Monday, December 31, 2007

The electoral commission of Pakistan held a meeting today to decide whether the general election of the country will go ahead as planned next week on Saturday January 8, 2008. A firm decision is expected on Tuesday; however, according to CNN, Election Commission Secretary Kanwar Dilashad told The Associated Press that a recommendation has been made to the Government to delay the election. It has not been stated how long this electoral delay will be, as no new projected date for the election has yet been proposed.

Violent civil unrest has occurred across Pakistan following the assassination of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Benazir Bhutto; although this is now drawing to a close, its impact threatens to jeopardize the general election, combined with the aftermath of the state of emergency only recently lifted by President Pervez Musharraf.

Prior to her death Bhutto had accused Musharraf of attempting to rig the balloting and had called for a boycott. However, leaders of the PPP and other parties sympathizing with Bhutto’s view have now indicated that they will not boycott the election when it is held. It was announced yesterday that nominal control of the PPP will be held by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Mrs. Bhutto’s son; however his father, Asif Ali Zardari, has declared an intention to handle party affairs on behalf of his son, on the grounds that he is still “of a tender age” at 19 years old. Mr. Zardari has stated that the PPP will contest the poll.

Wednesday, March 8, 2006

At least 250 members of Australia’s emergency services personnel in New South Wales have been informed that they could die from exposure to fatal levels of asbestos following emergency response training south of Sydney.

Members of the Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) unit are thought to be at risk. They were told last week they may contract life-threatening illnesses following training on a demolition site at Holsworthy Army Barracks. The site was created to simulate rescues in the event of a terror attack or natural disaster. It has been regularly used by emergency services personnel since 2004.

Some of the emergency services personnel spent up to three weeks at a time crawling through the rubble.

Reports claim that when notified last week, senior personnel were left devastated. It can take decades for asbestos related illnesses to appear and can take up to 30 years before those exposed can be cleared of infection.

In addition to the emergency service personnel, doctors, nurses and hazardous material personnel could also be at a mild risk. Even Morris Iemma, premier of New South Wales, who visited the site has been warned he could be at risk.

According to The Daily Telegraph, a repected Sydney newspaper, it has been established that “No proper tests were done at the site before it became a training ground for hundreds of top-level rescuers in 2004″,”Personnel were kept in the dark for up to a year about the asbestos before being told last week”,”NSW public officials and a host of ministers may have been exposed”,”Ambulance chief Greg Rochford and Mr Mullins have been at the site and must face a health clearance”, and”The Dust Diseases Tribunal is conducting an investigation into the long-term impact the mass exposure could have on emergency services in NSW.”

Friday, May 23, 2008

Thursday at the Taipei International Convention Center, the winners of the Gold and Silver Awards were announced at the 2008 16th-annual Taiwan Excellence Awards, an event created to promote products made in Taiwan. They were announced by the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), which also organized the event.

This year, 601 products competed for the eight gold medals and twenty-one silver awards. In the ICT category, the competition was especially fierce as 388 ICT products were on display from the IT industry. In total, 308 products from 102 companies were entitled as “Taiwan Excellent Products”.

Several world-class experts judged the nominated products, in order to select the final twenty-nine based on four critical factors including R&D, design, quality, and marketing. In addition, the TAITRA also had categories where people could vote over the Internet or using their mobile phones.

ASUSTeK picked up two Gold Awards and six Silver Awards and was the biggest winner in the “Taiwan Excellence Awards”. Eee PC 4G, with features like mobility, reliability, and connectively, not only won a Gold Award, but was also voted as the “Most Popular Product” as awarded by Internet and mobile users.

Friday, September 7, 2007

According to the highest ranking police officer in New South Wales, the cast and crew of Australian TV show, The Chaser’s War on Everything could have been shot during a prank staged in Sydney where they breached APEC security.

The comedians staged a fake motorcade to gain access to the APEC restricted area in Sydney’s CBD. It is believed that the motorcade was waved through security checkpoints on Macquarie Street and ended up just metres from the hotel where United States President George W. Bush was staying. Police moved in on the group when one of the pranksters emerged from a vehicle dressed as Osama bin Laden.

Police commissioner Andrew Scipione said the prank could have resulted in someone being injured. “The reality is… (they) put security services in a position where they might have had to take an action no one would want.”

“We have snipers deployed around the city. They weren’t there for show, they mean business, that’s what they were there for,” said Mr Scipione.

Mr Scipione was annoyed that the stunt had been carried out. He said “I’m angry, I’m very angry that this stunt happened, it was a very dangerous stunt.” The commissioner also said that the comedians had already been warned about carrying out pranks during APEC. “The people that were involved were told – we told them, we sent them maps, … We made it very clear that they shouldn’t do stunts, particularly those that were going to be dangerous,” said Mr Scipione.

Neil Fergus, senior executive for Intelligent Risks and former intelligence chief for the Sydney Olympics spoke out against those responsible for the prank. He reinforced that the prank could have ended up in someone being hurt and commended the police for dealing with the situation in the way they did.

“People can talk over each other on radios and there can be confusion, so the police response – I think – was terrific,” he said.

“And thank God it was what it was. You’ve only got to look at the experience that a very professional police service had in London when a young Brazilian was tragically shot by anti-terrorism forces.”

“So I think the police are to be commended with the professional way that they did identify the incursion, the restraint that they showed in handling it and the fact that what we’re talking about today is a bad and irresponsible joke, instead of a more tragic set of circumstances.”

The show’s executive producer Morrow denied placing anyone in danger.

“Was it irresponsible? I wouldn’t think so. Hard to say,” he said.

“No, no. We had no intention of harming anyone. Sorry guys … Lucky it was us and not Al Qaeda.”

Monday, January 3, 2011

Yesterday, United States President Barack Obama signed into law a five-year benefit package to provide healthcare treatment for emergency workers including police, firefighters, and rescue workers affected by illness and respiratory problems contracted while working at the site of the World Trade Center attacks in New York City on September 11, 2001.

The bill—the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, which is named after a police officer who died of a respiratory illness he got during a rescue operation at the World Trade Center — will provide $4.2 billion over the next five years. This money will be raised by increasing a levy on foreign companies that win procurement contracts from the United States government.

The new legislation also provides new funding for the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, a federal program for victims of the attacks.

President Obama signed the bill in Kailua, Hawaii, where he is staying on vacation. In a statement, Obama said: “We will never forget the selfless courage demonstrated by the firefighters, police officers and first responders who risked their lives to save others. I believe this is a critical step for those who continue to bear the physical scars of those attacks.”

The law was the only one that passed through Congress during the lame-duck session in December, with some Republican opposition. New York Senators and Congressmen have praised the passage of the measures.

“The heroes who rushed to Ground Zero in the hours and days after the attacks will not be forgotten. These first responders were like veterans, and this law keeps with a time-honored tradition of standing by our veterans when they get harmed answering the call.” said Charles Schumer, Democratic Senator from New York. He also vowed to “begin work immediately to make sure this law gets renewed for another five years”.

New York Republican congressman Peter T. King said that “Justice is finally being served”, and that the passing of the law marked “A great day for America.”

Democratic congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney said that “The Zadroga law will save lives and fulfills our moral obligation to care for those who rose to the defense of America in a time of war.”

Monday, September 5, 2005

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Monday, April 4, 2011

A team from the China Agricultural University is reporting success after transferring human genes into a herd of 300 dairy cows. The cows now produce milk containing proteins associated with human breast milk.

Human milk is beneficial to infants due to its high nutrient concentration. Formula milk offers an alternative to breastfeeding, but critics feel it is inferior and the research team hopes genetically modified cows could provide a solution. “Within 10 years, people will be able to pick up these products at the supermarket,” claims Professor Ning Li, research leader and head of the university’s State Key Laboratory for AgroBiotechnology. “We aim to commercialize some research in this area in coming three years.”

The new research, published in the journal Public Library of Science One, named three human proteins present in the cows’ milk. Lysozyme protects babies from bacteria, lactoferrin boosts the cells in an infant’s immune system and alpha-lactalbumin was also present. All are found in human breast milk.

“Our study describes transgenic cattle whose milk offers the similar nutritional benefits as human milk,” Li wrote in the journal. “The modified bovine milk is a possible substitute for human milk. It fulfilled the conception of humanising the bovine milk.” The cows are otherwise identical to normal cows and were produced by introducing the genes to cloned embryos, which were then reared by surrogate mothers.

The laws surrounding genetically modified food research are tighter in Europe than China, but similar products have been sold legally in the United States for years. European consumers often avoid genetically modified foods, and therefore some supermarkets avoid stocking them.

European campaigners are concerned about food safety and animal welfare; the Chinese team performed two studies on a total of 42 transgenic calves. Ten died soon after birth and six more did not survive beyond six months. It is not fully understood why survival and development is affected by cloning, which is used in the genetic modification process, but researchers concede it does happen.

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, a UK organisation, said it is “extremely concerned” by the development. A spokesperson for the organisation said: “Offspring of cloned animals often suffer health and welfare problems, so this would be a grave concern. Why do we need this milk — what is it giving us that we haven’t already got?”

A University of Nottingham professor specializing in genetic modification, Keith Campbell, rejected food safety concerns. “Genetically modified animals and plants are not going to be harmful unless you deliberately put in a gene that is going to be poisonous,” he said. “Why would anyone do that in a food?” The Chinese team says cow welfare will be improved as they will be better able to fight udder infection with human proteins.