tagged w/ Current News World
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Took long enough!!!
Israel allowed several hundred Palestinians with foreign passports to flee Gaza on Friday, even as its warplanes bombed a mosque it said was used to store weapons and destroyed homes of more than a dozen Hamas operatives.
The evacuees told of crippling shortages of water, electricity and medicine, echoing a U.N. warning of a deepening humanitarian crisis in the besieged Gaza Strip in the seven-day-old Israeli campaign. The U.N. estimates at least a quarter of the 400 Palestinians killed by Israeli airstrikes on Hamas militants were civilians.
Jawaher Hajji, a 14-year-old U.S. citizen who was allowed to cross into Israel, said her uncle was one of them — killed while trying to pick up some medicine for her cancer-stricken father. She said her father later died of his illness.Took long enough!!!
Israel allowed several hundred Palestinians with foreign... more
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When will this end?
Gaza's 1.5 million residents are facing an "alarming" humanitarian situation under constant Israeli bombardment, with the main power plant shut down, overcrowded hospitals struggling to cope and very limited food supplies, U.N. officials said.
The power plant shut down on Tuesday because Israel has blocked fuel delivery through the main pipeline since Dec. 26, U.N. humanitarian chief John Holmes said Wednesday. This has forced hospitals to use generators, which have limited fuel supplies, and left many of the 650,000 people in central and northern Gaza with power cuts of 16 hours a day or more, he said.When will this end?
Gaza's 1.5 million residents are facing an... more
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Pakistan's army chief stressed Monday the need to avoid conflict with India, days after he ordered troops toward the rivals' shared border amid tensions following last month's terror attacks on Mumbai.
Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani made the remarks to a top Chinese diplomat who was visiting Islamabad to try and ease the situation between nuclear-armed Pakistan and India.
Kayani's remarks were believed to be his first about the tensions with Pakistan's traditional rival and could help reassure a jittery region that the country does not intend to escalate the crisis further.Pakistan's army chief stressed Monday the need to avoid conflict with India, days... more
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This city used to be one of the dirtiest in the world but now it's taking steps to clean up its air.This city used to be one of the dirtiest in the world but now it's taking steps... more
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The European Union's first large-scale digital library, Europeana (www.europeana.eu), was online again Tuesday, a month after it crashed after being overwhelmed by readers' interest.
"Europeana works again ... after we have quadrupled server capacity," European Commission spokesman Martin Selmayr told a daily news briefing.
Europeana gives multilingual access to two million digitized books and other items of cultural and historical significance held in more than 1,000 institutions in the 27 EU states.
Soon after its launch on November 20 the website froze, with servers overwhelmed by a volume of 10 million hits an hour.The European Union's first large-scale digital library, Europeana... more
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Authorities in Bangladesh have stepped up surveillance after a fresh outbreak of the deadly H5N1 strain of avian influenza was discovered, officials said on Wednesday.
"So far 10,000 birds were culled at several infected firms and surrounding areas in five districts," said Salehuddin Khan, director of the government's livestock department.
The H5N1 virus was first reported near the capital in March 2007 and spread to 47 of Bangladesh's 64 districts, forcing authorities to kill more than 1.65 million birds.
Industry officials said about 40 percent of the country's more than 150,000 poultry farms have been closed, making half a million people jobless.
The World Health Organization in May confirmed the first human case of bird flu in Bangladesh, a 16-month-old baby infected in January. The infant recovered.
Since the virus resurfaced in Asia in late 2003, at least 247 people have died from bird flu in a dozen countries, the WHO says.Authorities in Bangladesh have stepped up surveillance after a fresh outbreak of the... more
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10 big things in space exploration this year:
10. The first second-generation space travelers launch
9. The most shuttle missions to fly in one year since 2002
8. Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope launches
7. Europe's first cargo ship flies
6. The International Space Station turns 10
5. Privately-developed Falcon 1 rocket finally reaches orbit
4. Indian probe orbits the moon
3. China conducts its first spacewalk
2. Robot safely lands farther north on Mars than ever before
1. NASA's 50th anniversary
On Oct. 1 the National Aeronautics and Space Administration turned 50 years old, marking a half century of achievements in space exploration that many would have doubted were possible before its founding in 1958. While some people are still smarting over the continued absence of flying cars, most can recognize that NASA has come a long way since the days when Americans watched with envy as Sputnik flew overhead. We won the moon (and may be racing back to it all over again), built a fleet of reusable space shuttles, and worked with other nations to construct a continuously-occupied floating space station for scientific research. There have also been horrific tragedies along the way: the lives of the Apollo 1, Challenger and Columbia astronauts attest to the fact that those great achievements weren't attained without a price. But for all the heartbreaks, setbacks and even public boredom with NASA, Americans can't seem to give up the dream of space. Who knows what the next 50 years will bring?10 big things in space exploration this year:
10. The first second-generation space... more
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The Vatican is endorsing new technology that brings the book of daily prayers used by priests straight onto iPhones.
The Vatican's Pontifical Council for Social Communications is embracing the iBreviary, an iTunes application created by a technologically savvy Italian priest, the Rev. Paolo Padrini, and an Italian Web designer.
The application includes the Breviary prayer book — in Italian, English, Spanish, French and Latin and, in the near future, Portuguese and German. Another section includes the prayers of the daily Mass, and a third contains various other prayers.
After a free trial period in which the iBreviary was downloaded approximately 10,000 times in Italy, an official version was released earlier this month, Padrini said.
The application costs euro0.79 ($1.10), while upgrades will be free. Padrini's proceeds are going to charity.
Monsignor Paul Tighe, secretary of the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Social Communications, praised the new application Monday, saying the Church "is learning to use the new technologies primarily as a tool or as a mean of evangelizing, as a way of being able to share its own message with the world."
Pope Benedict XVI, a classical music lover who was reportedly given an iPod in 2006, has sought to reach out to young people through new media. During last summer's World Youth Day in Sydney, Australia, he sent out mobile phone text messages citing scripture to thousands of registered pilgrims — signed with the tagline "BXVI."The Vatican is endorsing new technology that brings the book of daily prayers used by... more
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Israeli archaeologists said they have unearthed more than 250 gold coins from the seventh century on the edge of Jerusalem's walled Old City. A British tourist volunteering at the dig discovered the trove on Sunday.
Israel's Antiquities Authority said the Byzantine-period hoard was found in the ruins of a building where a striking 2,000-year-old gold earring from the Roman era was dug up last month.
The site is located in a parking lot alongside the ancient city's southern wall.
The coins bear the image of the Byzantine emperor Heraclius, who ruled between 610 and 641 A.D. He is depicted wearing military dress and holding a cross in his right hand.
A statement Monday said the coins had likely been hidden in a niche in one of the building's walls.Israeli archaeologists said they have unearthed more than 250 gold coins from the... more
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Not the best news I've ever heard. No one likes him but he's still "the man to beat."
Some excerpts from the article:
"In many other countries it would be a slam-dunk for the opposition: The president is increasingly unpopular, his economic policies are blamed for 30 percent annual inflation and his foreign policy has left the country more isolated than at any time in recent memory.
However, this is Iran , where things are never simple. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad may be the subject of incessant grumbling and the butt of jokes zinging from cell phone to cell phone via text message. Yet with presidential elections six months away, he's still the man to beat."
"The elections will be of intense interest to President-elect Barack Obama . Iran's alleged nuclear-weapons program, support for terrorist groups and influence in Iraq , Afghanistan and the Persian Gulf, are likely to make the Islamic Republic one of his main foreign policy challenges. Some observers have speculated that Obama may wait until after June before offering direct negotiations with Iran , in hopes that Ahmadinejad will be replaced by a more moderate figure."
"Ahmadinejad's opponents, mostly reformers and some traditional conservatives, are struggling to capitalize on the president's woes and heal their own internal divisions."
"Young, upscale Tehranis express frustration with the death of economic opportunities and restrictions on social life, which had been loosened during Khatami's tenure."Not the best news I've ever heard. No one likes him but he's still "the... more
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In more bad news for Japan's auto industry, Toyota said Wednesday its global vehicle sales plunged 21.8 percent in November, the biggest drop in eight years.
Rival Nissan said its worldwide sales sank 19.8 percent and global production nose-dived a record 33.7 percent on depressed sales in the United States.
The dismal data comes two days after Toyota, Japan's biggest automaker, predicted that this fiscal year it would report its first operating loss in 70 years.In more bad news for Japan's auto industry, Toyota said Wednesday its global... more
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Imagine Americans without their movies.
I don't think people ever think about what it would be like if the war was going on here, if WE had to live in constant fear, if WE had to watch buildings crumble and people die around us. I hope that in my lifetime I will be able to go to a peaceful Iraq and see where the war was fought.
"Husham al Kanani practically grew up in a Baghdad movie theater, watching films at the cinema his father managed.
Kanani relives that time only in brief moments. He walks into the few remaining Baghdad movie theaters, buys a ticket and imagines the nonstop showings when the city's cinema scene thrived.
He leaves before the film on the screen gets his attention.
"I miss these days now," Kanani, 37, said. "But I'm still there, entering the cinema, if just for five minutes, to revive this ceremony of the past."
Most of the theaters on Sadoon Street , the strip that housed Baghdad's movie scene before the war, closed because of the violence that made catching a film after dark too dangerous a risk for most people."Imagine Americans without their movies.
I don't think people ever think about... more
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I HOPE that Obama can deliver all that he's said he will.
"About 70 percent of Americans are optimistic about President-elect Barack Obama's overall policies and believe he will be successful as president, according to a new ABC News-Washington Post opinion poll.
The survey released late Saturday indicated that more than two-thirds of those polled thought Obama would be able to make significant improvements to the health-care system.
About the same share of respondents expected him to implement policies to reduce global warming. And 64 percent said Obama will be able to end US involvement in Iraq.
More than half, 55 percent, think he is off to a good start dealing with the troubled US economy, the poll found.
Overall, 76 percent approve of the way he is handling the transition period. Even 59 percent of Republican respondents gave him a positive assessment, the survey indicated."
PLEASE keep some things in mind, people. I did not post this because I am sure that Obama is "the one" or "change we can believe in". Notice that I said "I HOPE that...", not "Obama obviously is the greatest thing to ever happen to us." I don't agree with everything he has to say, and nor should anyone about any politician because clearly none of them are always right. I don't know who was polled and I am not trying to offend anyone. What I CAN tell you is that I WAS NOT polled and this DOES NOT necessarily express MY OPINION. It happens to be that I AM optimistic about Obama but I don't know and I will not deny that and no one should. I posted this article because it is about a current event (hence Current) and it is something that everyone is and will be hearing about. I did not post it to campaign for Obama. If I happened to find a poll about how many people would have preferred McCain or whatever, I would have posted that, too. The picture I think is appropriate because those who said they were optimistic probably believe or want to believe that there will hope and change in the new presidency. The fact is that many people are optimistic about Obama, and many are not.
I hope, and let me emphasize the word HOPE, that Obama keeps all of his promises and gets us back on the right track. I don't KNOW.I HOPE that Obama can deliver all that he's said he will.
"About 70... more
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Robert Mulligan, who received an Oscar nomination for directing "To Kill a Mockingbird," died Friday of heart disease at his Connecticut home. He was 83.
Known for his diffident nature and sensitivity toward players, Mulligan directed five different actors in Oscar-nominated performances: Gregory Peck and Mary Badham in "Mockingbird," Natalie Wood ("Love with the Proper Stranger"), Ruth Gordon ("Inside Daisy Clover") and Ellen Burstyn ("Same Time, Next Year"). Peck won the Oscar for his lead role as attorney Atticus Finch in "Mockingbird."Robert Mulligan, who received an Oscar nomination for directing "To Kill a... more
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Based on some of the things that Mugabe has said in the past few weeks, I can see why someone might think this way.
"Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe is "a mad dictator" who has lost all sense of reality, a United Nations human rights expert said on Monday.
The only way Mugabe can be removed from power is for Europe to convince his "great protector South Africa" to withdraw all support for him, Jean Ziegler, an adviser to the U.N.'s Human Rights Council, told Swiss Radio."Based on some of the things that Mugabe has said in the past few weeks, I can see why... more
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Hopefully in the near future they can have peace and not just 1 day ceasfires.
"Palestinian armed groups in Gaza are observing a 24-hour halt to rocket fire against Israel at the request of Egyptian mediators, a senior official of the ruling Islamist Hamas group said on Monday.
Ayman Taha said the brief ceasefire went into effect on Sunday evening. He said Hamas might consider a longer truce if Israel were to lift an embargo on the impoverished territory, beginning with permission to import an aid shipment from Egypt."Hopefully in the near future they can have peace and not just 1 day ceasfires.... more
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While U.S. forces prepare to send up to 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan, behind the scenes Afghan government officials are working to engage tribal elders as a way of undermining the growing influence of Taliban insurgents.
Engaging with leaders in rural areas of Afghanistan is part of a new NATO and U.S. strategy in Afghanistan; to promote traditional methods of local rule and undercut the lawlessness that feeds in the strengthening Taliban insurgency.While U.S. forces prepare to send up to 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan, behind the... more
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A pretty disturbing thought. As if we don't have enough problems.
"The number of people unemployed throughout the world could rise by up to 25 million by 2010 because of the global financial and economic crisis, the head of the OECD Angel Gurria said on Monday.
"We're heading for a loss of between eight and 10 million jobs in the OECD area... and 20 to 25 million in the world as a whole between now and 2010," Gurria said on France's BFM radio.
Gurria said that the construction sector would be especially badly hit because its activities had "stopped in a brutal way," affecting in particular countries such as Spain and Ireland.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in Paris brings together 30 countries, including all the world's industrialised economies. The group conducts research and publishes economic forecasts.
Gurria also suggested that European countries should spend more in their fiscal stimulus plans to kickstart their economies, considering the size of rescue plans in China, Japan and the United States."
The European Union should "go beyond" the fiscal stimulus plans already announced, equivalent to around 1.4 percent of GDP, since "all the other major countries are going beyond that," Gurria added.A pretty disturbing thought. As if we don't have enough problems.
"The... more
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Can any sequel match Hugo's work?
"Two modern-day sequels to Victor Hugo's classic Les Miserables have been allowed by a French appeals court.
In 2001, novelist Francois Ceresa published the follow-ups to the acclaimed 19th-Century classic.
But Hugo's family objected to the books - Cosette and the Time of Illusions and Marius or The Fugitive - arguing they were an insult to the original work.
The Paris High Court ruled they did not constitute a threat to the integrity of the original novel.
Hugo's heirs - including his great, great grandson Pierre Hugo - filed a suit in 2001 demanding 685,000 euros (£636,181) in damages from Ceresa, who wrote the novels using the characters and style of Les Miserables.
They also sought to ban the two books.
The family had since reduced its claim to a symbolic one euro in damages and dropped the idea of outlawing the books.
But the court ruled on Friday that Hugo's novel was in the public domain, meaning Ceresa was therefore free to invent a sequel.
"Francois Ceresa, who does not pretend to have Victor Hugo's talent, is free to pursue his own personal expression, which does not necessarily act on all the levels that Victor Hugo was able to access," the judges ruled.
"We can't criticise the author of this sequel... not to have respected the learned construction of the primary work, which functions on many levels through philosophical and historical asides," they added.
"He is also free to develop the characters that he brings back to life in new situations."
Hugo's family were particularly annoyed that Ceresa had resurrected the policeman Inspector Javert, who drowned in the Seine in the course of Les Miserables for the modern sequels.
But the judges decided it was not sufficient reason to ban the sequels. They said: "The general spirit of Les Miserables can not be reduced to Javert's fate, but embraces a much wider social and philosophical project."Can any sequel match Hugo's work?
"Two modern-day sequels to Victor... more
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Can Mugabe deny cholera now?
"Zimbabwe's cholera epidemic continues to spread and has now claimed 1,111 lives among 20,581 cases since August.
Latest UN figures include a new outbreak of hundreds of cases in Chegutu, near the capital Harare, which has been worst hit by the disease."Can Mugabe deny cholera now?
"Zimbabwe's cholera epidemic continues to... more
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