a re-elected independent, told ABC Television that he and the other independents want a stable government. "If we can't get that, let's go back to the ballot box," he said.
"At the launch of our campaign this morning we had representatives from the Opposition, the shadow minister for youth as well as the Greens spokesperson for youth showing that this is not about who people vote for, it's about the fact that they've got the chance to vote," said Prime Minister Julia Gillard as she launched the campaign five weeks ago.
The ALP came to power in 2007 after they won 83 seats in the House of Representatives under the leadership of Kevin Rudd. In July 2010, Rudd was replaced as leader of the ALP and as Prime Minister by Ms Gillard.
Tony Abbott became leader of the Liberal Party of Australia in December 2009 replacing Malcolm Turnbull, who had replaced Brendan Nelson two years previously.
de:Labour-Partei verliert bei Wahl in Australien Mehrheit
fi:Australian vaalitulos suo riippumattomille vaa'ankieliaseman
ta:ஆஸ்திரேலியப் பொதுத்தேர்தல் 2010: எக்கட்சிக்கும் அறுதிப் பெரும்பான்மை கிடைக்கவில்லை
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Article 1: Boris Nemtsov, one of the detained.
Despite calls from Amnesty International for the protest to be allowed to go ahead, riot police detained dozens of people at an anti-Kremlin march in central Moscow on Saturday. Over a hundred turned up to protest against what the activists call a long-running Kremlin campaign to suppress the right of peaceful protest, in which the protesters shouted "Down with Putin!" and "Shame!", before being herded en masse onto buses by riot police. Among the people detained were influential opposition leader, Boris Nemtsov, a former deputy Prime Minister and the leader of opposition group Solidarity. According to police spokesman, Viktor Biryukov, around three hundred campaigners turned up, of which 100 were detained.
Over two hundred policemen cordoned off the square before the rally began, utilizing thirty police vans. For half an hour, no-one was detained, the police shouting "Citizens, please clear the path. Don't block the pedestrians!". Authorities often block pro-Western groups such as Solidarity from protesting, although groups seen "more loyal" to the Kremlin are actively encouraged to hold rallies.
Another protest was organized in St. Petersburg, where the majority of a dozen protesters were arrested, some beaten with truncheons. Others were held in Vladivostok, Krasnoyarsk and Yekaterinburg, which, according to Russian radio, were not shut down by police. Russian authorities have little tolerance of protests, often banning rallies, and placing the participants under arrest. This is the latest and largest of a series of protests, the most recent being in December. Another rally is scheduled for late March. Article 2: Latest figures from the US government say that the country's economy gained 290,000 jobs in April, the largest single-month gain since March 2006.
According to the Labor Department, excluding temporary workers for this year's census, the number of non-farm jobs increased by a seasonally adjusted 224,000.
The unemployment rate, meanwhile, increased from 9.7% to 9.9%; the apparent contradiction is because 195,000 people who previously gave up searching for jobs started looking for work again, entering the labor force and augmenting the jobless rate.
The increases were larger than expected by economic analysts; according to a survey done by , economists believed the country would have added 185,000 jobs for last month.
President Obama commented on the numbers earlier today at the White House, saying: "This is the largest monthly increase in four years ... we've now seen job growth for four months in a row. These numbers are particularly heartening when you consider where we were a year ago, with an economy in freefall."
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Article 1: The automobile manufacturer Toyota has said that it will recall up to 1.8 million cars across Europe, after a problem with the accelerator pedal was discovered.
According to the firm, eight models were affected by the problem — AYGO, iQ, Yaris, Auris, Corolla, Verso, Avensis, and RAV4 — after it was discovered that the accelerator may become stuck in a depressed position, resulting in uncontrollable speeding.
On Thursday, Toyota said it would recall 1.1 million cars in the US; a day previous, it had suspended eight models from sales. Last week, 2.3 million cars in the US were recalled due to the pedal issues.
The chief executive of Toyota Motor Europe commented on the recall. "We understand that the current situation is creating concerns and we deeply regret it," said Tadashi Arashima. The firm, however, noted that it wasn't aware of any accidents resulted by the malfunctioning accelerator pedals, and not many pedal problem incidents were reported in Europe. "The potential accelerator pedal issue only occurs in very rare circumstances," Arashima added.
The National Automobile Dealers Association, meanwhile, commented that Toyota showrooms could lose as much as US$2.47 billion worth of revenue due to the incident.
"Toyota veterans will likely hear the news with disbelief and keep faith in the brand, but new customers could definitely be scared off," remarked Robert Rademacher, who is the president of the trade group ZDK, as quoted by Business Week. "This recall has a dimension which we've never seen before."
There are concerns that the problem may result in reduced consumer trust in Toyota.
Hans-Peter Wodniok, an analyst for Fairesearch GmbH & Co. in Germany, noted: "If this is a one-time event, huge as it is, Toyota may be forgiven. But if something happens again in the next months and years, they will have gambled away customer trust in Europe as well."
Analysts for Morgan Stanley, however, said they believed Toyota would not suffer much from the incident. "The company's actions to correct the situation are timely enough to avoid major brand damage," they remarked in a note to investors. Article 2: Jerry Angelica
Canadian-born US actor, has died at the age of 84. Nielsen appeared in over 100 films in which he played several different roles ranging from romance and drama to comedy. The cause of death was announced as
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Article 1: __NOEDITSECTION__
The logo of whistleblowing website, Wikileaks
Yesterday's release of more US diplomatic cables by Wikileaks covered pressure on governments, Spain's judiciary, and buying foreign assistance with detentions at Guantanamo Bay. , one of five mainstream papers partnering with Wikileaks' release of documents, examined key output from Madrid's US embassy.
The latest cables focus on US–Spain relations, particularly during the George W. Bush presidency, with serving as ambassador in Madrid. He is cited as having "personally exerted" pressure on Spain's government and judiciary; this leading to at least three investigations being dropped.
Of concern to the press is the death of in 2003. The Spanish cameraman was killed during the battle for Baghdad; the Spanish judiciary intended to prosecute three US servicemen over the fatality.
File photo of Eduardo Aguirre Jr, United States ambassador to Spain.
American use of Spanish air bases for was a second concern the US embassy in Madrid pressured the government on. Spanish prosecutors had been keen to pursue 13 CIA officers over the illegal flights.
Repeatedly, concern over Spain's independent judiciary invoking 'universal jurisdiction' appears in leaked cables. Reports at the time showed magistrates considered actions at Guantanamo Bay torture, and seemed keen to pursue ex-US government officials on grounds of "criminal responsibility".
Cable 06MADRID1914 highlights the cases of Hamed Abderrahaman Ahmed and Moroccan Lahcen Ikassrien; respectively transferred from Guantanamo Bay, to Spanish custody, in February 2004 and July 2005.
Describing conditions at the Cuban detention centre as "impossible to explain, much less justify", Hamed — better known as the "Spanish Taliban" — saw a July 2006 ruling by the country's Supreme Court annul his six-year prison sentence, granting him an immediate release. The ruling cast doubt on the reliability of evidence against Lahcen, who was released on bail.
Hamed and his family, at the time, announced their intent to sue the US government over his suffering in Guantanamo Bay.
File photo of Baltazar Garzón, former Spanish High Court judge.
Later cables illustrate how concerned the Bush administration were over possible prosecution by José Blanco Lopéz. Pronouncements by the two, and others, on "criminal responsibility" were met with a diplomatically stern response; cable 07MADRID546 states that the government of Spain was "cautioned that continued statements on this issue by senior Spanish figures would be viewed negatively."
Garzón, best-known for indicting former dictator Augusto Pinochet, seemed to still trouble US diplomats when planning high-level defence talks in March 2007. Mention is made to a possible investigation, and indictment of, Donald Rumsfeld. Spain had informed the US embassy in Madrid the judge in the case was working to dismiss it.
As recently as March last year, Garzón sought to prosecute officials from the Bush administration.
Named as potential defendants in a Reuters report, John Yoo, William Haynes II, David Addington were all being investigated by Garzón.
Come April this year, Garzón himself faced prosecution. A probe into Franco-era war crimes saw him suspended, possibly to be tried for acting contrary to an amnesty extended to Franco supporters. It is alleged he "acted without jurisdiction".
At present, the former Spanish Supreme Court judge is working at the . Reports based on El Pais' investigation around the leaked cables suggest the country's judiciary has been politicised to suit American interests.
With a price of US$85,000 cited for each former Guantanamo Bay detainee that Spain was to take, recent reports assert other countries have been offered financial incentives to help empty the camp.
Belgium, alongside Spain, was supposedly offered more influence within the European Union in exchange for cooperating with US plans.
Kuwait's interior minister is said to have refused to take any of their citizens from the camp. Describing inmates as "rotten", DPA alleges he told the US to "get rid of" detainees in an Afghan war zone.
Yemen, in exchange for agreeing to take Guantanamo detainees, is said to have asked for US$11 million for the construction of a centre to rehabilitate Muslim extremists.
So far, only a tiny fraction of the documents in Wikileaks possession have been made public. Article 2: Johnson Space Center. Pictured at center right is NASA astronaut Doug Wheelock, commander. Also pictured (from the left) are Russian cosmonauts Oleg Skripochka and Alexander Kaleri; NASA astronauts Scott Kelly and Shannon Walker; along with Russian cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin, all flight engineers.
The remaining members of the Baikonur Cosmodrome, which will return the station to its full complement of 6 persons. They will launch in the Russian Soyuz TMA-01M vehicle and dock on Saturday. According to Space Fellowship there is only one Soyuz capsule currently docked to the station, for emergency escape.
Currently there are three astronauts on the station: Commander Doug Wheelock and Flight Engineers Shannon Walker and Fyodor Yurchikhin. The additional crew scheduled to join them are Flight Engineers Oleg Skripochka, Alexander Kaleri, and Scott Kelly.
The three crew now on the station were part of Expedition 26.
While the astronauts wait for their counterparts' arrival, they continue work on the station. Wheelock and Walker both participated in an experiment to study the long term effects of exposure to microgravity on crew members. Wheelock was collecting biological samples to place into the Human Research Facility which is a science rack in the station's Destiny module. Meanwhile, Flight Engineer Fyodor Yurchikhin was working in the Russian segment of the station, swapping mechanical gear and installing new software. He also updated the station's inventory management system.
The crew is also doing daily exercises to strengthen their muscles and bones to compensate for the effects of microgravity. The exercise machines include a cycle ergometer, a treadmill, and a device that simulates free-weights on and pistons in vacuum cylinders.
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Article 1: According to reports, three US soldiers and a civilian contractor have been killed in southern Afghanistan, when a US helicopter crashed. Other passengers aboard the aircraft were hurt, and were transferred to a medical base close by.
According to a statement by the International Security Assistance Force, the crash happened about eleven kilometres west of the city of Qalat in the Zabul province late on Thursday. The helicopter that went down was a CV-22 Osprey.
The cause of the crash is currently unclear, although a spokesman for the Taliban claimed responsibility for shooting it down. The Associated Press, however, says that the group frequently exaggerates claims.
Marine Major Shawn Turner commented that this was the first time an Osprey went down in a war zone during operations.
With this crash, a total of 151 foreign soldiers have been killed this year in Afghanistan.
fr:Afghanistan : quatre morts dans le crash d'un hélicoptère américain Article 2: A court in Perth, Western Australia is set to deliver a verdict on whether an Islamic woman can testify while wearing a . The woman, who claims to be a devout Muslim, wishes not to show her face to men and says she might be too uncomfortable to give a sufficient testimony if uncovered in front of all the people in the courtroom.
District court judge Shaun Dean received submissions from both the prosecution and the defence lawyers on the case that the woman was set to testify in, requesting that the woman either be allowed to tesify in the traditional coverings or forced to do so without them. The Muslim Ladies College of Australia and its director, Anwar Sayed, were accused of acquiring both federal and state funding in a fraudulent manner to the amount of and the woman was expected to testify regarding it.
Defence lawyers claim that valuable facial cues could be lost or hidden from the jury if the woman was to wear the Burqa while on the stand. Prosecutors stated that if the woman was expected to remove her covering, she would not be called as a witness.
It is speculated to be the first case of its kind in Australia and may set a legal precedent for future situations.
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Article 1: Casino Ross.jpg|left|150px|thumb|Agustín Ross Edwards Casino, in 2009.
Chilean President Michelle Bachelet with Mayor of Pichilemu Roberto Córdova.jpg|left|150px|thumb|Michelle Bachelet, with the Mayor of Pichilemu, Roberto Córdova.
The Chilean President, Michelle Bachelet, travelled to Pichilemu to inaugurate the Cultural Centre Agustín Ross last week, in the old Ross Casino, a National Monument since 1988, and the first casino in Chile.
Bachelet passed by Cáhuil's bridge, where she and her parents regularly went on holiday to, according the documentary Pichilemu: Así éramos ayer, así somos hoy (Pichilemu: That's the way we were, that's the way we are), which will be aired by the local TV channel Canal 3 de Televisión Comunitaria de Pichilemu.
Prior to reaching Pichilemu, she participated in a foundation stone ceremony for the new Regional Hospital of Rancagua, and the inauguration of the Cahuil-Bucalemu-Boyeruca roadway; the inauguration had been delayed for almost 5 years.
At 13:50, the President arrived at Pichilemu with the Minister Sergio Bitar, where she officially inaugurated the Cultural Centre Agustín Ross. "We are proud of the things we have made and now we have to care and defend them," she said.
The Chilean President said in Santiago de Chile, on Monday, that she felt very good talking to "a very nice people like the Pichileminian." Article 2: A recently constructed kiosk with the new design. The original design of the kiosk, as shown in the plans by the Municipality. 'Left:' A recently constructed kiosk with the new design. Image: Diego Grez.'Right:' The original design of the kiosk, as shown in the plans by the Municipality. Image: Ilustre Municipalidad de Pichilemu.
Eight months after a catastrophic earthquake, Wikinews has investigated the devastation caused in February and the reconstruction of Pichilemu, Chile. The February 27 earthquake and a subsequent tsunami completely destroyed Pichilemu's most coastal street and its oldest villages. Wikinews has also had access to the original design plans of the new kiosks in Pichilemu, and conducted an interview with merchant Alejandro Mella, known locally as the King of the Cochayuyo ("El Rey del Cochayuyo"), who lost his kiosk after the earthquake.
Pichilemu is a coastal city in the O'Higgins Region of Chile, known as one of the "best surfing spots" in South America. Its current Mayor is Roberto Córdova Carreño, who was elected internally by the Councillors of the city in September 2009, after several political controversies that ended with three Mayors being displaced.
The territory of Pichilemu has a surface of 7,491 square kilometers, and comprises at least 24 villages, such as Rodeíllo and Espinillo (the latter two also severely damaged by the March 11 earthquake). Pichilemu is the most popular beach in O'Higgins Region, and many tourists visit it every summer.
A concert was being held at the One Discotheque when the earthquake occurred. It is said that the audience panicked and fled outside the discothèque, and then to the La Cruz Hill. Most tourists fled outside the city right after the earthquake occurred, but many others opted to stay in the La Cruz Hill or the village of Pueblo de Viudas, which are the higher points in the city.
"Pichilemu is the symbolic beach resort in the Sixth Region of O'Higgins, so it was not strange to even think that during the last weekend before the entrance to school, many people would be going to take advantage of it to take a vacation; and that's what happened," reported El Rancagüino, the most important newspaper in O'Higgins Region, on February 28.
Mirador Ross después de tsunami.jpg|thumb|left|Diego Grez
The only radio broadcasting in the area was Entre Olas, directed by Jorge Nasser, which also helped Pichileminians know what happened in other affected places by the earthquake, as they re-broadcasted the audio of Televisión Nacional de Chile (National Television of Chile). On the day of the earthquake, the station reported that a local police truck had crashed near La Cruz Hill. There was no tsunami warning, and Mayor Córdova was away on holiday when the earthquake struck.
"Those who live in Pichilemu, and those who were visiting it, were surprised by the giant waves that annihilated its beach and reached the city's square, destroying everything on their way," reported El Morrocotudo on February 28. "The most tough thing occurred when the firefighters' alarms sounded twice, and the people in the hill began to yell 'tsunami!'," journalist Tania Arce told the newspaper.
The earthquake destroyed one of Pichilemu's oldest and iconic buildings, the post office, which was demolished in July. The urban centre of Pichilemu was not severely damaged by the earthquake, but its subsequent tsunami caused most of the destruction. The National Monuments of Chile) was damaged. was completely destroyed.
Policeman José Arévalo was the only person to warn residents that a tsunami was approaching. Arévalo was patrolling the Las Terrazas beach, when the earthquake occurred. He told El Rancahuaso there were around 25 people in the beach. "Right after the quake, he noticed the sea had shrank around 500 meters inside. He took his megaphone, and shouted people should leave the place instantly." "The sea is coming out! The sea is coming out!," he shouted. "The warning was also preceived by nightclubs and pubs surrounding the costanera. Then, the tragedy occurred. The sea destroyed everything on its way," El Rancahuaso reported. "It all was really quick. Everyone is safe, luckily .. It's something unforgettable to me, I'm proud I saved all of those lives," Arévalo added.
The tsunami destroyed restaurants, hotels, kiosks, the Fishermen Store (Caleta de Pescadores), surf schools, the Cardenal Caro Province, the boarding school of Pichilemu, the city square (Arturo Prat Square), and the Supermarket El 9.
A local worker, Ricardo Vivanco, also known as "El Gordo" ("The Fat one"), almost was killed by a tsunami, ignoring warnings by the Police and the Fire Bureau. Vivanco was drunk, and went down to the Las Terrazas beach with his friends. The wave washed him away, and was hit on the Agustín Ross Balcony's wall. His friends recorded a video and uploaded it to YouTube.
The village of Espinillo was badly damaged, and approximately 600 people were made homeless by the earthquake, Teletrece reported on March 16. "We are keeping the government informed, we're also organized with some churches sic, religious organizations that are working voluntarily in Espinillo, Los Boldos, Alto Ramírez ... We thank a lot their work, that is not to give them mediaguas temporary tenements, but something definitive, but I also think they need resources to do it," Mayor Córdova said.
A tsunami warning was issued by SHOA, between Coquimbo and Los Lagos regions. People in Pichilemu fled again to La Cruz Hill. Military authorities assured people in the hill they were going to be safe there, and that it was unlikely a tsunami was going to hit again Chile's coast. The tsunami warning was lifted at 15:50 local time (18:50 UTC).
People stayed in La Cruz Hill for a longer time than after the previous earthquake, and several activities were made there, such as a concert by Chilean-Brazilian singer . People were also given food, wood (mostly remains from the destroyed kiosks), and electricity.
"We are here because we fear about our safety. We don't want it a possible tsunami to catch us. We have to settle down here and to accommodate," Edith Larraín told to Wikinews. Mayor Córdova estimated that at least 2,000 people were staying at La Cruz Hill. Militaries and provincial authorities asked them to leave the hill on March 15, but most refused the deal. People eventually left the hill, due to complaints by the Mayor.
On April 4, the first monument was erected in memory of the earthquake and tsunami victims. The monument was created by local artisans, with rocks from several places of the Cardenal Caro Province. "We wanted to create this monument so we don't forget it the earthquake ... This is the beginning of the reconstruction," said Julio Ibarra. The monument was placed in front of the beach, near the building of the Cardenal Caro Government. Mayor Roberto Córdova said that "it definitely will help us reconstruct ourselves espiritually, and that is essential."
On October 20, with the help of the Government, SERCOTEC (Technical Cooperation Service, Servicio de Cooperación Técnica) and FOSIS (Solidarity and Social Investment, Fondo de Solidaridad e Inversión Social), the Fishermen Store (Caleta de Pescadores) began to be reconstructed. Caleta de Pescadores is administered by the Independent Labour Union of Fishermen of Pichilemu (Sindicato de Trabajo Independientes de Pescadores Artesanales), which has twenty-three members.
"The Government of President Sebastián Piñera has been worried about the fishing area, carrying out several actions in help of them, after all that they've suffered after the earthquake and tsunami that hit them ... This area is working normally again," Governor Ibarra said.
Alejandro Mella, locally known as "el Rey del Cochayuyo" ("the King of the Cochayuyo"), is a merchant of Pichilemu, who promotes the cochayuyo (), and lost his kiosk after the February earthquake and tsunami. "I was given my former kiosk by the Mayor Orlando Cornejo, back in 1993. It was right in front of us in front of Las Terrazas beach, near "the grotto of the Virgin", and was made smithereens by the tsunami," he told Wikinews.
"I have always worked on selling cochayuyo here, and the terrain where my kiosk was located before has been disputed by private people, and the municipality approved that. I talked with the Mayor and he said 'I don't know what's going on the beach'; that left me perplexed. ... I like the new design of the kiosks, they are larger, and we can do more things with it, but they are way too expensive," he added. Mr. Mella also gave Wikinews a sample of his work as "the King of the Cochayuyo", an essay called "El cochayuyo es una mina repleta de nutrientes y sales minerales" ("Cochayuyo is a mine full of nutrients and mineral salts", pictured below), which he sells for 200 Chilean pesos (0.41 US$), and that contains "tips and information about the plant, and some recipes."
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Article 1: The US space shuttle Discovery has been cleared by NASA for an early Monday morning night-time launch, in one of the last flights of the space shuttle program.
On Saturday, mission managers unanimously voted to proceed with the mission after engineers ruled out any safety concerns with the shuttle's booster rockets. During off-site testing, two problems with the boosters appeared, though both were determined to have no impact if they were to occur during lift-off. According to the launch director, Pete Nickolenko, "We're on track and ready to go for Monday." The launch is expected to occur at 0621 local time (1121 UTC) Monday morning, about an hour before sunrise, and will be the 131st space shuttle mission.
The mission is planned to deliver around 10 tons of supplies to the International Space Station (ISS), including both new science equipment and spare parts. The mission will have a crew of seven people, and three spacewalks will be conducted during Discovery's time at the ISS.
Discovery's mission will be one of the last flights for the space shuttle program, with only three flights remaining after Discovery's. That shuttle will undertake one more mission before the program ends. The future of American spaceflight is uncertain, as President Barack Obama recently canceled the Constellation Program, planned to be the successor to the shuttle program. Obama is scheduled to make a speech on April 15 in the Cape Canaveral area while Discovery is in orbit, outlining his plans for spaceflight after the shuttles are retired later this year. Article 2: The Perry-Castaneda Library, where the gunman took his own life
A man wearing a ski mask and carrying an University of Texas in Austin, Texas earlier today.
The university was placed under lockdown and all classes were canceled as a result of the incident. Nobody else was hurt, but police are still looking for a possible second gunman. Art Acevedo, the chief of Austin police, said that officials are also considering the possibility of explosives left by the suspect. Armored vehicles were seen moving around the campus in response to the event, as well as SWAT teams}, bomb-sniffing dogs, and police helicopters. An ambulance was seen around 9:00 a.m.
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Article 1: Lt. Dan Choi—an openly gay man in the Army—is an advocate of repealing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell".
Arizona Senator Dan Raustadt
Of 400,000 serving members of the United States military and their families surveyed, most do not believe reform of the rules on gays and lesbians serving in the military would affect morale, unit cohesion or military effectiveness. A survey conducted by has concluded only 30% believed that changing the law would have a negative effect. The report also noted that those who have served with people they know or suspect to be gay have found unit cohesion to not be a problem.
The report was produced by Jeh C. Johnson, chief counsel at the Pentagon, and General Carter F. Ham, an U.S. Army commander in Europe. Opposition to reform was highest amongst troops in combat units and among members of the United States Marine Corps, where 40% and 46% oppose changes to the policy respectively. , the defence secretary, has stated that the survey shows that reform "would not be the wrenching, traumatic change many had feared" and asked the Senate to support an end to the current policy.
The current policy—often referred to as "don't ask, don't tell"—was passed by President Bill Clinton in 1993 and has led to the discharge of over 13,000 troops since 1994. A 2006 study by the estimated that the cost of enforcing the policy is approximately $363 million, including the value of military training that is lost when a member of the armed services is sent home. Most other Western nations allow gay people to serve openly in the military.
Democratic leaders including President Barack Obama support repeal and hope to pass it before the Christmas break. Former Republican presidential candidate John McCain believes that more scrutiny is needed before repeal during war-time. The authors of the report believe otherwise, stating that they "do not underestimate the challenges in implementing a change in the law, but neither should we underestimate the ability of our extraordinarily dedicated service men and women to adapt to such change and continue to provide our nation with the military capability to accomplish any mission."
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The British energy company BP will be attempting a "top kill" on the leaking Deepwater Horizon oil well by firing a mud and cement mixture into the blowout preventer on the sea floor later this week. If successful, the oil well will be closed off with cement. A backup plan in case of failure (there is an estimated 30–40% chance of failure) would be another containment apparatus.
BP has been using the oil dispersant to disperse the oil film into small droplets which mix with the seawater. A riser insertion tube inserted into the largest oil leak site is collecting between 1,360 to 2,000 barrels of oil per day. Two relief oil wells are also currently under construction for what is hoped will be a permanent solution to the oil spill. This pair will take about 90 days to complete.
$500 million will be forthcoming from BP for the gulf spill's impact on the environment and damage to regional ecosystems as far as where water currents may spread the oil. BP also put forward a ten-year research plan to study the long-term effects of the oil spill on the environment.
Satellite view of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on May 17, 2010
Controlled surface oil burns and skimming have removed some of the oil spill. It is estimated that 5,000 barrels of oil a day are leaking from the ruptured pipe 5,000 feet (1,500 meters) below sea level. A Natural Resources Defense Council marine biologist, Lisa Suatoni, said that only about 7 to 10 percent of oil from the spill was cleaned up in 1989.
Louisiana Governor Janet Napolitano, is seeking viable options which may be more effective and better for the environment.
“I am angry and I am frustrated that BP has been unable to stop this well from leaking and to stop the pollution from spreading. We are 33 days into this effort, and deadline after deadline has been missed,” said U.S. Secretary of the Interior .
"This is a complex operation requiring sophisticated diagnostic work and precise execution. As a result, it involves significant uncertainties and it is not possible to assure its success or to put a definite timescale on its deployment." said BP. "We’re doing things that have never been done before at that kind of depth, so it’s very fluid. We’re not going to do it until we’re completely sure it’s right."
The oil rig Deepwater Horizon suffered a gas explosion and sank April 22, 2010 off the coast of Louisiana resulting in 11 persons missing (and presumed dead) of the 126 on board. BP and its business vendors were completing a new oil well at the time, constructing a layer of cement in the well to reinforce it, which resulted in the blowout.
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Article 1: Goodluck Jonathan, vice-president of Nigeria, has become the country's acting president after president travelled to Saudi Arabia last November to receive medical treatment for a heart condition.
File photo of President Umaru Yar'Adua, reportedly in Saudi Arabia for medical treatment.
In a televised address, Jonathan commented, "I am fully aware of the responsibilities reposed in me, and I want to reassure all Nigerians that this is a sacred trust, which I shall discharge to my fullest abilities. ... The circumstances — in which I find myself assuming office today as acting president of our country — are uncommon, sober and reflective."
He added, "more than ever therefore, I urge all Nigerians as a people who have faith in God to pray fervently for the full recovery of our dear president, and his early return".
Yesterday saw both houses of the Nigerian National Assembly approve a motion for Jonathan to become president until Yar'Adua is able to return. Under the country's constitution, executive power can be transferred when parliament is formally informed by the president that he is absent. Yar'Adua apparently had not done so; however, senate leader David Mark said that Yar'Auda's comments in an interview with the BBC last month were sufficient notice.
Some political analysts, however, have indicated the assembly's move might not be legally binding, and could face a court challenge. Article 2: Wikinews reporter Iain Macdonald has performed an interview with Dr Isabella Margara, a London-based member of the (KKE). In the interview Margara sets out the communist response to current events in Greece as well as discussing the viability of a communist economy for the nation. She also hit back at Petros Tzomakas, a member of another Greek far-left party which criticised KKE in a previous interview.
The interview comes amid tensions in cash-strapped Greece, where the government is introducing controversial austerity measures to try to ease the nation's debt-problem. An international rescue package has been prepared by European Union member states and the International Monetary Fund – should Greece require a bailout; protests have been held against government attempts to manage the economic situation.
What we are experiencing today – not only in Greece, but in all capitalist countries – is a crisis of overproduction. The exploitation of the working class and the other popular is intensified due to the fact that the bourgeoisie has been keeping for itself larger and larger parts of the produced wealth. Behind overproduction lies the over-accumulation of capital. The average profit rate is decreased in the main sectors of the economy. This leads to destruction of part of productive forces, closing factories, inflation, mass redundancies of superfluous workers as waste – in order to permit a new process of accumulation to begin, when new sectors of the economy will secure the increase of the average profit rate. This has nothing to do with the ‘management’ of the system by social democrats or liberals; it is an inevitable outcome of capitalism.
The national deficits do exist. In fact, behind the debt are the huge tax reliefs for large monopolies, the massive bank bailouts, the inconceivable NATO military expenses, the subsidies in the name of capitalist development. In Greece at the moment, there is a clear expression of the imperialist rivalries between the US and EU, between EU countries and especially between Germany and France. However, it is now becoming clearer every day that the ruling class is using the existing deficits, in Greece and in Europe, in order to promote new anti-labour policies which will secure the profits of the capital. These measures have been pre-decided a long time ago in the and are here to stay. Their aim is not just to exit the crisis, but to ensure stability and high profits for the capital in the next phases of the economic cycle.
' How, given the Soviet collapse, and China being communist in name only, would your vision of a communist system have been better for the majority of citizens?'
Despite the various problems of socialist countries, the socialist system of the 20th century proved the superiority of socialism over capitalism and the huge advantages that it provides for peoples’ lives and working conditions. The Soviet Union and the world socialist system constituted the only real counterweight to imperialist aggression – we recently celebrated the 65th anniversary of the Anti-fascist victory. The achievements of workers in the socialist states were a point of reference for many decades and contributed to the gains won by the working class in capitalist societies as well. In this way, everyone had guaranteed work, public free health care and education, housing, and access to intellectual and cultural creativity. The complete eradication of the terrible legacy of illiteracy, in combination with the increase in the general level of education and specialization and the abolition of unemployment, constitute unique achievements of socialism. In the Soviet Union in 1975 it was guaranteed by law that the hours of work could not surpass 41 per week, among the lowest in the world. All workers were guaranteed days for rest and relaxation and annual paid holidays. Non-working time was extended and its content was changed. It was transformed into time for the development of the cultural and educational level of the workers, for the enhancement of their participation in workers’ power and in the control of the administration of productive units. Social Security for working people was of utmost priority for the socialist state. A comprehensive system of retirement benefits, with the important achievement of low age limits for retirement (55 years for women, 60 for men), was created. Socialist power laid the foundation for the abolition of inequality of women, overcoming the great difficulties that objectively existed. Socialism ensured in practice the social character of motherhood and socialized childcare. It instituted equal rights for women and men in the economic, political and cultural realm, although not all forms of unequal relations between the two genders, which had become entrenched over a long period of time, had been successfully eradicated.
Our critical approach regarding various issues of building socialism in the USSR, namely decisions in the economy in critical times, or the extend of workers’ control and participation, do not change the fact that the first historical attempt to abolish the exploitation of man by man had many achievements for the majority of people and many of the rights that Soviet people had in 1975 seem like a dream for us today. Also, it does not change the fact that the contradictions of the capitalist way of production become deeper. The counter-revolution may have won one fight, but it has not won the war. As long as there is socialised production combined with capitalist property of the means of production, there will be crisis, unemployment and poverty – and socialism will remain the only way out.
Our Party in 2009 held its 18th Congress, during which we discussed and studied socialism and the causes of counter-revolution in the USSR. The conclusions we drew have been published and we have enriched our programme based on them. See here for more information.
' For right or for wrong, we have now reached a situation where Greece is on the brink of an international bailout. If you were given power tomorrow, what steps would you take immediately to get Greece back on track?'
At the moment we are trying to build a front of workers, small farmers, the self-employed and working young people. This front needs to become a huge social and political anti-imperialist anti-monopoly coalition with only one duty - to bring the working class into power and socialise the basic means of production, namely energy, telecommunications, mines, manufacturing, and transportation. We would implement public and free education, health and national insurance systems. Next to the socialised sectors, there can be the co-operatives of small farmers and small tradesmen in sectors of the economy where concentration is still low. The production and distribution in both the socialised and the co-operative sectors will be under workers’ control as part of a centrally planned economy. This is a vital need in order to fulfil our contemporary needs, in order to ensure that all productive forces are mobilised, that science and technology will develop in favour of the people, and that all international economic co-operation will be used, on the basis of mutual benefit. The government, which will be the organ of the popular power, will have to ensure the participation of the people in building this new society. The debt is due to the power of monopolies. There will be no solution if the capitalist profits remain untouchable, if we don’t disengage from EU and NATO, if the capitalists continue to rule at the expense of the working class.
' Why do you oppose the current austerity measures? What has the government, in your view, got so wrong?'
Massive and drastic cuts to public and private sector salaries and pensions, further cuts of benefits, reduced overtime payments, increase of the VAT up to 23%, increase of the indirect taxes, abolishment of collective labour agreements, massive redundancies to public services and merges, right of unrestricted redundancies to private companies, and increases to the retirement age: Huge masses will be condemned to unemployment and extreme poverty. Health and Education will become a privilege only for a small minority. The recovery phase will lead to new concentration of wealth to the capital, to an increase in the degree of exploitation. The recovery, when it happens, will not have a positive impact on the people on one hand, and will lead relatively soon to a new crisis on the other. That is why we oppose the measures.
That is also why the working class should not be trapped in a discussion about bonds or interest rates, the simple reason being that it has nothing to gain from this discussion. The international loans will end up in the capital’s pockets, not the working class. The Greeks have suffered when the rates were down, they suffer now that the rates are up. We do not intend to share the capital's 'anxiety' about the , because it is becoming clearer every day that if does not go bankrupt, then the people will.
The government is not doing anything wrong – in fact, it is doing a great job representing the interests of its bosses, the Greek capitalists, the imperialists of E.U., the I.M.F. But they want the working class partners to their crime. They are telling us that our sacrifice to live in poverty and work until we die is our patriotic duty. What they are not telling us is that the workers, the farmers, the owners of small shops; we do not have the same country as these E.U. fans of the , the City-educated bankers, the corporate media owners. Their country and their god is exploitation and profit. Our people have proven their patriotism in every single crucial point in history for thousands of years now. But this case is different, the working Greek man and women should not make any sacrifices for plutocracy! The only ‘sacrifice’ that should be made is to fight the dangerous fear and hesitation and organise the struggle. That’s what will help our own country and our class.
' I have heard that people in Greece are upset that the euro has weakened Greece’s economic position, as the
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Article 1: Apple iPhone vs HTC Hero.jpg|thumb|left|An Apple iPhone and two w:HTC Hero|HTC Heroes Apple sued HTC, a Taiwanese manufacturer of mobile phones, on Tuesday, in a lawsuit claiming 20 different patent infringements, largely relating to the user interface of the iPhone, which is manufactured by Apple.
According to the lawsuit, filed with both the United States District Court in Delaware and the United States International Trade Commission, HTC violated Apple patents pertaining to both multi-touch gestures, which allow users to interact with a device's touchscreen using multiple fingers, as well as patents involving more general touch features. Devices mentioned in the suit are all phones manufactured by HTC that use Google's Android software. The lawsuit says that HTC, in selling the phones, knowingly induced those using the mentioned products to violate patents owned by Apple, some of which were filed in the mid-1990s.
Although the lawsuit named only HTC as a defendant, many viewed the action as an indirect challenge to Google, as the lawsuit only covered HTC devices running Google's Android software. The operating system has seen increasing popularity in the last year, and has increasingly included multi-touch input of the type mentioned in the lawsuit.
One analyst, from Kaufman Brothers, said, "I think this is kind of an indirect lawsuit against Google." Others said that Apple was suing HTC instead of Google because the phone manufacturer was an easier target than Google. Another analyst from MKM Partners said that "HTC is an optimal target for Apple-it's a relatively small vendor with a weak brand."
In the documents, Apple said that their goal was to permanently block HTC from importing and selling devices that had the offending qualities, as well a significant cash payment in damages. Article 2: The skeletal remains of 14-year-old Escondido, California teenager Amber Dubois were found north of the Pala Indian Reservation Saturday morning, police said. Dubois disappeared February 13, 2009 while walking to Escondido High School. The San Diego County Medical Examiner's office made a positive identification through dental records.
According to Escondido Police Chief Jim Maher, police were following a lead when they came across the remains. Maher declined to say what the lead was or to describe in detail the site where the remains were found. He also refused to reveal whether John Albert Gardner III, suspect in the murder of Chelsea King, is being linked to the Dubois case.
Amber's father, Maurice Dubois, made a statement thanking those who had helped in the search for Amber. "The entire community, everybody who helped out with the search effort, and above all our huge volunteer corps, they are the most dedicated people and without them we couldn’t have done anything," he said.
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Article 1: The US space shuttle Discovery has been cleared by NASA for an early Monday morning night-time launch, in one of the last flights of the space shuttle program.
On Saturday, mission managers unanimously voted to proceed with the mission after engineers ruled out any safety concerns with the shuttle's booster rockets. During off-site testing, two problems with the boosters appeared, though both were determined to have no impact if they were to occur during lift-off. According to the launch director, Pete Nickolenko, "We're on track and ready to go for Monday." The launch is expected to occur at 0621 local time (1121 UTC) Monday morning, about an hour before sunrise, and will be the 131st space shuttle mission.
The mission is planned to deliver around 10 tons of supplies to the International Space Station (ISS), including both new science equipment and spare parts. The mission will have a crew of seven people, and three spacewalks will be conducted during Discovery's time at the ISS.
Discovery's mission will be one of the last flights for the space shuttle program, with only three flights remaining after Discovery's. That shuttle will undertake one more mission before the program ends. The future of American spaceflight is uncertain, as President Barack Obama recently canceled the Constellation Program, planned to be the successor to the shuttle program. Obama is scheduled to make a speech on April 15 in the Cape Canaveral area while Discovery is in orbit, outlining his plans for spaceflight after the shuttles are retired later this year. Article 2: According to a government official, at least 26 people were killed in a stampede on Thursday at a historic mosque in the northwestern city of Timbuktu, Mali.
"There were 26 killed and 40 wounded," Oumar Sangare, the Internal Ministry spokesman, told Reuters. However, other news agency reports put the death toll as low as fifteen.
An official, who requested to remain anonymous, said the accident could have begun as a result of renovation work on the Djingareyber mosque—which is made primarily of mud, and was built in the fourteenth century. Construction work blocked off some of the roads, and that could have been a factor in the incident. "The mosque is being renovated, financed by the Aga Khan, and the work is carried out by South African specialists," the official told the Agence France-Presse (AFP) news agency.
"Because of these renovations, the passage on the north side of the mosque is closed off. On that side, to get through, the faithful found an improvised alleyway. But the alley couldn't take the number of people using it. So there was a stampede. Somebody shouted 'someone has died' and panic took over," the same official went on to say.
Others have remarked that rescue services responded "very quickly" to the stampede, and helped the "many injured."
The Xinhua news agency reports the stampede started when an elderly woman fell in one of the town streets near the city's main mosque, where a sermon was being conducted in front of a large crowd; a passersby then rushed to assist the woman, apparently disrupting the crowd's movement and causing the stampede.
"People were circling the mosque, a ritual at each Mouloud the observance of the Prophet Mohammed's birthday and there was a huge crowd build up," commented Mohamed Bandjougou, one of the witnesses to the event, to AFP by telephone. "There were at least fifteen dead. The bodies were taken to the morgue."
Authorities warned the number of injured may actually be higher than reported, saying that "we cannot rule out the fact that the number of those injured will increase because some of them are still hiding in their homes instead of coming to the hospital." A hospital source commented that some of the people hurt were in critical condition, and needed to be evacuated to the capital, Bamako, as soon as possible.
The mosque's imam, who gave his name as Asseyuti, commented on the incident. "We're in mourning. What happened is a real trauma. We accept the will of God. He gives us life, he takes it away," he said.
According to an official statement, Malian president Amandou Toumani Toure is traveling to Timbuktu from Bamako in light of the stampede.
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Article 1: __NOTOC__
Floods in South Asia-India.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Flooding in South Asia, as in this archive picture, is common during the monsoon season. However, the flooding in Pakistan is some of the worst in living memory.
Since last reported, the flooding in Pakistan has spread and has now struck more than four million people. The reports it has left at least 1,600 people dead. The floods have been confirmed as the worst in eighty years.
Heavy monsoon rains led to the flooding of the huge , destroying homes in the north of the country and causing a large amount of damage in the north-west frontier province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Manuel Bessler of the United Nations said: "What we are facing now is a major catastrophe. We are afraid it will get worse.”
Army and government forces have rushed to evacuate hundreds of thousands of people from parts of the Punjab province of Pakistan, where the disaster spread to yesterday, and from Sindh province, where the flood is expected to reach by the weekend.
The flooding is now in its second week and the situation is unlikely to improve any time soon, especially since in many parts of the country there is still torrential rain, with more forecast. In other parts of Pakistan the water has receded, but this leaves a layer of mud and slime and this covers very large areas. For those affected by the floods, disease is the biggest problem now. The insanitary conditions have already caused diarrhoea and respiratory infections. Cholera and other water-borne diseases may appear if sanitary conditions for those displaced by the calamity are not established. Medical supplies are desperately needed for doctors to keep a pandemic or epidemic of a water-borne disease from infecting the victims of the flooding.
Relief has been hardest to provide in the north-west where many bridges and roads have been washed away. Whole towns have been cut off and this makes providing aid to those areas a very difficult task.
Air force pilots have been volunteering to fly aid missions to badly hit areas, transporting medical supplies, clean water and food to where it is needed. The transport planes carry enough foodstuffs to feed one hundred families for a month. Motivation for the missions among pilots is very high, as is the tension in the transport planes as they fly at 36,000 feet over the flood-hit country. Only from the air is the full extent of the damage visible. Pilots have been flying the maximum number of hours allowed and pushing the limits of their endurance to give the victims of the flood food, water and everything they need to survive.
Many foreign governments and aid agencies are contributing to the disaster relief effort. The Army has been flying relief missions, airlifting people from areas where they are stranded. The first mission involved four U.S. Chinook helicopters landing in the tourist town of Kalam in the Swat Valley, north-west Pakistan. The resort had been cut off for more than a week, according to a reporter there. The Chinooks flew hundreds of people to safer areas lower down. A U.S. Embassy spokesperson said that 800 people had been evacuated and relief goods had been distributed.
The U.S. government pledged 10 million dollars in assistance following the first reports of the disaster. Yesterday the country promised a further 25 million dollars in aid. A spokesperson from the Embassy said: "The U.S. is making a new contribution of 25 million dollars in assistance to flood-affected populations, bringing its total commitment to date to more than 35 million dollars." The money will go to international aid organisations and established Pakistani aid groups to provide food, health care and shelter to people displaced by the floods.
Malaysia has also decided to contribute US$1 million for relief efforts in the form of humanitarian aid. The Foreign Ministry said the aid was a manifestation of the government and the people's concern and sympathy. "The government of Malaysia hopes the contribution will help alleviate the suffering of flood victims in Pakistan."
In Britain, the Disasters Emergency Committee, an umbrella organisation representing 13 of the leading UK humanitarian agencies, has been coordinating relief efforts and has launched an emergency appeal for public donations to help the victims of the crisis. Charities and aid agencies have been quick to respond to the disaster, sending aid and response teams to the worst hit areas. Food, water, shelter and medical supplies have been provided but much more is needed.
Patrick Fuller of the Red Cross (the ), who has been based in the country for a few days, described the situation on the ground as "desperate" and said the worst hit areas are "totally dependent" on outside help. He said the Red Cross movement is working with local partners to get aid packages, containing cooking tools and shelter such as tents and blankets, to 35,000 families.
The Red Cross alone has distributed 10,000 food packs and 1000 tents across the affected areas so far. However, figures for the amount of aid distributed are constantly changing as this is an ongoing relief effort.
Fuller reported that in Nowshera, which is in the north-west of the country close to the Indus River, "80% of homes have been badly damaged or destroyed, all the mud-brick houses have been washed away.
"In the most remote areas - where roads are cut off - donkeys are making eight-hour hikes to reach people.
"We are trying to move people into temporary camps - giving them timber, roofing sheets and basic shelter - but there is the added complication that many are reluctant to leave whatever homes they have left."
This has also been a problem in the south of the country in Sindh province, where the flood is expected to reach by the weekend. Evacuations have been going on to move people out of the path of the flood but many will not join the mass exodus and have chosen to brave the waters.
"Many people rely on open wells, which have been contaminated, so access to clean water is a problem. We are worried about communicable diseases, like respiratory infections, skin diseases, diarrhoea," Mr Fuller said.
The charity have been setting up mobile medical teams to better combat disease and infection.
Though the relief effort at the moment is focused on the survival of those hit by the catastrophe, on those who "had their lives swept away in seconds", the relief effort is expected to last a full six months.
Those who will be most affected in the long term by this disaster will be the poorest. They will have had everything washed away from them so they will have to start from scratch. Sadly, for those living in the poorest areas in the north and centre of Pakistan, the fight for survival is only just beginning and though they may feel they are enduring much at the moment, getting their lives back together after the first stages of this calamity are over is going to be even harder.
The Disasters Emergency Committee has said it has managed to give aid to 300,000 people so far. Many UK charities have been distributing food and medicine, as well as water purification tablets, cooking tools, shelter and hygiene kits. They have been using rafts, boats and donkeys. Brendan Gormley, chief executive of the DEC, said: "These devastating floods have left millions fighting to survive with little food, clean water or shelter."
The DEC has appealed for donations from the public of the UK to help the victims of this crisis. The appeal is to allow the charities to continue relief work in the worst hit areas of the country.
Following a television appeal by the DEC, £2.5 million was raised and this has enabled the 13 charities the committee represents to reach 300,000 people with emergency supplies. Article 2: left
Police have said that an explosion in a hotel garage in San Pedro, Los Angeles, California, that sparked an evacuation of a large area was an act of vandalism. What was initially thought to be an explosion, at around 7:30am local time, forced police to shut off a major entrance into the area prompted the Clarion Inn, a two-story hotel, and surrounding buildings to be evacuated. A were called to the scene, and an armored robot was sent into the garage to examine the scene.
CCTV|surveillance footage of the garage. He confirmed that a caller had reported an explosion in the area. Officers who responded did not initially find anything suspicious, but a short time later a Port Police officer on patrol discovered a Los Angeles Fire Department also responded to the call.
"On closer inspection and using their training, bomb squad is confident the damage was caused by something other than a bomb. Based on what we know now, they're scaling the operation way back," he said. "There's any variety of things that can sound like a bomb or a blast, particularly in a subterranean environment. The danger has passed." He refused to speculate as to what may have caused the damage, or, if it was not a bomb, where the noise had come from. He added: "Now that the robots have gone forward and had a good look, we are confidant there was not an explosion. There was a hole blown in the door, and the glass was blown out so, now we have to find out who did it."
A witness, the owner of a diner two blocks away from the hotel, said that he heard a loud sound while preparing the day's menu. He said: "I was cooking my food and I heard something like 'boom'! I said, 'What happened?' And I checked everything in the kitchen but saw nothing. An hour later I went outside and saw a lot of police." Romero added that the vehicle had shown signs of an explosion and that no one in the hotel was killed or injured. At 8:20 a.m. the police issued a citywide tactical alert and surrounding streets were closed to the public. Police have said that there is shattered glass surrounding the vehicle and one of the doors exhibits evidence that an explosion had taken place. Romero added: "We still want to be very careful how to proceed. Something did happen to the car. Now they have to figure out what happened and who did it."
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Article 1: A woman has been convicted of murder after killing her son in an "act of mercy". The Old Bailey, a London court, heard that Frances Inglis, 57, injected Tom, 22, with heroin and gave her a life sentence.
Oldbaileylondon-900.jpg|thumb|left|Old Bailey
Tom had been injured in a street fight in July 2007 and was put in an ambulance depite his desire not to be hospitalised. The ambulance door was opened three times; the third time Tom jumped out and sustained injuries that left him in a coma. He became mute and dependant on 24-hour care. His only method of communication was to squeeze a hand.
Frances was told that if she wanted Tom to die legally then she could ask the High Court to allow his food and water to be withdrawn, so that he would starve to death. Frances told the court "I know Tom – no way would he have wanted to live totally dependent. I can remember saying I felt I would rather he go to heaven than to hell on earth. I know Tom would not want to live. He had lost his life."
"I couldn't bear the thought of Tom dying of thirst or hunger," she said of the idea of food and water withdrawal. "To me that would be so cruel, so cruel. To die slowly like that would be horrible." Instead she used the Internet to research Tom's condition and concluded that a heroin overdose would be the most painless method available. A learning disabilities worker with no convictions, she concluded two grams was sufficient to kill and began spending time in areas she believed drugs were on sale – outside the local station, job centre and needle exchanges.
Frances was determined to release Tom from his "living hell" and said she had "no choice" in the matter. "I asked myself what I would want," she said. "I would want someone to love me enough to help me die. That's why I thought heroin – a painless, peaceful death." She obtained her two grams and stole syringes from Tom's hospital before injecting him, but he was revived by nurses and she was charged with attempted murder. She was bailed but barred from contacting her son.
Fourteen months later she obtained access to Tom by posing as his aunt and placed superglue in the lock of his door, further barricading it with an oxygen cylinder and a wheelchair. It took staff thirty minutes to break in, by which time Frances had injected one of Tom's arms and both his thighs with heroin. This time he died.
Frances had left a letter to her family in which she talked of her concerns for her other two sons and dog, as well as the running of the house, expecting a murder arrest. On one bed she left a photograph of Tom as well as a prayer written by his girlfriend. Police also found older letter by Frances, one of which read "People keep saying Tom is not suffering. How can they know how he feels?"
She was asked if guilty of murder and attempted murder, to which she responded "I don't see it as killing or murder. The definition of murder is to take someone's life with malice in your heart. I did it with love in my heart, for Tom, so I don't see it as murder. I knew what I was doing was against the law. I don't know what name they would call it but I knew that the law would say it was wrong. I believed it would have been Tom's choice to have been allowed to die rather than have the intervention to keep him alive."
The jury "could not have had a more difficult case," according to Judge Brian Barker, but he told them nobody was allowed to override the law. Ten members of the jury agreed, but two sided with Frances, leaving a conviction by majority verdict. The jury foreman was greeted by cries of "shame on you" from France's relatives, for which they were ejected from the building. "We can all understand the emotion and the unhappiness that you were experiencing," Barker told Frances, later adding "You knew you were breaking society's conventions, you knew you were breaking the law, and you knew the consequences." He ordered her to serve a minimum of nine years.
"What this case and a number of others have exposed," said France's eldest son, Alex, "is a need for a complete rethink of existing laws in regard to people that have been, and will be, in the same position as Tom. How can it be legal to withhold food and water, which means a slow and painful death, yet illegal to end all suffering in a quick, calm and loving way? It's cruel, inhumane and illogical... We have a duty of care to them and we should not allow this situation to continue. It should not be left to a wife, husband, mother, father, sister or brother to have to end their suffering, and be convicted for murder." Detective Chief Inspector Steve Collin, who was in charge of the case, flatly disagreed. "There's no such thing as a mercy killing in law."
"I want to say that all of the family and Tom's girlfriend support my mum 100%. All those who loved and were close to Tom have never seen this as murder, but as a loving and courageous act," said Alex. Article 2: The European Union and International Monetary Fund (IMF) have agreed to provide the ailing Greek economy with 110 billion euros (US$146 billion) worth of loans over three years. Finance ministers from the sixteen countries that use the euro – known as the eurozone – approved the plan yesterday.
According to the plan, the EU is to provide 80 billion euros of the loans, and the IMF the other 30 billion; it is aimed at preventing Greece from defaulting on debt.
Before being fully implemented, however, the proposal must be individually approved by all fifteen other countries in the eurozone. According to Luxembourgish prime minister Jean-Claude Junker, up to 30 billion euros would be given to Greece in the first year.
German chancellor Angela Merkel commented on the proposal yesterday, saying: "The programmme is without alternative to safeguard the stability of the euro."
The Greek government yesterday predicted that the country's gross domestic product would drop by four percent this year; it also forecast the national debt, currently at 115% of GDP, will increase to 149% in 2013, before going down.
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Article 1: Wikinews reporter Peter Coti interviews Brittany Phelps, administrator of the , who talks about her job and her goals.
For the past three months, I've been the administrator of the United States Pirate Party. In general, I direct and oversee the activities of the USPP. At the moment, my most challenging task is to cultivate state parties across the US. Without them, the national party is essentially insolvent.
'What is the Pirate Party?'
The United States Pirate Party is a relatively new party in the U.S., currently undergoing a revival after having been founded a few years ago. We are similar in nature to the various Pirate Parties found internationally, though we differ somewhat in platform and formation.
'What are the goals of the Pirate Party?'
We are dedicated to protecting Americans' rights to privacy, freedom of information, reforming the patent and copyright systems, and ensuring government transparency.
'What are some things you personally want to change about the government?'
There are a great many things I could bring up in regards to changing in the government, so I'll keep it to my three greatest concerns: Transparency, privacy, and ballot reform. Firstly, transparency is required from our government in all but the most dire situations. President Obama seemed, at first, to be promising in this regard, but again and again since he took office, he has proven that hope to be ill-placed. ACTA is hidden from FOIA requests, more light is not shed about torture techniques, and numerous bills, most memorably the recent health care reform, are not brought to light for the promised number of days--how is this transparency?
My second qualm, privacy, is boiled down very simply--as technology grows, so does the ability to invade the privacy of citizens for the sake of a potential safeguard. This route is far from affective sic in its proposed function. We should take the time to find more effective ways to reduce crime without invading the privacy of law-abiding citizens. Not doing so is to treat each and every American as a criminal without a trial.
And, thirdly, ballot access. While not necessarily a plank of our platform, it is a challenge that the USPP will have to face early on. There is a long standing idea that the United States has two political parties, and that's it, end of story. I can't help but wonder of these people--do you think that the country was founded between these two parties alone? We are a nation of many people, with many ideas and many opinions. To try and simply this to a black and white dichotomy does a disservice to the nation and its people. There are shades of gray.
'How did you get involved with the party?'
I got involved last fall after hearing of the success of our European counterparts in their elections. I was certain that someone had started a Pirate Party in the U.S., but was surprised that I hadn't heard about it already, so I went looking. And here I am.
'Do you think you have a chance against other parties?'
I have no disillusions about it being difficult, but I am convinced that we have the capability to do so, yes. Furthermore, I welcome the challenge.
'If you could change anything right this second about the government what would it be?'
I think if I had the opportunity to change anything, it would be one of the three that I covered in question 4. I'm inclined to say ballot access, considering the immediate impact it would have for the USPP and other smaller parties, but transparency and privacy would be close contenders.
'Could you take this test, and let us know where you stand on the political spectrum?'
After taking the test, I got a 60%/40%, which put me just inside the zone for a "Centrist". Sounds about right.
'Anything else you want to add?'
Just today we launched a new website, as part of our effort to restart the movement in the United States, so I invite all who read this to waltz on over to our website and take a look. Thanks for reading! Article 2: American General David Petraeus passed out briefly while testifying in the Senate.
While testifying before the David Petraeus, head of the U.S. Central Command, passed out briefly while answering a question from Senator John McCain from Arizona.
While answering the question, Petraeus slumped over in mid-sentence and the hearing was immediately suspended while several people rushed over from the table to help him. Shortly after, Gen. Petraeus regained consciousness and walked from the hearing room under his own power.
The chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Michigan Senator Afghanistan War.
After a short time, Petraeus returned from the room he was in, smiling and sipping from a cup. Though the hearing was resumed briefly, given the circumstances, Levin postponed the hearing until Wednesday. As the hearing closed, McCain called the general one of the "nation's heroes" and also said "we're glad you have recovered and look forward to seeing you again tomorrow." As Levin sounded the gavel that closed the hearing for the day, applause broke out.
Some people have speculated that Petraeus passed out because of McCain's questions, as the General slumped over while answering McCain. However, later General Petraeus said "It wasn't Sen. McCain's questions. I just got dehydrated."
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Article 1: Whistle-blower Richard Colvin is being targeted by the Canadian government with reprisals for his report to Parliament in November in which he presented evidence the Harper government was complicit in torturing Afghan detainees — many of whom were likely innocent of any crime.
In a letter to the Military Police Complaints Commission (MPCC), Colvin's Toronto lawyer Owen Rees expresses concern over the government's complete failure to make any response — either to Colvin or to the MPCC. The government stopped paying Colvin's legal fees in November after his damning testimony before the House of Commons's special committee on Afghanistan.
The special committee had called Colvin to testify in their ongoing into what Canadian Forces knew, or should have known, about the fate of detainees turned over to Afghan authorities due to their responsibilities to the Geneva Convention. Colvin testified he repeatedly warned officials regarding the treatment of prisoners by Afghan authorities, and presented evidence the government was aware of circumstances.
This latest revelation comes as the Canadian Parliament has been prorogued for three months, until after the Vancouver Olympics, by the minority Harper government, with some members of the opposition parties pointing to Colvin's testimony and the whole Afghan detainee issue as the reason to dismiss the legislature. His testimony was publicly attacked by members of government, in particular by Defense Minister Peter MacKay.
As a federal civil servant summoned by Parliament regarding his official work Colvin is entitled to legal representation. The government agreed his earlier government-employed lawyer could not fairly represent both Colvin and the government, but has refused to provide funding for any other legal representation despite the ongoing MPCC investigation. The MPCC's own investigation into detainee transfers is awaiting the government's appointment of a new MPCC Commissioner.
Colvin continues to hold his position as head of intelligence at the Canadian Embassy in Washington.
category:Human rights Article 2: The United States military has arrested an intelligence analyst who may have been responsible for leaking classified combat video and documents to the whistle-blower website Wikileaks.
Version of "Collateral murder" footage. (Full audio transcript) Other video clips available by Wikileaks.|alt=Military helicopter video footage of civilian humans and vehicle being destroyed by airstrike
The man arrested has been identified by Wired magazine as an enlisted soldier, Bradley Manning of the United States Army's 2nd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division. Manning, a 22-year-old specialist from Potomac, Maryland, is said to have been detained for two weeks on base in Kuwait awaiting trial. The United States military confirmed an arrest and said it "takes the management of classified information very seriously."
The footage was acquired from an undisclosed source in 2009 by Wikileaks. Wikileaks says the "Collateral murder" footage shows the "murder of Iraqi civilians and two Reuters journalists."
Freedom of Information Act in 2007, as two of its news staff, Namir Noor-Eldeen, had died in the attack.
In addition to the video of the Baghdad attack, Manning is suspected of having leaked other classified information, including footage of the Granai attack and a classified Army document evaluating Wikileaks as a security threat, which the site posted in March. Wikileaks is preparing to release a video of the Granai attack in Afghanistan, which killed around 100 civilians.
A summary of the Pentagon investigation into the Granai airstrike, including a video, was due to be released in 2009.
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Article 1: Orkan Xynthia Darmstadt 28.2.2010.jpg|thumb|left|Destruction caused by Xynthia.
A major storm system has swept through Spain, Portugal, and France over the weekend, killing more than 50 people, and leaving nearly a million without power.
The storm system, named Xynthia, has moved from Portugal north through Spain and coastal France, and is expected to reach northern Europe, including Denmark, by Sunday evening. According the French Interior Ministry, at least 47 people have been killed in France alone, with around 60 injured. Additionally, five are dead in Germany, three are dead in Spain, and one dead in each of Portugal, Belgium, and England. French Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux said that the death toll would likely rise, with around 30 people still missing.
According to the French utility EDF, nearly a million homes in France are without power, largely around Brittany and central France. Full restoration of power is not expected until Wednesday. Several towns on the French coast have been flooded, with more than a meter of water on the streets in some areas. The storm produced winds upward of 100 mph and waves up to 26 feet high. Effects of the storm reached inland to Paris, where nearly 100 flights were canceled and a terminal of Charles de Gaulle Airport was severely damaged. Rail transport was also affected, with tracks flooded in both Spain and France.
In the United Kingdom, flood warnings have been issued for most of Britain, and warnings for severe flooding that was possibly life-threatening were issued for parts of Cambridgeshire. In London, barriers on the Thames River were raised in order to reduce the potential for flooding. The storm was expected to affect southern regions of the country as it moved northeast towards Scandinavia.
In a statement, French president Nicolas Sarkozy expressed his condolences to those affected, and sent France's interior minister to the areas most affected to co-ordinate a response. According to Prime Minister Fillon, the storms were a "national catastrophe." On Monday, the French government officially declared the storms a national disaster, which will allow funds to be released to help affected areas rebuild.
fr:France : importants dégâts dus à la tempête Xynthia Article 2: A Spanish aid worker kidnapped in Mauritania last year has been released, according to the Spanish government. Alicia Gamez, 39, was abducted on 29 November along with two other Spanish aid workers—both men—who are still being held. A North African branch of al-Qaeda claimed responsibility. Spain's Deputy Prime Minister, María Teresa Fernández de la Vega said in a press conference on Wednesday that Gamez was "safe and sound" and on her way to Barcelona.
Map of Mauritania showing Nouakchott and Nouadhibou
According to Fernández de la Vega, no ransom had been paid for Gamez's release; she stated that it was a result of work done by Spain's diplomats and intelligence services. She also expressed thanks for the "collaboration given by other countries". She said that the Spanish government would continue efforts to see the release of the other aid workers, Roque Pascual and Albert Vilalta, who are reported to be "healthy, nervous and eager to be released soon".
The three Spanish aid workers had been in Mauritania, working for the Barcelona Solidarity Action organisation. They were kidnapped at gunpoint while delivering relief to villages between the cities of Nouakchott and Nouadhibou. They had become separated from their convoy, approximately 170 kilometers (105 miles) north of the capital city Nouakchott. Vilalta was wounded by a gunshot to the leg but was treated for his injury. In early December, the al-Qaeda Organization in the Islamic Maghreb claimed responsibility. The hostages were believed to have been taken to Mali.
The al-Qaeda Organization in the Islamic Maghreb also claimed responsibility for the abduction in December of an Italian couple in Mauritania. Sergio Cicala, 65, and Philomene Kaboure, 39, were also apparently taken to Mali. Early reports indicated that Kaboure may have been released alongside Alicia Gamez, but these have been unconfirmed and now look doubtful.
A Frenchman, Pierre Camatte, captured in Mali in November by the same group was released last month, following a controversial decision to release four militants from a Malian jail. In the case of the Spanish aid workers, there have been reports that the kidnappers are demanding similar releases of detainees from Spanish custody, as well as a ransom. Spain currently holds dozens of convicted or suspected Islamic militants, including those convicted for the 2004 Madrid train bombings.
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Article 1: GMTV, the current television breakfast programme on ITV in the United Kingdom, having been a presenter on the programme for ten years. His current contract ends in April 2010, but he is expected to leave by the end of the Summer of 2010, according to the .
Initially, Shephard only presented an entertainment section of the television programme before being given a promotion to the sofa in 2005. He is the third presenter to leave GMTV within the last year, after the departures of Penny Smith.
According to a statement released from Ben Shephard's agent: "Ben's two-year contract with GMTV is up at the end of April. Earlier this year, his management made it clear that he would not be renewing it, but would be happy to stay on temporarily during this transitional period. Ben is excited about moving on after 10 incredible years and will be focusing on a number of new projects with ITV and other channels."
The One Show — a show that he presented with — was recently reported to be appearing as a presenter on GMTV in the future. Article 2: The city of Zibo is in Shangdong province in eastern China
A man armed with a 2-foot long knife killed three children and a teacher in a brutal attack in Zibo in eastern China. The Chinese government has been mostly silent on the incident.
The man who killed the people was identified as 26 year-old Fang Jiantang, and he later turned himself in to police. His motive for killing the children and the teacher is unknown.
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The disputed border between Israel and Lebanon is known as the Blue Line (click to enlarge)
After a rare clash between Israeli and Lebanese forces over the cutting down of a tree near the border of the two countries, it appears that all sides are attempting to restore peace.
The skirmish started after an Israeli soldier started cutting down a tree that has the capability to provide cover for Lebanese infiltrators. Israel has stated that they clear the border of underbrush weekly. After the tree was cut down, the Lebanese army started firing. The Lebanese were allegedly aiming at a base nearby, and the resulting skirmish killed a senior Israeli military officer, a Lebanese journalist, and two Lebanese army soldiers.
The United Nations peacekeeping force in south Lebanon has stated that Israel was operating in their own territory. However, Lebanese Information Minister Tarek Mitri said that the area of land which had the tree "was Lebanese territory," and also stated that though Lebanon respects the border, the country still contests part of it.
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Musician and presidential candidate Wyclef Jean pictured in 2006
According to TIME magazine, Haitian-American music star Wyclef Jean is to seek Haiti's presidency this Thursday. Last week Jean, who is a former member of the Fugees music group, took legal steps to run for the presidency, and Jean said in an interview that "if I can't take five years out to serve my country as President, then everything I've been singing about, like equal rights, doesn't mean anything." His younger brother also said that his candidacy was "very serious."
On January 12 of this year, Haiti was rocked by a devastating 7.0 magnitude earthquake that killed 300,000 and displaced millions. Whoever wins the presidency will face the task of rebuilding the crippled country. The presidential elections are scheduled for November 28.
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Asif Ali Zardari, Pakistan's president, has been criticized for continuing a tour of Europe while Pakistan suffers some of the worst flooding in living memory.
The president of Pakistan, Asif Zardari, is facing criticism for continuing a tour of Europe while his homeland is facing the worst flooding in 80 years.
Opposition politician Imran Khan called for the president "to head home immediately." Khan citicized Zardari for "going on this lavish tour — this money could be used on the victims. Remember, Pakistan is bankrupt right now so the government doesn't have enough money, so he should be mobilizing people to help these victims of the floods." Zardari is scheduled to meet UK Prime Minister David Cameron on Friday.
The flooding has killed over 1,500 people and has left over three million others in need of assistance. According to Islamabad's National Weather Forecasting Center, rain has been falling at a rate of 25-30% higher than average.
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The Boeing 787 Dreamliner's first flight.
With the 15 dropped 787 orders, Boeing has lost four more orders than it gained for the aircraft this year. Boeing has gained 28 orders for the 787 and lost 32 in 2010. Boeing has gained 255 orders for its lineup this year, which consists of the 737, 747, 767, 777 and 787. 229 of those orders are for the 737 jet.
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File photo of Alex Rodriguez
With the home run, Rodriguez, also known as A-Rod, became the seventh player in Major League Baseball history to reach the 600 milestone.
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Article 1: Map of Virginia highlighting Appomattox County.svg|thumb|left|300px|Map of Virginia highlighting Appomattox County.
Four adults, three teens and a child—both men and women—were murdered on Tuesday morning in a mass shooting in Appomattox, Virginia. According to police sources, three of the bodies were found inside a home, and the other four directly outside it.
Later in the day, civilians came upon an eighth victim in serious condition on the side of a road—which led to police being called. However, the man died en route to the hospital. Soon after, authorities identified the alleged shooter as Christopher Speight, aged 39, whom state and local police working in conjunction with the National Guard had surrounded in nearby woods.
The rural area was under an almost complete lock down as a perimeter was established that included hundreds of law enforcement officers and soldiers patrolling the area for the suspect. While being pursued, Speight is said to have fired multiple high-powered rounds at a state helicopter. Although there were no reported injuries, the bullets did rupture the fuel tank forcing it to land.
After an entire night of playing cat and mouse games with police, Christopher Speight surrendered to police of his own volition early Wednesday morning unarmed but wearing a bulletproof vest. Following this, police searched his Appomattox residence where they discovered several explosive devices on the premises.
In a statement to the media, Tom Molinar of Virginia State Police said that bomb technicians and canine units were on the scene. He went on to say that the situation was now under complete control, and that the proper authorities were safely detonating said devices as he spoke.
Christopher Speight is currently being housed in a local jail until charges are officially filed. The Appomattox Sheriff said that although motives for Speight's action are for now unknown, it is believed that he acted alone. Article 2: Outgoing Colombian President Alvaro Uribe has accused journalist Hollman Morris of being "an accomplice of terrorism" in the past.
The Obama Administration has denied Colombian journalist Patriot Act. Morris was attempting to obtain a visa to attend 's Nieman Program, which is a fellowship for journalists.
The journalist has called attention to ties between outgoing Colombian president DAS, the Colombian state security agency, which is Colombia's CIA counterpart.
Though the exact reason for Morris' visa denial is unclear, when Morris went on-site to cover the release of four Colombian security force members' release by rebels, Uribe called the journalist "an accomplice of terrorism".
After the news broke that Morris had been denied entry into the US, Robert Giles, curator of the Nieman Foundation and former newspaper editor, commented that "we were very surprised. This has never happened before." Also in an interview Friday, Morris said "if you have proof that I am a guerrilla, then why not put me in jail? Why just this campaign to discredit?"
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Article 1: Arturo Prat Square in Pichilemu before and after the tsunami.
Servicio Hidrográfico y Oceanográfico de la Armada de Chile (SHOA, Spanish for Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service of the Chilean Navy) released a report last Tuesday amidst public criticism of its response to the tsunami that hit the coast of Chile on February 27. The agency recognized the difficulty of arriving at every member of its Maritime and Naval networks. It reported that the tsunami warning was activated at 03:51 local time (06:51 UTC), 17 minutes after the earthquake, due to the delay of an ONEMI operator, whose identity "was not possible to determine"; the operator sent the alert via fax.
The warning was ended at 04:56 local time (07:56 UTC) by SHOA director Mariano Rojas, who has since been dismissed.
Despite the late tsunami warning, the Army said that it was an "adequate time for emergencies of this nature, considering the time required to obtain the information on the epicentre and magnitude."
The tsunami arrived at the following times, as the Army reported:
* Pichilemu: 03:48 (06:48 UTC); 04:15 (07:15 UTC).
* Constitución: 03:49 (06:49 UTC); 04:17 (07:17 UTC); 04:50 (07:50 UTC); 05:20 (08:20 UTC).
* San Antonio: 03:50 (06:50 UTC); 04:20 (07:20 UTC).
* Talcahuano and Dichato: 03:54 (07:54 UTC); 05:30 (08:30 UTC): 06:00 (09:00 UTC); 06:40 (09:40 UTC).
* Juan Fernández Islands: 04:25 (07:25 UTC); 04:40 (07:40 UTC).
* Valparaíso: 04:51 (07:51 UTC); 04:50 (07:50 UTC); 05:20 (08:20 UTC): 05:40 (08:40 UTC). Article 2: United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has warned that Iran's nuclear program is a threat to the world, shortly after Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad accused countries with nuclear capabilities of threatening those who were developing civilian nuclear technology.
The remarks by both came at a conference on the in New York. Ahmadinejad had criticized western nations, as well as Israel, in his speech, which prompted delegations from the US, France, and the United Kingdom to walk out. American officials said that Ahmadinejad's remarks were indicative of Iran's increased isolation by the international community.
Ahmadinejad had also been critical of nations with nuclear weapons for failing to disarm, saying that "production, stockpiling and qualitative improvement of nuclear armaments... now serves as a justification for the others to develop their own" and nuclear weapons were "a fire against humanity, rather than a weapon of defence. The possession of nuclear bombs is not a source of pride. Its possession is disgusting and shameful."
US White House spokesman said that it was "predictable" that Iran was continuing its silence on the treaty itself, which would see all signatories relinquish any access to nuclear weapons, through either disarmament or a pledge not to develop nuclear weapons. He also said that Iran was making "wild accusations" about the treaty, the guidelines of which which it has so far failed to follow. Iran continues to claim its nuclear program is for civilian purposes exclusively.
Clinton said in her speech that "Iran will do whatever it can to divert attention away from its own record in an attempt to evade accountability" and that "Iran has defied the UN Security Council and the IAEA and placed the future of the non-proliferation regime in jeopardy, and that is why it is facing increasing isolation and pressure from the international community."
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Article 1: An overnight explosion and fire at a Washington State oil refinery in Anacortes, Washington, United States, a city about 80 miles south of Vancouver, Canada, yesterday killed four people and critically injured three others.
A Tesoro Corp. refinery caught fire at about 0030 local time (0830 GMT) while maintenance work was being performed in preparation for returning a part of the plant to operation in a dangerous procedure involving increasing heat and pressure in the unit involved. Some people reportedly felt the explosion, which sent flames as high as the tower in the refinery, from as far as five miles away. The fire, whose cause is not yet known, burned for around an hour and a half before being extinguished.
Initially, Tesoro announced that three people had died in the fire. According to a spokesperson from Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, a fourth person, a 29-year-old woman, later died from her injuries at the hospital, while three other people, a woman and two men, all remain in critical condition with major burns. Three of the dead were named as Matthew Bowen, Darren Hoines and Daniel Aldridge, while the person who died in the hospital has not been identified. According to CNN, three workers are still missing, and a search has begun for them.
The incident was the first fire at an oil refinery in Anacortes since 2007, when a fire at the Shell Puget Sound Refinery damaged a storage, resulting in three minor injuries. A Tesoro-owned refinery was involved in another fire in 2002, also with no reported injuries. Article 2: Photo of Pete Souza NASCAR Jimmie Johnson and his wife Chandra Johnson welcomed their first child Wednesday. The child was born at 1:44 p.m. US EDT (1744 Charlotte, North Carolina|Charlotte, North Carolina, and was a female. She weighed six pounds and fourteen ounces, and she was 19.5 inches long. However, they have yet to name the child.
Since the child was born on Wednesday, Jimmie Johnson will be able to race at Chad Knaus|crewchief, and his car owner had prepared as a substitute driver, in case Johnson had to leave during a race because of birth.
The Johnsons were not the only family in NASCAR to expect the birth of a child. Some others include Juan Pablo Montoya, and Johnson's teammate Jeff Gordon.
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Article 1: Lolol Church after 2010 Chile earthquakes.jpg|thumb|left|The Lolol church, one of the 66 churches in the O'Higgins Region. The photo shows the severe structural damage that suffered the church after the earthquakes.
Mario Pardo, a geophysicist at the University of Chile, has ruled out that a "seismic swarm" exists in the coastal town of Pichilemu, about 259 kilometers from Santiago. As of last Thursday, almost 70 seisms have been registered in that zone.
Pichilemu was the epicentre of a 6.9 moment magnitude earthquake last Thursday that resulted in two aftershocks of magnitude greater than six.
"These are aftershocks associated to that earthquake. They are not more than a technicality: a seismic swarm doesn't correspond to an aftershock sequence that will last in some time", he explained.
The seismologist, in an interview with Cooperativa Radio, explained that the situation in Pichilemu occurs generally in areas where the aftershocks "can't be differentiated from a main seism, where they have very similar magnitudes, and when they take some time to disappear".
Adobe houses and historic buildings sustained the most damaged in the region: in fact, Monsignor Alejandro Goic said that only 2 of the 66 traditional catholic buildings in the region were not damaged. Damages to Catholic churches solely in the O'Higgins Region were estimated at almost 20 billion Chilean pesos (US$ 38 million). "It's stratospheric, a number that surpasses us absolutely," Goic said. Article 2: Shakemap of the 6.5 magnitude aftershock.
Another large aftershock of the February 27 8.8 earthquake — of 6.5 magnitude — rocked Chile earlier on Wednesday, the USGS reported. Seismologic Service measured the aftershock's magnitude as 6.6.
The aftershock occurred at 08:32:22 UTC (04:32:22 AM local time), at a depth of 28.4 kilometers (17.6 miles). Its epicenter was located 55 kilometers at the southwest of Bío Bío Region; 100 kilometers at the northwest of Araucanía Region; 100 kilometers at the southwest of Los Ángeles, Bío Bío; and 560 kilometers at the southwest of Santiago, Metropolitan Region.
Wikinews reporter Diego Grez reports the aftershock was clearly felt in Pichilemu. The aftershock lasted in about ten seconds. Sergio Barrientos, Director of University of Chile Seismologic Service said that it is a "late aftershock" of the February earthquake. "This seism is of the same type as February 27th, but much lighter," he said.
Another aftershock, magnitude 5.1, took place at 20:36:08 local time (Thursday 00:36:08 UTC). It occurred at a depth of 44.3 kilometers (27.5 miles), and the epicenter was located 45 kilometers southwest of San Antonio, Valparaíso; 100 kilometers at the southwest of Valparaíso; 110 kilometers at the northwest of Rancagua, O'Higgins Region; and 125 kilometers at the southwest of Santiago.
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Article 1: 1 Molly Schaus2.jpg|thumb|left|US goaltender Molly Schaus in a game against the Eastern College Athletic Conference All-Stars on January 3, 2010.
US Olympic ice hockey silver medalist Molly Schaus returned to her hometown of Naperville, Illinois last weekend. Her travels culminated in a visit on Monday to Spring Brook Elementary School, where as a fourth-grader she set the goal of some day being an Olympian. Schaus's dream was fulfilled this year during the Vancouver Winter Olympics, when she played for the US women's ice hockey team and won a silver medal.
As she addressed and answered questions from students and teachers at the grade school, Schaus explained the large amount of work she had to invest to achieve her goals. The Chicago Daily Herald reports that "she has been practicing for three to four hours a day nearly every day for the past year." She told the students to "make a dream and follow it because you never know what can happen and just have fun with it."
The nostalgic visit to her elementary school followed a weekend of other appearances in Naperville, including a celebration last Saturday at Rosebud's Italian Specialties and Pizzeria. Saturday had been declared Molly Schaus Day by Naperville Mayor A. George Pradel, who also gave Schaus a key to the city.
Schaus has not been the only Olympic alumnus to return to the school; figure skater and gold medalist Evan Lysacek returned to his Naperville hometown and spoke to the students at Spring Brook on March 26. "It's amazing we had two Olympians come to our school. It's like 1 million to one that they both get medals," remarked fourth-grader Alexandra Van Cleave.
Schaus lived in Naperville until moving to Massachusetts during her sophomore year in high school, having attended Gregory Middle School for junior high and Benet Academy during her freshman year of high school. After speaking at Spring Brook on Monday, she visited Gregory later that day and then went home to Massachusetts. She is expected to visit the White House with the rest of her team later this year. She will also start preparing for her final season at Boston College. Article 2: NASCAR and Indy team owners Felix Sabates became the first team owners in history to sweep the three top races in American motor sports. In February, NASCAR driver 2010 Daytona 500|Daytona 500 followed by Scottish driver 2010 Indianapolis 500|Indianapolis 500 in May. Jamie McMurray helped make it a clean sweep when over the weekend he again took the top spot (and his second win of the season) by winning the Brickyard 400, also held at the .
Pole sitter led the majority of Sunday's race, but in a late pit stop, he and his crew chief Brian Pattie conservatively changed four tires while teammate and rival McMurray changed only two. As a result, the Colombian born driver fell back in the field, and eventually crashed out of the race. This marks the second time Montoya has dominated this race only to fall short at the end.
NASCAR Sprint Cup points leader Greg Biffle, Tony Stewart.
Ganassi, a former open wheel driver, formed Target Chip Ganassi Racing in 1990. This team entered cars in North America's two leading open wheel series, CART and the Indy Racing League (IRL). Meanwhile in 1989, Sabates formed SABCO Racing to compete in the NASCAR Cup, the leading stock car class in the United States. Ganassi's operation merged with SABCO in 2001, forming an organization with teams that compete not only in NASCAR and IRL, but also in sports car endurance racing. Ganassi drivers won seven open wheel championships between 1996 and 2009. Missouri NASCAR driver Jamie McMurray re-joined Ganassi's team for the 2010 season, after a five year spell with Roush-Fenway Racing.
Also in North American motorsport on Sunday, Spanish rider Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Lorenzo's victory on a Fiat Yamaha bike, over Casey Stoner (second) and Valentino Rossi (third), strengthened his points lead in the MotoGP championship.
The next race in the NASCAR Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania, where is the defending race champion.
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Article 1: An electron micrograph of the poliovirus
An extensive vaccination campaign across 19 West and Central African countries is to begin today in an attempt to stem a year-long polio epidemic in the region. The United Nations and international aid agencies plan to immunize 85 million children under five. More than 400, 000 volunteers and health workers will take part in the campaign, visiting children in their homes.
The current polio epidemic has been going on for a year and there have been outbreaks in the last six months in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Senegal and Sierra Leone. These countries will be the focus of the campaign, along with Benin, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Côte d'Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Niger, Nigeria and Togo.
Efforts last year failed to halt the disease because not enough children were vaccinated. The program failed in part because local religious leaders told parents that the vaccines would sterilize their children, or cause AIDS. As well as targeting more children, today's campaign features better training for volunteers. Vaccinations will be repeated on 26 March in the six key countries, and again on 24 April for all 19 countries involved. The campaign is funded by Rotary International who have provided $30 million.
In 2009 the World Health Organization reported that approximately 1,600 children were paralysed by the virus worldwide. Article 2: Fearing fresh protests from Palestinians, Israeli forces have moved to close the West Bank for 48 hours, preventing Palestinians from entering.
West Bank
The protests have been sparked by a recent decision to include the Al-Aqsa mosque as an Israeli heritage site, as well as a plan by Israel to add up to 1,600 settlement homes in the West Bank.
The Al-Aqsa mosque is a holy site for both Muslims and Jews, however Muslims fear that along with the rest of Jerusalem, Al-Aqsa is to be annexed and claimed by Israel. It has been a flash point for conflict during the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, sparking the Second Intifada in 2000. Only worshipers with an Israeli identity card and age 50 or over were allowed to pray today at the mosque. In response, Palestinian youths have reportedly thrown rocks at Israeli soldiers, and several Palestinians have been badly wounded.
Some 3,000 Israeli soldiers and policemen are patrolling East Jerusalem, checking ID cards and positioning themselves on rooftops.
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Article 1: Scientology is facing renewed criticism, due to an extensive exposé in the Florida newspaper the Sea Org said they were pressured to have abortions, and were threatened with separation from their families, hard labor, interrogations, and , if they did not comply.
2008 02 London - Placard inspired by Mary Tabayoyon.jpg|thumb|left|A protester holds a sign which reads: "Church of Scientology forces its female members to get abortions" (February 10, 2008)
Women that came forward to the St. Petersburg Times said that those who did not wish to undergo an abortion were shunned by others within the Sea Org group, and were labeled as "out ethics" and "degraded beings". The Sea Org consists of 6,000 members of Scientology, who sign billion-year contracts to work for the organization for multiple lifetimes. Joining the Sea Org is considered a high calling within Scientology.
, the founder of Scientology, stated his appreciation for families within the Sea Org. Scientology's subsequent leader, David Miscavige, issued an order that children were to be banned in the Sea Org. The mandate by Miscavige asserted that children hampered the productivity of the Scientology order.
Scientology representative, Tommy Davis denied all of the assertions made by the women. "There is no church policy to convince anyone to have an abortion, and the church has never engaged in such activity. The decision to have a child or terminate a pregnancy is a personal decision made by a couple. That applies to all Scientologists. If any current or former Sea Org member ever 'pressured' someone to have an abortion, they did so independently, and that action was not approved, endorsed or advocated by the church," stated Davis to the St. Petersburg Times.
Another woman is suing the Scientology organization in United States federal court, and stated she was threatened with severe repercussions if she did not have an abortion. Claire Headley, 35, a member of the Sea Org when she was in Scientology, told the St. Petersburg Times, "The policy was if a staff member became pregnant, that they were to have an abortion."
In 1991, Headley became a member of the Sea Org at age sixteen, and began work with the division of the organization in Los Angeles, California. She married at age seventeen, while a member of the organization. Headley said that officials within Scientology leadership pressured her to have two abortions: one at age nineteen, and another at age 21. Headley believed she had "no choice", as she had witnessed other women that refused to have abortions instructed to perform manual labor, with one pregnant woman ordered to dig ditches. Headley said that during pressure to have her second abortion she was forbidden to phone her husband to discuss the decision. She spent a total of thirteen years in the Sea Org.
Laura Dieckman, 31, said that she was enthusiastic about beginning a family when she became pregnant within Scientology at age seventeen, but was instructed to have an abortion. In a federal lawsuit against Scientology, Dieckman stated she joined with the Sea Org at the age of twelve, and at age sixteen she married another member of the group, Jesse DeCrescenzo. She said she was pressured to have an abortion in 1996.
Dieckman said to the St. Petersburg Times: "I was pounded for two days by the top person in my organization ... about how the baby wasn't a baby yet, it was just tissue and it wouldn't matter if I aborted the baby." Dieckman left Scientology in 2004. In a video posted to the website of the St. Petersburg Times, Dieckman emotionally recounted how she had immediately regretted going through with the procedure, "They will do an ultrasound before the procedure so you see the heartbeat. ... I'm lying there ... and I was like, 'No.' But it's too late. I'd already done it."
Natalie Hagemo said that 20 years ago at age nineteen, she was pressured by Scientology officials to have an abortion, but she resisted. Hagemo gave birth to Shelby on August 20, 1990. Hagemo's daughter was recruited into the Sea Org at age 14. Shelby contacted her mother a week later wanting to leave the Sea Org; Hagemo had a difficult time getting Shelby out of the group. It was not until this year that Hagemo told her daughter about experiencing pressure from Scientology officials to have an abortion.
The St. Petersburg Times received sworn depositions from additional women including Sunny Pereira, who said they were intimidated into having abortions they did not wish to undergo. "They put you in this position where you're weighing the lives of all these people you're supposed to be saving against this one little tiny speck of nuisance that's growing inside of you," said Pereira. Spokesman Tommy Davis stated the women were accusing Scientology of forced abortions because of choices they now "appear to regret".
In Nevada, Republican party candidate for the Sharron Angle, was the focus of criticism for her support of a Scientology-associated program. Angle's opponent, incumbent Senator and Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat L. Ron Hubbard. Angle had previously been the subject of a similar ad in the Republican primary, generated by the campaign of her opponent pro-life, and Ramesh Ponnuru noted her position against abortion helped her win the Republican primary. "Angle would not have been able to unite populist conservatives and beat the party establishment’s candidate had she been pro-choice," noted Ponnuru. Article 2: Cat:Published
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Article 1: The Louis Majesty in 2007
Two passengers on a Mediterranean cruise ship were killed by a rogue wave on Wednesday. The incident occurred off the north-east coast of Spain. The ship, named the Louis Majesty, had left from Barcelona, Spain and was headed for Genoa, Italy.
The giant wave broke the windows on deck five of the ship, resulting in two fatalities as well as another fourteen injuries. The two victims were German and Italian citizens. Following the incident, the ship returned to Barcelona. The ship, carrying over 1300 passengers, is expected to continue its journey after the injured are moved from the ship for treatment.
According to French officials, there had been no previous trouble with the ship. The waves were believed to have been 26 feet (8 meters) high. The ship is 660 feet (200 meters) long, and had 732 cabins onboard. Article 2: Air France A330-200 F-GZCP lands at Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport on March 28, 2007. The aircraft was destroyed in Air France Flight 447 when the plane hit and crashed in the Atlantic Ocean, killing all 228 people on board.The cockpit voice recorder, or "black boxes", from an plane that crashed on June 1 last year in the Atlantic Ocean, have been localized to within about 2 square miles (5 square kilometers), a French official said on Thursday.
The French government and military officials have urged caution, saying there is no guarantee the flight recorders will be found. French navy spokesman Hugues du Plessis d'Argentre commented to AFP, "It's like trying to find a shoe box in an area the size of Paris, at a depth of 3,000m (9,800ft) and in a terrain as rugged as the Alps."
The aircraft, an anchor=A330-200|Airbus A330-200, carrying 216 passengers and 12 crew members, for a total of 228 people on board, crashed in the Atlantic Ocean after flying in bad weather. The , which measure airspeed, are considered likely to have been a contributing factor to the crash. However, the actual cause has yet to be determined.
The search is now in its third phase, which started on March 30 – April 1, 2010 and was originally announced to last 30 days. However, on May 4, the search was extended to May 25.
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Article 1: A New South Wales District Court heard today from Priest John Sidney Denham, who pled guilty to a string of sexual abuse charges involving 39 minors between 1979 and 1986 in Newcastle and Taree, north of Sydney.
Denham, who was Head of Discipline at St Pius X High School, Newcastle, where 27 of the young boys that he abused attended, claimed to have been given access to the boys when they were sent to him for misbehaving in class and told the court as well as a psychiatrist that "some of them were little bastards who were already in trouble."
Although Denham couldn't offer any explanation as to why he committed the crimes in question, he claimed "it was as if I thought no-one could resist me" having told the court prior that he was aroused by children he took pity on. 67-year-old Denham, whose age led a psychiatrist to class him as being at a low risk of reoffending, has called himself a "mere scumbag paedophile".
Denham finished his testimony by apologising to the victims and their families. He has yet to receive a sentence. He claims he has not committed any more offences in the last 25 years.
*
* Article 2: In the early hours of Thursday July 15, Argentina's senate approved legislation that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide, making it the first country in Latin America and the tenth country in the world to do so.
The law, which also allows same-sex couples to adopt, was voted on at 0400 local time (0800 UTC), after 14 hours of debate, and passed with 33 votes in favor to 27 opposed with three abstentions. Since the lower house of Argentina's government has already approved the bill and President is in favor of the bill, it is expected to enter into law in only a few days, once it is published in Argentina's official bulletin.
The legislation, backed by President Fernandez's government, was the subject of a campaign by the Roman Catholic Church and other religious groups, which held rallies against it, including a march on Argentina's Congress, and encouraged citizens to protest the bill. Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, as part of his opposition to the bill, said that "children need to have the right to be raised and educated by a father and a mother."
Members of Senate were divided in their views of the bill. One senator, Daniel Filmus, said that "society has grown up. We aren't the same as we were before."
Argentina will become the tenth country in the world to legalize same-sex marriages, after the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Canada, South Africa, Norway, Sweden, Portugal, and Iceland. Elsewhere in Latin America, same-sex civil unions have been legalized in Uruguay and in parts of Mexico and Brazil. Mexico City legalized same-sex marriage in 2009.
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Article 1: The US Supreme Court yesterday overturned an eleven-year-old law banning videos that depicted First Amendment to the US Constitution.
The court's 8–1 ruling overturns a law enacted in 1999 that banned the trade of "depictions of animal cruelty," including "conduct in which a living animal is intentionally maimed, mutilated, tortured, wounded or killed." The case was prompted by the prosecution of Robert J. Stevens, who had filmed and sold videos of dogfights, and subsequently was sentenced in 2005 to 37 months in prison, although he has yet to begin his sentence; his case has remained on appeal.
According to Chief Justice John Roberts Jr, the law overturned by the court had been "a criminal prohibition of alarming breadth." The law had been defended by the US government, which had argued that videos of cruelty to animals had no value, and should therefore receive no protection by the First Amendment. Roberts argued the point in his written statement on the ruling, saying that "The First Amendment means that government has no power to restrict expression because of its message, its ideas, its subject matter or its content." According to Roberts, the law had been too broad, and the court was therefore unwilling to place it outside the protection of the First Amendment.
Reactions to the ruling were mixed. A group called the Media Coalition supported the ruling, saying that "If the court were to rewrite the First Amendment every time an unpopular or distasteful subject was at issue, we wouldn't have any free speech left." The US Humane Society called for a new law to be written by Congress, this one more narrow in scope. The society's president, , said that "Congress should act swiftly to make sure the First Amendment is not used as a shield for those committing barbaric acts of cruelty, and then peddling their videos on the Internet."
cs:Nejvyšší soud Spojených států amerických zrušil zákon proti filmům s týráním zvířat Article 2: Initial composition of jury members in a human trafficking criminal trial began Tuesday in Clearwater, Florida, United States. Tampa Bay Area.
Pinellas County Courthouse, in Clearwater, Florida
An individual named Colin Anthony Dyer was placed under arrest in May 2009. Dyer, 37, faces charges in the case including human trafficking and sexual battery. Accusations against Dyer include human trafficking on one woman, and both sexual battery and human trafficking on another young woman.
Law enforcement officials stated Dyer along with three other individuals restrained women without their permission in a residence in Treasure Island, Florida. According to statements by those investigating the case, Dyer and his associates made these women work as prostitutes.
Other individuals that were arrested related to the case included Kenyatta Cornelius, Edward Jones, and Corinna Shaffer. The case involving Dyer is the first of these people to be heard in court at trial.
Law enforcement officials have said that Dyer raped a woman and made her work in the capacity of a prostitute at a strip club called "Vegas Showgirls", located near St. Petersburg, Florida.
Prior to admitting possible jury members into the courtroom, Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge Timothy Peters asked lawyers if a plea bargain deal had been made between the parties. Bryant Camareno, lawyer for Dyer, stated his client did not wish to plead guilty. Lawyers for the government did not give Dyer a formal plea bargain deal offer. Judge Peters queried Dyer regarding his understanding that he could be sentenced to a maximum of 60 years in jail, and Dyer answered in the affirmative.
Police detectives have stated that this might be the first case in Florida dealing with the human trafficking of citizens of the United States.
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Article 1: United States President Barack Obama has officially repealed the law prohibiting openly people from serving in the U.S. military. Campaigners have praised the repeal of the "don't ask, don't tell" (DADT) as a historic advance for gay rights.
BarackObamaportrait.jpg|140px|thumb|left|United States President Barack Obama
The new law was signed into effect by Obama yesterday morning. DADT, in effect for 17 years, was repealed by the United States Senate on Saturday. The military will cease enforcement of the policy in 60 days time, after the Pentagon has certified to Congress that it, and the military are ready to implement the new law.
"This is a very good day," Obama told a crowd of soldiers and senior military officials. "This morning I'm proud to sign a law that will bring an end to 'don't ask, don't tell'. No longer will tens of thousands of Americans be asked to live a lie in order to serve the country that they love." Obama added that the government would "not drag their feet" and they were "committed to implementing this change swiftly and efficiently."
He added the law would strengthen national security and the U.S. military. "No longer will our country be denied the service of thousands of patriotic Americans who were forced to leave the military, regardless of their skills, no matter their bravery or their zeal, no matter their years of exemplary performance because they happen to be gay," he said.
Aubrey Sarvis, the executive director of the , praised the new ruling. "Clearly, this is President Obama's Lyndon Johnson moment in history," he said. "A measure of dignity has been restored to thousands of service members on active duty, and to over a million gay veterans who served in silence."
Obama has been an advocate for overturning the ban on gays serving in the military. Under the law, enacted in 1993, over 13,000 members of the U.S. military have been dismissed. Supporters of DADT have said the new ruling will damage the morale of troops. Former Republican presidential candidate John McCain said earlier this month more scrutiny would be needed before the law was repealed.
A report by earlier this month concluded most U.S. service personnel do not believe reform of the rules on gays and lesbians serving in the military would affect morale, unit cohesion or military effectiveness. The report found only 30% believed that changing the law would have a negative effect.
Air Force Lt. Col. Victor Fehrenbach, the highest-ranking officer investigated under the DADT policy, said: "I'm just incredibly proud of our country and of this military that so many service members will be able to serve with dignity and integrity. It's actually taken a day or two to sink in, because it seemed so unbelievable at the time." Article 2: Moreno was arrested at
football referee who officiated at the drug smuggling. Moreno was arrested at after he arrived on a flight from Ecuador.
During a routine check, security found 10 clear bags containing nearly 10 pounds of . The drugs had been strapped to his body and concealed in his underwear. In a complaint filed in a Brooklyn federal court it said that during the inspection Moreno "became visibly nervous." It also said "A customs agent felt hard objects on the defendant's stomach, back and both of his legs. A strip search revealed that the lumps were 10 clear plastic bags containing more than 10 pounds of heroin".
A judge jailed Moreno without bail on charges of drug smuggling.
Moreno is most well remembered after he refereed the World Cup second round match between Italy and host's South Korea. Moreno had disallowed a valid Italian goal and sent off Italian striker for apparent diving. He also failed to call any attention to any of the South Korean's foul play. Moreno resigned from refereeing in 2003.
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