Friday, August 24, 2007

Part of the M5 in England, United Kingdom has been closed after shots were fired at a police car in the early hours of this morning.

A blue, L-registered BMW 3 Series car was parked in a lay-by just off the motorway on the B4008 near Junction 12. As the police car approached the vehicle it drove off and at least two shots were fired at the police car from the back of the BMW.

Kate Nelmes from Gloucestershire Police said, “As the vehicle drove onto the carriageway, someone believed to be in the back of the vehicle then fired two shots in the direction of the police vehicle.”

The motorway between Junction 12 and 13 was closed causing major traffic problems however since then the northbound carriageway has been reopened. The southbound carriageway is expected to be open around 13:00 BST.

Friday, January 12, 2007

The iPhone only made its appearance as a prototype and there have been controversies aroused.

The dispute has come up between the manufacturer of the iPhone (which was resented on Wednesday for the first time) – Apple Inc. – and a leader in network and communication systems, based in San Jose – Cisco. The company claims to possess the trademark for iPhone, and moreover, that it sells devices under the same brand through one of its divisions.

This became the reason for Cisco to file a lawsuit against Apple Inc. so that the latter would stop selling the device.

Cisco states that it has received the trademark in 2000, when the company overtook Infogear Technology Corp., which took place in 1996.

The Vice President and general counsel of the company, Mark Chandler, explained that there was no doubt about the excitement of the new device from Apple, but they should not use a trademark, which belongs to Cisco.

The iPhone developed by Cisco is a device which allows users to make phone calls over the voice over Internet protocol (VoIP).

Monday, July 4, 2011

Officials announced that a treasure containing sacks of diamonds and gold coins as well as golden idols, jewelry and other riches has been discovered in the secret subterranean vaults of Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple, in the southwestern state of Kerala, India. Estimates of its worth have been rising and it is now thought to be worth US$20 billion.

The Hindu temple was built in the 16th century by the kings of the then Kingdom of Travancore to serve as a royal chapel for the rulers of Travancore. The six vaults containing the treasure have been undisturbed for over a century. Assessment of the treasure began on June 27 after a lawyer concerned about the security of the treasure petitioned India’s Supreme Court, which then appointed a seven-member panel of experts to inventory the treasure. The panel does not have the power to determine to whom the treasure will belong. Estimates of the treasure’s worth are rising, provoking a heated debate as to how the treasure will be used in a country that has 450 million poverty-stricken people.

The chief minister of Kerala, Oommen Chandy, announced on Sunday the treasure would remain with the temple, and security matters would be decided in consultation with the Travancore Royal Family, the temple management, and the temple priest.

“The gold was offered to the lord. It is the property of the temple. The government will protect the wealth at the temple,” Oommen Chandy said. Meanwhile, hundreds of armed police have been deployed around the temple to protect the treasure.

However, the view that the treasure should remain at the temple has been disputed. Among the dissenters is eminent jurist V R Krishna Iyer, who said the treasure should be put in a national trust for the peoples’ benefit. “God’s wealth belongs to the people, not to the king. It’s meaningless to say that it belongs to Hindus or any particular religious community,” said Iyer. “A mechanism should be devised to ensure that the benefits of it reach the poor and the needy and not the rich.”

Five of the six vaults of the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple have been inventoried.

On Saturday, reports leaked to the press revealed that the treasure, including a golden idol of Mahavishnu and a golden ‘anki’, were found in one of the vaults, estimated to weigh 30 kilograms, along with precious stones, silver, two coconut shells of pure gold and another golden idol as well as other jewels and valuable coins. The panel hopes to find more treasure when the sixth and final vault is opened, but the attempt was suspended on Monday because the iron door inside presented “technical problems” requiring further consultation before opening. This vault is thought to contain the bulk of the wealth.

Keralan officials in a preliminary estimate said that the treasure was worth over US$11.2 billion; those estimates have now risen to US$20 billion. Historians say that the temple’s location on a site through which passed lucrative trade routes support the higher evaluations.

“Traders, who used to come from other parts of the country and abroad for buying spices and other commodities, used to make handsome offerings to the deity for not only his blessings but also to please the then rulers,” said P.J. Cherian, the director of Kerala Council for Historic Research

Some suggest that the profit from the sale of the treasure would be enough to wipe out the entire public debt of Kerala and fund future Kerala projects such as seaports, airports and highways.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

A suicide car bomb attack in northwestern Pakistan has killed at least 30 people, including some children.

Investigators say the bomb exploded Tuesday on a busy street near a market in the city of Charsadda, 40 kilometers north of Peshawar. The blast wounded dozens of people and destroyed several buildings.

“The death toll has gone up to 32 and more than 100 people have been wounded in this suicide attack,” said Bashir Bilour, the Senior Minister of North West Frontier Province.

Hazrat Ali, a shopkeeper, was a witness to the event. He recounted his experiences to the Agence France-Presse news agency. “I was buying something before closing my shop. A car was parked on the other side of the road and all of a sudden there was a huge blast. There was smoke and darkness everywhere. I passed out.” Ali sustained shrapnel injuries to his forehead and torso.

This was the third bombing in the area in three days. On Monday, a suicide bomber in a rickshaw blew himself up at a checkpoint in Peshawar, killing three people. A suicide bomber killed thirteen people in a crowded market outside the city on Sunday.

Sunday, December 31, 2017

On New Years Day 2018, on the steps of New York City Hall, U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, runner-up for the Democratic Party’s 2016 presidential nomination and potential 2020 presidential candidate, is to conduct the swearing-in of New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, himself a potential 2020 presidential contender. In a statement, de Blasio, who was re-elected as Mayor this past November, claims to have invited Sanders due to the progressive icon’s Brooklyn, New York roots and advocacy on behalf of working people. Analysts say the invitation is a calculated political move on behalf of de Blasio to take advantage of Sanders’ popularity.

Sanders, 76, a self-identified Socialist, was born in Brooklyn before relocating to his current home of Vermont. After running for various public offices in the 1970s as a member of the anti-war Liberty Union Party, Sanders won election as Mayor of Burlington in 1981, serving three successive terms. In 1990, he was elected to the United States House of Representatives as an Independent, serving for 16 years before winning election to the U.S. Senate, again as an Independent. During his 2016 presidential campaign, Sanders garnered grassroots support, finishing second at the Democratic National Convention to Hillary Clinton, whose husband, former President Bill Clinton, administered de Blasio’s oath for Mayor in 2014.

Sanders’ 2016 performance and ensuing popularity within the Democratic Party has led to speculation about his plans in 2020. According to Politico, Sanders is taking steps toward a 2020 run. Referencing Sanders’ advanced age, incumbent President Donald Trump, who has already announced plans to run for re-election in 2020, said he expects Sanders to run “even if he’s in a wheelchair.”

News outlets have also speculated about de Blasio’s 2020 prospects. Last week, de Blasio delivered a speech in the first-in-the-nation caucus state of Iowa, prompting publications such as The Week and Newsweek to discuss whether the speech, delivered before about 200 progressive activists in Des Moines concerning the direction of the Democratic Party, was a way for de Blasio to test the waters for a potential run. De Blasio himself has denied he is running for President, though speculation persists.

Congressman John Delaney of Maryland is currently the only prominent Democrat officially running for President. Senators Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York are also expected to run.

Tuesday, May 16, 2006Yesterday, at 10:39 p.m. UTC, a 7.4 magnitude earthquake rocked the Pacific Ocean about 180 miles southwest of Raoul Island, a member of the Kermadec Islands in New Zealand. Witnesses disagreed on the length of the earthquake, which was felt as far south as Christchurch, New Zealand, although they agreed the quake lasted from 30 seconds to a minute. Ever since the volcano eruption on Raoul Island on March 18, the islands have been experiencing about 30 earthquakes a day. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center predicted that the earthquake might create a small tsunami with a radius of about 60 miles. There have been no reported injuries or deaths.

The tsunami occurred a couple of hours before a previously-scheduled test of a tsunami warning system. The test had 29 countries participating.

“It is a big earthquake, but the depth would limit any damage,” Seismologist Ken Gledhill says.

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