Author: Admin

Wednesday, July 27, 2005

Mumbai, India’s largest city and financial capital, received a record-high rainfall on Tuesday, July 26. The rain left many parts of the city flooded. Landslides and other related effects of the rain claimed more than 100 lives in Mumbai and the surrounding areas.

Transportation was seriously affected, as the two main highways, railway lines, and the runways at Mumbai International airport remain submerged. Trains and city buses were shut down for 24 hours, and have not yet resumed full service. Domestic and international flights have been diverted out of Mumbai. Residents of buildings in low-lying areas are being rescued with boats and navy helicopters. Large numbers of Mumbai residents did not make it home from work, or spent the night in cars that were stranded on the road. The All India Radio reported that 150,000 people were stranded across different railway stations of the Mumbai Suburban Railway, which is considered the life line of Mumbai. Mumbai Suburban Railway partially commenced operating after thirty-six hours, from late evening on July 27.

The rainfall received in Mumbai’s suburbs on Tuesday totaled 37.1 inches, which exceeds the world’s record for highest rainfall in a single day (33.0 inches at Cherrapunji, Meghalaya, India).

The heavy rainfall has taken its toll on historic buildings as well. A building on Marine drive has been drowned up to the first floor. Mackichan Knight from IIMC mourns this irreparable damage.

As per Vilasrao Deshmukh, Chief Minister of Maharashtra, the rainfall cost the state $110m in damages.

Correction: This does not exceed the world’s record for highest rainfall in a single day, but it does exceed India’s previous record. (33.0 inches at Cherrapunji, Meghalaya, India).

The world record for rainfall in a 24-hour period was 75.98in which fell during a hurricane on Reunion Island near Madagascar.

A compilation of brief news reports for Sunday, August 9, 2009.

File:NoordinTop-FBI.jpg

Indonesia is to carry out DNA tests on the body of a man killed in the Temanggung district of Central Java. The body is believed to be that of Noordin Mohammed Top. Born in Malaysia, Top is believed to have been behind a string of terrorist attacks in Indonesia since 2002, including the 2002 Bali bombings and the bombing of the Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels this July.

After a 16-hour siege, Indonesia’s elite Detachment 88 stormed a building in Beji village that police intelligence officers believe was occupied by Top and his group.

In an unrelated police raid two would-be suicide bombers were also killed; the target of their truck bomb was believed to be a residence owned by Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Sources

• Suherdjoko & Dicky Christanto. “Terror suspects in shoot-out” — The Jakarta Post, August 8, 2009
• Xiong Tong. “Indonesian police to conduct DNA test on terrorist leader Top” — Xinhua News Agency, August 8, 2009
• Blomfield, Adrian. “Police foil plot to kill Indonesian president after raid on top terror suspect” — The Telegraph, August 8, 2009

Following a mass trial on August 1, at which critics of the Ahmadinejad regime were tried for sedition, Iran has on Saturday initiated a second mass trial of those it accuses of attempting to destabilise the Iranian state. Amongst the dozen accused are staff members of the British and French embassies and a French national. Both France and Britain have protested, with British officials calling the situation “completely unacceptable” and the French saying that the Iranian allegations were “absolutely baseless”.

In what have been described as show trials, opposition leaders have confessed to crimes against the state.

Sources

• “Iran holds 2nd protest-related court session” — CBC News, August 8, 2009
• “Embassy workers on trial in Iran” — BBC Online, August 8, 2009
• “French national on trial in Iran over post-election unrest” — Deutsche Welle, August 8, 2009

Great train robber Ronnie Biggs has been released from prison custody on compassionate grounds by British Secretary of State for Justice Jack Straw. Biggs, aged 80, is suffering from pneumonia and is said to have just days to live.

His release comes on the day of his birthday and the 46th anniversary of the crime that made him infamous.

Sources

• “Freed Train Robber Ronnie Biggs Turns 80” — Sky News, August 8, 2009
• Burns, John F. “Britain’s Great Train Robber Freed” — The New York Times, August 8, 2009

Samantha Orobator, a British 20-year-old from Peckham, London has been returned to the United Kingdom to serve out the remainder of a life sentence for drug smuggling. Convicted in Laos of attempting to smuggle 680g of heroin, Orobator initially faced execution by firing squad, which she escaped only when she became pregnant.

The circumstances of her trial and the circumstances of how she came to be pregnant has led to human rights organisation Reprieve to call for the quashing of her conviction. However the British government has indicated that it will honour its prisoner repatriation agreement with Laos.

Sources

• Vorakhoun, Phonekeo. “Pregnant British prisoner returns home from Laos” — AsiaOne, August 8, 2009
• “Pregnant prisoner returns to UK” — BBC News Online, August 7, 2009
• Addley, Esther. “Ministers condemned for imprisoning pregnant woman after ‘sham trial’ in Laos” — The Guardian, August 7, 2009

In a move championed by its chief executive officer, Rupert Murdoch, News Corporation announced it will charge for online content across all its titles by the end of the year. News Corporation owns the publications The Times and The Wall Street Journal amongst other media interests.

The move comes after a collapse in advertising revenues and US$3.4 billion of losses in the fiscal year just ended. Murdoch explained “…quality journalism is not cheap” and said his plan will “save journalism”. He says he is confident that competitors will follow his lead.

Sources

• “News Corp tests charge-for-content policy at Sunday Times: report” — Agence France-Presse, August 7, 2009
• Golson, Jordan. “News Corp. Mogul Cries ‘Charge!’ for Online News” — Business Week, August 6, 2009

Buoyed by better then expected unemployment figures for July, President Barack Obama claimed on Friday that the United States economy is “pointed in the right’ direction and that “we’ve rescued our economy from catastrophe”.

His speech comes in the wake of Bureau of Labor Statistics figures indicating that 200,000 fewer jobs were lost in July then in June.

Sources

• Brandon, Katherine. “The President On July Unemployment Figures” — Executive Office of the President of the United States, August 7, 2009
• Collinson, Stephen. “Obama says US economy saved from ‘catastrophe'” — Agence France-Presse, August 7, 2009

Five of Hong Kong’s six Disciplined Services continue to press the territory’s government for pay parity with the Hong Kong Police Force. Although industrial action is for the time being unlikely unions representing officers from correctional services, customs and excise, fire services, immigration and government flying services will hold a mass meeting later this month to put pressure on the government.

Similar rank and grade structures are used through out the six services, however despite the claim that customs and police officers having similar duties and workloads, a police officer will receive up to HK$7,900 more than a custom officer of the same rank.

Sources

• Wong, Adele. “Summer of strikes looks less likely” — The Standard, August 7, 2009
• Lee, Diana. “Customs officers seek pay parity with police” — The Standard, August 5, 2009
• “Customs officers demand pay parity” — RTHK, August 4, 2009

Social networking site Twitter is the unlikely victim of the ongoing hostility between Russia and Georgia. However, on the anniversary of the South Ossetian war, Russian hackers launched a mass denial-of-service attack aimed at silencing Cyxymu, a Georgian economics professor critical of Russia. In addition to Twitter other sites at which Cyxymu posted were also attacked, however being a smaller operation the attacks caused a complete outage of Twitter while the other sites were merely slowed.

Sources

• Bradley, Tony. “Twitter Continues to Battle DDoS Attack” — PC World, August 08, 2009
• “Pro-Georgian Blogger Target of Mass Cyber Attacks” — Voice of America, August 08, 2009

Pakistani intelligence service sources state that Hakimullah Mehsud leader of Fedayeen al-Islam has been killed in a fight for the leadership of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) an al-Qaeda ally.

The statement comes a day after public speculation of the death of TTP leader Baitullah Mehsud in a drone attack on the 5th of August. Baitullah and Hakimullah are cousins with Hakimullah serving as a deputy to Baitullah. The TTP is a coalition of disparate groups and without the charisma and leadership of Baitullah, appears to have fallen victim to internal feuding. According to sources Hakimullah Mehsud met with rival Taliban leader Waliur Rehman to determine the succession, word at the shura became heated and led to a gunfight that resulted in the death of Hakimullah and the serious wounding of Rehman.

Hakimullah had earlier issued statements denying Baitullah’s death.

‘Sources

• “TTP leader dead in succession fight?” — Dawn (newspaper), August 9, 2009
• Burke, Jason. “Taliban commander denies the death of Baitullah Mehsud” — The Guardian, August 9, 2009
• “Report: Taliban torn by feud after death” — UPI, August 8, 2009

Hurricane Felicia has weakened to a tropical storm, but residents of Hawaii are continuing to monitor the storm’s progress as it approaches the islands.

Tropical storm watches were posted for portions of the state, and some beaches have been closed in anticipation of high surf. Meanwhile, emergency supplies were selling rapidly at local stores: “Things are just flying out”, said Vicki Lebowitz, manager of The City Mill in Oahu.

The storm, once a Category 4 major hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale, is expected to further weaken before making landfall on Hawaii.

Sources

• “Felicia weakens to tropical storm near Hawaii” — Yahoo! News, August 9, 2009
• Associated Press. “Hawaii to close beaches as Hurricane Felicia nears” — The Los Angeles Times, August 9, 2009

Sunday, April 3, 2005

Volunteers from across the United States and some foreign countries gathered Friday to start an unofficial border patrol project.

They converged on the town of Tombstone, Arizona to take part in what organizers call the Minuteman Project.

Many came with personal firearms, cell phones or walking canes.

Most estimates numbered the group at 400 to 450 people, recruited from the Internet, far less than the 1,300 the organizers had hoped for, but “it was enough to send a message,” according to Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo.

“The federal government has walked away from this border,” he told some volunteers. He gained support and popularity for his stance against illegal immigration, but was characterized as anti-immigration in general.

“We are here to exercise what is a basic American right: free speech and the right to assemble,” he said.

Local citizens such as Luis Martinez, a third-generation Tombstone-area resident, were very unhappy with the developments. “They’ve come here to cause problems — to fight. Not to solve problems.

“I work in a ranch and all the ranchers use labor from the other side” of the border.

As Martinez fought back tears, he said he wanted to see the throngs leave Tombstone and go home.

During speeches delivered at orientation meetings, Rep. Tancredo was applauded loudly as he dismissed criticism from those who have called the volunteers racists and xenophobes. His fellow [[Republican Party (US)|Republican}}, President George Bush, described the group as “vigilantes.” Mexican President Vicente Fox used the term cazamigrantes — immigrant hunters.

Tancredo said: “We are saying to our government, ‘Please enforce the law,’ That is not a radical idea. That is not a vigilante idea. It is an American concept: the rule of law.”

Many of the volunteers, some from as far away as Italy, are bedding down in the nearby Miracle Valley Bible College for about $5 a night. Others are camping on the grounds of the run-down campus, about two miles north of the border.

Opposing sides were on the streets in Tombstone, although it appeared there was little contact or friction. Local, state and federal officers had mobilized in case confrontations arose.

James Gilchrist, a former Marine and a retired accountant from Aliso Viejo, Arizona, who ran the sign-up effort, said he expected more than 1,000 volunteers to help highlight the 30-day effort. The project’s goal is to patrol 23 miles of the San Pedro Valley, watch the border, and report illegal activity to law enforcement officials.

Many people fear that the project could result in vigilante violence. Organizers hope it causes the U.S. government to increase border patrols.

Tombstone is best known as the site of the 1881 shootout at the OK Corral.

Tuesday, August 15, 2006

On Tuesday, at the XVI International AIDS Conference in Toronto, Canada, both former President Bill Clinton and Microsoft founder/chairman Bill Gates defended President George W. Bush and his Adminstation‘s PEPFAR program.

Clinton said that the United States is spending more to fight HIV than any other government. He did criticize the program, saying that 33% of PEPFAR funds are dedicated to abstinence-only programs. Clinton said he does not believe that abstinence-only programs work. Also, he spoke out against a US law that requires organizations that apply for PEPFAR funds to pledge to oppose prostitution.

“I wish they would just amend the law and say ‘we disapprove of prostitution but here’s the money – go save lives’,” said Clinton.

“The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief has done a great deal of good, and President Bush and his team deserve a lot of credit for it,” Gates said.

PEPFAR, which Bush unveiled in 2003, is to spend $15 billion over five years in 15 target countries. It provides medicine to HIV patients, distributes condoms and funds programs run by many aid groups. It is the largest international health initiative in history initiated by one nation to address a single disease.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

China has loaned Ethiopia US$349 million worth of funds for the construction of the the country’s first modern expressway, making Ethiopia among the first beneficiaries of the recently implemented China-Africa development funding plan.

The road is to be close to 80 kilometres long, and will connect Nazaret (also called Adama), the country’s second-largest city, with the capital, Addis Ababa.

Funds from the Export-Import Bank of China are to be used to give the loans, according to the agreement. The deal was signed by Li Ruogu, the president of China’s Export-Import Bank, and Ahmed Shide, the Ethiopian state minister of finance and economic development.

According to the Ethiopian News Agency, the motorway is to be completed by 2014. The country has also agreed to other financial deals with China, mainly in the telecommunications and energy sectors.

Friday, December 30, 2005

Bolivia’s new president-elect Evo Morales has branded George W. Bush a “terrorist”, and has referred to Condoleezza Rice as “Mrs Condolences” in an exclusive interview for Qatar’s News Channel Al-Jazeera.

Before departing for an official visit to Cuba, Morales denounced what he calls a “dirty war” undertaken by Bush against him and said that “Bush was the only terrorist because he is the only one who militarily interferes in the domestic affairs of other countries. That’s state terrorism, but those who claim their rights are not terrorists“, he reiterated in what has been regarded as an escalation of his anti-Washington rhetoric.

At the same time, he said in Chapare during the celebration of his victory, that the plan “zero coca” carried out by the US to eradicate coca in Bolivia is terminated. “We are winning the green battle, coca is defeating the American dollar” he said.

Venezuela‘s Hugo Chavez is another head of state who has previously labeled George W. Bush a “terrorist”.

Tuesday, June 27, 2006

Australian Minister for Vocational Education and Training, Gary Hardgrave has announced the government will provide AU$15.8 million to establish an Australian Technical College in North Adelaide. The minister said the government was entering into a partnership with the Archdiocese of Adelaide and consortium of industrial and manufacturing companies.

The North Adelaide college will be located in Elizabeth and be operated as an independent non-government school. The college is one of 25 to be established across the country.

Enrolments at the college will begin in 2007 and will offer courses in areas where identified skills shortages exist in the North Adelaide region, specifically – engineering, construction, electronics and cooking.

Mr Hardgrave said that the proposed college had been popular among the North Adelaide business community. “This important initiative has been well received by North Adelaide business and industry, and will help to address skills needs and provide opportunities for those in greatest need, including a lot of Indigenous students in the region,” Mr Hardgrave said.

“The fact that this College is being led by local employers, local government and other key stakeholders, means it will be truly industry and community driven,” he said.

Australian Technical Colleges were established to cater for year 11 and 12 students who wish to do an apprenticeship as part of their school education.

The Australian Education Union has expressed a number of concerns about the model put forward by the government. In a report, they claim that trade facilities at TAFE colleges (operated by state governments) will deteriorate as funding is diverted to the ATCs. The union is also concerned that ATCs are supposed to be selective VET schools. According to the union they will have selective entry and preferential funding. It is feared that teachers will be lured away from schools and TAFE colleges to higher paid positions in ATCs.

The Education Union suggested that the government invest in schools that already offer vocational education programs.

Saturday, September 20, 2008

A hacker who has claimed to be loosely associated with internet group Anonymous managed to hack into the email account of Alaskan Governor and Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin in the early morning hours of Wednesday, September 16.

Partial contents of her email account – including two family photos, email messages and contact lists – were subsequently hosted online at Wikileaks.org, a website that anonymously hosts leaked government and corporate documents. Anonymous, who were responsible for attacks on Scientology in the past, have claimed credit for the intrusion. The email account has been used by Palin for conducting government business and communication, circumventing transparency laws.

The hacker gained access to Palin’s account by answering Yahoo!’s security questions, finding the answers on websites like Wikipedia.org. The hacker was apparently careless and frightened, and posted the new password on 4chan.org as well as a few hasty screenshots. In the screenshots were proxy data, which Ctunnel.com owner Gabriel Ramuglia plans to use to help with FBI investigations.

“White hat” hackers, however, have discovered that the hacker’s online identity was linked to the email address of David Kernell, the son of Democratic Tennessee state representative Mike Kernell. When confronted, Kernell made no confirmation of that. While 4chan has deleted all images of the email account, the screenshots have quickly spread to blogs and news websites online.