Saturday, October 28, 2006

Theodore Vouyouklais, a Greek pathologist professor, has confirmed that the two children found dead in their hotel room in the Greek village of Gouvia on Corfu were killed by carbon monoxide poisoning. The two children were found dead next to their father, Neil Shepherd, and his partner Ruth Beatson, who had fallen unconscious. They have not yet received news of the children’s deaths.

The children’s biological mother, Sharon Wood, has been informed and visited their bodies on Saturday, along with a man believed to be her husband.

The family was found by a cleaner on Thursday morning. The current cause of the carbon monoxide emissions is unknown, however investigators have speculated that it was due to a hot water boiler in the next room to where the four family members were sleeping. This is, as yet, an unproven theory.

Friday, March 23, 2007

At an event at Abbey Mills pumping station in Stratford, East London on March 22, 2007, UK Environment Minister Ian Pearson announced an ambitious project to clean up the River Thames in London.

A tunnel, 30 kilometres in length, will be built alongside the river to intercept sewage and stormwater runoff that flows into the Thames currently. The tunnel would shunt the wastewater to a treatment facility in East London. Some 52 million cubic metres of wastewater streams into the Thames each year.

According to a Parliamentary Statement released March 22, the discharges kill fish, create a higher health hazard for users of the river and reduce the aesthetic appeal of the Thames.

“London today is more densely populated, and the greater urbanisation – such as the increase in paved areas – has led to more and faster rainwater run-off and, unfortunately, to an increase in storm overflows into the river,” said David Owens, Thames Water’s Chief Executive Officer in a press release.

“London’s sewers are one of the great engineering wonders of the Victorian age and have served the capital well for more than 150 years,” continued Owens.

The tunnel is projected to cost a minimum £2 billion and would be considered the largest such project undertaken in Great Britain.

The announcement comes after six years of detailed study. Experts such as the Thames Tideway Strategic Study, consultants Jacobs Babtie, and Thames Water played a significant role in determining a solution. All recommended a tunnel under the Thames as the right approach to the problem.

“We haven’t reached this decision in a vacuum,” said Pearson. “A wide range of players have been instrumental in getting us to this point and I thank them all.” Further work on the project, such as detailed design, planning and funding, will now follow.

Funding the project, admits Pearson, may put a strain on ratepayers. “This will inevitably mean some extra costs for customers, but it will deliver tangible benefits for London in the long-term,” said Pearson. It is estimated that it will add around £37 to Thames Water sewerage bills by 2017.

There has been criticism of projected expenses. “The costs will be met wholly through increases in consumers’ bills,” said David Bland, chairman of Consumer Council for Water Thames, in a BBC interview. He suggested the fees “will be far more than most are willing or expecting to pay.”

Proceeding with the tunnel would not only improve the environmental quality of the Thames, suggests the government, it would also help satisfy European obligations on sewage treatment.

The project is expected to be completed by 2019/20.

Friday, November 14, 2008

Raouf Amin el-Araby, a 52-year-old Egyptian doctor who has been serving the Saudi Royal family for 20 years, was convicted of malpractice. Egyptian newspapers reported that he was accused of driving a Saudi princess “to addiction”, reportedly after treating a Saudi princess with painkillers.

Initially sentenced to 7 years and 700 lashes, he has been sentenced to 15 years and 1500 lashes, 70 a week, after making an appeal.

Family members, friends and colleagues gathered in outrage and grief outside the headquarters of Egypt’s doctors union, calling upon King Abdullah to pardon Raouf. “1,500 lashes is unprecedented in the history of Islam,” read one banner carried by protesters. “Who is responsible for the humiliation of our doctors abroad?” read another.

The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR) and the foreign minister are working hard to find a way to return Raouf home quickly. Hafez Abu Saeda, the director of EOHR, stated that the princess was prescribed the same medication that she was receiving in the United States, “so it is obvious that the doctor was not at fault for her addiction.”

Abu Saeda was astonished that the judge doubled the sentence and the lashes after the appeal. It is tantamount, he said, to penalizing Amin for asserting his right of appeal. “When you appeal against a sentencing it is the rule that it cannot go higher, but in Saudi Arabia it appears anything is possible,” said Saeda.

Protests in Egypt have driven the Egyptian foreign ministry to seek a solution, partly out of concern that negative repercussions may damage relations between Cairo and Riyadh.

A human rights lawyer said that he was given the first 70 lashes last week and he will get 70 more this week.

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

A cholera outbreak in the African country of Zimbabwe has killed almost 500 people since August, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The WHO said that the outbreak affected most areas of the country, and that some remote areas had seen fatality rates increase by as much as 30%. Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Health reported 484 deaths from 11,735 cases since the outbreak began.

Zimbabwe has had annual outbreaks of cholera for nearly a decade, but this one was the most far-reaching. A report by the WHO stated that the last large outbreak was in 1992, with 3,000 cases recorded.

Cholera is frequently spread by contaminated, untreated water. The spread of the disease was expedited by the collapse of Zimbabwe’s health and sanitation systems; state media reported that most of Harare has been left without water after the city ran out of chemicals for its treatment plant. A resident of Mabvuku, a suburb located east of Harare, told APTV that electricity is not available most of the time, so water is consumed without being boiled first.

The medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) said that there have been cases of cholera reported in areas of Botswana, Mozambique, and South Africa that border Zimbabwe, indicating the sub-regional threat of the outbreak. The South African ministry of health confirmed that they had 160 incidents of cholera reported, as well as three deaths.

The European Commission said that it was providing €9 million (US$11.4 million) in funds to assist Zimbabwe with the crisis. “I’m shocked at the deteriorating humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe and call upon the authorities there to respond quickly to this cholera outbreak by allowing full assistance from international humanitarians and regional partners,” said the commissioner responsible for the European Union’s humanitarian aid, Louis Michel.

Other agencies providing aid to the country include the United Nations Children’s Fund, the WHO, and Doctors Without Borders.

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).

Tuesday, November 23, 2004

< 15-22 November 2004 • Index • 29 November-5 December 2004 >

This a collection of articles whose datelines read between 22 and 29 November. They have not necessarily gone through a peer-review process, and may not even be done. This is essentially an index right now. Click on an article’s title to read it in full.

Activists protest against School of the Americas22 November, 2004, United StatesAntiwar magazines report up to 16,000 protesters demonstrated outside a United States military school this weekend, demanding it be closed in connection with accused human rights violations.

Dan Rather resigns as anchor, to stay on as correspondent22 November, 2004, USADan Rather has announced that he will retire on March 9th, 2005 as anchor of CBS Evening News. He will continue to be an investigative reporter for both of the 60 Minutes shows.

Indonesian police arrest four suspects wanted over Australian Embassy bombing24 November, 2004, Jakarta, Indonesia.Associated Press and Reuters are both reporting that Indonesian police have arrested four suspects for the bombing of the Australian embassy in Jakarta on September 9th, which killed 10 people.

Ukrainian opposition leader calls for police and army to join revolution24 November, 2004, UkraineAmid protests of up to 200,000 over Ukraine’s disputed presidential election, officially declared loser Viktor Yushchenko has called on the army and police to join a revolution against the government.

Internal emails expose Boeing-Air Force contract discussions24 November, 2004, United StatesEmails exchanged among United States Air Force officials regarding a USD$23 billion dollar deal with aircraft manufacturer Boeing have been entered into the public record. Senator John McCain (R–AZ) entered them into the Congressional Record during a speech last week against the now-cancelled deal to lease 100 mid-air tanker aircraft from Boeing.

Australia in a good position after first day of Adelaide test match26 November, 2004, Adelaide, South AustraliaAt stumps on day one, Australia has opened a commanding lead in the second cricket test against New Zealand.

Record computer outage at UK government departmentNovember 27 2004, United Kingdom.A computer outage beginning on Monday afternoon at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has caused delays in the processing of new claims. 80% of the DWP’s desktop computers were put out of action by a software update. This story is being widely reported but details are scarce. Most of the talk is about the severity of the problem and the pattern of failures associated with IT outsourcing in the government.

170 workers trapped in Chinese mine after explosion28 November, 2004, Shaanxi province.Early in the morning on Sunday November 28th, 170 workers were trapped in the Chinese Chenjiashan mine, the BBC reports. According to Chinese state officials, 123 workers managed to escape the facilities. Many of those who escaped the mines are suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning. Since the accident, there has been no contact with the 170 workers trapped inside, although the initial number of 183 people still in the complex was revised downwards.

Researchers discover high temperature enables more efficient hydrogen generationSunday, November 28th, 2004Researchers in Salt Lake City Utah, at Ceramtech Incorporated, hand in hand with workers at The Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory stated that they had learned that through superheating the water to 800 degrees Celsius, far less electricity was required to produce the same volume of hydrogen.

USL v. BSDi settlement agreement unsealed28 November, 2004, United StatesThe 1994 settlement agreement between UNIX Systems Laboratories (USL) and BSDi (USL v. BSDi) was unsealed in November 2004 under the California Public Records Act (California Code § 6250-6270). The details of the settlement may have ramifications with respect to the SCO v. IBM case with SCO believing it is the successor in interest to USL.

American teenage girl charged with murder of her own mother29 November, 2004, United States.Rachelle Waterman, (aka Rachelle Ann Monica Waterman and “smchyrocky”), a 16-year-old girl from Craig, Alaska, USA, has been charged with the first degree murder of her own mother.

World’s Largest Ball of Twine Turns 5029 November, 2004, Cawker City, Kansas.People in Kansas like to just go have a look at things from time to time, particularly if it is kitchy and big. Frank Stoeber died in 1974, but not before he left behind a legacy of twine. Frank started a building a ball of sisal twine (a form of hemp) in 1953, which as grown to 40 ft in diameter hence. The ball of twine’s domicile is a mini-museam located in the downtown of Cawker City, Kansas, which onlookers can simple look at or add twine to.

Thursday, July 6, 2017

On Sunday, a long-distance snapshot of New Jersey governor and former Republican United States presidential candidate Chris Christie and his family on a beach outside the gubernatorial residence in Island Beach State Park went public, raising criticism of the governor, who had ordered Island Beach and the rest of New Jersey’s state parks closed the previous Friday amid a budget dispute. The response included comments from fellow Republicans and tourists, a plane over Seaside Park, and a variety of memes showing the Governor’s beach chair digitally added to other images.

“[Christie’s] rise to national prominence was that he had this reputation as a fighter, and that when he was fighting he was on the side of the Everyman and the New Jersey taxpayer against the status quo,” Republican political strategist Kevin Madden offered. “I think the danger of the photos is that it undermines that.”

Christie’s lieutenant governor, Kim Guadagno, said, “If I were governor, I sure wouldn’t be sitting on the beach if taxpayers didn’t have access to state beaches. We need to end the shutdown now. It’s hurting small businesses and ordinary New Jerseyans.” Guadagno is planning to run for governor.

One visitor to Atlantic City, New Jersey — Matt Jenkins — told the press, “I think it’s a shame, it’s hideous.”

Regardless of whether they shared Jenkins’ opinion, users of Photoshop and similar programs added the Governor in his beach gear to images of television programs such as Jersey Shore and The Sopranos, movies like Jaws, and one scene from the Oval Office.

On Monday, a plane towed a banner over Seaside Park reading, “Tell Gov Christie: Get the hell off Island Beach State Park,” echoing the Governor’s own words in 2011, in which he told visitors “Get the hell off the beach” as Hurricane Irene approached. The plane received applause from beachgoers.

The dispute that precipitated the shutdown concerned a law letting the New Jersey state government decide how much money the state-founded health insurer Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey would be allowed to accumulate before being required to contribute to the New Jersey state health fund passed the state Senate but not the House, which is largely made up of Democrats. Governor Christie supported the bill. On Sunday, he told the press he would sign any budget the legislature sent him so long as the bill is passed as well: “If they send it to me with Horizon, I will sign it. If they send it to me without Horizon I will use my authority to make a smaller budget[…] If they send me a budget today the shutdown would be over. The Legislature is deciding not to send me either budget.” The smaller budget that the governor proposed would include less funding for schools and other programs. Late Monday, the state legislature complied with the governor’s stipulations, and Governor Christie signed the bill, reopening the state’s parks in time for the Fourth of July holiday.

Christie enjoyed an approval rating of roughly 70% after his response in 2012 to Hurricane Sandy, but his popularity suffered following a 2016 scandal called Bridgegate, in which some of his aides ordered some of the entry lanes into the George Washington Bridge, a major artery for the commute from New Jersey into New York City, closed during rush hour, possibly as political retaliation against a politician in Fort Lee, New Jersey, the town most potently affected by the closure. He also lost the Republican presidential nomination to now-President Donald Trump and the vice presidential nomination to Mike Pence.

Christie defended his decision not to cancel his family’s vacation plans by pointing out that many of New Jersey’s beaches, over 100 miles (160 km) remained open to visitors and saying that he has the right to use the gubernatorial residence and that his visit required no government services. The Guardian noted a state helicopter shuttled the governor between the park and the state capital, Trenton.

New Jersey is one of several U.S. states that did not have budgets ready for the fiscal year. The northeastern state of Maine also underwent a government shutdown.

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

The first website in the world allowing consumers to buy life insurance online instantly has been launched today, targeting specifically New Zealanders.

The website, run by life insurance company Pinnacle Life, allows New Zealanders in many countries in the world to buy life insurance online without the need for a medical examination. Once the application has been approved, which is done immediately, the consumer can receive a $500,000 life insurance policy via an automatic e-mail. However, if certain conditions have been highlighted, then person to person contact is required to finalise the process.

Ed Saul, senior partner and architect of the new website, says, “We’re giving consumers a quicker and easier way to buy life insurance. Instead of submitting an application form and waiting days for a policy to be approved and issued, we do it online and we do it immediately.”

“The revolutionary website gives consumers complete control over the buying process whilst eliminating the previously obligatory involvement of people and paper. This is a global test case eagerly watched by the insurance industry around the world,” Mr Saul said.

When applying online, a few typical questions are asked on personal information and if the applicant has had any previous illnesses or diseases.

The countries where New Zealand citizens are allowed to apply are UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore and the USA.

Sunday, February 21, 2016

A growing number of cities in the Indian state Haryana have been under curfew since Friday. At least eight people are reported dead, with government offices, property, dozens of buses, and eight railway stations burned after protests over job quotas for the Jat caste turned violent in several cities including Rohtak, Bhiwani, and Jhajjar. Reportedly some protesters broke into an armory in Rohtak, stealing arms and ammunition.

Shoot-at-sight was ordered for Rohtak, Bhiwani, Sonipat, Panipat, Jhajjar, Jind and Hisar. Shops, hotels, and restaurants were set afire by protesters. Thirteen national army columns were called, and helicopters were used to reach various places in the state. Internet was disabled in affected districts, and the state government ordered blocks of all social networking websites.

Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar held a meeting to decide if Jats should also gain the reservation rights for government jobs and colleges by classifying them under Other Backwards Castes.

Burning of stations and uprooting of tracks affected 810 scheduled trains, according to The Indian Express. Police said protesters torched Finance Minister Captain Abhimanyu’s house. The state might face water crises. Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) was to hold the Haryana Central Teacher Eligibility Test today, but cited “administrative difficulties” for suspending it.

Back in 2014, the UPA government appealed for a Jat quota which was rejected by the Supreme Court. This morning, Manohar Khattar tweeted “I appeal to all my fellow Haryanvis to maintain law & order in the State, and ensure that harmony is maintained in society.”

Last year, similar protest took place in Gujarat as Patels protested for reservation led by Hardik Patel.