News & Happenings In My World

My Blog for News and any interesting happenings from around the world.

Wednesday, 26 October 2011

No Friends In Ireland: Probe Begins Into Facebook Privacy Issues | Fox News

No Friends In Ireland: Probe Begins Into Facebook Privacy Issues | Fox News:
AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Sean Kilpatrick
Facebook Privacy
A Facebook user edits privacy settings.
Privacy watchdogs began an on-site investigation Tuesday of Facebook's regional office in Ireland, FoxNews.com has learned, following sensational accusations that the company is creating extensive "shadow profiles" of non-users.
The eye-popping assertion came in a complaint filed in August by Ireland’s Data Protection Commissioner, which alleges that users are encouraged to hand over the personal data of others. That includes "sensitive data such as political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, sexual orientation and so forth" -- and Facebook is storing it all up in its databases.

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Posted by Len at Wednesday, October 26, 2011 No comments:
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Life-saving captain stops plane plunging nose-first into the tarmac after he lands without a front landing gear | Mail Online

Life-saving captain stops plane plunging nose-first into the tarmac after he lands without a front landing gear This is the incredible moment a pilot stops his plane plunging nose-first into the tarmac despite not having any front landing gear.
Captain Hooshang Shahbazi brought in the IranAir 727 at Tehran's Mehrabad Airport knowing if he got it wrong almost 120 people could die.
The flight, travelling from Moscow to Iran, held 94 passengers and 19 crew members but none were injured despite the testing landing.
Safe: The plane comes to a halt with its nose almost resting on the runway but incredibly nobody is hurt
Safe: The plane comes to a halt with its nose almost resting on the runway but incredibly nobody is hurt




Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2053876/Life-saving-captain-stops-plane-plunging-nose-tarmac-lands-landing-gear.html#ixzz1bv4rLL7g
Posted by Len at Wednesday, October 26, 2011 No comments:
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Planet where year lasts just 18 hours is found to be waterworld twice the size of Earth | Mail Online

Planet where year lasts just 18 hours is found to be waterworld twice the size of Earth A planet where a year lasts just 18 hours is a waterworld with a radius around twice the size of Earth, a team of astronomers have discovered.
55 Cancri E is the innermost planet in orbit around a sun-like star known as 55 Cancri A that is around 40 light years from Earth.
Now a team from The University of Liege in Belgium have revealed further details about the planet after conducting a new study.
Out of this waterworld: Scientists have found that a planet known as 55 Cancri E is made up of around 20% water after finding its radius is twice the radius of Earth
Out of this waterworld: Scientists have found that a planet known as 55 Cancri E is made up of around 20% water after finding its radius is twice the radius of Earth.

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Posted by Len at Wednesday, October 26, 2011 No comments:
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Schengen Travel Insurance

Schengen Travel Insurance
Schengen visa now requires travel insurance covering pre-existing conditions of 30,000 Euros. We have designed specialised cover that meets this requirement. Please note that this is the only cover for leisure travellers that has pre-existing conditions for 30,000 Euros.
The cover is designed for travellers up to the age of 65 inclusive.
One adult can add 3 financially dependent children to their cover absolutely free provided the children are under 21 years old and financially dependent.

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Posted by Len at Wednesday, October 26, 2011 No comments:
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Austrian student takes on Facebook over privacy - Yahoo! News

Austrian student takes on Facebook over privacy

By MELISSA EDDY, Associated Press
VIENNA – Max Schrems wasn't sure what he would get when he asked Facebook to send him a record of his personal data from three years of using the site.
What the 24-year-old Austrian law student didn't expect, though, was 1,222 pages of data on a CD. It included chats he had deleted more than a year ago, "pokes" dating back to 2008, invitations to which he had never responded, let alone attended, and hundreds of other details.
Time for an "aha" moment.
In response, Schrems has launched an online campaign aimed at forcing the social media behemoth that has 800 million users to abide by European data privacy laws — something the Palo Alto, California-based company insists it already does.
Yet since Schrems launched his "Europe vs. Facebook" website in August, Facebook has increasingly been making overtures not only to Schrems, but to other Europeans concerned about data privacy, including Germany's data security watchdogs.
"Have we done enough in the past to deal with you? No," Facebook's director of European public policy, Richard Allan, testified Tuesday before a German parliamentary committee on new media. "Will we do more now? Yes."
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Posted by Len at Wednesday, October 26, 2011 No comments:
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ANCYL march

Planned protests are expected to take place between Pretoria and Johannesburg on Thursday, 27 October and Friday, 28 October. 

Protestors are expected to gather at Beyers Naude Square in the Johannesburg CBD after which they will proceed to the Chamber of Mines Building. The protest will continue to the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in Sandton, and end at the Union Buildings in Pretoria.

Everyone is requested to consider alternate travel routes if travelling in this direction and monitor your local radio station for updates during the day.

Areas affected by the protest march:

• The Johannesburg CBD area, Sandton area, Oxford and Rivonia Roads (between Illovo and Sandton) should be avoided from around 9h00 on Thursday, 27 October until the protesters have dispersed.

• Caution should be exercised when travelling along the M1 highway in the vicinity of the Johannesburg CBD as it is possible that some protesters could seek to disrupt traffic along the M1.

• Caution should be exercised in the vicinity of Wits University, St Andrews Road, and Parktown in the vicinity of Victoria and Oxford Roads.

• Dr ivers should be vigilant throughout the Sandton area and be alert for taxis that will be transporting protesters from Sandton to Pretoria. 

• From approximately 13h00 onwards, caution should be exercised along the M1, N1 and N14 highways leading from Sandton to Pretoria. The Old Pretoria Road should be avoided. 

• It is advised that the Pretoria CBD, especially in the vicinity of the Union Buildings, should be avoided from 14h00 onwards. 

• Where feasible, meetings scheduled in Johannesburg, Sandton and Pretoria should be moved to an alternative date or venue.
Posted by Len at Wednesday, October 26, 2011 No comments:
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Tuesday, 25 October 2011


I just hit the publish button last night on my new Facebook Timeline... after days of thinking about this. I believe the automatic conversion time is after October 31st. There are only a few features I like, but mostly I'm not totally sold on the two-column layout as I find it challenging to know what's most recent. I also don't care for the five categories of "life events" front and centre on my home page. It's also a lot of work sorting, planning, and changing dates for photos and events, so they go into the correct dates for your timeline. Choosing what you what private and change setting to suit, it's like work and I have enough of that. It's still early days but still not sure if I'm going to like these now changes.
Click on the photo to enlarge to see it more clearly.
Posted by Len at Tuesday, October 25, 2011 No comments:
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AA welcomes toll road halt

AA welcomes toll road halt
Johannesburg - The Automobile Association of SA joined other bodies on Monday in welcoming the decision by the transport minister to halt tolling of roads pending further talks.
"The AA has been at the forefront of the tolls debate... and would definitely like to be part of the consultative process and contribute to an equitable solution," AA spokesperson Gary Ronald said in a statement.
Transport Minister Sibusiso Ndebele has instructed the SA National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) to put on hold all processes for the tolling system.
Posted by Len at Tuesday, October 25, 2011 No comments:
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Monday, 24 October 2011

JHB police on alert for ANCYL marches

JHB police on alert for ANCYL marches: 
The Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) said it will not tolerate lawlessness during marches planned by the ANC Youth League later this week.

The league plans to march from Beyers Naude Square in the Johannesburg city centre to the Chamber of Mines, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) and the Union Buildings.

The protesters are marching over economic freedom.

Violence erupted in August as supporters of Julius Malema protested against his disciplinary hearing at Luthuli House.

The ANC Youth League has been denied permission to use the N1 highway to march to Pretoria and an alternative route is expected to be made public on Monday.
Posted by Len at Monday, October 24, 2011 No comments:
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Notices served to those not cooperating with census

Notices served to those not cooperating with census:
As extremely hot conditions settle over Gauteng, residents have been warned to be careful to avoid heat stroke and heat exhaustion.

The South African Weather Service confirmed that Gauteng is in the middle of the first heat wave of the summer with temperatures rising as high as 36 degrees in the province on Monday.

ER24's Werner Vermaak said Gauteng residents must stay hydrated.
Posted by Len at Monday, October 24, 2011 No comments:
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Grenade attack on Nairobi nightclub

Grenade attack on Nairobi nightclub:
(CNN) -- Twelve people were injured when someone either placed or threw a grenade into a Nairobi night club early Monday morning, Kenyan police said.

Police have not linked the attack to any particular group, but it comes a day after the U.S. Embassy in Kenya warned it had credible information of an imminent terror attack.

"We have not yet linked attacks to anybody as we are still investigating," said police spokesman Charles Owino. "We will give you an answer when we're satisfied with what we have. It could be Al-Shabaab or an individual. We are still investigating."

In its warning over the weekend, the U.S.Embassy did not offer details on who might carry out such an attack, but said it has taken measures to limit official U.S. government visits. It urged its citizens to consider deferring travel to Kenya.
Posted by Len at Monday, October 24, 2011 No comments:
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Ryanair safety crew use tape to seal pilot window

Ryanair safety crew use tape to seal pilot window 
The flight to Riga, Latvia, had to be abandoned after a mere 20 minutes when the tape dislodged amidst reports of distracting sounds for the pilot and those on board.

Ryanair passengers watched in disbelief as safety crew attempted to seal the pilot's window shut with tape following its disengagement.

Ground crew at Stansted airport were called to the plane ahead of the 1,012 mile trip to Riga, Latvia, yet much to the dismay of the passengers, wrapped the windscreen with the temporary sealant, before giving the all clear for takeoff.
A Ryanair jet was forced into an emergency landing after the pilot's windscreen came loose following attempt to seal in shut with tape
Sticky affair: A Ryanair jet was forced into an emergency landing after the pilot's windscreen came loose following attempt to seal it shut with tape
The news will serve as an embarrassment for the airline's chief executive Michael O'Leary who announced the company's plans to buy a new fleet of aircrafts, with the possibility of adding between 200 to 300 planes under serious consideration.
The flight had to be abandoned after a mere 20 minutes when the tape dislodged amidst reports of distracting sounds for the pilot and those on board.
Posted by Len at Monday, October 24, 2011 No comments:
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Friday, 21 October 2011

New Gmail design

News of the GMail changes were leaked via a video accidentally put on YouTube.

Posted by Len at Friday, October 21, 2011 No comments:
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BBC News - Google plans big changes for Reader

BBC News - Google plans big changes for Reader:

Google is planning to strip some features from its Reader to boost the Google+ social network.
Google search page
In a blogpost, the company revealed that the sharing features on its RSS news reader would soon be removed.
Instead, anyone wanting to share or highlight posts on blogs and websites will have to do so via integrated Google+ tools.
Reader, like many other Google services, will also get a new look in the next few days.
The blogpost by Google software engineer Alan Green said that the changes would be coming to Reader "in the next week".
The first change will be the re-design to change how it looks and then it and Google+ will be brought "closer together".
What this will mean, said Mr Green, is that Reader's own-brand social features, which allow users to share items they find interesting, will disappear. Instead, anyone wanting to friend, follow or share items will have to do so via the corresponding Google+ tools.
Mr Green acknowledged that these changes might mean some people decide Reader "is no longer for you". To help those that want to switch Google said it would beef up the export tools so it gets easier to take their feeds with them.
"Your data belongs to you, after all, and we want to make sure you can take it with you," said Mr Green.
To help people switch ExtremeTech published a short list of six potential replacements for Reader that included NetVibes, Feedly and FeedDemon.
The changes to Reader are one of many tweaks Google has made to its services. These started with slight tweaks to the logos on the main search page and will continue with a revamp of GMail that will overhaul its look and feel.
The news of the GMail changes were leaked via a video accidentally put on YouTube. This was removed, but Google watchers managed to get copies and post it again.
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Posted by Len at Friday, October 21, 2011 No comments:
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Thursday, 20 October 2011

Moammar Gadhafi was killed

Photo by Geert Vanden Wijngaert / AP file
Photo by Geert Vanden Wijngaert / AP file


Moammar Gadhafi was killed Oct. 20, 2011, when revolutionary forces overwhelmed his hometown, Sirte, two months after his regime fell.

10:25 a.m. EDT - AP files a rare FLASH bulletin: Libya's prime minister says Moammar Gadhafi has been killed.

10:15 a.m. EDT - US official: Libyan leaders have informed US that Moammar Gadhafi is dead - AP

8:48 a.m. EDT - Abdelhakim Bel Haj, the NTC military chief in Libya, tells Al Jazeera Arabic that news of Moammar Gadhafi's death has been confirmed. Bel Haj is the military commander who led revolutionary forces into Tripoli.

8:31 a.m. EDT - AFP has released a (graphic) image captured off cellphone camera that claims to show arrest of Gadhafi in Sirte (The Guardian has it on their live blog:http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/middle-east-live/2011/oct/20/syria-libya-middle-east-unrest-live).

8:13 a.m. EDT - Reuters is reporting that Moammer Gadhafi has died of wounds suffered in his capture near Sirte, Libya, according to a senior NTC military official. Al Jazeera English sources also say he has been killed, but notes it is unconfirmed.

By Cory Bergman
Follow Cory Bergman on Google+
Posted by Len at Thursday, October 20, 2011 No comments:
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Pre-Election Arrests of Parapoliticians in Colombia

Pre-Election Arrests of Parapoliticians in Colombia
Imagen activa
Bogota, Oct 19 (Prensa Latina) Colombia's Attorney General Technical Police arrested 11 politicians with pact with paramilitaries for the October 30th regional elections.

  The arrests made in Cordoba -of six ex mayors, three ex policemen and candidates and deputies- are part of an operation with 81 arrest warrants signed by the anti-corruption prosecutor to prevent elections fraud.

According to the source the operation extends to Antioquia and Bolivar, home to several politicians and candidates accused of involvement in armed politics.

For the October 30th polls, the votes of more than 30 million Colombians will elect MPs, governors, mayors and councilmen for the 2012-2015 term.

The Registraduria Nacional del Estado Civil, the body in charge of the elections register, said there are 15 million more females to vote than males in 91,521 offices set through out Colombia.
Posted by Len at Thursday, October 20, 2011 No comments:
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Massive turnout for Syntagma rally

Massive turnout for Syntagma rally [update]

Thousands of public and private sector workers marched to Parliament on Wednesday to protest a series of draft bills introducing more austerity measures to cash-strapped Greece as part of a 48-hour strike that has paralyzed the country.
Police, who turned out in force with over 3,000 officers posted in the downtown Athens area, estimated the turnout to be at around 75,000 people, though some media reported numbers as high as 125,000, making this one of the biggest protest rallies in Greece in recent years.
The rally was mostly peaceful, though not without incident as scuffles that broke out between riot police officers and hooded youths who hurled garbage bags, stones and petrol bombs at them, escalated in the afternoon, with police using large amounts of tear gas to disperse protestors.
Dozens of protestors received treatment from medics posted at various points on and around the square after experiencing breathing difficulties from the tear gas and sustaining minor injuries from being caught in the cross-fire between youths wearing hoods, scarves and gas masks, and riot police.
One police officer was also being treated at an Athens hospital after being attacked by a group of rioters, who reportedly removed his gun from his holster. His condition, according to reports, was not serious.
The troublemakers also hurled a Molotov cocktail at the guard post in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in front of Parliament, setting it alight.
Meanwhile, a member of the DIAS motorcycle-riding squad was hurt earlier in the day when a group of teenagers threw stones at a unit patrolling the neighborhood of Kesariani, just a few kilometers from the city center.
Police also reported that a group of hooded youths attacked a riot squad posted outside the National Printing House on Kapodistriou Street with homemade petrol bombs, while another group of youths tried to break through a metal barricade set up beside Parliament to contain protestors on Syntagma Square.
Protest rallies are expected to gain momentum on Thursday, when Parliament is due to vote on the reform measures.
Protest rallies were also organized in other Greek cities, including in Thessaloniki, Patra and Volos, as well as on the island of Crete.
Posted by Len at Thursday, October 20, 2011 No comments:
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Turkey starts incursion against terrorists

PKK kills 24 troops, Turkey starts incursion against terrorists







Turkey on Wednesday launched an air and ground offensive into Iraq after members of the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) killed 24 security personnel in one of the deadliest attacks on Turkish security forces in years.
 
Turkish troops killed 21 terrorists in clashes in southeastern Turkey near the Iraqi border on Wednesday, security sources said. At least 100 PKK terrorists were believed to have taken part in the attacks, which targeted eight locations. Turkish commandos reportedly crossed the border into northern Iraq in pursuit of the terrorists after the attack, which occurred in the early morning hours of Wednesday.
There were reportedly intermittent clashes between the troops, who advanced some three to four kilometers into Iraqi territory and the PKK terrorists in the border area near Çukurca in Hakkari province. PKK members have been using Iraq as a launching pad for attacks on Turkish targets in a war for autonomy in Turkey's Southeast.
The private Cihan news agency says Turkish warplanes that took off from Diyarbakır are striking PKK bases in northern Iraq. Turkey's Parliament recently passed a bill extending permission, as it has done several times since 2007, for the Turkish military to mount cross-border operations against members of the PKK in northern Iraq in the coming year. Turkish air and artillery operations against suspected PKK members in the Kandil Mountains have intensified since August. The strikes were ordered after a break of more than a year in retaliation for an increase in PKK attacks on security forces inside Turkey. In the early morning hours of Wednesday terrorists attacked several military and police buildings in Çukurca and Hakkari's city center. Twenty-four soldiers and police officers were killed. Another 18 soldiers were wounded when the terrorists opened fire on military outposts in Çukurca and Yüksekova near the border with Iraq. The attacks occurred simultaneously.
It was the deadliest PKK attack in 18 years. It was the fourth deadliest attack since the PKK started its campaign of separatist violence nearly three decades ago.
The attacks come only a day after five policemen and four civilians, including a 2-year-old and a 10-year-old, were killed by a roadside bomb planted by the PKK in nearby Bitlis province. Wednesday’s attacks also come only days after Turkish President Abdullah Gül visited troops in the region to boost morale in an area that has seen increased violence in recent months.
Posted by Len at Thursday, October 20, 2011 No comments:
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'Seventeen dead' in latest Syrian violence - Middle East - Al Jazeera English

'Seventeen dead' in latest Syrian violence - Middle East - Al Jazeera English

At least 17 people have been shot dead in Syria, activists say, as security forces continued their brutal crackdown on a popular protest against President Bashar al-Assad.
The alleged deaths came as a pro-government rally drew massive support in the northern city of Aleppo.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on Wednesday that 17 civilians were killed in Syria, including three teenage girls and a woman, while at least seven soldiers died in clashes with suspected army defectors.
The watchdog group said eight people were killed in Homs, central Syria, including four shot dead by Shabiha, an armed civilian group that supports Assad's government.
The other eight civilians were killed in and around the town of Qusayr, near the Lebanese border, where clashes raged between troops and suspected army deserters.
One woman was hit by a stray bullet while the teenage girls were killed when their home was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade as troops battled the suspected defectors near Qusayr.
Syrian forces raked homes with heavy machine-guns as they raided neighbourhoods searching for suspects wanted by the authorities, the Observatory said, adding that around 200 people were arrested in the raids.
One man was killed in a raid by security forces in the northwestern province of Idlib, it added.
The Observatory also reported that at least seven Syrian soldiers were killed and others wounded in clashes with suspected army defectors in the village of Jussiyeh near Qusayr.
Posted by Len at Thursday, October 20, 2011 No comments:
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Frenchwoman Abducted in Kenya Dies

Frenchwoman Abducted in Kenya Dies 
PARIS — A disabled Frenchwoman kidnapped by Somali gunmen inKenya this month has died in captivity, the French government announced Wednesday.
Reuters
Marie Dedieu, 66, was dragged from a beachfront bungalow on Manda, a tourist destination, in the early morning of Oct. 1.
The woman, Marie Dedieu, 66, was dragged from a beachfront bungalowon Manda, an island that is a tourist destination, in the early morning of Oct. 1. Witnesses said a small group of heavily armed Somalis beached their speedboat in front of her home, perhaps alerted to her presence by local workers. A recovering cancer patient and quadriplegic who had lived on the island for years, Ms. Dedieu was taken without her wheelchair or medication.
It was one of a series of similar attacks by Somali gunmen that have shaken Kenyan tour operators and security officials in recent weeks, and that Kenya has used to justify a military campaign into Somalia, begun on Sunday.
Addressing Parliament on Wednesday, Prime Minister François Fillon spoke of the “indignation that is ours in the face of this act of cruelty, this act of barbarity,” noting that Ms. Dedieu was aged, disabled and sickly. “This speaks to the humanity of those who kidnapped her,” Mr. Fillon said. The government had tried to send medication to Ms. Dedieu, he and other officials said, but it was believed that her captors had refused to give it to her.

Posted by Len at Thursday, October 20, 2011 No comments:
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10 die in Imo flood disaster

10 die in Imo flood disaster

The death toll in the flood disaster currently rocking Okwuamarihe and Amanachi communities in Orsu Local Government Area of Imo State has risen to 10.

Similarly, over 50,000 families have also been sacked from their ancestral homes by flood, while several houses have been submerged in the disaster.

Narrating the ordeal of his people to newsmen, the traditional ruler, Eze Mike Ebighi, lamented that property conservatively put at over N1 billion have been destroyed.

He regretted that some of his kinsmen have relocated to safer grounds in neighbouring towns, adding that apart from being a danger zone, the people were facing intense hardship and abject poverty.

The royal father traced the origin of the flood to the construction of the Ihiala-Orlu federal highway that passes through the community, stressing that no proper channelisation of flood was incorporated in the design.

He recalled with grief that water-borne diseases had become a regular feature in the community, adding that a recent outbreak of yellow fever claimed several lives in the area.

Speaking also, one of the flood victims, Mr. Godwin Ashiegbunam, said his property had been destroyed by the flood and called on the state government to quickly come to their aid.
Posted by Len at Thursday, October 20, 2011 No comments:
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Wednesday, 19 October 2011

Kayaking with Redondo Beach Blue Whales, with underwater footage

Posted by Len at Wednesday, October 19, 2011 No comments:
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Violence erupts as Chile students launch fresh protests

Violence erupts as Chile students launch fresh protests: 


Student demonstrators in Chile re-launch their protest movement and set barricades on fire as police fire tear gas, after negotiations with the government over educational reform have halted
Posted by Len at Wednesday, October 19, 2011 No comments:
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Mum Dies After Refusing Chemo To Save Baby


Mum Dies After Refusing Chemo To Save Baby

A woman who refused chemotherapy to save the life of her unborn baby has died of head and neck cancer.

Stacie Crimm from Oklahoma, who refused cancer treatment because she was pregnant and wanted to keep the baby
The moment Stacie met her baby daughter, before passing away three days later
Stacie Crimm, 41, was told by doctors she would never be able to conceive - so discovering she was pregnant in March seemed a miracle.
But over the months that followed she began suffering from crippling headaches, tremors and double vision.
After being diagnosed with cancer she refused potentially lifesaving chemotherapy to save her baby's life.
In August she collapsed at her home in Ryan, Oklahoma, and was told the tumour had begun to grow around her brain stem.
Shortly afterwards the baby's heart beat began to drop and Stacie's own heart stopped 90 minutes later.
It was then doctors decided to resuscitate Stacie and deliver Dottie Mae by caesarean section, four months early and weighing just 2lb 1oz.
Dottie Mae was born prematurely but is now doing fine.
Dottie Mae weighed just 2lb 1oz when she was born
Her brother Ray Phillips, now caring for Dottie, told NewsOK: "We would show her pictures and she would cry and she would want to hold her baby.
"It was quite the ordeal. I felt helpless. I wanted to help her, I wanted to do what I could for her - we all did - but they had told us it was impossible for her to see the child."
However, nurses eventually managed to transfer Dottie to a capsule-like ICU so she and her mother could finally meet face to face.
She was laid on her mother's chest and the pair stared into each other's eyes.
Stacie Crimm from Oklahoma, who refused cancer treatment because she was pregnant and wanted to keep the baby
Dottie now weighs 5lb and has been allowed home
Ray told NewsOK: "Nobody said anything, it got real quiet.
"It was the perfect moment, that's what I called it."
Stacie died three days later on September 14.
Dottie now weighs 5lb and has been allowed to leave hospital to live with Mr Phillips, his wife and their four children.
Posted by Len at Wednesday, October 19, 2011 No comments:
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American B738 near Jacksonville on Oct 17th 2011, engine shut down in flight

Incident: American B738 near Jacksonville on Oct 17th 2011, engine shut down in flight:

An American Airlines Boeing 737-800, registration N933AN performing flight AA-1011 from Detroit,MI to Miami,FL (USA), was enroute at FL360 about 130nm north of Jacksonville,FL (USA) when the crew shut down engine #2 (CFM56, right hand) down due to low oil pressure and low oil quantity and diverted to Jacksonville for a safe landing on runway 07 about 25 minutes later.
Posted by Len at Wednesday, October 19, 2011 No comments:
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Accident: Iran B722 at Tehran on Oct 18th 2011, landed without nose gear

Accident: Iran B722 at Tehran on Oct 18th 2011, landed without nose gear:

An Iran Air Boeing 727-200, registration EP-IRR performing flight IR-742 from Moscow Sheremetyevo (Russia) to Tehran Imam Khomeini (Iran) with 94 passengers and 19 crew, was on approach to Tehran's Imam Khomeini Airport around 15:20L (11:50Z) when the crew did not receive a down and locked indication for the nose gear and aborted the approach.

Following unsuccessful troubleshooting the crew decided to divert to Tehran's Mehrabad Airport where a low approach confirmed the nose gear was not extended.

The crew subsequently performed a landing without the nose gear on runway 29L at about 16:00L (12:30Z) and came to a stand still on both main gear and the nose of the aircraft. The aircraft was evacuated, no injuries occurred.

The runway was closed for about 5.5 hours before the aircraft was moved off the runway."
Posted by Len at Wednesday, October 19, 2011 No comments:
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Stacie Crimm Refuses Treatment For Head And Neck Cancer So Her Unborn Daughter Can Survive | World News | Sky News

Stacie Crimm Refuses Treatment For Head And Neck Cancer So Her Unborn Daughter Can Survive | World News | Sky News: 
"A woman who refused chemotherapy to save the life of her unborn baby has died of head and neck cancer.

The moment Stacie met her baby daughter, before passing away three days later

Stacie Crimm, 41, was told by doctors she would never be able to conceive - so discovering she was pregnant in March seemed a miracle.

But over the months that followed she began suffering from crippling headaches, tremors and double vision.

After being diagnosed with cancer she refused potentially lifesaving chemotherapy to save her baby's life."
Posted by Len at Wednesday, October 19, 2011 No comments:
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Good news for taxi drag victim

Good news for taxi drag victim:
A month after a minibus taxi dragged advocate Kim McCusker hundreds of metres up a road in Sandton, the first skin transplants appear to have been successful.

Johannesburg - A month after a minibus taxi dragged advocate Kim McCusker hundreds of metres up a road in Sandton, the first skin transplants appear to have been successful.

Skin from the back of McCusker’s thigh was transferred a week ago to both elbows.

It would appear that the transplants were successful and McCusker would receive more skin transplants this week, said her uncle, Willem Hijbeek.

Her bandages were on Tuesday changed for the first time while she was conscious. It was previously done only under sedation.

She was being kept in the ICU of Fourways Hospital since September 13 to avoid a possible infection after taxi driver Matome Thamage allegedly hit McCusker with his taxi and dragged her along the road.

It was revealed on Tuesday that an investigation is pending into an incident in which the same taxi hit a child. It was reported three weeks ago that Thamage in July also hit another child in Diepsloot.
Posted by Len at Wednesday, October 19, 2011 No comments:
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Global slowdown would hit South Africa hard, says IMF

Global slowdown would hit South Africa hard, says IMF:
Sub-Saharan Africa's economy is expected to grow by 5.25% in 2011, but if global growth slows, South Africa will be particularly hard hit, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Wednesday.

The IMF predicted that the region's economy would grow 5.75% in 2012.

"In particular, our projection for 2012 is highly contingent on global economic growth being sustained at about 4%," according to an IMF report on sub-Saharan Africa's economic outlook.

"If growth in advanced economies slows further and curtails global demand, the region's ongoing expansion is likely to face significant headwinds, with South Africa and others that are more globally integrated likely to be affected the most."

South Africa, a middle-income country with slower growth compared to the regional average, had yet to see its output and employment return to pre-crisis levels.

"Policies here should clearly remain supportive of output growth, and even more so if global growth sputters," the IMF said.

Slower growth forecast
South Africa was forecast to grow at about 3.5% for 2011 and 2012.

"The recent global market turmoil, and its likely restraining impact on growth in advanced economies, is expected to limit growth in South Africa to about 3.5% this year and next."

The IMF said the main economic threat to the region was the strong possibility that global growth would decelerate further, particularly in 2012.
Posted by Len at Wednesday, October 19, 2011 No comments:
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Urgent flood evacuations

Urgent flood evacuations
The Royal Irrigation Department has warned people living outside Bangkok's northern floodwalls, along King Kaew and Rom Klao roads, to move their belongings to higher ground as those areas are expected to be flooded.
Photos by Thiti Wannamontha
Rom Klao is in Lat Krabang district and King Kaew in neighbouring Bang Phli district of Samut Prakan, near Suvarnabhumi airport.

The department said on Tuesday that floodwaters in those areas were expected to be 50 to 80 centimetres high and residents should move their belongings to safer places or build embankments of sandbags in front of their houses to a height of at least one to 1.5 metres.

In Bangkok's Thawi Wattana district, the water level in Khlong Mahasawat reached 1.9 metres today, still below its 2.5 metre flood embankment, district officials said.

Meanwhile, the Expressway Authority of Thailand said sections of the Pakkret-Bang Pa-in expressway had been closed as surging floodwater began flowing onto the road.

"At present, the Chiang Rak and Bang Pa-in expressway section is are closed because of the flooding. Motorists can exit only at Bang Phun section," an expressway officer said.
In Nonthaburi, a water gate in Bang Bua Thong district collapsed this afternoon, allowing a large amount of water to flow into nearby communities.

Reports said the Phraya Banlue water gate collapsed about 3 pm, releasing a deluge which surged into the Bang Bua Thong fresh market and many houses in the area.

Nonthaburi's Pakkret district chief Wisit Puangphet said residents in three communities - tambon Khlong Phra Udom, tambon Bang Tanai and tambon Khlong Khoi - were asked to immediately move their belongings to higher ground as floodwaters in their  communities rose sharply.
The three communities were flooded after a huge volume of water from Pathum Thani province early today destroyed several embankments of sandbags built by the district to block the overflow from the Chao Phraya River, said Mr Wisit.

The district has asked the army to send boats to evacuate flood-hit residents. Floodwaters in the three communities rose to three metres, said the district chief. Two shelters have been set up to accommodate flood victims. 
 
Local leaders and residents at tambon Bang Plab raced against time to reinforce embankments in their community, said Mr Wisit. Tambon Bang Plab is the only community in the district that has not yet been hit by flooding, he added.

In Pathum Thani's Khlong Luang district, the water level of Rapipat canal continues to rise and the water has poured through a damaged flood wall.
Authorities and volunteers were attempting to repair the flood wall quickly, as main roads could be cut off if more water entered the area.

The water level in Khlong Rangsit 4 in Khlong Luang was also reported to be nearly critical, prompting district authorities to seek help from the army to increase the sandbag wall to the height of the canal's two metre earth dyke.

In Nakhon Pathom's Buddhamonthon district, people have been advised to leave their homes within 24 hours because the floodwater in the area is expected to rise by another metre.

The Buddhamonthon district chief ordered village chiefs and administrative officials to inform people in their areas to move their belongings to higher ground and urgently build flood barriers around their homes.

The district chief said people who could not protect their homes can take refuge at a temporary shelter, which had been prepared.
Posted by Len at Wednesday, October 19, 2011 No comments:
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Len
Fourways, Johannesburg, South Africa
World Traveller, Photographer, Family Man, Music Lover, Travel Content Provider and Computer Nut.
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