Japan's top mobile phone carrier NTT DoCoMo will join with Internet search engine Google to provide Internet search and e-mail services on the company's handsets.
Starting as early as the spring, users will be able to access Google search, e-mail, scheduling and photo-saving features through NTT DoCoMo's i-Mode Internet network, Japan's main business daily The Nikkei said, without identifying its sources.
The two firms plan to integrate the search feature with handset software, enabling the development of new services, the paper said.
Tokyo-based DoCoMo Inc. is also considering developing a next-generation handset using Google's free operating system for mobile devices, it said. Such a phone could be introduced in the second half of next year, paving the way for the companies to roll out a wide range of cutting-edge services.
Kyodo News agency carried a similar report.
DoCoMo spokeswoman Makiko Furuta said users can already search the Internet with Google and other search engines through its i-Mode service. DoCoMo is also exploring other possibilities with domestic and foreign search service providers, but nothing has been decided, she said.
DoCoMo's business strategy has been to handle everything from communications infrastructure to services. With the surge in Internet use, however, the company determined that it could not meet customer needs on its own, the Nikkei said.
While DoCoMo has logged strong profits under its existing business model, young customers _ the core users of mobile Internet services - have recently defected to KDDI Corp. and Softbank Mobile Corp.
DoCoMo has been the sole carrier to lose subscribers since the introduction of number portability in the autumn of 2006. Number portability allows customers to switch carriers but keep the same phone number.
For Mountain View, California-based Google Inc., the alliance will give the company better access to the Japanese search engine market, the Nikkei said. Although Google is the world's leading search engine, in Japan it lags behind Yahoo Japan Corp.
Domestic mobile service subscriptions exceed 100 million as of the end of last year, with some 70 million users accessing the Internet through their cellular phones.
Monday, December 24, 2007
Friday, November 9, 2007
Surgery for girl with eight limbs is going smoothly doctors say
Lakshmi Tatma, 2, sits in the lap of her mother, Poonam, a day before the marathon surgery.
BANGALORE, India -- Partway through a mammoth 40-hour operation on a 2-year-old girl born with four arms and four legs, surgeons in India said the procedure is going according to plan, with no problems encountered.
"The surgery is going on very well so far," head surgeon Dr. Sharan Patil told . The surgery to separate Lakshmi Tatma from her "parasitic twin" continues, he said, with a team of some 30 surgeons.
"We've managed to remove the parasitic twin out of Lakshmi's body and started reconstructing her pelvic bone. We have managed to get the pelvic bone together."
The little girl, he said, has "responded very well. ... Everything is going according to plan."
The task began early Tuesday in the southern Indian city of Bangalore and is expected to go on through the night, with surgeons working eight-hour shifts.
The conjoined twin stopped developing in the mother's womb, and has a torso and limbs, but no head. It was joined to Lakshmi at the pelvis.
When Lakshmi was born into a poor, rural Indian family, villagers in the remote settlement of Rampur Kodar Katti in the northern state of Bihar believed she was sacred. As news of her birth spread, locals waited in line for a blessing from the baby.
Her parents, Shambhu and Poonam Tatma, named the girl after the Hindu goddess of wealth who has four arms. However, they were forced to keep her in hiding after they were approached by men offering money in exchange for putting their daughter in a circus.
The couple, who earn just $1 a day as casual laborers, wanted her to have the operation but were unable to pay for the rare procedure, which has never before been performed in India.
After Patil visited the girl in her village from Narayana Health City hospital in Bangalore, the hospital's foundation agreed to fund the $200,000 operation.
The operation is being conducted by specialists in pediatrics, neurosurgery, orthopedics and plastic surgery. Without it, doctors say, Lakshmi would be unlikely to survive beyond early adolescence.
Planning for the surgery took a month, Patil said, and Lakshmi spent that month in the hospital.
Her parents are being given regular updates but are not allowed to see their daughter during the operation.
"We are quite optimistic," Patil told . "We do expect that she should be able to walk normally and lead a normal life."
Texan sets record with 87 snakes in tub
This photo shows Jackie Bibby in a see-through bathtub with 87 rattlesnakes, in Dublin, Texas, Monday, Nov. 5, 2007. Bibby spent about 45 minutes in the tub shattering his own record by 12 snakes.
Another day, another bizarre world record for Jackie Bibby, the "Texas Snake Man." Bibby spent about 45 minutes in a see-through bathtub with 87 rattlesnakes Monday, fully clothed, shattering his own record by 12 snakes just in time for Guinness World Records Day, which is Thursday. A Guinness official certified the record.
The snakes crawled under his arms, between his legs and anywhere else they could slither, Bibby said. None bit him.
"They can go wherever they want as long as they don't start biting," Bibby said. "The key to not biting is for me to stay still. Rapid movement scares a rattlesnake. If you move real slow and gentle, that doesn't seem to bother them."
Bibby sat in the dry tub with a pillow behind him, wearing regular clothing. The snakes were not defanged and still contained their venom, he said.
The clear bathtub was specially made several years ago for Bibby by the Guinness folks for a televised segment. He has used it for subsequent attempts at the record for sitting in a tub with snakes.
"I have set several world records in that bathtub," Bibby said.
The record was Bibby's latest grab at glory. Last year he set a Guinness-certified record by holding 10 rattlesnakes by their tails in his mouth at once. He said he hopes to break that record Tuesday by squeezing in an 11th.
The Texas Snake Man also claims to hold non-sanctioned records for climbing into a sleeping bag head first with 20 rattlesnakes and going in feet first with 112.
Dublin is about 120 miles southwest of Dallas.
Monday, October 29, 2007
First high-heeled race hits Mexico
Hundreds of women from all over Mexico City have donned their high heeled shoes to take part in a 100 metre dash.
Braving sprained ankles and broken heels, some 500 competitors kicked off the first ever High Heel Challenge.
The women battled against each other to reach the finish line first to win a shopping voucher worth £4,500.
But one contender revealed a more serious side to the event: "For me, high-heels are an obstacle in the daily life of women. This race shows that women are able to overcome any obstacle. That's the whole idea."
Unsurprisingly a few casualties occurred during the race with one stiletto-wearing runner taking a tumble and another seeming to pull a hamstring.
But in the end, 1500 metre champion Yamile Alaluf had the top heels of steel.
She said: "It's an honour for me to be the winner of the first year of the high-heeled race, because I think it will become a tradition in Mexico, that it will become very popular indeed."
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Author Lessing wins Nobel honour
British author Doris Lessing has been awarded this year's Nobel Prize for Literature.
The 87-year-old has been honoured with the 10m kronor (£763,000) award for her life's work over a 57-year career.
Her best-known works include The Golden Notebook, Memoirs of a Survivor and The Summer Before the Dark.
Lessing said she was "very glad" about the honour - particularly as she was told 40 years ago that the Nobel hierarchy did not like her.
She told BBC Radio 4: "I've won it. I'm very pleased and now we're going to have a lot of speeches and flowers and it will be very nice."
They can't give a Nobel to someone who's dead so I think they were probably thinking they had better give it to me now
Doris Lessing
She recalled that, in the 1960s, "they sent one of their minions especially to tell me they didn't like me at the Nobel Prize and I would never get it".
"So now they've decided they're going to give it to me. So why? I mean, why do they like me any better now than they did then?"
The author, who turns 88 on 22 October, said she thought she had become more respectable with age.
Lessing is only the 11th woman to win the prize, considered by many to be the world's highest accolade for writers, since it started in 1901.
And she is the second British writer to win in three years, after Harold Pinter was honoured in 2005. Turkish author Orhan Pamuk won last year.
The Swedish Academy, which awards the prize, described Lessing as "that epicist of the female experience, who with scepticism, fire and visionary power has subjected a divided civilisation to scrutiny".
"Oh good, did they say that about me?" she replied. "Oh goodness, well obviously they like me better now than they used to."
Lessing was out shopping when the announcement was made and said she thought a TV show was being filmed on her street when she returned to find TV crews outside her house.
Lessing was born in what is now Iran and moved to Rhodesia - now Zimbabwe - as a child before settling in England in 1949.
Her debut novel The Grass is Singing was published the following year and she made her breakthrough with The Golden Notebook in 1962.
'Pioneering work'
"The burgeoning feminist movement saw it as a pioneering work and it belongs to the handful of books that informed the 20th Century view of the male-female relationship," the Swedish Academy said.
But Lessing herself has distanced herself from the feminist movement.
The content of her other novels ranges from semi-autobiographical African experiences to social and political struggle, psychological thrillers and science fiction.
She has been nominated for the Booker Prize three times - for Briefing for a Descent into Hell in 1971, The Sirian Experiments in 1981 and The Good Terrorist in 1985 - but has never won.
In addition to the Nobel cash prize, Lessing will receive a gold medal and an invitation to give a lecture at the academy's headquarters in Stockholm. She can also expect to see a rise in sales.
US author Philip Roth had been the bookmakers' favourite for the award. His name has been mentioned in connection with the prize for many years, but he has always been overlooked.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
To love & to be loved is the greatest happiness.
A kindergarten teacher has decided to let her class play a game. The teacher told each child in the class to bring along a plastic bag containing a few potatoes. Each potato will be given a name of a person that the child hates, so the number of potatoes that a child will put in his/her plastic bag will depend on the number of people he/she hates.
So when the day came, every child brought some potatoes with the name of the people he/she hated. Some had 2 potatoes; some 3 while some up to 5 potatoes.
The teacher then told the children to carry with them the potatoes in the plastic bag wherever they go for 1 week.
Days after days passed by, and the children started to complain due to the unpleasant smell let out by the rotten potatoes. Besides, those having 5 potatoes also had to carry heavier bags.
After 1 week, the children were relieved because the game had finally ended.
The teacher asked: "How did you feel while carrying the potatoes with you for 1 week?" The children let out their frustrations and started complaining of the trouble that they had to go through having to carry the heavy and smelly potatoes wherever they go.
Then the teacher told them the hidden meaning behind the game.
The teacher said: "This is exactly the situation when you carry your hatred for somebody inside your heart. The stench of hatred will contaminate your heart and you will carry it with you wherever you go.
If you cannot tolerate the smell of rotten potatoes for just 1 week, can you imagine what is it like to have the stench of hatred in your heart for your lifetime???"
Moral of the story:
Throw away any hatred for anyone from your heart so that you will not carry sins for a life time. Forgiving others is the best attitude to take !
Life is to be fortified by many friendships.
To love & to be loved is the greatest happiness.
Fate determines who comes into our lives. The heart determines who stays.
Take care, have fun and be happy.
So when the day came, every child brought some potatoes with the name of the people he/she hated. Some had 2 potatoes; some 3 while some up to 5 potatoes.
The teacher then told the children to carry with them the potatoes in the plastic bag wherever they go for 1 week.
Days after days passed by, and the children started to complain due to the unpleasant smell let out by the rotten potatoes. Besides, those having 5 potatoes also had to carry heavier bags.
After 1 week, the children were relieved because the game had finally ended.
The teacher asked: "How did you feel while carrying the potatoes with you for 1 week?" The children let out their frustrations and started complaining of the trouble that they had to go through having to carry the heavy and smelly potatoes wherever they go.
Then the teacher told them the hidden meaning behind the game.
The teacher said: "This is exactly the situation when you carry your hatred for somebody inside your heart. The stench of hatred will contaminate your heart and you will carry it with you wherever you go.
If you cannot tolerate the smell of rotten potatoes for just 1 week, can you imagine what is it like to have the stench of hatred in your heart for your lifetime???"
Moral of the story:
Throw away any hatred for anyone from your heart so that you will not carry sins for a life time. Forgiving others is the best attitude to take !
Life is to be fortified by many friendships.
To love & to be loved is the greatest happiness.
Fate determines who comes into our lives. The heart determines who stays.
Take care, have fun and be happy.
What's UP?
Lovers of the English language might enjoy this.....How do non-natives ever learn all the nuances of English???
There is a two-letter word that perhaps has more meanings than any other two-letter word, and that word is "UP."
It's easy to understand UP, meaning toward the sky or at the top of the list, but when we awaken in the morning, why do we wake UP ?
At a meeting, why does a topic come UP ? Why do we speak UP ,and why are the officers UP for election and why is it UP to the secretary to write UP a report?
We call UP our friends and we use it to brighten UP a room, polish UP the silver, we warm UP the leftovers and clean UP the kitchen. We lock UP the house and some guys fix UP the old car.
At other times the little word has a real special meaning. People stir up trouble, line UP for tickets, work UP an appetite, and think UP excuses.
To be dressed is one thing but to be dressed UP is special. And this up is confusing:
A drain must be opened UP because it is stopped UP
We open UP a store in the morning but we close it UP at night. We seem to be pretty mixed UP about UP !
To be knowled geable about the proper uses of UP , look the word UP in the dictionary. In a desk-sized dictionary, it takes UP almost 1/4 of the page and can add UP to about thirty definitions
If you are UP to it, you might try building UP a list of the many ways UP is used. It will take UP a lot of your time, but if you don't give UP , you may wind UP with a hundred or more.
When it threatens to rain, we say it is clouding UP . When the sun comes out we say it is clearing UP . When it rains, it wets UP the earth.
When it doesn't rain for awhile, things dry UP
One could go on & on, but I'll wrap it UP , for now my time is UP , so ....
Time to shut UP .....!
Oh...one more thing:!
What is the first thing you do in the morning & the last thing you do at night?
U p
Don't screw up Send this on to everyone you look up in your address book .
There is a two-letter word that perhaps has more meanings than any other two-letter word, and that word is "UP."
It's easy to understand UP, meaning toward the sky or at the top of the list, but when we awaken in the morning, why do we wake UP ?
At a meeting, why does a topic come UP ? Why do we speak UP ,and why are the officers UP for election and why is it UP to the secretary to write UP a report?
We call UP our friends and we use it to brighten UP a room, polish UP the silver, we warm UP the leftovers and clean UP the kitchen. We lock UP the house and some guys fix UP the old car.
At other times the little word has a real special meaning. People stir up trouble, line UP for tickets, work UP an appetite, and think UP excuses.
To be dressed is one thing but to be dressed UP is special. And this up is confusing:
A drain must be opened UP because it is stopped UP
We open UP a store in the morning but we close it UP at night. We seem to be pretty mixed UP about UP !
To be knowled geable about the proper uses of UP , look the word UP in the dictionary. In a desk-sized dictionary, it takes UP almost 1/4 of the page and can add UP to about thirty definitions
If you are UP to it, you might try building UP a list of the many ways UP is used. It will take UP a lot of your time, but if you don't give UP , you may wind UP with a hundred or more.
When it threatens to rain, we say it is clouding UP . When the sun comes out we say it is clearing UP . When it rains, it wets UP the earth.
When it doesn't rain for awhile, things dry UP
One could go on & on, but I'll wrap it UP , for now my time is UP , so ....
Time to shut UP .....!
Oh...one more thing:!
What is the first thing you do in the morning & the last thing you do at night?
U p
Don't screw up Send this on to everyone you look up in your address book .
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Motorcyclists ride through a damaged road at Air Besi village near the Indonesian city of Bengkulu September 15, 2007. The toll from a severe earthquake on Indonesia's Sumatra island last week has risen to 17 dead and 88 injured, while more than 13,000 homes were destroyed or damaged.
Friday, August 10, 2007
Japanese robot learns a few folk dance steps
Scientists in Japan have taught a human-sized robot to imitate the steps of a dancer. They say the prancing “dancebot” could be used to record the movements of traditional dances that are being lost as their performers die off.
To demonstrate the robot’s prowess the team programmed the 1.5 metre tall machine to imitate the graceful sways and whirls of the aizu bandaisan, a Japanese folk routine. To prove its accuracy, the robot can perform alongside a human dancer. And despite its Terminator appearance, the robot is remarkably lifelike.
Shin’ichiro Nakaoka and his colleagues at Tokyo University taught the dancebot — named HRP-2 or Promet — using video capture techniques to record human dance movements. According to New Scientist magazine, these w ere converted into a sequence of robotic limb movements and fed into Promet’s processors.
“They have got it to directly copy human movements. That is very difficult because the joints of the robot are very different from the joints of a human,” said Noel Sharkey, a robotics expert at Sheffield University in the U.K. The advance would allow robots to perform human-like movements on factory production lines.
Although its rendition of the mainly upper-body aizu bandaisan dance is impressive, the robot — produced by Kawada Industries — has difficulty with complicated leg movements. Any step more demanding than lifting a foot is likely to result in the 58 kg automaton losing its balance and falling over. The team published its results in the International Journal of Robotics Research.
Despite Promet’s lifelike appearance and fluid movements there is a long way to go to a truly intelligent robot butler or soldier. “It is not a thinking intelligent robot. What you have got is a set of processes that translate human movement into joint movements for a robot. That is it,” said Professor Sharkey. “It is not going to start copying people doing other things or doing anything really advanced.”
To demonstrate the robot’s prowess the team programmed the 1.5 metre tall machine to imitate the graceful sways and whirls of the aizu bandaisan, a Japanese folk routine. To prove its accuracy, the robot can perform alongside a human dancer. And despite its Terminator appearance, the robot is remarkably lifelike.
Shin’ichiro Nakaoka and his colleagues at Tokyo University taught the dancebot — named HRP-2 or Promet — using video capture techniques to record human dance movements. According to New Scientist magazine, these w ere converted into a sequence of robotic limb movements and fed into Promet’s processors.
“They have got it to directly copy human movements. That is very difficult because the joints of the robot are very different from the joints of a human,” said Noel Sharkey, a robotics expert at Sheffield University in the U.K. The advance would allow robots to perform human-like movements on factory production lines.
Although its rendition of the mainly upper-body aizu bandaisan dance is impressive, the robot — produced by Kawada Industries — has difficulty with complicated leg movements. Any step more demanding than lifting a foot is likely to result in the 58 kg automaton losing its balance and falling over. The team published its results in the International Journal of Robotics Research.
Despite Promet’s lifelike appearance and fluid movements there is a long way to go to a truly intelligent robot butler or soldier. “It is not a thinking intelligent robot. What you have got is a set of processes that translate human movement into joint movements for a robot. That is it,” said Professor Sharkey. “It is not going to start copying people doing other things or doing anything really advanced.”
Thursday, August 9, 2007
Pencil removed from woman's head 55 years after accident
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
A 59-year-old woman who has suffered blinding headaches since she was four years old has finally had an 8cm long pencil removed from her skull.
Margaret Wegner underwent the risky procedure in Berlin at the weekend to remove the pencil, which showed up on a computer brain scan.
When she saw the image of the white pencil, snapped in two places, she recalled an accident in the town of Dessau when she was four.
"I remember tripping over and the pencil I was holding disappeared," she said. "I had a pain in my head the pencil, it seems, had penetrated the skin and bored straight into my skull."
The pencil missed an artery and nerve endings in the brain by a whisker. Doctors at the time deemed it too risky to operate. That remained the consensus among many doctors over the years but the large part of the pencil was finally removed.
The 2cm tip is still embedded. It has been overgrown by nerves and blood cells which are too dangerous to cut through.
China blacklists 54 trading companies for smuggling
Beijing, Aug. 9 :
Chinese customs has named on its website 54 trading companies to be closely monitored for their alleged involvement in smuggling and 195 companies for abiding by rules and regulations।
The companies, including 19 in southern Guangdong Province and 16 in east China's Shanghai, were either charged with smuggling, or convicted of smuggling goods worth at least five million yuan (USD 667,000), or received administrative sanctions for smuggling twice in a year.
They will also be highlighted in the General Administration of Customs clearance system, which will alert Customs officers to any items they try to take through any port।
Goods from blacklisted companies would be inspected box by box, and the filing of new processing trade contracts would be rejected, a customs official was quoted as saying.
The GAC has also put 195 law-abiding companies on its favoured "red list" for their observation of laws and regulations in the business, taxation, foreign exchange, and banking sectors.
The companies on the "red list" can be fast-tracked through Customs, the report said.
Since 2004, the GAC has been publishing annual "black and red lists". Till date, 240 companies have appeared on the blacklist and 542 on the "red list".
Chinese customs has named on its website 54 trading companies to be closely monitored for their alleged involvement in smuggling and 195 companies for abiding by rules and regulations।
The companies, including 19 in southern Guangdong Province and 16 in east China's Shanghai, were either charged with smuggling, or convicted of smuggling goods worth at least five million yuan (USD 667,000), or received administrative sanctions for smuggling twice in a year.
They will also be highlighted in the General Administration of Customs clearance system, which will alert Customs officers to any items they try to take through any port।
Goods from blacklisted companies would be inspected box by box, and the filing of new processing trade contracts would be rejected, a customs official was quoted as saying.
The GAC has also put 195 law-abiding companies on its favoured "red list" for their observation of laws and regulations in the business, taxation, foreign exchange, and banking sectors.
The companies on the "red list" can be fast-tracked through Customs, the report said.
Since 2004, the GAC has been publishing annual "black and red lists". Till date, 240 companies have appeared on the blacklist and 542 on the "red list".
Monday, August 6, 2007
Saturday, August 4, 2007
Japan bans pork imports from Britain after foot-and-mouth outbreak
Tokyo, Aug. 4:
Japan has banned British pork imports following an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in southern England, the Agriculture Ministry said Saturday.
The ban was imposed in response to a notice from the British government of the outbreak earlier Saturday, the ministry said in a statement.
Japan imported just 5 tons of pork from Britain in the year to April 2007, according to government figures, and the impact of the ban is expected to have a limited impact on Japanese consumers.
Japan consumes about 1.6 million tons of pork each year, half of which comes from imports, according to the Agriculture Ministry. The U.S., Denmark and Canada account for 80 percent of the import total, the ministry said.
The highly infectious disease was confirmed Friday on a cattle farm southwest of London. It affects cows, horses, sheep and pigs, but does not harm humans.
Japan has already banned beef imports from Britain since the outbreak of mad cow disease in that country.
Japan has banned British pork imports following an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in southern England, the Agriculture Ministry said Saturday.
The ban was imposed in response to a notice from the British government of the outbreak earlier Saturday, the ministry said in a statement.
Japan imported just 5 tons of pork from Britain in the year to April 2007, according to government figures, and the impact of the ban is expected to have a limited impact on Japanese consumers.
Japan consumes about 1.6 million tons of pork each year, half of which comes from imports, according to the Agriculture Ministry. The U.S., Denmark and Canada account for 80 percent of the import total, the ministry said.
The highly infectious disease was confirmed Friday on a cattle farm southwest of London. It affects cows, horses, sheep and pigs, but does not harm humans.
Japan has already banned beef imports from Britain since the outbreak of mad cow disease in that country.
Foot-and-mouth disease detected in Britain
London, Aug.4:
Britain today imposed a nationwide ban on movement of livestock including cattle and pigs, hours after detecting foot-and-mouth disease in cattle in Surrey to prevent a repeat of the 2001 epidemic.
Vets began culling of around 64 cattle at a small farm near Guildford in Surrey after the animals tested positive for the disease.
All livestock within a 3-kilometre radius of the farm were being tested and a 10-kilometre surveillance zone was put in place last night.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Environment Secretary Hilary Benn cut short their summer holidays to travel back to London to take stock of the situation.
Brown held an meeting of the Government's emergency committee, Cobra, by video conference last night, as officials discussed measures to deal with the outbreak.
Ports in Northern Ireland were closed to all animal movement from Britain. The rest of the European Union countries were also expected to block imports from here.
Officials are desperate to avoid a recurrence of the disease outbreak in 2001, when more than 6.5 million animals were killed that cost eight billion pounds to the economy.
Many farmers believe that a three-day delay in halting the movement of cattle last time was responsible for the outbreak's devastating effects.
Farmers said they were "hoping and praying" that this was an isolated incident and that the lessons of 2001 had been learned.
Britain today imposed a nationwide ban on movement of livestock including cattle and pigs, hours after detecting foot-and-mouth disease in cattle in Surrey to prevent a repeat of the 2001 epidemic.
Vets began culling of around 64 cattle at a small farm near Guildford in Surrey after the animals tested positive for the disease.
All livestock within a 3-kilometre radius of the farm were being tested and a 10-kilometre surveillance zone was put in place last night.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Environment Secretary Hilary Benn cut short their summer holidays to travel back to London to take stock of the situation.
Brown held an meeting of the Government's emergency committee, Cobra, by video conference last night, as officials discussed measures to deal with the outbreak.
Ports in Northern Ireland were closed to all animal movement from Britain. The rest of the European Union countries were also expected to block imports from here.
Officials are desperate to avoid a recurrence of the disease outbreak in 2001, when more than 6.5 million animals were killed that cost eight billion pounds to the economy.
Many farmers believe that a three-day delay in halting the movement of cattle last time was responsible for the outbreak's devastating effects.
Farmers said they were "hoping and praying" that this was an isolated incident and that the lessons of 2001 had been learned.
Monday, July 30, 2007
16 drown as boat capsizes in Ganga
Varanasi, July. 30 :
Sixteen people, mostly women and children, were today drowned when a boat carrying pilgrims capsized in the river Ganga near Garhwa ghat under lanka police circle area, a police offical said.
The mishap took place as the boat carrying about 25 pilgrims capsized due to overcrowding, Lanka police station in-charge Ajay Singh told .
While nine persons, including the boat owner, swam to safety, 16 people, mostly women and children, were drowned in the river water, he said.
Eight bodies, comprising five women and three children, have been recovered from the river while efforts were on to recover the remaining bodies, Singh said.
The boat owner Sita Ram has been taken into custody and a case registered against him for ferrying two dozen people beyond its capacity of eight, he said.
The pilgrims, hailing from Chhota Khurani village of adjoining Mirzapur district, were on way to Garhwa Ghat to participate in the festivities of Gurupurnima
Sixteen people, mostly women and children, were today drowned when a boat carrying pilgrims capsized in the river Ganga near Garhwa ghat under lanka police circle area, a police offical said.
The mishap took place as the boat carrying about 25 pilgrims capsized due to overcrowding, Lanka police station in-charge Ajay Singh told .
While nine persons, including the boat owner, swam to safety, 16 people, mostly women and children, were drowned in the river water, he said.
Eight bodies, comprising five women and three children, have been recovered from the river while efforts were on to recover the remaining bodies, Singh said.
The boat owner Sita Ram has been taken into custody and a case registered against him for ferrying two dozen people beyond its capacity of eight, he said.
The pilgrims, hailing from Chhota Khurani village of adjoining Mirzapur district, were on way to Garhwa Ghat to participate in the festivities of Gurupurnima
Brazilians blame govt. for plane crash
Sao Paulo (Brazil), July 30 :
More than 5,000 teary-eyed Brazilians marched to the site of a plane crash that killed 199 people, blaming the government for the nation's deadliest aviation disaster.
Dr. Mauricio Pereira wore a T-shirt at Sunday's march with a picture of his 22-year-old daughter, Mariana, a first-year medical student who was aboard TAM airlines Flight 3054 when it sped off a runway and slammed into an air cargo building.
``Corrupt and incompetent officials killed my daughter,'' read a banner Pereira held as he walked 10 kilometers (six miles) from a park to the crash site just outside Congonhas airport, the nation's busiest.
Pereira and hundreds of other demonstrators threw flowers toward the gutted building, and shook hands and hugged firefighters who had retrieved the charred remains of the victims. The crowd then recited the Lord's Prayer in unison, sang Brazil's national anthem and demanded President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's ouster.
The respected news weekly Veja reported over the weekend that information from the flight recorders showed one of the jet's throttles was in the accelerate position instead of idle while touching down, suggesting pilot error. Veja did not say how it obtained the information. The recorders were analyzed in the United States and brought back to Brazil last week.
But many marchers said they doubted the report because it would ease pressure on Silva _ known widely as Lula _ whose administration came under withering criticism after the crash for failing to invest in airport infrastructure over the past five years despite a commercial travel boom.
``It's the best thing for Lula that could have happened,'' said Gabriela Paulino, a lawyer who did not know anyone on the TAM Airbus A320 but carried a single yellow rose for the victims. ``Now they're going to blame the pilot because he's dead.''
The plane's right reverse thruster was also deactivated when it landed, but TAM Linhas Aereas SA said that was in keeping with government-approved safety measures and that the plane was safe to fly.
Brazil's air force issued a statement saying investigators have not disclosed any information about the data recorder to outside sources, and that Veja's suggestion of pilot error is just one of many being studied.
The magazine said the incorrect throttle position caused the plane to speed down the runway at Congonhas airport three times faster than normal, and may have prompted the plane to veer off the runway's edge.
It also said the short runway played a role in the crash because the troubled jet did not have enough room to stop.
The Airbus pilots' manual for the A320 specifically calls for both thrust levers to be in idle position just before touchdown. Last week, Airbus reminded A320 operators to make sure their pilots followed these instructions _ apparently on the basis of initial information gleaned from the TAM plane's flight data recorder.
There has been at least one previous A320 accident where thrust levers on both engines were not moved to idle at touchdown, resulting in asymetrical thrust with one engine pulling forward and the other in full reverse.
In 1998, a Philippines Air Lines A320 that landed at Bacolod airport with one thrust reverser deactivated broke up after it ran off the runway. An inquiry into the accident _ which all of the 130 people on board survived _ determined that the probable cause was ``an adverse condition of extreme differential power application during the landing roll resulting in runway excursion.''
Silva last week replaced his top aviation official and vowed to improve the nation's air travel system.
Congonhas' main 1,939-meter (6,362-foot) runway was shut down for more than a week after the July 17 accident. It reopened Friday, but TAM _ Brazil's No 1. airline _ has since imposed new restrictions and says it will not use the airport when it is raining.
Protesters called on Brazilians to boycott commercial flights on Aug. 18, when they plan another demonstration at Congonhas.
More than 5,000 teary-eyed Brazilians marched to the site of a plane crash that killed 199 people, blaming the government for the nation's deadliest aviation disaster.
Dr. Mauricio Pereira wore a T-shirt at Sunday's march with a picture of his 22-year-old daughter, Mariana, a first-year medical student who was aboard TAM airlines Flight 3054 when it sped off a runway and slammed into an air cargo building.
``Corrupt and incompetent officials killed my daughter,'' read a banner Pereira held as he walked 10 kilometers (six miles) from a park to the crash site just outside Congonhas airport, the nation's busiest.
Pereira and hundreds of other demonstrators threw flowers toward the gutted building, and shook hands and hugged firefighters who had retrieved the charred remains of the victims. The crowd then recited the Lord's Prayer in unison, sang Brazil's national anthem and demanded President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's ouster.
The respected news weekly Veja reported over the weekend that information from the flight recorders showed one of the jet's throttles was in the accelerate position instead of idle while touching down, suggesting pilot error. Veja did not say how it obtained the information. The recorders were analyzed in the United States and brought back to Brazil last week.
But many marchers said they doubted the report because it would ease pressure on Silva _ known widely as Lula _ whose administration came under withering criticism after the crash for failing to invest in airport infrastructure over the past five years despite a commercial travel boom.
``It's the best thing for Lula that could have happened,'' said Gabriela Paulino, a lawyer who did not know anyone on the TAM Airbus A320 but carried a single yellow rose for the victims. ``Now they're going to blame the pilot because he's dead.''
The plane's right reverse thruster was also deactivated when it landed, but TAM Linhas Aereas SA said that was in keeping with government-approved safety measures and that the plane was safe to fly.
Brazil's air force issued a statement saying investigators have not disclosed any information about the data recorder to outside sources, and that Veja's suggestion of pilot error is just one of many being studied.
The magazine said the incorrect throttle position caused the plane to speed down the runway at Congonhas airport three times faster than normal, and may have prompted the plane to veer off the runway's edge.
It also said the short runway played a role in the crash because the troubled jet did not have enough room to stop.
The Airbus pilots' manual for the A320 specifically calls for both thrust levers to be in idle position just before touchdown. Last week, Airbus reminded A320 operators to make sure their pilots followed these instructions _ apparently on the basis of initial information gleaned from the TAM plane's flight data recorder.
There has been at least one previous A320 accident where thrust levers on both engines were not moved to idle at touchdown, resulting in asymetrical thrust with one engine pulling forward and the other in full reverse.
In 1998, a Philippines Air Lines A320 that landed at Bacolod airport with one thrust reverser deactivated broke up after it ran off the runway. An inquiry into the accident _ which all of the 130 people on board survived _ determined that the probable cause was ``an adverse condition of extreme differential power application during the landing roll resulting in runway excursion.''
Silva last week replaced his top aviation official and vowed to improve the nation's air travel system.
Congonhas' main 1,939-meter (6,362-foot) runway was shut down for more than a week after the July 17 accident. It reopened Friday, but TAM _ Brazil's No 1. airline _ has since imposed new restrictions and says it will not use the airport when it is raining.
Protesters called on Brazilians to boycott commercial flights on Aug. 18, when they plan another demonstration at Congonhas.
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Australian lost dog found wandering 3,000 km from home
SYDNEY, Australia: A pet dog that vanished from an Australian town has been found two months later — wandering 3,000 kilometers (2,000 miles) from home.
Rusty disappeared in May while his owner, Shirley Lowry, was inside a shop in their east coast town of Woy Woy, 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of Sydney.
He was to be flown home Thursday after he was found this week wandering in Darwin, Australia's northernmost city, and sent to a pound where he was identified by a microchip inserted under his skin.
"I can't believe I'll see my little fellow again," Lowry, who has made several appeals in local media for her pet's return, told Australian Associated Press.
"It just goes to show the value of having your dog micro-chipped," she added.
How Rusty reached tropical Darwin remains a mystery, although the condition of his paws suggests he did not walk.
"It looks like he's been neglected a little bit," Darwin city dog ranger Colin Rowe told Australian Broadcasting Corp. television. "He hasn't got fleas or ticks but he could do with a good wash."
Rusty disappeared in May while his owner, Shirley Lowry, was inside a shop in their east coast town of Woy Woy, 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of Sydney.
He was to be flown home Thursday after he was found this week wandering in Darwin, Australia's northernmost city, and sent to a pound where he was identified by a microchip inserted under his skin.
"I can't believe I'll see my little fellow again," Lowry, who has made several appeals in local media for her pet's return, told Australian Associated Press.
"It just goes to show the value of having your dog micro-chipped," she added.
How Rusty reached tropical Darwin remains a mystery, although the condition of his paws suggests he did not walk.
"It looks like he's been neglected a little bit," Darwin city dog ranger Colin Rowe told Australian Broadcasting Corp. television. "He hasn't got fleas or ticks but he could do with a good wash."
Porta Ferrada (Girona) summer festival small but growing
One festival, many options: Porta Ferrada brings major artists to Costa Brava beach resort | Spain’s summers are chock-full of festivals, and choosing can be difficult—often the most in-demand artists will make a “summer festival tour,” meaning many programs sound alike.
While Porta Ferrada cannot compete in numbers with major festivals such as Grec in Barcelona or Veranos de la Villa in Madrid, attendance has been steadily on the rise, with 14,000 people stopping off at the Girona resort last year. Artists who have performed here in the past include a long list of international stars such as Chick Corea, Michael Nyman or Al Jarreau.
Like many other interdisciplinary festivals, Porta Ferrada favors the performing arts, with a special focus on music ranging from jazz to chamber music. Joe Cocker opened this year’s festival on July 6, and the August bill includes performances by the veteran Spanish singer-songwriters Joan Manuel Serrat and Joaquín Sabina, the Israeli singer Noa, Mali’s afro-pop star Salif Keita (“The Golden Voice of Africa”) and the choir of the Saint Petersburg Chapel.
Dance performances are few and far between, but they include acts by the Ballet de Víctor Ullate and the New York City Ballet. Ullate, one of Spain’s most respected contemporary dancers and choreographers, is putting on a personal version of the classical ballet Coppelia, while soloists from the New York troupe will perform Stravinsky’s Les noces.
While Porta Ferrada cannot compete in numbers with major festivals such as Grec in Barcelona or Veranos de la Villa in Madrid, attendance has been steadily on the rise, with 14,000 people stopping off at the Girona resort last year. Artists who have performed here in the past include a long list of international stars such as Chick Corea, Michael Nyman or Al Jarreau.
Like many other interdisciplinary festivals, Porta Ferrada favors the performing arts, with a special focus on music ranging from jazz to chamber music. Joe Cocker opened this year’s festival on July 6, and the August bill includes performances by the veteran Spanish singer-songwriters Joan Manuel Serrat and Joaquín Sabina, the Israeli singer Noa, Mali’s afro-pop star Salif Keita (“The Golden Voice of Africa”) and the choir of the Saint Petersburg Chapel.
Dance performances are few and far between, but they include acts by the Ballet de Víctor Ullate and the New York City Ballet. Ullate, one of Spain’s most respected contemporary dancers and choreographers, is putting on a personal version of the classical ballet Coppelia, while soloists from the New York troupe will perform Stravinsky’s Les noces.
Algarve is hot spot for British
RECENT FIGURES from Faro Airport and the Algarve’s hotel and resort association, AHETA, indicate that British tourists are flocking to the Algarve more than ever.
Last week, The Resident reported that British people represented 44.8 per cent of the tourist market in the Algarve last month. Due to more flights available from more destinations across the UK and affordable package holidays, more British tourists are choosing the region to spend their summer holidays.
This evidence is illustrated in Faro airport’s June statistics, when three British airlines featured in the top five most frequent flights. Easyjet flew 682 flights with 86,209 passengers in June, which is a rise of 15.6 per cent and 13.4 per cent, respectively, compared with June 2006.
The flight frequency was nearly double the second most frequent airline, Monarch, which recorded a rise of more than 12 per cent compared with June 2006.
Tourism from Ireland experienced a growth of eight per cent compared with last year at the same time. From across the UK, flight frequency and passenger figures remained on top in June, with a total of 2,599 flights and 391,382 passengers, which is a 6.5 per cent rise from June 2006 passenger figures.
Top five
London, Manchester, Dublin, Amsterdam and Birmingham were the top five destinations from Faro airport with a passenger total of more than half a million. Thomsonfly recorded an increase of 13.3 per cent of flights in June, compared with the respective month last year, to operate a total of 272 flights.
Anna Venturas from GB Airways told The Resident: “GB Airways, the British Airways franchise partner, has confirmed a 32 per cent increase in passenger capacity and a 24 per cent increase in scheduled flights to Faro this summer compared to the same period last year”.
She added: “This growth has been fuelled by the launch of direct flights from Heathrow Airport to Faro in May 2007 in addition to the operation from Gatwick Airport”.
GB Airways’ commercial manager Alan McIntyre said: “Our fares compare very well with no frills airlines but with all the benefits included in the ticket price”.
“This new service to the Algarve has become very popular among our leisure passengers, and the increasing number of second homeowners on the Algarve. GB Airways sees Faro as a core destination on our route network and we seek every opportunity for profitable growth in the future”.
GB Airways operates four flights to Faro in the summer, with three from London Gatwick and a new daily Heathrow service, which has already proved popular.
Experts predict that Faro will continue to grow as a top destination from the UK and with plans to construct an airport in the western Algarve, tourists will be offered even more choice.
Last week, The Resident reported that British people represented 44.8 per cent of the tourist market in the Algarve last month. Due to more flights available from more destinations across the UK and affordable package holidays, more British tourists are choosing the region to spend their summer holidays.
This evidence is illustrated in Faro airport’s June statistics, when three British airlines featured in the top five most frequent flights. Easyjet flew 682 flights with 86,209 passengers in June, which is a rise of 15.6 per cent and 13.4 per cent, respectively, compared with June 2006.
The flight frequency was nearly double the second most frequent airline, Monarch, which recorded a rise of more than 12 per cent compared with June 2006.
Tourism from Ireland experienced a growth of eight per cent compared with last year at the same time. From across the UK, flight frequency and passenger figures remained on top in June, with a total of 2,599 flights and 391,382 passengers, which is a 6.5 per cent rise from June 2006 passenger figures.
Top five
London, Manchester, Dublin, Amsterdam and Birmingham were the top five destinations from Faro airport with a passenger total of more than half a million. Thomsonfly recorded an increase of 13.3 per cent of flights in June, compared with the respective month last year, to operate a total of 272 flights.
Anna Venturas from GB Airways told The Resident: “GB Airways, the British Airways franchise partner, has confirmed a 32 per cent increase in passenger capacity and a 24 per cent increase in scheduled flights to Faro this summer compared to the same period last year”.
She added: “This growth has been fuelled by the launch of direct flights from Heathrow Airport to Faro in May 2007 in addition to the operation from Gatwick Airport”.
GB Airways’ commercial manager Alan McIntyre said: “Our fares compare very well with no frills airlines but with all the benefits included in the ticket price”.
“This new service to the Algarve has become very popular among our leisure passengers, and the increasing number of second homeowners on the Algarve. GB Airways sees Faro as a core destination on our route network and we seek every opportunity for profitable growth in the future”.
GB Airways operates four flights to Faro in the summer, with three from London Gatwick and a new daily Heathrow service, which has already proved popular.
Experts predict that Faro will continue to grow as a top destination from the UK and with plans to construct an airport in the western Algarve, tourists will be offered even more choice.
Algarve is hot spot for British
RECENT FIGURES from Faro Airport and the Algarve’s hotel and resort association, AHETA, indicate that British tourists are flocking to the Algarve more than ever.
Last week, The Resident reported that British people represented 44.8 per cent of the tourist market in the Algarve last month. Due to more flights available from more destinations across the UK and affordable package holidays, more British tourists are choosing the region to spend their summer holidays.
This evidence is illustrated in Faro airport’s June statistics, when three British airlines featured in the top five most frequent flights. Easyjet flew 682 flights with 86,209 passengers in June, which is a rise of 15.6 per cent and 13.4 per cent, respectively, compared with June 2006.
The flight frequency was nearly double the second most frequent airline, Monarch, which recorded a rise of more than 12 per cent compared with June 2006.
Tourism from Ireland experienced a growth of eight per cent compared with last year at the same time. From across the UK, flight frequency and passenger figures remained on top in June, with a total of 2,599 flights and 391,382 passengers, which is a 6.5 per cent rise from June 2006 passenger figures.
Top five
London, Manchester, Dublin, Amsterdam and Birmingham were the top five destinations from Faro airport with a passenger total of more than half a million. Thomsonfly recorded an increase of 13.3 per cent of flights in June, compared with the respective month last year, to operate a total of 272 flights.
Anna Venturas from GB Airways told The Resident: “GB Airways, the British Airways franchise partner, has confirmed a 32 per cent increase in passenger capacity and a 24 per cent increase in scheduled flights to Faro this summer compared to the same period last year”.
She added: “This growth has been fuelled by the launch of direct flights from Heathrow Airport to Faro in May 2007 in addition to the operation from Gatwick Airport”.
GB Airways’ commercial manager Alan McIntyre said: “Our fares compare very well with no frills airlines but with all the benefits included in the ticket price”.
“This new service to the Algarve has become very popular among our leisure passengers, and the increasing number of second homeowners on the Algarve. GB Airways sees Faro as a core destination on our route network and we seek every opportunity for profitable growth in the future”.
GB Airways operates four flights to Faro in the summer, with three from London Gatwick and a new daily Heathrow service, which has already proved popular.
Experts predict that Faro will continue to grow as a top destination from the UK and with plans to construct an airport in the western Algarve, tourists will be offered even more choice.
Last week, The Resident reported that British people represented 44.8 per cent of the tourist market in the Algarve last month. Due to more flights available from more destinations across the UK and affordable package holidays, more British tourists are choosing the region to spend their summer holidays.
This evidence is illustrated in Faro airport’s June statistics, when three British airlines featured in the top five most frequent flights. Easyjet flew 682 flights with 86,209 passengers in June, which is a rise of 15.6 per cent and 13.4 per cent, respectively, compared with June 2006.
The flight frequency was nearly double the second most frequent airline, Monarch, which recorded a rise of more than 12 per cent compared with June 2006.
Tourism from Ireland experienced a growth of eight per cent compared with last year at the same time. From across the UK, flight frequency and passenger figures remained on top in June, with a total of 2,599 flights and 391,382 passengers, which is a 6.5 per cent rise from June 2006 passenger figures.
Top five
London, Manchester, Dublin, Amsterdam and Birmingham were the top five destinations from Faro airport with a passenger total of more than half a million. Thomsonfly recorded an increase of 13.3 per cent of flights in June, compared with the respective month last year, to operate a total of 272 flights.
Anna Venturas from GB Airways told The Resident: “GB Airways, the British Airways franchise partner, has confirmed a 32 per cent increase in passenger capacity and a 24 per cent increase in scheduled flights to Faro this summer compared to the same period last year”.
She added: “This growth has been fuelled by the launch of direct flights from Heathrow Airport to Faro in May 2007 in addition to the operation from Gatwick Airport”.
GB Airways’ commercial manager Alan McIntyre said: “Our fares compare very well with no frills airlines but with all the benefits included in the ticket price”.
“This new service to the Algarve has become very popular among our leisure passengers, and the increasing number of second homeowners on the Algarve. GB Airways sees Faro as a core destination on our route network and we seek every opportunity for profitable growth in the future”.
GB Airways operates four flights to Faro in the summer, with three from London Gatwick and a new daily Heathrow service, which has already proved popular.
Experts predict that Faro will continue to grow as a top destination from the UK and with plans to construct an airport in the western Algarve, tourists will be offered even more choice.
Spain’s most wanted man caught in Portugal
“EL SOLITARIO” (The Loner), a Spanish bank robber and murderer whom Spanish police had been trying to catch for more than 13 years and considered as “very dangerous”, has been arrested in Portugal and will stay in jail here at least until
Portuguese courts schedule his trial.
The man was arrested on Tuesday (July 24) and appeared in court the day after, under strong security measures. When he left the court house, escorted by several Polícia Judiciária agents, he turned to the curious crowd waiting to see the famous robber and just waved a “Hello everybody”.
Investigation
Jaime Giménez Arbe, 51-years-old, was preparing another bank attack, this time in a branch of Caixa de crédito Agrícola bank located in Figueira da Foz, a coastal city in the centre of Portugal, when he was caught.
In an official statement, Polícia Judiciária explained that the arrest happened after a long and intense joint investigation by the two Iberian police forces, who were already on this case for a long period of time.
‘The Loner’ is a prime suspect in 36 bank robberies in Spain and accused of the death of three Spanish police agents while trying to escape them. The accusations also include several crimes of threatening people with firearms.
Giménez’ official address was in Las Rozas, a village near Madrid where he shared three apartments with two sons. However, police have said that he seemed to be expanding his criminal activities to Portugal, this robbery attempt being the first of his crimes to come to the attention of the Portuguese Police.
The nickname of ‘The Loner’ is due to the fact that he always acted alone in all of his bank robberies.
It was said that Giménez usually chose his targets very carefully and spent some time studying the security failures. With that information, he could predict the time he would need to act and escape.
Disguise
Giménez always used a disguise to hide his natural looks on his attacks and, this time, it was no different. At the time of his arrest, “the suspect was wearing fake hair, beard and moustache. He was using a bullet-proof jacket and carried two automatic 45mm guns,” said the PJ’s report. “The guns were ready to shoot and complemented with extra ammunition.”
The Coimbra department of the Polícia Judiciária was already waiting for him near the Caixa de Crédito Agrícola bank when ‘The Loner’ left the boarding house where he was staying to prepare for the Portuguese robbery.
It was said that the man left the boarding house at 1pm and drove a white van in the main avenue that would lead him to the branch of Caixa Agrícola bank. A few metres from the bank, five cars surrounded the van and armed police agents from the PJ arrested Giménez who did not resist.
The van was apprehended as well as its contents, including several fake Portuguese and Spanish number plates.
Portuguese courts schedule his trial.
The man was arrested on Tuesday (July 24) and appeared in court the day after, under strong security measures. When he left the court house, escorted by several Polícia Judiciária agents, he turned to the curious crowd waiting to see the famous robber and just waved a “Hello everybody”.
Investigation
Jaime Giménez Arbe, 51-years-old, was preparing another bank attack, this time in a branch of Caixa de crédito Agrícola bank located in Figueira da Foz, a coastal city in the centre of Portugal, when he was caught.
In an official statement, Polícia Judiciária explained that the arrest happened after a long and intense joint investigation by the two Iberian police forces, who were already on this case for a long period of time.
‘The Loner’ is a prime suspect in 36 bank robberies in Spain and accused of the death of three Spanish police agents while trying to escape them. The accusations also include several crimes of threatening people with firearms.
Giménez’ official address was in Las Rozas, a village near Madrid where he shared three apartments with two sons. However, police have said that he seemed to be expanding his criminal activities to Portugal, this robbery attempt being the first of his crimes to come to the attention of the Portuguese Police.
The nickname of ‘The Loner’ is due to the fact that he always acted alone in all of his bank robberies.
It was said that Giménez usually chose his targets very carefully and spent some time studying the security failures. With that information, he could predict the time he would need to act and escape.
Disguise
Giménez always used a disguise to hide his natural looks on his attacks and, this time, it was no different. At the time of his arrest, “the suspect was wearing fake hair, beard and moustache. He was using a bullet-proof jacket and carried two automatic 45mm guns,” said the PJ’s report. “The guns were ready to shoot and complemented with extra ammunition.”
The Coimbra department of the Polícia Judiciária was already waiting for him near the Caixa de Crédito Agrícola bank when ‘The Loner’ left the boarding house where he was staying to prepare for the Portuguese robbery.
It was said that the man left the boarding house at 1pm and drove a white van in the main avenue that would lead him to the branch of Caixa Agrícola bank. A few metres from the bank, five cars surrounded the van and armed police agents from the PJ arrested Giménez who did not resist.
The van was apprehended as well as its contents, including several fake Portuguese and Spanish number plates.
Madeleine’s parents to be prosecuted?
GERRY AND Kate McCann do not accept the accusations of neglecting their children that have come out in the British press early this week.
The UK national papers wrote that the couple might face prosecution for child neglect, due to the circumstances in which Madeleine disappeared from a holiday resort in Praia da Luz on May 3.
Gerry McCann, who travelled to the United States on Sunday (July 22) and returned the following Wednesday, insisted that their actions were “at worst naïve” and also remembered that “no one should forget that the real criminal is the predator who has taken a completely innocent child in such a premeditated fashion”.
Justifying their actions as normal, Gerry revealed they had already received legal advice on the subject and were told their “behaviour was well within the bounds of responsible parenting and, subsequently, been assured that no action will be taken”.
Kate McCann stayed this week at Praia da Luz, helped by Gerry’s mother to take care of the twins, Sean and Amelie. During that period, Gerry was struggling against time to learn as much as he could about the United States’ experience with abducted and exploited children.
During his time in the US, Gerry had meetings with a senior member of First Lady Laura Bush’s staff as well as senators and congressmen in Washington DC. Gerry also discussed efforts to tackle child abduction with US Attorney General, Alberto Gonzales.
Very impressed
The visit included an intensive tour of the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), led by its president, Ernie Allen, who has been at the centre for 23 years.
The father of Madeleine McCann was “very impressed” by the work done at NCMEC, which co-ordinates information on all missing children in the country. The centre helped the implementation of the AMBER system, the early warning missing child alert operating throughout the US. The centre was also instrumental, along with the founder John Walsh, in getting the Adam Walsh bill passed on the 25th anniversary of the young boy’s murder.
During the visit, Gerry was interviewed by America’s Most Wanted TV show, which has been following Madeleine’s abduction almost since the beginning and has massive viewing figures of around 12 million.
In the meantime, in Portugal, the Polícia Judiciária were keeping quiet about any progress in the investigations to find Madeleine McCann.
The UK national papers wrote that the couple might face prosecution for child neglect, due to the circumstances in which Madeleine disappeared from a holiday resort in Praia da Luz on May 3.
Gerry McCann, who travelled to the United States on Sunday (July 22) and returned the following Wednesday, insisted that their actions were “at worst naïve” and also remembered that “no one should forget that the real criminal is the predator who has taken a completely innocent child in such a premeditated fashion”.
Justifying their actions as normal, Gerry revealed they had already received legal advice on the subject and were told their “behaviour was well within the bounds of responsible parenting and, subsequently, been assured that no action will be taken”.
Kate McCann stayed this week at Praia da Luz, helped by Gerry’s mother to take care of the twins, Sean and Amelie. During that period, Gerry was struggling against time to learn as much as he could about the United States’ experience with abducted and exploited children.
During his time in the US, Gerry had meetings with a senior member of First Lady Laura Bush’s staff as well as senators and congressmen in Washington DC. Gerry also discussed efforts to tackle child abduction with US Attorney General, Alberto Gonzales.
Very impressed
The visit included an intensive tour of the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), led by its president, Ernie Allen, who has been at the centre for 23 years.
The father of Madeleine McCann was “very impressed” by the work done at NCMEC, which co-ordinates information on all missing children in the country. The centre helped the implementation of the AMBER system, the early warning missing child alert operating throughout the US. The centre was also instrumental, along with the founder John Walsh, in getting the Adam Walsh bill passed on the 25th anniversary of the young boy’s murder.
During the visit, Gerry was interviewed by America’s Most Wanted TV show, which has been following Madeleine’s abduction almost since the beginning and has massive viewing figures of around 12 million.
In the meantime, in Portugal, the Polícia Judiciária were keeping quiet about any progress in the investigations to find Madeleine McCann.
Stunt pilot killed at Ohio air show
Dayton (US), July 29 : A plane performing a stunt crashed into a runway before thousands of people at an air show, killing the pilot, an official has said.
The plane was one of two making loop-to-loops with smoke trailing as part of the annual air show at Dayton International Airport yesterday. It slammed into the runway across a field from spectators and caught fire.
The crowd stood stunned as the show was shut down, witnesses said.
The pilot was taken to Miami Valley Hospital and pronounced dead, said Cheryl Page, a nursing supervisor.
Fire trucks sprayed foam on the wreckage to extinguish the fire.
No other details were immediately available, said Brenda Kerfoot, the show's general manager.
The plane was one of two making loop-to-loops with smoke trailing as part of the annual air show at Dayton International Airport yesterday. It slammed into the runway across a field from spectators and caught fire.
The crowd stood stunned as the show was shut down, witnesses said.
The pilot was taken to Miami Valley Hospital and pronounced dead, said Cheryl Page, a nursing supervisor.
Fire trucks sprayed foam on the wreckage to extinguish the fire.
No other details were immediately available, said Brenda Kerfoot, the show's general manager.
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Blond rides Ferrari, shops in the nude
Berlin - A peculiar blonde paid a visit to a petrol station shop in the small eastern German town of Doemitz on Sunday in the nude.
The tall, slender woman strolled into the shop in the town of Doemitz on the warm afternoon wearing nothing but golden stilettos and bought cigarettes, petrol station employee told reporters.
"I wasn't surprised because she's come in naked before -- she's a very nice woman," the employee said, adding that the other customers were not bothered by the odd sight.
A customer did, however, snap pictures of the woman as she walked back to a waiting Ferrari and climbed into the passenger seat.
The tall, slender woman strolled into the shop in the town of Doemitz on the warm afternoon wearing nothing but golden stilettos and bought cigarettes, petrol station employee told reporters.
"I wasn't surprised because she's come in naked before -- she's a very nice woman," the employee said, adding that the other customers were not bothered by the odd sight.
A customer did, however, snap pictures of the woman as she walked back to a waiting Ferrari and climbed into the passenger seat.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Japanese couple sue Sony, Apple, in alleged defective battery accident
A Japanese couple sued Sony Corp. and Apple Japan Inc. for 2 million yen (US$16,700; €12,000) in damages on Wednesday, over a Sony-made battery.
The suit, filed with the Osaka District Court, is the first of its kind over a Sony-made battery, according to Sony spokesman Chisato Kitsukawa. She refused to elaborate.
Officials at Apple Japan Inc., the maker of the notebook computer the couple used, were not immediately available for comment.
More than 10 million Sony-made notebook batteries have been recalled since last year, including those from other major computer makers like Dell Inc. and Lenovo Inc.
Sony has said the problems were caused by microscopic metal particles inside the battery that caused it to short circuit.
The massive recall came as a major embarrassment for Sony at a time when it has been reviving profits and boosting its image.
Tokyo-based Sony has promised improvements in battery design, production and inspection to prevent a recurrence of fires.
The suit, filed with the Osaka District Court, is the first of its kind over a Sony-made battery, according to Sony spokesman Chisato Kitsukawa. She refused to elaborate.
Officials at Apple Japan Inc., the maker of the notebook computer the couple used, were not immediately available for comment.
More than 10 million Sony-made notebook batteries have been recalled since last year, including those from other major computer makers like Dell Inc. and Lenovo Inc.
Sony has said the problems were caused by microscopic metal particles inside the battery that caused it to short circuit.
The massive recall came as a major embarrassment for Sony at a time when it has been reviving profits and boosting its image.
Tokyo-based Sony has promised improvements in battery design, production and inspection to prevent a recurrence of fires.
International Piping Festival
Piping Live! 2007 will take place in Glasgow on the week of August 6-12. There are 47 performers from the UK, Ireland, New Zealand, the US and France, scheduled to take part in concerts, street shows, céilidhs and master classes. This year, the Patrick Molard Trio from Brittany will provide traditional Breton music.
Russia lifts ban on Indian rice
Moscow: Russia has lifted the ban on Indian rice and started issuing quarantine import certificates from July 20.
On June 5, Russia’s phyto-sanitary watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor imposed a total ban on rice imports from India after it found pesticides and other impurities in several consignments.
Russia lifted the ban after the Commerce Secretary G.K. Pillai during his Moscow visit earlier this month, had parleys with Agriculture Ministry officials here and assured them of tightening control on the Indian end, sources said.
He also invited Russian experts to visit India at the time of rice harvest to allay concerns over alleged health hazards posed by the rice grown in the country.
Moscow had claimed that last year up to 12 per cent rice imported from India did not meet its phyto-sanitary norms. For similar reasons Russia had banned import of rice from Pakistan, which has not been lifted so far.
On June 5, Russia’s phyto-sanitary watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor imposed a total ban on rice imports from India after it found pesticides and other impurities in several consignments.
Russia lifted the ban after the Commerce Secretary G.K. Pillai during his Moscow visit earlier this month, had parleys with Agriculture Ministry officials here and assured them of tightening control on the Indian end, sources said.
He also invited Russian experts to visit India at the time of rice harvest to allay concerns over alleged health hazards posed by the rice grown in the country.
Moscow had claimed that last year up to 12 per cent rice imported from India did not meet its phyto-sanitary norms. For similar reasons Russia had banned import of rice from Pakistan, which has not been lifted so far.
Historic moment: U.S.
Washington: The United States on Tuesday welcomed the election of Pratibha Patil as President and termed it a “historic” moment for India.
“It’s obviously a historic moment for India, and congratulations,” White House Press Secretary Tony Snow told reporters here.
The Indian National Overseas Congress (INOC-USA) described Ms. Patil’s election as a victory for the forces, which were seeking to unite the country.
Its general secretary George Abraham hoped that her experience in the political arena would stand her in good stead in working for the welfare of all people.
“It’s obviously a historic moment for India, and congratulations,” White House Press Secretary Tony Snow told reporters here.
The Indian National Overseas Congress (INOC-USA) described Ms. Patil’s election as a victory for the forces, which were seeking to unite the country.
Its general secretary George Abraham hoped that her experience in the political arena would stand her in good stead in working for the welfare of all people.
First 'Made in China' A319 wing box delivered to Airbus
The first Airbus A319 wing box with a 'Made in China' tag has been delivered to Airbus by a Chinese company, signaling a major step in the communist giant's aircraft building prowess.
With a dimension of 16.67 metres by 4.2 metres by 1.0 metres and a weight of 3,500 kg per wing, the wing box is the largest Airbus aircraft component ever produced by a Chinese aviation company.
The wing box will be dispatched to the Airbus site at Broughton in Britain for system equipping.
The Chinese firm, Xi'an Aircraft Company (XAC), a subsidiary of China Aviation Industry Corporation I (AVIC I), is scheduled to produce four wing boxes a month as of 2009.
With the continuing strong demand for the A320 family aircraft, the XAC represents additional capacity to Airbus' wing production in Broughton.
"The delivery of the first A319 wing box is a milestone and a great achievement, which marks a step forward of the industrial cooperation between us and Airbus", President of the XAC, Gao Dacheng said yesterday at a ceremony.
Airbus has a long cooperation history with the Chinese aviation industry, with wing ribs having been manufactured delivered from Shenyang Aircraft Corporation (SAC) since the 1980's.
In addition, the Airbus (Beijing) Engineering Center was inaugurated in July 2005 and today houses more than 100 engineers.
Airbus has proposed up to five per cent of the A350XWB outsourced airframe work to the Chinese Aviation Industry.
On June 28, 2007, the joint venture contract for the Airbus A320 Family Final Assembly Line (FAL) in Tianjin was signed between the Chinese Consortium and Airbus.
With a dimension of 16.67 metres by 4.2 metres by 1.0 metres and a weight of 3,500 kg per wing, the wing box is the largest Airbus aircraft component ever produced by a Chinese aviation company.
The wing box will be dispatched to the Airbus site at Broughton in Britain for system equipping.
The Chinese firm, Xi'an Aircraft Company (XAC), a subsidiary of China Aviation Industry Corporation I (AVIC I), is scheduled to produce four wing boxes a month as of 2009.
With the continuing strong demand for the A320 family aircraft, the XAC represents additional capacity to Airbus' wing production in Broughton.
"The delivery of the first A319 wing box is a milestone and a great achievement, which marks a step forward of the industrial cooperation between us and Airbus", President of the XAC, Gao Dacheng said yesterday at a ceremony.
Airbus has a long cooperation history with the Chinese aviation industry, with wing ribs having been manufactured delivered from Shenyang Aircraft Corporation (SAC) since the 1980's.
In addition, the Airbus (Beijing) Engineering Center was inaugurated in July 2005 and today houses more than 100 engineers.
Airbus has proposed up to five per cent of the A350XWB outsourced airframe work to the Chinese Aviation Industry.
On June 28, 2007, the joint venture contract for the Airbus A320 Family Final Assembly Line (FAL) in Tianjin was signed between the Chinese Consortium and Airbus.
British students convicted of collecting terrorist videos
A jury has found four British students guilty of collecting extremist material that prosecutors argued was intended to encourage others to die as terrorist martyrs.
Three students from Bradford University and London schoolboy Mohammed Irfan Raja were caught after Raja left a note for his parents saying he was going to fight abroad.
Raja, 18, had been communicating and exchanging material with the others -- Aitzaz Zafar, 20, Usman Ahmed Malik, 21, and Akbar Butt, 20 -- on the Internet and went to stay with them in northern England in February.
He returned home three days later after a tearful conversation with his parents. They took him to the police.
Police who searched the men's computers found a US military guide giving instructions on how to make explosive devices and a suicide bombing manual downloaded from the Internet, as well as chatroom conversations that encouraged terrorism or martyrdom.
The men denied the charges and insisted they were simply researching Islam.
But a jury found them guilty of possessing articles for terrorist purposes.
Prosecutor Andrew Edis said Raja had planned to attend a training camp in Pakistan after being radicalised through Internet propaganda. But he was not "as firm in his purpose as he hoped he would be" or as the students in Bradford had hoped.
"He had hidden his purpose from his family who were beside themselves when they found out what he had done. They were absolutely beside themselves with worry and fear," Edis said
Three students from Bradford University and London schoolboy Mohammed Irfan Raja were caught after Raja left a note for his parents saying he was going to fight abroad.
Raja, 18, had been communicating and exchanging material with the others -- Aitzaz Zafar, 20, Usman Ahmed Malik, 21, and Akbar Butt, 20 -- on the Internet and went to stay with them in northern England in February.
He returned home three days later after a tearful conversation with his parents. They took him to the police.
Police who searched the men's computers found a US military guide giving instructions on how to make explosive devices and a suicide bombing manual downloaded from the Internet, as well as chatroom conversations that encouraged terrorism or martyrdom.
The men denied the charges and insisted they were simply researching Islam.
But a jury found them guilty of possessing articles for terrorist purposes.
Prosecutor Andrew Edis said Raja had planned to attend a training camp in Pakistan after being radicalised through Internet propaganda. But he was not "as firm in his purpose as he hoped he would be" or as the students in Bradford had hoped.
"He had hidden his purpose from his family who were beside themselves when they found out what he had done. They were absolutely beside themselves with worry and fear," Edis said
'Black' tap water affects one lakh people in China
Tap water supplies have returned to normal in the northwest Chinese city of Yulin in Shaanxi Province after 100,000 people found the water running black due to manganese dioxide sediment in the pipes.
The sediment was washed through the pipes and discoloured the water when the water pressure changed on Saturday morning, an official from Yulin Tap Water Company said.
He claimed that the manganese dioxide sediment was not harmful to humans.
The company opened five sluices on the water grid and discharged 10,000 tonnes of contaminated water while householders discharged another 30,000 tonnes through their taps, Xinhua news agency reported.
Half of the city's daily tap water consumption of 30,000 tonnes come from Hongshixia reservoir, which was rich in manganese.
The Yulin government installed the equipment in 2000 to remove manganese from the water, but it found no way to deal with the manganese dioxide sediment that has been inside the pipes for decades, the report said.
Domestic water supplies have been in the spotlight in China since May, after Taihu, Chaohu and Dianchi lakes were choked by blue-green algae outbreaks, halting water supplies to millions.
The sediment was washed through the pipes and discoloured the water when the water pressure changed on Saturday morning, an official from Yulin Tap Water Company said.
He claimed that the manganese dioxide sediment was not harmful to humans.
The company opened five sluices on the water grid and discharged 10,000 tonnes of contaminated water while householders discharged another 30,000 tonnes through their taps, Xinhua news agency reported.
Half of the city's daily tap water consumption of 30,000 tonnes come from Hongshixia reservoir, which was rich in manganese.
The Yulin government installed the equipment in 2000 to remove manganese from the water, but it found no way to deal with the manganese dioxide sediment that has been inside the pipes for decades, the report said.
Domestic water supplies have been in the spotlight in China since May, after Taihu, Chaohu and Dianchi lakes were choked by blue-green algae outbreaks, halting water supplies to millions.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)