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Iraqi deputy health minister kidnapped
Jan 30

Sunday, November 19, 2006

Deputy to the Iraq Health Minister, Ammar al-Saffar, who lives with his sister in Baghdad’s Sunni neighbourhood of Adhamiya, was kidnapped today.

It is reported that six uniformed men and others wearing suits, arrived at Mr Saffer’s home in police cars and pickup trucks and took him off.

As one of the deputies to the Health Minister, Mr Saffer called earlier this year for as much as $8 Billion to restore Iraq’s health services.

On August 9, 2006, Mr Saffar discussed the health situation in Iraq with the BBC. He said that the insurgents were killing doctors and trying to create a brain drain. 100 doctors had been killed “because they were trying to help people and because they were Shia”. He said that there are about 18,000 doctors in Iraq but many have left, while others practice at home rather than at hospitals where they could be better protected. Under Saddam they were not permitted to leave, now there is no restriction. But now there are cash incentives: under Saddam they earned $2-3 a month, now they can earn up to $500 a month. On security, he said that the people blamed the US for the violence because, although they were responsible for security, they left the borders poorly guarded.

Mr Saffer survived an assassination attempt in June, 2004 when he was fired upon as he left his home. He was uninjured.

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Surgeons reattach boy’s three severed limbs
Jan 30

Tuesday, March 29, 2005A team of Australian surgeons yesterday reattached both hands and one foot to 10-year-old Perth boy, Terry Vo, after a brick wall which collapsed during a game of basketball fell on him, severing the limbs. The wall gave way while Terry performed a slam-dunk, during a game at a friend’s birthday party.

The boy was today awake and smiling, still in some pain but in good spirits and expected to make a full recovery, according to plastic surgeon, Mr Robert Love.

“What we have is parts that are very much alive so the reattached limbs are certainly pink, well perfused and are indeed moving,” Mr Love told reporters today.

“The fact that he is moving his fingers, and of course when he wakes up he will move both fingers and toes, is not a surprise,” Mr Love had said yesterday.

“The question is more the sensory return that he will get in the hand itself and the fine movements he will have in the fingers and the toes, and that will come with time, hopefully. We will assess that over the next 18 months to two years.

“I’m sure that he’ll enjoy a game of basketball in the future.”

The weight and force of the collapse, and the sharp brick edges, resulted in the three limbs being cut through about 7cm above the wrists and ankle.

Terry’s father Tan said of his only child, the injuries were terrible, “I was scared to look at him, a horrible thing.”

The hands and foot were placed in an ice-filled Esky and rushed to hospital with the boy, where three teams of medical experts were assembled, and he was given a blood transfusion after experiencing massive blood loss. Eight hours of complex micro-surgery on Saturday night were followed by a further two hours of skin grafts yesterday.

“What he will lose because it was such a large zone of traumatised skin and muscle and so on, he will lose some of the skin so he’ll certainly require lots of further surgery regardless of whether the skin survives,” said Mr Love said today.

The boy was kept unconscious under anaesthetic between the two procedures. In an interview yesterday, Mr Love explained why:

“He could have actually been woken up the next day. Because we were intending to take him back to theatre for a second look, to look at the traumatised skin flaps, to close more of his wounds and to do split skin grafting, it was felt the best thing to do would be to keep him stable and to keep him anaesthetised.”

Professor Wayne Morrison, director of the respected Bernard O’Brien Institute of Microsurgery and head of plastic and hand surgery at Melbourne’s St Vincent’s Hospital, said he believed the operation to be a world first.

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American poker player Chip Reese dies at age 56
Jan 30

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

David Edward “Chip” Reese, an American professional poker player, died on December 4, 2007, at the age of 56. Reese died in his sleep at his Las Vegas, Nevada home from the effects of pneumonia.

Reese is generally considered a legend in the world of poker. In 1991, he became the youngest living player to be inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame. His last major win came at the 2006 World Series of Poker, where he won US$1,784,640 in the HORSE event.

“Chip Reese was probably the most successful poker player in history,” said Mike Sexton. “Chip has always been admired by players for his success, his demeanor at the table.”

“I knew him for 35 years, I never saw him get mad or raise his voice,” Doyle Brunson said. “He had the most even disposition of anyone I’ve ever met. He’s certainly the best poker player that ever lived.”

His career spanned multiple decades and Reese made the majority of his money when poker gained publicity through national television exposure starting around the turn of the century. Though he never won the “Main Event” in Texas hold’em at the World Series of Poker, Reese was very successful.

“He was a family man like no one else in poker,” said fellow poker professional Barry Greenstein. “No matter what the situation was, if his kids had something going on — a baseball game, a recital, whatever — he would quit to go to it.”

“Probably a lot of us were jealous of him that he was able to do that — that he had done well enough in poker, that he could always take time off of poker to be involved with his kids,”Greenstein added.

Reese earned a degree from Dartmouth College and was accepted to law school at Stanford University, but he was drawn by the lure of big winnings and chose instead to earn his living at the poker table. He once told a reporter that law “doesn’t have the same monetary incentive as poker.”

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Materials To Look At For Inspiration For Kitchen Remodeling Ideas Jan 29

byAlma Abell

The task of remodeling a kitchen is a stressful one. There are often a lot of decisions about whether a product will work with a current kitchen style. This can lead to a lot of confusion in just picking out the right pieces and putting them all together to make a beautiful kitchen. One of the big challenges is to ensure that everything works together. Often, it is important to get inspiration before you start putting all the pieces together.

One of the things to look at for inspiration for kitchen remodeling ideas is the different type of counter tops. While there are many recommendations about what type of counter tops to purchase, the best way to figure out inspiration is to see and feel the counter tops themselves. It is easier to determine the surfaces that will work for your family and the ones that won’t work.

Another thing to look at for inspiration is the cabinetry. Because cabinets are a main feature of the kitchen, it is important to get an idea of what design direction you want to go in. These will also set the tone for the rest of the kitchen. So, you want to look at different door designs, colors and styles to get the inspiration for this very large part of your kitchen.

The paint color is another thing to look at for inspiration for Kitchen Remodeling Ideas. This is one of the trickiest things to pick out. The number of paint colors and the different finishes can easily get overwhelming. While it is the easiest thing to change, it is also the hardest to pick out. That’s why it is important to test out different samples to figure out the best color for the kitchen. But there is inspiration to be found in the right color choice.

These are some of the things to look at for inspiration. While it is important that they all work together, the most important thing is that you are happy with your kitchen. Talk to Guedes Construction Inc. for more information about remodeling ideas and how to get inspiration for a kitchen you will love.

Paedophilia claims made against “living god”
Jan 28

Tuesday, November 7, 2006

Allegations of paedophilia made against Indian guru, Sathya Sai Baba are back in the limelight again, after the UK’s Sai Youth movement was recognised as an accredited partner of The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme.

The Baba’s followers deny the allegations, and the Sai Youth UK’s National Co-ordinator called them “totally unfounded”. Sai Baba attracts followers from many countries around the world who revere him as a “living god”.

Around 200 youth are due to fly to India on November 13th after receiving a “divine commandment” to carry out a month-long “humanitarian pilgrimage” that will coincide with the birthday celebrations of Sai Baba, who will be 81 on November 23rd.

Pressure has been mounting on the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme charity to break its association with the Baba’s organisation.

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BP says Gulf oil spill slowed as estimates of oil spilled increase
Jan 27

Thursday, May 27, 2010

A US Coast Guard official said today that BP’s latest effort to plug the Gulf of Mexico oil spill has been successful in slowing the amount of oil leaking from the well.

The official, Admiral Thad Allen, said that the procedure, known as a “top kill” operation, has been able to block some of the leaking oil at the source, the top of the damaged well. The operation involves pumping material into the well to plug the leak before cement is used to permanently seal the leak. Allen said the operation has “been able to force mud down and not allow any hydrocarbons to come up.”

BP hasn’t confirmed the success of the top kill operation, saying only that the “operation is proceeding as we planned it,” and that there had been no major incidents thus far. Although the possibility of failure is still present, experts say that the longer the procedure continues, the less likely it will be that anything goes wrong.

The procedure began yesterday afternoon, after diagnostics on the damaged equipment on the ocean’s surface indicated that it could withstand the added pressure of the mud being pumped into the well. Although engineers involved with the operation wore concerned that the pressure of the mud might not be able to overcome that of the oil, that has thus far not been the case.

Separately, a group of US scientists announced new estimates of how much oil was flowing from the well, ranging from 12,000 to 25,000 barrels a day, far higher than BP’s original estimate of 5,000 barrels a day, a figure which BP warned was possibly inaccurate.

In a press conference Thursday afternoon, US president Barack Obama also announced new measures in response to the spill, which include:

  • Suspending off-shore test drilling for six months
  • Extending the moratorium on issuing drilling permits for an additional six months
  • Cancelling the sale of leases for off-shore drilling.

In statements, Obama criticized the “scandalously close relationship” between government officials and oil companies in the past, saying that the Mineral Management Service, which is the agency responsible for monitoring off-shore drilling, had been corrupt for years.

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Dollars Cause A New Round Of Global Economic And Financial Risks Jan 26

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By Jerri Lily

Global volatility in the other major currencies, higher commodity prices and a weaker dollar are closely related. There are signs that the weak dollar is prompting a new round of global economic and financial instability. In addition to adversely affect the global economic recovery, the weak dollar has caused a global exchange rate fluctuations and asset price bubble, and would endanger the stability of global financial markets.

National Day holiday period, the Bank of Japan announced the implementation of the zero interest rate policy, designed to prevent the further appreciation of the yen and the economic downturn. Affected by the quantitative easing policy, Europe, America and Japan and other major stock market rose significantly. In addition, the international price of gold rose to near $ 1,350, the international oil price chart over 84 U.S. dollars, copper and other base metals prices have been higher. Concern is that this series with the current market volatility are closely related to the weakening dollar. There are signs that the weak dollar is prompting a new round of global economic and financial instability.

The reason why such talk, because the United States believes that pursuing a weak dollar policy will create opportunities to revitalize the U.S. economy as the dollar depreciated at least for the elimination of the current huge U.S. trade deficit miracles. But the continued dollar weakness, but also the global economic instability will have a great impact.

Indeed, the major U.S. economic data, poor performance since the summer. For example, recently announced the U.S. unemployment rate in September was 9.6% (flat and August), revised second quarter economic growth was only 1.6%. The United States has that led to the current high unemployment and weak economic growth is mainly due to “trade deficit more than expected.” Thus, the United States has reason to believe that pressure from major trading partners by the general appreciation of the currency can be achieved reducing the trade deficit, increase employment in trade rebalancing objectives, so as to promote employment and economic recovery in the domestic power.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hoDfzRvBas[/youtube]

However, the current world economic recovery step with Europe and Japan, where weak economic growth in major developed countries, while Asia, Latin America and Africa, economic growth is relatively strong. In the absence of domestic demand driven growth, the United States and other developed countries try to stimulate economic growth through exports, major trading partners put pressure on currency appreciation or depreciation of the currency by default, the result will inevitably affect other countries, export growth, ultimately leading to the global economy slow down the recovery process.

In addition, depreciation of the dollar will inevitably lead to the U.S. dollar as currency-denominated oil and other commodity prices rising rapidly, increasing production costs and the global commodity inflation pressures rising, the global economy will adversely affect growth. For example, the recent U.S. unemployment rate and lower than expected payrolls data, indicating the economic recovery remains fragile, while the Fed will increase the market launch of “quantitative easing” monetary policy, strong expectations, leading to weak dollar. Thus, stimulation of the recent international price of gold, copper and other international oil prices and rising commodity prices. Among them, the international price of gold rose to about $ 1,350, the international oil price rose to $ 82.84, copper and other commodity prices have also higher. Meanwhile, the weak dollar, is bound to make excess liquidity into other countries and increase appreciation of their currencies and monetary expansion pressure, and increased its imported inflationary pressures.

So to talk about the dollar continue to weaken, the process is affecting the global economic recovery, the current global economic growth poses a big uncertainty or adverse effects.

In addition to causes of the current global economic instability, the weak dollar will lead to other major global volatility in currency exchange rates and asset prices lead to other countries facing rapid expansion of the bubble market risk.

This is because the Fed plans to stimulate the economy and re-start “quantitative easing” policy, given the current federal funds interest rate at 0% -0.25% range, the implementation of “quantitative easing” monetary policy will inevitably lead to the dollar to new lows. But in the world dollar standard system, the weak dollar will lead to other major currencies volatility. For example, the current dollar exchange rate was 82.07 yen (record 15 year high), the euro exchange rate was 1.39 against the U.S. dollar, U.S. dollar against other major currencies follow the dollar exchange rate index fell 0.1% to $ 77.33. This shows that the dollar is being or has other major currencies led to dramatic fluctuations.

As the current global economic recovery process varies, resulting in macro-world countries to develop their own policy, especially the lack of coordination of monetary policy, which triggered the current worldwide wave of competitive devaluations, which would likely provoke a new currency war and endanger the stability of global financial markets.

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Police report drug haul seizure worth up to £30 million in Brownhills, England
Jan 26

Monday, December 2, 2013

Police in the West Midlands in England today said nearly 200 kilograms worth of drugs with value possibly as great as £30 million (about US$49 million or €36 million) has been seized from a unit in the town of Brownhills. In what an officer described as “one of the largest [seizures] in the force’s 39 year history”, West Midlands Police reported recovering six big cellophane-wrapped cardboard boxes containing cannabis, cocaine, and MDMA (“ecstasy”) in a police raid operation on the Maybrook Industrial Estate in the town on Wednesday.

The impact this seizure will have on drug dealing in the region and the UK as a whole cannot be underestimated

The seized boxes, which had been loaded onto five freight pallets, contained 120 one-kilogram bags of cannabis, 50 one-kilogram bags of MDMA, and five one-kilogram bricks of cocaine. In a press release, West Midlands Police described what happened after officers found the drugs as they were being unloaded in the operation. “When officers opened the boxes they discovered a deep layer of protective foam chips beneath which the drugs were carefully layered”, the force said. “All the drugs were wrapped in thick plastic bags taped closed with the cannabis vacuum packed to prevent its distinctive pungent aroma from drawing unwanted attention.” Police moved the drugs via forklift truck to a flatbed lorry to remove them.

Detective Sergeant Carl Russell of West Midlands Police’s Force CID said the seizure was the largest he had ever made in the 24 years he has been in West Midlands Police and one of the biggest seizures the force has made since its formation in 1974. “The impact this seizure will have on drug dealing in the region and the UK as a whole cannot be underestimated”, he said. “The drugs had almost certainly been packed to order ready for shipping within Britain but possibly even further afield. Our operation will have a national effect and we are working closely with a range of law enforcement agencies to identify those involved in this crime at whatever level.”

Expert testing on the drugs is ongoing. Estimates described as “conservative” suggest the value of the drugs amounts to £10 million (about US$16.4 million or €12 million), although they could be worth as much as £30 million, subject to purity tests, police said.

Police arrested three men at the unit on suspicion of supplying a controlled drug. The men, a 50-year-old from Brownhills, a 51-year-old from the Norton area of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, and one aged 53 from Brownhills, have been released on bail as police investigations to “hunt those responsible” continue. West Midlands Police told Wikinews no person has yet been charged in connection with the seizure. Supplying a controlled drug is an imprisonable offence in England, although length of jail sentences vary according to the class and quantity of drugs and the significance of offenders’ roles in committing the crime.

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BP says Gulf oil spill slowed as estimates of oil spilled increase
Jan 26

Thursday, May 27, 2010

A US Coast Guard official said today that BP’s latest effort to plug the Gulf of Mexico oil spill has been successful in slowing the amount of oil leaking from the well.

The official, Admiral Thad Allen, said that the procedure, known as a “top kill” operation, has been able to block some of the leaking oil at the source, the top of the damaged well. The operation involves pumping material into the well to plug the leak before cement is used to permanently seal the leak. Allen said the operation has “been able to force mud down and not allow any hydrocarbons to come up.”

BP hasn’t confirmed the success of the top kill operation, saying only that the “operation is proceeding as we planned it,” and that there had been no major incidents thus far. Although the possibility of failure is still present, experts say that the longer the procedure continues, the less likely it will be that anything goes wrong.

The procedure began yesterday afternoon, after diagnostics on the damaged equipment on the ocean’s surface indicated that it could withstand the added pressure of the mud being pumped into the well. Although engineers involved with the operation wore concerned that the pressure of the mud might not be able to overcome that of the oil, that has thus far not been the case.

Separately, a group of US scientists announced new estimates of how much oil was flowing from the well, ranging from 12,000 to 25,000 barrels a day, far higher than BP’s original estimate of 5,000 barrels a day, a figure which BP warned was possibly inaccurate.

In a press conference Thursday afternoon, US president Barack Obama also announced new measures in response to the spill, which include:

  • Suspending off-shore test drilling for six months
  • Extending the moratorium on issuing drilling permits for an additional six months
  • Cancelling the sale of leases for off-shore drilling.

In statements, Obama criticized the “scandalously close relationship” between government officials and oil companies in the past, saying that the Mineral Management Service, which is the agency responsible for monitoring off-shore drilling, had been corrupt for years.

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India seeks web crackdown after failed talks with industry
Jan 26

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Indian authorities today declared an intent to force web companies to screen content for “offensive” and “blasphemous material”. The move follows failed talks yesterday with Facebook, Google, Yahoo!, and Microsoft.

Communications Minister Kapil Sibal says “My aim is that insulting material never gets uploaded”, and that web firms “will have to give us the data, where these images are being uploaded and who is doing it.” The government’s planned new policy is in response to web-based firms informing him they could not prevent such material being uploaded. “They have given it to me in writing that they will not do anything until we get an order from the court,” even though “At a meeting on 4 November, we showed them some of the photos and they too agreed that the photos were offensive,” said Sibal. The disputed material was first discussed three months ago.

Sibal calls the situation “unacceptable” and disputes the firms’ defence of being merely “platforms” for others to add material. He claims they showed their “intention was not to cooperate”. Facebook promised ongoing dialogue in a statement and “[recognise] the government’s interest in minimising the amount of abusive content”. They also promised to “remove any content that violates our terms, which are designed to keep material that is hateful, threatening, incites violence or contains nudity off the service.”

Google say they remove material breaching their policies and to comply with local legislation. “But when content is legal and doesn’t violate our policies, we won’t remove it just because it’s controversial, as we believe that people’s differing views, so long as they’re legal, should be respected and protected,” the company added.

“We have to take care of the sensibilities of our people, we have to protect their sensibilities. Our cultural ethos is very important to us,” Sibal said today. A response from web firms of “we throw up our hands, we can’t do anything about this” would not be tolerated.

Although some reports suggest the spat has been triggered by critiques of powerful politician Sonia Gandhi, Sibal claims the firms have previously hesitated to respond to requests for details of “terrorists”. All the material the government wishes to censor is “absolutely illegal, defamatory, pornographic or other similar kind of material” says Congress spokesman Abhishek Manu Singhvi. Material in question includes cartoons of Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and material mocking religion including an image depicting pigs in Mecca.

Indian computer security expert Vijay Mukhi rubbished the suggestions. “The idea of prescreening is impossible. How will they do it?… There is no technology currently that determines whether content is ‘defamatory’ or ‘offensive’,” he told Reuters. This sentiment was broadly echoed by large numbers on Twitter; the tag #IdiotKapilSibal was among the nation’s Twitter users’ most-used today. Twitter and Facebook were the organising points earlier this year for an anti-graft campaign that saw thousands protesting and new laws passed.

Internet companies insist too much material flows through the web to make such screening plausible. Sibal says the firms are applying US standards which do not take Indian needs into account.

Research in Motion last year resisted Indian security demands for access to encrypted BlackBerry communications. The government gave up that request but did manage to gain limited access to some BlackBerry communications. Skype and Google were told then that local servers would be mandatory, allowing the government to inspect emails.

About 100 million of India’s 1.2 billion people are online. There are 28 million Indian Facebook profiles. Google says it has received 68 content removal requests from Indian officials this year, and there have also been concerns Google Earth could be used to plan militant attacks.

India’s new moves follow criticism of the United Kingdom earlier this year. The UK proposed social media restrictions following riots while the Foreign Secretary simultaneously criticised other nations using social media controls to limit protest.

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