President Battles Perceptions on Gulf Oil Spill, Sestak Job Offer.
For a president who promised change, the danger now is more of the same. The environmental calamity stemming from the BP oil spill is challenging President Obama's leadership in a fundamental way, threatening to undermine the sense of competence the president has sought to project. Meanwhile, the fallout from the White House's purported job offer to Rep. Joe Sestak , D-Pa., to keep him out of a Senate race is gnawing at Obama from another direction, depicting him as a business-as-usual politician who was slow to own up to an uncomfortable truth.
Oil Stains
The chorus of critics of the president's handling of the Gulf Coast crisis is only growing, with leading voices on the left leading the way -- and, increasingly, invoking comparisons to President Bush's handling of Hurricane Katrina. This is more than anger at Obama for not acting more quickly, or with more emotional power. It reflects a growing concern among the president's allies that a key attribute that fueled his political rise is leaking along with the oil spilling into the ocean. On the BP disaster, the president risks looking like part of the problem -- the head of an unfeeling and red-tape-wrapped federal government that has a cozy relationship with a tarnished oil company -- instead of the leader who promised "never again" to these same residents of the Gulf. His challenge will be to show both emotion and firm leadership in the weeks and months ahead, even with no end in sight to the leak and a clean-up that will last decades. It won't be enough to be seen as effectively marshaling the resources of the federal government, though that would be a start. With fingers pointing in every direction, the president will need to show that he's not just in charge but also on the side of the people of the Gulf. That's no easy task, given the growing frustrations of local officials in the region, and the hardening political storyline of a president who seemed not to grasp the urgency of the moment.
Toss in a president whose resting heart-rate is just different than your usual human being -- we're talking about "no-drama Obama" here -- and the political path is messy indeed. I have copy this news from ABC News Online.
วันจันทร์ที่ 31 พฤษภาคม พ.ศ. 2553
South Korea takes battle over sunken warship to Twitter.
South Korea's defense ministry will show wreckage of a sunken ship to a group of Twitter users in an effort to dispel doubts among young skeptics about its investigation blaming North Korea for attacking the vessel, state media said Monday. Twenty users of the microblogging site will have a chance to review the evidence Friday after applying through the defense ministry's Twitter page, the Yonhap news agency reported. A group of college reporters and defense bloggers will also be invited to the presentation, which is part of a push to win over younger skeptics, Yonhap said. A South Korean report written by an international team of investigators accuses North Korea of firing a torpedo that sank the Cheonan warship in March, killing 46 sailors. North Korea has denied any involvement in the sinking and criticized the report's accuracy, claiming people who disagreed with the investigators' assertions were expelled from the investigation team, the state-run Korean Central News Agency reported. Questions about the report have also surfaced online, Yonhap said. Police are investigating online rumors about the ship's sinking, according to Yonhap, and have said they will reprimand those responsible for spreading unfounded allegations. On Friday, Twitter users will be briefed about the investigation's results and allowed to take photographs of the wreckage, Yonhap reported. The ship's sinking and ensuing report have escalated tensions throughout the region.
After the report's release, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said that South Korea was suspending trade with North Korea, closing its waters to the North's ships and adopting a newly aggressive military posture toward its neighbor. North Korea reacted to a South Korean anti-submarine exercise Thursday by saying it would meet "confrontation with confrontation" and war with "all-out war," according to North Korean state-run media. Lee has said South Korea plans to bring the issue before the United Nations Security Council. I have copy this news from CNN News Online.
After the report's release, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said that South Korea was suspending trade with North Korea, closing its waters to the North's ships and adopting a newly aggressive military posture toward its neighbor. North Korea reacted to a South Korean anti-submarine exercise Thursday by saying it would meet "confrontation with confrontation" and war with "all-out war," according to North Korean state-run media. Lee has said South Korea plans to bring the issue before the United Nations Security Council. I have copy this news from CNN News Online.
Agatha leaves 82 dead in Guatemala, El Salvador.
The remnants of Tropical Storm Agatha were headed into the Caribbean Sea late Sunday after leaving behind more than 80 dead in Guatemala and El Salvador, authorities in those countries reported. Most of the dead were in Guatemala, where heavy rains triggered mudslides that collapsed homes and forced thousands to evacuate. The country's preliminary death toll was 73 on Sunday, with 49 of those reported in the province of Chimaltenango, said David de Leon, Spokesperson for the National Commission for the Reduction of National Disasters. That toll was expected to rise, he said. And El Salvador reported nine deaths from the storm. The government issued a red alert, the highest warning level, which shut down schools and opened up shelters for families in the affected areas, President Mauricio Funes said. Agatha, an Eastern Pacific storm, struck land Saturday and was downgraded from a tropical depression to a remnant storm on Sunday. It was last reported moving toward the western Caribbean on Sunday afternoon, but was expected to keep producing heavy rains through Monday, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center. In Guatemala, the storm damaged more than 3,500 homes and forced the evacuation of more than 61,000 people, the nation's emergency office said Sunday. And in Mexico, the government's National Meteorological Service predicted torrential rain for Chiapas state, intense downpours in Tabasco and strong showers in Quintana Roo.
Four other Mexican states were predicted to receive moderate rain. Strong winds also were forecast. Swollen rivers and mudslides were a concern. In Guatemala, four children were buried in a landslide outside Guatemala City, the nation's capital. Four adults were killed in the capital, disaster officials said. Another two children and two adults were killed when a boulder, dislodged by heavy rains, crushed a house in the department of Quetzaltenango, 125 miles (200 km) west of Guatemala City, officials said. Guatemala is already under a 15-day state of calamity because of Thursday's eruption of the Pacaya volcano, which killed at least three people. At least 1,800 people had already been evacuated to shelters. The volcano also shut down the capital's international airport. Ash from the volcano that covered city streets and other areas mixed with the heavy rain, forming a goo that caused many drainage systems to clog. Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom said damage from Agatha was probably worse than the destruction caused by Hurricanes Mitch in 1998 and Stan in 2005, both of which devastated the Central American country. "The country is suffering a great tragedy, this attack by nature," Colom said from the Guatemalan emergency agency center. Emergencies were reported in all of Guatemala's 22 states, called departments. The worst, Colom said, was the Pacific Ocean port of Champerico, which is isolated. "We have no way of getting there to help the public, which is in danger because of flooding," Colom said. The president said he has asked the international community for help. Agatha is the first named storm of the Pacific hurricane season. The Atlantic hurricane season starts June 1. I have copy this news from CNN News Online.
Four other Mexican states were predicted to receive moderate rain. Strong winds also were forecast. Swollen rivers and mudslides were a concern. In Guatemala, four children were buried in a landslide outside Guatemala City, the nation's capital. Four adults were killed in the capital, disaster officials said. Another two children and two adults were killed when a boulder, dislodged by heavy rains, crushed a house in the department of Quetzaltenango, 125 miles (200 km) west of Guatemala City, officials said. Guatemala is already under a 15-day state of calamity because of Thursday's eruption of the Pacaya volcano, which killed at least three people. At least 1,800 people had already been evacuated to shelters. The volcano also shut down the capital's international airport. Ash from the volcano that covered city streets and other areas mixed with the heavy rain, forming a goo that caused many drainage systems to clog. Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom said damage from Agatha was probably worse than the destruction caused by Hurricanes Mitch in 1998 and Stan in 2005, both of which devastated the Central American country. "The country is suffering a great tragedy, this attack by nature," Colom said from the Guatemalan emergency agency center. Emergencies were reported in all of Guatemala's 22 states, called departments. The worst, Colom said, was the Pacific Ocean port of Champerico, which is isolated. "We have no way of getting there to help the public, which is in danger because of flooding," Colom said. The president said he has asked the international community for help. Agatha is the first named storm of the Pacific hurricane season. The Atlantic hurricane season starts June 1. I have copy this news from CNN News Online.
วันอาทิตย์ที่ 30 พฤษภาคม พ.ศ. 2553
Kicking up a storm: From Henry VIII to Cristiano Ronaldo.
From the original celebrity endorser King Henry VIII to modern-day superstars such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, the humble football boot has come a long way.
Britain's notorious wife-beheading royal paid four shillings -- the equivalent of $1,350 in today's money -- for his custom-made leather pair that were in an inventory of his wardrobe when he died in 1547. By comparison, Nike's new Mercurial Vapor Superfly II is the most expensive boot on the modern retail market, coming in at around $400. Henry VIII's boots would have been sturdy models made from tough leather to cope with the violent, no-rules, all-in-brawl approach to the game of the 16th century, a far cry from the streamlined and lightweight shoes designed for today's game. "We have a revolutionary technology which has a stud that adapts to different pitch conditions," Nike design director Andy Caine told CNN. "This will make the fastest player even faster whatever the pitch conditions might be. For a modern footballer who's really fast, this is really going to change his game." The birth of boot-making giants from workers knocking about in brutal steel-caps, the evolution of boots really kicked off in the late 1880s when nailed-in leather studs helped with traction in muddy fields. In 1948, a falling-out between the two German siblings behind the Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory led to the creation of Adidas and Puma -- the two most influential boot makers until the emergence of Nike in the 1980s. Both companies laid claim to the invention of the screw-in synthetic stud. are trying hard to sign the world's best football players to endorse their products--Consultant Stephanus Tekle
South Africa
Adolf ("Adi") Dassler's company said his firm's innovation helped Germany win the 1954 World Cup when treacherously wet weather struck before the final against Hungary, but brother Rudolph insisted Puma's Super Atom boot featured interchangeable studs years previously.
Two decades later, Puma struck an important blow by signing up the world's greatest player, Pele, for $125,000, according to a book by Dutch author Barbara Smit. At the opening game of the 1970 World Cup, the Brazil legend asked the referee to delay starting the match so he could tie up his laces -- meaning valuable exposure for Puma as the world's television cameras focused in on the player's feet, Smit wrote in "Three Stripes Versus Puma." Pele's Puma King range was also worn in the 1980s by Argentina superstar Diego Maradona, giving the company an association with two of the best players to have graced the sport, says Alan Spurgeon of specialist Web site www.Footy-Boots.com.
Enter the Predator
But Adidas consolidated their position at the top of the boot market thanks to a much lesser-known player. Craig Johnston, born in South Africa and raised in Australia, made his name with English club Liverpool in the 1980s. After retiring at the relatively young age of 27 to look after his ill sister, Johnston came up with the novel idea of adding rubber patches to the outside of boots, which boosted control of the ball and gave added swerve when kicking it. "I was coaching kids in Australia and I was telling them that they had to grip and bite into the ball like a table tennis bat to swerve it. 'That's fine Mr Johnston,' they said, 'but our boots are made of leather and not rubber, it's raining and they are slippery,' " he told Britain's Design Museum Web site. "I went home and took the rubber off a table tennis bat and stuck it on my boots with super glue. Immediately I went outside again and kicked the ball, I could hear a squeak when the rubber engaged with the polyurethane of the ball." The result, after years of development, was the Predator. Launched in 1994, it has been worn by superstar names such as Zinedine Zidane and David Beckham -- both of whom had customized versions. Johnston, ironically, has recently been a critic of modern boots, saying they contribute to injuries suffered by players. "People say that the boots don't provide enough protection. In fact, the opposite is true," he told FootyBoots in 2009. "The problem is that the boots are so well made there is no give at all in the materials -- especially the cheaper synthetics. "The pitches are now so well-maintained and even woven with synthetic materials that the players' studs engage like they should do, but they don't release enough, causing injury. Also, the studs are far too long and give far too much grip."
A new major player in the market
The next most significant boot was Nike's Mercurial Vapor, Spurgeon said, launched in 1998 with the endorsement of Brazilian World Cup winner Ronaldo. That range's popularity is expected to continue with the Superfly II, worn by Portugal's Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo -- the planet's most expensive player at $130 million -- at the World Cup in South Africa. Caine said the design took a painstaking three years. "We really started from scratch on this boot," he said. "It's a long process. Every change you make, you have to make a sample then you have to test it on the pitch, test it in a lab, and make sure it provides a benefit."
The process starts with a small core team who focus on what needs improving from the previous boot, Caine said, gathering input from players and seeking out the latest technical innovations.
"Once you get onto the manufacturing side there's obviously larger development teams that come into it," he said. "A lot of people touch it through its life cycle, but there's quite a small core team who work on the real essence of the design and what it's about." While Caine is proud of the Superfly's new adaptable retraction system, which can change and extend automatically, Adidas have also unleashed an innovative new product before the World Cup -- even daring to revamp the traditional three-stripe design in a boot that changes color in different light.
The AdiZero is the lightest football boot on the market, Spurgeon says, with 2009 world player of the year Lionel Messi's F50 spearheading the range. "It's the fastest and lightest football shoe that we've ever created," Adidas senior product manager for footwear Aubry Dolan told CNN. "We've talked to the players, professionals and amateurs, and their message was very simple: make me faster. "The goal was simple, the challenge was very difficult. Never before have so many players felt, touched, tested, seen and thought about the product."
Who rules the roost?
The leading companies are coy about releasing boot market figures, but Spurgeon believes Adidas is a clear leader from Nike -- last year the firm claimed it had a 50 percent share in North America and Germany. United States-based Nike, however, is regarded the No. 1 sportswear company, he said. And it may be team shirts and balls, rather than boots, which prove to be the biggest money-earner at the World Cup, according to Germany-based marketing consultancy SPORT+MARKT. "As the sale of boots is still the core business, both companies are trying hard to sign the world's best football players to endorse their products," consultant Stephanus Tekle told CNN. "However, although boots are the right tool to promote the reliability and the technology of the brands, in terms of sales the World Cup shows a different trend. "During the event, fans tend to show commitment to their own national teams by purchasing the official jersey and the official ball rather than the boots of their favorite football players. This is probably the most profitable line of business during the World Cup for both Adidas and Nike."
New avenues: The Internet
Adidas has guaranteed maximum exposure in South Africa by buying up exclusive sponsorship rights, forcing Nike to continue the more innovative tactics it started with 2006's "Joga Bonito" social networking-style Web site. "Now Nike is trying to pursue a long-term strategy: no more single campaigns but the activation of more comprehensive marketing, especially via the Internet," Tekle said. "For instance, Nike is deeply involved in CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) activities with the latest campaign, "Lace Up, Save Lives," endorsed by important athletes. The aim is to lend more credibility and reliability to the brand. "The Internet is soon going to be a major resource for the kit suppliers more and more, and new innovative campaigns should be expected on the web." I have copy this news from CNN News Online.
Britain's notorious wife-beheading royal paid four shillings -- the equivalent of $1,350 in today's money -- for his custom-made leather pair that were in an inventory of his wardrobe when he died in 1547. By comparison, Nike's new Mercurial Vapor Superfly II is the most expensive boot on the modern retail market, coming in at around $400. Henry VIII's boots would have been sturdy models made from tough leather to cope with the violent, no-rules, all-in-brawl approach to the game of the 16th century, a far cry from the streamlined and lightweight shoes designed for today's game. "We have a revolutionary technology which has a stud that adapts to different pitch conditions," Nike design director Andy Caine told CNN. "This will make the fastest player even faster whatever the pitch conditions might be. For a modern footballer who's really fast, this is really going to change his game." The birth of boot-making giants from workers knocking about in brutal steel-caps, the evolution of boots really kicked off in the late 1880s when nailed-in leather studs helped with traction in muddy fields. In 1948, a falling-out between the two German siblings behind the Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory led to the creation of Adidas and Puma -- the two most influential boot makers until the emergence of Nike in the 1980s. Both companies laid claim to the invention of the screw-in synthetic stud. are trying hard to sign the world's best football players to endorse their products--Consultant Stephanus Tekle
South Africa
Adolf ("Adi") Dassler's company said his firm's innovation helped Germany win the 1954 World Cup when treacherously wet weather struck before the final against Hungary, but brother Rudolph insisted Puma's Super Atom boot featured interchangeable studs years previously.
Two decades later, Puma struck an important blow by signing up the world's greatest player, Pele, for $125,000, according to a book by Dutch author Barbara Smit. At the opening game of the 1970 World Cup, the Brazil legend asked the referee to delay starting the match so he could tie up his laces -- meaning valuable exposure for Puma as the world's television cameras focused in on the player's feet, Smit wrote in "Three Stripes Versus Puma." Pele's Puma King range was also worn in the 1980s by Argentina superstar Diego Maradona, giving the company an association with two of the best players to have graced the sport, says Alan Spurgeon of specialist Web site www.Footy-Boots.com.
Enter the Predator
But Adidas consolidated their position at the top of the boot market thanks to a much lesser-known player. Craig Johnston, born in South Africa and raised in Australia, made his name with English club Liverpool in the 1980s. After retiring at the relatively young age of 27 to look after his ill sister, Johnston came up with the novel idea of adding rubber patches to the outside of boots, which boosted control of the ball and gave added swerve when kicking it. "I was coaching kids in Australia and I was telling them that they had to grip and bite into the ball like a table tennis bat to swerve it. 'That's fine Mr Johnston,' they said, 'but our boots are made of leather and not rubber, it's raining and they are slippery,' " he told Britain's Design Museum Web site. "I went home and took the rubber off a table tennis bat and stuck it on my boots with super glue. Immediately I went outside again and kicked the ball, I could hear a squeak when the rubber engaged with the polyurethane of the ball." The result, after years of development, was the Predator. Launched in 1994, it has been worn by superstar names such as Zinedine Zidane and David Beckham -- both of whom had customized versions. Johnston, ironically, has recently been a critic of modern boots, saying they contribute to injuries suffered by players. "People say that the boots don't provide enough protection. In fact, the opposite is true," he told FootyBoots in 2009. "The problem is that the boots are so well made there is no give at all in the materials -- especially the cheaper synthetics. "The pitches are now so well-maintained and even woven with synthetic materials that the players' studs engage like they should do, but they don't release enough, causing injury. Also, the studs are far too long and give far too much grip."
A new major player in the market
The next most significant boot was Nike's Mercurial Vapor, Spurgeon said, launched in 1998 with the endorsement of Brazilian World Cup winner Ronaldo. That range's popularity is expected to continue with the Superfly II, worn by Portugal's Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo -- the planet's most expensive player at $130 million -- at the World Cup in South Africa. Caine said the design took a painstaking three years. "We really started from scratch on this boot," he said. "It's a long process. Every change you make, you have to make a sample then you have to test it on the pitch, test it in a lab, and make sure it provides a benefit."
The process starts with a small core team who focus on what needs improving from the previous boot, Caine said, gathering input from players and seeking out the latest technical innovations.
"Once you get onto the manufacturing side there's obviously larger development teams that come into it," he said. "A lot of people touch it through its life cycle, but there's quite a small core team who work on the real essence of the design and what it's about." While Caine is proud of the Superfly's new adaptable retraction system, which can change and extend automatically, Adidas have also unleashed an innovative new product before the World Cup -- even daring to revamp the traditional three-stripe design in a boot that changes color in different light.
The AdiZero is the lightest football boot on the market, Spurgeon says, with 2009 world player of the year Lionel Messi's F50 spearheading the range. "It's the fastest and lightest football shoe that we've ever created," Adidas senior product manager for footwear Aubry Dolan told CNN. "We've talked to the players, professionals and amateurs, and their message was very simple: make me faster. "The goal was simple, the challenge was very difficult. Never before have so many players felt, touched, tested, seen and thought about the product."
Who rules the roost?
The leading companies are coy about releasing boot market figures, but Spurgeon believes Adidas is a clear leader from Nike -- last year the firm claimed it had a 50 percent share in North America and Germany. United States-based Nike, however, is regarded the No. 1 sportswear company, he said. And it may be team shirts and balls, rather than boots, which prove to be the biggest money-earner at the World Cup, according to Germany-based marketing consultancy SPORT+MARKT. "As the sale of boots is still the core business, both companies are trying hard to sign the world's best football players to endorse their products," consultant Stephanus Tekle told CNN. "However, although boots are the right tool to promote the reliability and the technology of the brands, in terms of sales the World Cup shows a different trend. "During the event, fans tend to show commitment to their own national teams by purchasing the official jersey and the official ball rather than the boots of their favorite football players. This is probably the most profitable line of business during the World Cup for both Adidas and Nike."
New avenues: The Internet
Adidas has guaranteed maximum exposure in South Africa by buying up exclusive sponsorship rights, forcing Nike to continue the more innovative tactics it started with 2006's "Joga Bonito" social networking-style Web site. "Now Nike is trying to pursue a long-term strategy: no more single campaigns but the activation of more comprehensive marketing, especially via the Internet," Tekle said. "For instance, Nike is deeply involved in CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) activities with the latest campaign, "Lace Up, Save Lives," endorsed by important athletes. The aim is to lend more credibility and reliability to the brand. "The Internet is soon going to be a major resource for the kit suppliers more and more, and new innovative campaigns should be expected on the web." I have copy this news from CNN News Online.
Thai prime minister says state of emergency may be lifted.
Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said the country was calm Sunday morning after the first night without a government-imposed curfew in 10 days, state media said. In his weekly television address, Abhisit said the state of emergency could be lifted, but did not say when a relaxation or removal of emergency regulations would take place, the Thai News Agency reported. Officials implemented the state of emergency on April 7 in Bangkok and nearby provinces, when thousands of anti-government protesters had amassed in the capital's central shopping district. They imposed a curfew in Bangkok and 23 provinces May 19. Violent clashes between the demonstrators and government troops broke out earlier this month, killing at least 50 people and injuring nearly 400, government officials said.
Thai PM lifts curfew
More than 30 buildings -- including a bank, a police station, a local television station and Thailand's biggest shopping mall -- were set ablaze. Abhisit said an independent committee would be established this week to examine the political unrest. Thai investigators claim former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a bloodless military coup in 2006, helped mastermind and fund the Red Shirt anti-government protests, Thailand's state news agency said this week. A Thai court issued an arrest warrant for Thaksin this week on terrorism charges connected to the clashes, the news agency said. Thaksin has denied he was a leader of the Red Shirt demonstrations and said the charges in the arrest warrant show the government lacks legitimacy. I have copy this news from CNN News Online.
Thai PM lifts curfew
More than 30 buildings -- including a bank, a police station, a local television station and Thailand's biggest shopping mall -- were set ablaze. Abhisit said an independent committee would be established this week to examine the political unrest. Thai investigators claim former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a bloodless military coup in 2006, helped mastermind and fund the Red Shirt anti-government protests, Thailand's state news agency said this week. A Thai court issued an arrest warrant for Thaksin this week on terrorism charges connected to the clashes, the news agency said. Thaksin has denied he was a leader of the Red Shirt demonstrations and said the charges in the arrest warrant show the government lacks legitimacy. I have copy this news from CNN News Online.
Mexican prison warden abducted, dismembered.
A prison warden in the Mexican state of Morelos was abducted as he reported to work Saturday morning and his dismembered body was found later in four locations in the city of Cuernavaca, the government-run Notimex agency reported. The warden was identified as Luis Navarro Castaneda, director of the Atlacholoaya prison. Written messages were left with the body remains, Notimex said. The news agency did not report what the messages said. Navarro's abandoned Toyota truck was found near the prison, Notimex said. No arrests had been announced as of Sunday morning.
Mexican prison warden abducted, dismembered.
A prison warden in the Mexican state of Morelos was abducted as he reported to work Saturday morning and his dismembered body was found later in four locations in the city of Cuernavaca, the government-run Notimex agency reported. The warden was identified as Luis Navarro Castaneda, director of the Atlacholoaya prison. Written messages were left with the body remains, Notimex said. The news agency did not report what the messages said. Navarro's abandoned Toyota truck was found near the prison, Notimex said. No arrests had been announced as of Sunday morning.
Choosing the Best Sunscreen.
Over Memorial Day Weekend, Avoid Damaging Sun Rays by Splattering, Spraying Sunscreen.
If you're heading to the beach this Memorial Day weekend, bring sunscreen. But with so many choices on the shelves, how can you choose which one is best for you and your family?
Sunscreen spray has become the most user-friendly these days, but many still cling to their lotions. "It's all about personal preference," said Frances Largeman-Roth, a senior editor for Health magazine. She tested sunscreen products and compiled a list that will keep you and your family safe from the sun's rays. Largeman-Roth said, "The Banana Boat Ultra Defense SPF 85, we loved it because it absorbs on contact and it's a continuous spray. So if you have little kids who love to run away from you when you put the sunscreen on, just grab them, spray them down, and it absorbs on contact. And it's non-greasy." As far as sunscreen lotion, Largeman-Roth recommends Neutragena Spectrum+ Advanced SPF 55. "It will not clog your pores," she said. "It's all about finding one that works for you, one that you like the scent of, or maybe you're looking for fragrance-free. This is a fragrance-free product. Whatever works for you, you'll use. If you hate it, you're not going to put it on." Many are making sure that they are choosing the right SPF to penetrate the skin to protect against UVA rays. In the fall, there will be new regulations, Largeman-Roth said, "But for now, you can still get up to 85, up to 100, but really over 50. They can't guarantee how much extra protection it will give you, but dermatologists always say at least 30." There are a few products that work best for kids, such as Aveeno Baby Continuous Protection, SPF 50. "This one is really great because it locks in moisture on a baby's skin," Largeman-Roth said. "Babies lose moisture more easily, and of course, they have more sensitive skin." This Memorial Day weekend may see a lot more people getting active outdoors. For "athletes," Mission Skincare is a fast-drying spray, Largeman-Roth said, pointing to well-known athletes who use the product such as soccer champ Mia Hamm and tennis star Serena Williams. "It is sweat-proof, waterproof, and it also won't stain your clothes. A lot of them will get on your clothes and leave an oily-slick stain," Largeman-Roth said. I have copy this news from ABC News Online.
If you're heading to the beach this Memorial Day weekend, bring sunscreen. But with so many choices on the shelves, how can you choose which one is best for you and your family?
Sunscreen spray has become the most user-friendly these days, but many still cling to their lotions. "It's all about personal preference," said Frances Largeman-Roth, a senior editor for Health magazine. She tested sunscreen products and compiled a list that will keep you and your family safe from the sun's rays. Largeman-Roth said, "The Banana Boat Ultra Defense SPF 85, we loved it because it absorbs on contact and it's a continuous spray. So if you have little kids who love to run away from you when you put the sunscreen on, just grab them, spray them down, and it absorbs on contact. And it's non-greasy." As far as sunscreen lotion, Largeman-Roth recommends Neutragena Spectrum+ Advanced SPF 55. "It will not clog your pores," she said. "It's all about finding one that works for you, one that you like the scent of, or maybe you're looking for fragrance-free. This is a fragrance-free product. Whatever works for you, you'll use. If you hate it, you're not going to put it on." Many are making sure that they are choosing the right SPF to penetrate the skin to protect against UVA rays. In the fall, there will be new regulations, Largeman-Roth said, "But for now, you can still get up to 85, up to 100, but really over 50. They can't guarantee how much extra protection it will give you, but dermatologists always say at least 30." There are a few products that work best for kids, such as Aveeno Baby Continuous Protection, SPF 50. "This one is really great because it locks in moisture on a baby's skin," Largeman-Roth said. "Babies lose moisture more easily, and of course, they have more sensitive skin." This Memorial Day weekend may see a lot more people getting active outdoors. For "athletes," Mission Skincare is a fast-drying spray, Largeman-Roth said, pointing to well-known athletes who use the product such as soccer champ Mia Hamm and tennis star Serena Williams. "It is sweat-proof, waterproof, and it also won't stain your clothes. A lot of them will get on your clothes and leave an oily-slick stain," Largeman-Roth said. I have copy this news from ABC News Online.
Tropical Storm Kills 15 in Guatemala, El Salvador.
Torrential rains brought by the first tropical storm of the 2010 season pounded Central America and southern Mexico, triggering deadly landslides. The death toll stood at 15 Sunday but authorities said the number could rise. Tropical Storm Agatha made landfall near the border of Guatemala and Mexico on Saturday with wind speeds of up to 45 mph (75 kph), then weakened into a tropical depression before dissipating over the mountains of western Guatemala. Although no longer even a tropical depression, Agatha still posed trouble for the region: Remnants of the storm were expected to deliver 10 to 20 inches (25 to 50 centimeters) of rain over southeastern Mexico, Guatemala and parts of El Salvador , creating the possibility of "life-threatening flash floods and mudslides," the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said in an advisory Sunday. Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom said Saturday night that the rivers in the country's south were flooding or close to it. Colom said 4.3 inches (10.8 centimeters) of rain had fallen in Guatemala City's valley in 12 hours, the most since 1949. As of Saturday night, 4,300 people were in shelters and authorities said the number could rise as figures come in from around the country. Earlier Saturday, Agatha's rains caused a landslide on a hillside settlement in Guatemala City that killed four people and left 11 missing, Guatemalan disaster relief spokesman David de Leon said. Most of the city was without electricity at nightfall, complicating search efforts. Four children were killed by another mudslide in the town of Santa Catarina Pinula, about six miles (10 kilometers) outside the capital. And in the department of Quetzaltenango, 125 miles (200 kilometers) west of Guatemala City, a boulder loosened by rains crushed a house, killing two children and two adults, de Leon said. Calls to local radio stations told of many more landslides and possible deaths, but those reports could not be immediately confirmed. I have copy this news from ABC News Online.
วันเสาร์ที่ 29 พฤษภาคม พ.ศ. 2553
Brush teeth to 'prevent' heart disease.
People who fail to brush their teeth twice a day are putting themselves at risk of heart disease, research suggests. The Scottish study of more than 11,000 adults backs previous research linking gum disease with heart problems. The researchers said more work is needed to confirm if poor oral health directly causes heart disease or is a marker of risk.
A charity added that oral hygiene was just one factor in good heart health. It is known that inflammation in the body, including in the mouth and gums, has an important role in the build up of clogged arteries, which can lead to a heart attack. But this is the first time that researchers have looked at whether the frequency of teeth brushing has any bearing on the risk of developing heart disease.
Data, published in the British Medical Journal was collected on lifestyle behaviours, such as smoking, physical activity and oral health routines. Participants were also asked how often they visited the dentist and how often they brushed their teeth. Then nurses collected information on medical history and family history of heart disease, took blood pressure and blood samples.
Overall, six out of 10 people said they visited the dentist every six months and seven out 10 reported brushing their teeth twice a day. Over the eight-year study there were 555 "cardiovascular events" such as heart attacks, 170 of which were fatal.
Taking into account factors that affect heart disease risk, such as social class, obesity, smoking and family history, the researchers found those with the worst oral hygiene had a 70% increased chance of developing the condition compared with those who brush their teeth twice a day.
Those with poor oral hygiene also tested positive in blood samples for proteins which are suggestive of inflammation.
Cause and effect
Study leader Professor Richard Watt, from University College London, said future studies will be needed to confirm whether the link between oral health behaviour and cardiovascular disease "is in fact causal or merely a risk marker".
Judy O'Sullivan, senior cardiac nurse at British Heart Foundation, said: "If you don't brush your teeth, your mouth can become infected with bacteria which can cause inflammation. "However, it is complicated by the fact that poor oral hygiene is often associated with other well known risk factors for heart disease, such as smoking and poor diet." She added: "Good personal hygiene is a basic element of a healthy lifestyle. "But if you want to help your heart, you should eat a balanced diet, avoid smoking and take part in regular physical activity."
Professor Damien Walmsley, scientific adviser to the British Dental Association, added it was still unclear whether there was a definite cause and effect between oral hygiene and heart disease.
"Whatever the true position is, we can say with certainty that if people brush teeth twice a day with fluoride toothpaste, visit the dentist regularly and restrict sugary snacks to mealtimes; that this will go a long way towards keeping the teeth and gums in a healthy state for life." I have copy this news from BBC News Online.
A charity added that oral hygiene was just one factor in good heart health. It is known that inflammation in the body, including in the mouth and gums, has an important role in the build up of clogged arteries, which can lead to a heart attack. But this is the first time that researchers have looked at whether the frequency of teeth brushing has any bearing on the risk of developing heart disease.
Data, published in the British Medical Journal was collected on lifestyle behaviours, such as smoking, physical activity and oral health routines. Participants were also asked how often they visited the dentist and how often they brushed their teeth. Then nurses collected information on medical history and family history of heart disease, took blood pressure and blood samples.
Overall, six out of 10 people said they visited the dentist every six months and seven out 10 reported brushing their teeth twice a day. Over the eight-year study there were 555 "cardiovascular events" such as heart attacks, 170 of which were fatal.
Taking into account factors that affect heart disease risk, such as social class, obesity, smoking and family history, the researchers found those with the worst oral hygiene had a 70% increased chance of developing the condition compared with those who brush their teeth twice a day.
Those with poor oral hygiene also tested positive in blood samples for proteins which are suggestive of inflammation.
Cause and effect
Study leader Professor Richard Watt, from University College London, said future studies will be needed to confirm whether the link between oral health behaviour and cardiovascular disease "is in fact causal or merely a risk marker".
Judy O'Sullivan, senior cardiac nurse at British Heart Foundation, said: "If you don't brush your teeth, your mouth can become infected with bacteria which can cause inflammation. "However, it is complicated by the fact that poor oral hygiene is often associated with other well known risk factors for heart disease, such as smoking and poor diet." She added: "Good personal hygiene is a basic element of a healthy lifestyle. "But if you want to help your heart, you should eat a balanced diet, avoid smoking and take part in regular physical activity."
Professor Damien Walmsley, scientific adviser to the British Dental Association, added it was still unclear whether there was a definite cause and effect between oral hygiene and heart disease.
"Whatever the true position is, we can say with certainty that if people brush teeth twice a day with fluoride toothpaste, visit the dentist regularly and restrict sugary snacks to mealtimes; that this will go a long way towards keeping the teeth and gums in a healthy state for life." I have copy this news from BBC News Online.
Long Lines in Europe, Asia to Buy Apple's iPad.
Technophiles mobbed Apple Stores in Europe and Asia on Friday in a quest to snatch up the hottest gadget of the moment - the iPad. Long lines snaked down streets in London, Paris , Frankfurt and Tokyo as eager buyers vied to wield their credit cards. Screams and cheers rose from the crowd in central London as students, professionals and self-proclaimed computer geeks clutched boxes containing the slim black device.
"If I was a music fan, it would be like the launch of a Lady GaGa album in the U.S.," said comedian Stephen Fry, known in Britain as a champion Tweeter. Apple Inc., based in Cupertino, California, said earlier this month that it had sold 1 million of the devices in the United States in just 28 days. The company started taking orders for the iPad abroad on May 10 after pushing back its international delivery target amid extreme demand at home.
The computer looks like a larger version of Apple's iPhone and can be used to send e-mails, draw pictures and play games. It is also seen as a potential savior of the struggling newspaper industry, because it can be used as an electronic reader. Publishers have seized upon the device as an opportunity to finally make large numbers of readers pay for online content.
In hopes of better times, Britain's Financial Times newspaper launched its iPad version at a swank press event at a hotel overlooking Lake Geneva in Switzerland, claiming the app has already been downloaded over 100,000 times in the United States.
Rob Grimshaw, managing director of FT.com. said 20 percent of new digital subscriptions to the paper came from iPad users last week. "I think it's going to be an extremely lucrative device for us," he said.
In Britain, prices for versions of the iPad range from 429 pounds to 699 pounds ($624 to $1,017). But the rollout has not been without its problems. A string of suicides at a Chinese factory that churns out iPads and other high-tech items has raised concerns about conditions for workers who face tremendous time pressures and harsh discipline for mistakes. I have copy this news from ABC News Online.
"If I was a music fan, it would be like the launch of a Lady GaGa album in the U.S.," said comedian Stephen Fry, known in Britain as a champion Tweeter. Apple Inc., based in Cupertino, California, said earlier this month that it had sold 1 million of the devices in the United States in just 28 days. The company started taking orders for the iPad abroad on May 10 after pushing back its international delivery target amid extreme demand at home.
The computer looks like a larger version of Apple's iPhone and can be used to send e-mails, draw pictures and play games. It is also seen as a potential savior of the struggling newspaper industry, because it can be used as an electronic reader. Publishers have seized upon the device as an opportunity to finally make large numbers of readers pay for online content.
In hopes of better times, Britain's Financial Times newspaper launched its iPad version at a swank press event at a hotel overlooking Lake Geneva in Switzerland, claiming the app has already been downloaded over 100,000 times in the United States.
Rob Grimshaw, managing director of FT.com. said 20 percent of new digital subscriptions to the paper came from iPad users last week. "I think it's going to be an extremely lucrative device for us," he said.
In Britain, prices for versions of the iPad range from 429 pounds to 699 pounds ($624 to $1,017). But the rollout has not been without its problems. A string of suicides at a Chinese factory that churns out iPads and other high-tech items has raised concerns about conditions for workers who face tremendous time pressures and harsh discipline for mistakes. I have copy this news from ABC News Online.
Volcano Chasers Have a Red-Hot Passion for Eruptions.
Common sense might dictate that when a volcano starts erupting, the best thing to do is run away. But for a small and somewhat obsessed band of photographers, news of a new lava-spewing giant somewhere in the world means one thing: It's time to book a flight.
In early April, Martin Rietze spent three sleepless nights huddled next to a large boulder about 1,600 feet from the mouth of Iceland's recently reawakened Eyjafjallajökull volcano, having the time of his life. Sleepless because when a volcano is throwing car-sized pieces of rock into the air, you can't close your eyes for a second. "It's too dangerous to sleep, so you have to stay up," he says from his home in Eichenau, Germany.
Rietze, an engineer who builds delicate electronics for planetariums, is part of a very small group of mostly men worldwide who spend vacations racing to be as near as possible to molten magma, choking ash clouds and poisonous gases, not to mention a rain of smoking-hot boulders.
Volcanophiles exist all over the world, though there are at best only a couple hundred of them, they estimate. There are groups and individuals in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, France, the USA and Japan.
They seem to include a high percentage of engineers, computer, electrical, chemical and mechanical. Though it once was a solitary pursuit, the Internet has allowed them to share their work — and tips. It's a labor of love, because they all know they can't make a living at it, says Richard Roscoe, an Englishman who works as a patent examiner in the European Patent Office. He's spending this week in Vanuatu to shoot the Yasur volcano.
"One always hopes that one will get the really big shot and get that contract with National Geographic, but the likelihood is very minimal," he says. But professionals urge a large dose of caution. Volcanoes are astoundingly alluring; far too many people take far too many chances around them, say Donna and Steve O'Meara, a husband-and-wife team who shoot for National Geographic. "They put fire in people's eyes and their brain is left behind," Donna says. I have cppy this news from ABC News Online.
In early April, Martin Rietze spent three sleepless nights huddled next to a large boulder about 1,600 feet from the mouth of Iceland's recently reawakened Eyjafjallajökull volcano, having the time of his life. Sleepless because when a volcano is throwing car-sized pieces of rock into the air, you can't close your eyes for a second. "It's too dangerous to sleep, so you have to stay up," he says from his home in Eichenau, Germany.
Rietze, an engineer who builds delicate electronics for planetariums, is part of a very small group of mostly men worldwide who spend vacations racing to be as near as possible to molten magma, choking ash clouds and poisonous gases, not to mention a rain of smoking-hot boulders.
Volcanophiles exist all over the world, though there are at best only a couple hundred of them, they estimate. There are groups and individuals in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, France, the USA and Japan.
They seem to include a high percentage of engineers, computer, electrical, chemical and mechanical. Though it once was a solitary pursuit, the Internet has allowed them to share their work — and tips. It's a labor of love, because they all know they can't make a living at it, says Richard Roscoe, an Englishman who works as a patent examiner in the European Patent Office. He's spending this week in Vanuatu to shoot the Yasur volcano.
"One always hopes that one will get the really big shot and get that contract with National Geographic, but the likelihood is very minimal," he says. But professionals urge a large dose of caution. Volcanoes are astoundingly alluring; far too many people take far too many chances around them, say Donna and Steve O'Meara, a husband-and-wife team who shoot for National Geographic. "They put fire in people's eyes and their brain is left behind," Donna says. I have cppy this news from ABC News Online.
Thai prime minister lifts curfew.
Thailand's prime minister said Saturday that the curfew imposed during anti-government protests has been lifted. Emergency law was still in place in 24 of Thailand's 76 provinces, including Bangkok, said Maj. Gen. Prawut Thavornsiri of the police. Officials imposed the curfew last week after government troops moved to quell the protests by Red Shirt demonstrators. They extended the curfew this week.
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said last weekend that "everything is calm and returning to normalcy" following the weeks of protests, which were called off after troops surged in.
At least 50 people were killed in clashes between the demonstrators and government troops and nearly 400 people injured, government officials said. More than 30 buildings -- including a bank, a police station, a local television station and Thailand's biggest shopping mall -- were set ablaze.
Thai investigators claim former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a bloodless military coup in 2006, helped mastermind and fund the Red Shirt protests, Thailand's state news agency said this week.
A Thai court issued an arrest warrant for Thaksin this week on terrorism charges connected to the clashes, the news agency said. Thaksin has denied he was a leader of the Red Shirt demonstrations and said the charges in the arrest warrant shows the government lacks legitimacy. I have copy this news from CNN News Online.
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said last weekend that "everything is calm and returning to normalcy" following the weeks of protests, which were called off after troops surged in.
At least 50 people were killed in clashes between the demonstrators and government troops and nearly 400 people injured, government officials said. More than 30 buildings -- including a bank, a police station, a local television station and Thailand's biggest shopping mall -- were set ablaze.
Thai investigators claim former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a bloodless military coup in 2006, helped mastermind and fund the Red Shirt protests, Thailand's state news agency said this week.
A Thai court issued an arrest warrant for Thaksin this week on terrorism charges connected to the clashes, the news agency said. Thaksin has denied he was a leader of the Red Shirt demonstrations and said the charges in the arrest warrant shows the government lacks legitimacy. I have copy this news from CNN News Online.
Death toll rises to 98 in India train crash.
Investigators were searching for bodies in a mangled wreck Saturday, a day after two trains crashed and killed at least 98 people in eastern India, officials said. Maoist rebels are suspected of causing the crash by removing the fasteners securing the tracks, police said.
Authorities identified some suspects, but had not yet made any arrests, said Bhupinder Singh, police chief in West Bengal state. He said "quite a few" people were involved.
At least 115 passengers were injured when 13 cars of the Mumbai-bound Lokmanya Tilak Gyaneshwari Express derailed, capsized on a parallel track and were slammed by a cargo train, authorities said. More than a dozen bodies may still be trapped inside the wreckage, said N.S. Nigam, West Midnapore district magistrate.
Singh told reporters Friday that officers had found Maoist posters claiming responsibility for the attack.
"It appears to be a case of sabotage where a portion of the railway track was removed. Whether explosives were used is not yet clear," Indian Home Minister P. Chidambaram said in a statement Friday.
Manoj Verma, the district police superintendent, said Friday that investigators were looking into the possibility that "fishplates," which secure rail joints, were missing from the track.
The role of Maoists "cannot be ruled out," Verma said.
India regards Maoists as its gravest internal security threat.
More than 70 officers were killed in a suspected Maoist ambush in Chhattisgarh state last month in what was seen as one of the most daring attacks by the left-wing guerrillas on Indian security forces. The insurgents, on the other hand, have claimed since the 1960s to be fighting for the dispossessed.
In February, Chidambaram said that more than 900 people, including almost 600 civilians, were killed in Maoist-related incidents in 2009. About 200 suspected rebels were also slain as forces moved into areas under insurgent control, he said. I have copy this news from CNN News Online.
Authorities identified some suspects, but had not yet made any arrests, said Bhupinder Singh, police chief in West Bengal state. He said "quite a few" people were involved.
At least 115 passengers were injured when 13 cars of the Mumbai-bound Lokmanya Tilak Gyaneshwari Express derailed, capsized on a parallel track and were slammed by a cargo train, authorities said. More than a dozen bodies may still be trapped inside the wreckage, said N.S. Nigam, West Midnapore district magistrate.
Singh told reporters Friday that officers had found Maoist posters claiming responsibility for the attack.
"It appears to be a case of sabotage where a portion of the railway track was removed. Whether explosives were used is not yet clear," Indian Home Minister P. Chidambaram said in a statement Friday.
Manoj Verma, the district police superintendent, said Friday that investigators were looking into the possibility that "fishplates," which secure rail joints, were missing from the track.
The role of Maoists "cannot be ruled out," Verma said.
India regards Maoists as its gravest internal security threat.
More than 70 officers were killed in a suspected Maoist ambush in Chhattisgarh state last month in what was seen as one of the most daring attacks by the left-wing guerrillas on Indian security forces. The insurgents, on the other hand, have claimed since the 1960s to be fighting for the dispossessed.
In February, Chidambaram said that more than 900 people, including almost 600 civilians, were killed in Maoist-related incidents in 2009. About 200 suspected rebels were also slain as forces moved into areas under insurgent control, he said. I have copy this news from CNN News Online.
วันเสาร์ที่ 15 พฤษภาคม พ.ศ. 2553
Death toll climbs in Bangkok as Thai PM warns of civil war
At least eight people have been killed as Thai security forces declared a "live firing zone" in downtown Bangkok on Saturday following days of deadly clashes with anti-government protesters.
Saturday's fatality takes the total number of deaths to 25 since a government-backed clampdown on protesters exploded into violence on Thursday. More than 150 people have been wounded, according to emergency officials.
In a televised address, Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said a small group of protesters among the opposition "Red Shirts" was trying to foment civil war. The prime minister urged the citizenry to understand and embrace the government's stance. The country couldn't allow the rule of law to fail, he said, warning that the longer the protests continued, the higher the risk for the public.
"The government proposed a reconciliation plan but it was rejected," Abhisit said. "This benefits no one. It only benefits a small group which wants to harm the country and lead it to civil war. It is unbelieveble that they use peoples lives for political advantage."
Thousands of Red Shirts, who support ousted former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, have been occupying a central area of the city for weeks in a show of opposition to Abhisit.
The escalating unrest prompted the U.S. Embassy to issue a travel warning Saturday advising Americans to defer travel to Bangkok, spokeswoman Cynthia Brown told CNN.
Several other western embassies, including the UK, Japan, Canada, New Zealand and the Netherlands have also advised against travel to Bangkok. Tensions remained high Saturday, with protesters yelling and screaming as they stood behind barricades of tires, spikes and bamboo poles.
But a military spokesman said security forces planned to put the protesters under more pressure Saturday as they cordoned off an area of several square kilometers, CNN's Sara Sidner reported.
"In the next few days, they will be stepping up their security measures," said Panitan Wattanayagorn, the acting Thai government spokesman.
Security forces rolled out razor wire and erected warning signs as they surrounded the area where the protesters have been clustered, CNN's Dan Rivers reported. He said Thai troops had also come under fire although it was unclear who was shooting at them.
"There's been quite a fierce gunfight where we are in the northwest corner of this zone that they have tried to surround a Ratchaprarop Road which has been declared a live fire zone by the army," said Rivers.
"There are signs up all along it warning residents to stay indoors, that there is live ammunition being used. We've been effectively pinned down while the army tries to deal with incoming fire. We're not sure who's firing on them but it's certainly been a very volatile situation with lots of explosions and gunfire going on."
Sidner, a few kilometers away inside the security force's cordon reported witnessing two people shot. Both appeared to be unarmed she said. Those present at the scene claimed rooftop snipers were responsible for the shootings, she said. "The protesters clearly blame the army for the deadly force," said Sidner. "There is no way to know for sure who exactly is doing the shooting but neither of the people we saw injured were armed."
The Thai capital has been in chaos since Thursday, beset by gunfire, tear gas and stone-throwing that boiled over after Thai authorities set a new deadline to seal off the Bangkok intersection where protesters have gathered by the thousands for the past month.
A government official said Thai forces were slowly getting control of the downtown area, with video footage showing soldiers shooting rounds toward the area with protesters. Among those wounded on Friday was a journalist from a French television station who was shot in the leg.
The government said it was forced to take action after demonstrators disregarded an ultimatum by Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to vacate the intersection by Wednesday.
Wattanayagorn said Friday that security forces who have been the objects of attacks have no choice but to respond.
He told reporters that forces have been dutifully following the rules of engagement, which allow them to use live ammunition to protect themselves and their comrades. He assured Bangkok residents and foreigners that the forces have no intention of harming anyone.
The government, he said, is "very confident" it will be able to "stabilize the situation" and get it "under control very soon." Also, he said the prime minister is looking forward to working with others in hammering out reforms.
The United Front for Democracy, the formal name of the Red Shirt opposition, has been demanding that Abhisit dissolve the lower house of Parliament and call new elections. The Red Shirts support former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a bloodless military coup.
Tensions ramped up when Maj. Gen. Khattiya Sawasdipol -- a renegade general better known as Seh Daeng, which means Red Commander -- was shot and wounded by a sniper's bullet Thursday, leaving him in critical condition.
Brown, of the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok, said that family members of embassy personnel had been offered voluntary departure. She said the embassy would remain closed on Monday and that staff were assessing the situation "day to day." I have copy this news from CNN News Online.
Saturday's fatality takes the total number of deaths to 25 since a government-backed clampdown on protesters exploded into violence on Thursday. More than 150 people have been wounded, according to emergency officials.
In a televised address, Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said a small group of protesters among the opposition "Red Shirts" was trying to foment civil war. The prime minister urged the citizenry to understand and embrace the government's stance. The country couldn't allow the rule of law to fail, he said, warning that the longer the protests continued, the higher the risk for the public.
"The government proposed a reconciliation plan but it was rejected," Abhisit said. "This benefits no one. It only benefits a small group which wants to harm the country and lead it to civil war. It is unbelieveble that they use peoples lives for political advantage."
Thousands of Red Shirts, who support ousted former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, have been occupying a central area of the city for weeks in a show of opposition to Abhisit.
The escalating unrest prompted the U.S. Embassy to issue a travel warning Saturday advising Americans to defer travel to Bangkok, spokeswoman Cynthia Brown told CNN.
Several other western embassies, including the UK, Japan, Canada, New Zealand and the Netherlands have also advised against travel to Bangkok. Tensions remained high Saturday, with protesters yelling and screaming as they stood behind barricades of tires, spikes and bamboo poles.
But a military spokesman said security forces planned to put the protesters under more pressure Saturday as they cordoned off an area of several square kilometers, CNN's Sara Sidner reported.
"In the next few days, they will be stepping up their security measures," said Panitan Wattanayagorn, the acting Thai government spokesman.
Security forces rolled out razor wire and erected warning signs as they surrounded the area where the protesters have been clustered, CNN's Dan Rivers reported. He said Thai troops had also come under fire although it was unclear who was shooting at them.
"There's been quite a fierce gunfight where we are in the northwest corner of this zone that they have tried to surround a Ratchaprarop Road which has been declared a live fire zone by the army," said Rivers.
"There are signs up all along it warning residents to stay indoors, that there is live ammunition being used. We've been effectively pinned down while the army tries to deal with incoming fire. We're not sure who's firing on them but it's certainly been a very volatile situation with lots of explosions and gunfire going on."
Sidner, a few kilometers away inside the security force's cordon reported witnessing two people shot. Both appeared to be unarmed she said. Those present at the scene claimed rooftop snipers were responsible for the shootings, she said. "The protesters clearly blame the army for the deadly force," said Sidner. "There is no way to know for sure who exactly is doing the shooting but neither of the people we saw injured were armed."
The Thai capital has been in chaos since Thursday, beset by gunfire, tear gas and stone-throwing that boiled over after Thai authorities set a new deadline to seal off the Bangkok intersection where protesters have gathered by the thousands for the past month.
A government official said Thai forces were slowly getting control of the downtown area, with video footage showing soldiers shooting rounds toward the area with protesters. Among those wounded on Friday was a journalist from a French television station who was shot in the leg.
The government said it was forced to take action after demonstrators disregarded an ultimatum by Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to vacate the intersection by Wednesday.
Wattanayagorn said Friday that security forces who have been the objects of attacks have no choice but to respond.
He told reporters that forces have been dutifully following the rules of engagement, which allow them to use live ammunition to protect themselves and their comrades. He assured Bangkok residents and foreigners that the forces have no intention of harming anyone.
The government, he said, is "very confident" it will be able to "stabilize the situation" and get it "under control very soon." Also, he said the prime minister is looking forward to working with others in hammering out reforms.
The United Front for Democracy, the formal name of the Red Shirt opposition, has been demanding that Abhisit dissolve the lower house of Parliament and call new elections. The Red Shirts support former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a bloodless military coup.
Tensions ramped up when Maj. Gen. Khattiya Sawasdipol -- a renegade general better known as Seh Daeng, which means Red Commander -- was shot and wounded by a sniper's bullet Thursday, leaving him in critical condition.
Brown, of the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok, said that family members of embassy personnel had been offered voluntary departure. She said the embassy would remain closed on Monday and that staff were assessing the situation "day to day." I have copy this news from CNN News Online.
Death sentence over China kindergarten attack
A court in eastern China sentenced a man to death Saturday for attacking 29 kindergarten students and three teachers with a knife, state-run media said. The Taixing Intermediate People's Court found Xu Yuyuan, 47, guilty of intentional homicide after a half-day trial, Xinhua news agency said.
Xu told the court that his rage against society motivated him in the April 29 attacks, according to Xinhua. But he appealed the death sentence, arguing that the punishment was too severe since no one died in the attacks, Xinhua said. Chinese penal code says a person can be convicted of intentional homicide for acting on an intent to kill, the news agency reported.
A police probe found Xu had been unemployed since 2001, when he was fired by a local insurance company. He told police he carried out the attack because he was angry about a series of business and personal humiliations, Xinhua said. About 300 people attended Saturday's open trial, according to Xinhua.
Xu's sentence was the second death penalty conviction after a recent spate of school attacks that have prompted public outrage across China.
Zheng Minsheng, 42, was sentenced to death and executed on April 28 for attacking students in front of an elementary school in Fujian province, killing eight and wounding several others. Zheng also used a knife in the attacks, Xinhua reported.
Authorities said Zheng carried out the attack because he was frustrated at "failures in his romantic life," the news agency said.
At least four other such attacks on school children in China have been reported since March.
Guns are strictly regulated in China, but until recently large knives were not. Chinese authorities have recently issued a regulation requiring people to register with their national ID cards when they buy knives longer that 15 centimeters.
Other measures have been put in place. In April, the Ministry of Education ordered kindergartens, elementary and secondary schools to restrict strangers from entering the campuses. The ministry instructed schools across the country to hire security guards, install security facilities and ensure that pupils were escorted home. Schools were also urged to teach pupils to how to protect themselves. In some schools, security guards have been armed with "forks," long poles with semi-circular prongs that can be used to fight assailants. I have copy this news from CNN News Online.
Xu told the court that his rage against society motivated him in the April 29 attacks, according to Xinhua. But he appealed the death sentence, arguing that the punishment was too severe since no one died in the attacks, Xinhua said. Chinese penal code says a person can be convicted of intentional homicide for acting on an intent to kill, the news agency reported.
A police probe found Xu had been unemployed since 2001, when he was fired by a local insurance company. He told police he carried out the attack because he was angry about a series of business and personal humiliations, Xinhua said. About 300 people attended Saturday's open trial, according to Xinhua.
Xu's sentence was the second death penalty conviction after a recent spate of school attacks that have prompted public outrage across China.
Zheng Minsheng, 42, was sentenced to death and executed on April 28 for attacking students in front of an elementary school in Fujian province, killing eight and wounding several others. Zheng also used a knife in the attacks, Xinhua reported.
Authorities said Zheng carried out the attack because he was frustrated at "failures in his romantic life," the news agency said.
At least four other such attacks on school children in China have been reported since March.
Guns are strictly regulated in China, but until recently large knives were not. Chinese authorities have recently issued a regulation requiring people to register with their national ID cards when they buy knives longer that 15 centimeters.
Other measures have been put in place. In April, the Ministry of Education ordered kindergartens, elementary and secondary schools to restrict strangers from entering the campuses. The ministry instructed schools across the country to hire security guards, install security facilities and ensure that pupils were escorted home. Schools were also urged to teach pupils to how to protect themselves. In some schools, security guards have been armed with "forks," long poles with semi-circular prongs that can be used to fight assailants. I have copy this news from CNN News Online.
Man charged over missing teen's murder
A man has been charged with murder by police investigating the disappearance of a Sydney teenager this week. Eighteen-year-old Nona Belomesoff left her Cecils Hill home on Wednesday morning to meet two men she had befriended on Facebook. Her body has been found in a creek bed near Warminda Oval at Campbelltown in Sydney's south-west.
Detective Russell Oxford says the teenager believed she was going on a trip to work with an animal welfare organisation. "She was obviously excited to perhaps start work in an area with animals, which she loved," he said. He says police have been shaken by the murder and that the scene was devastating.
"I've been doing this for a long time and we all got very upset with what we found last night," he said. "We go out in the dark with torches and we find this young girl, 18 years old lying in a creek bed - it's just terrible."
Last night 20-year-old Chris Dannevig was charged with her murder. He has been refused bail and will appear at Campbelltown Local Court in the next week. Police say they will allege that the second man Ms Belomesoff believed she was meeting did not exist. I have copy this news from ABC News Online.
Detective Russell Oxford says the teenager believed she was going on a trip to work with an animal welfare organisation. "She was obviously excited to perhaps start work in an area with animals, which she loved," he said. He says police have been shaken by the murder and that the scene was devastating.
"I've been doing this for a long time and we all got very upset with what we found last night," he said. "We go out in the dark with torches and we find this young girl, 18 years old lying in a creek bed - it's just terrible."
Last night 20-year-old Chris Dannevig was charged with her murder. He has been refused bail and will appear at Campbelltown Local Court in the next week. Police say they will allege that the second man Ms Belomesoff believed she was meeting did not exist. I have copy this news from ABC News Online.
Australians trapped in hotel amid Thai clashes
A group of Australians is trapped in an area of central Bangkok that is now locked down by fighting between protesters and government forces. The tourists are trapped in the Pan Pacific Hotel which is now in an area that has been locked down by soldiers.
There is heavy fighting in the street in front of the hotel which is adjacent to the red shirts' rally site in the city centre. The group can not leave due to shooting and explosions. The current official death toll is 16 with 141 injured, but that will rise. One child has been killed. There is increasing fear about snipers shooting people from above.
Red shirt leaders have called on their supporters in rural areas to come into the city. They say they want to re-open negotiations, but the government says it will not talk until the protestors end their rally.
Prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has not been seen in the media since before the army moved in.
Meanwhile, Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) continues to advise those planning trips to Thailand to reconsider, due to the volatile political situation in the country. I have copy this news from ABC News Online.
There is heavy fighting in the street in front of the hotel which is adjacent to the red shirts' rally site in the city centre. The group can not leave due to shooting and explosions. The current official death toll is 16 with 141 injured, but that will rise. One child has been killed. There is increasing fear about snipers shooting people from above.
Red shirt leaders have called on their supporters in rural areas to come into the city. They say they want to re-open negotiations, but the government says it will not talk until the protestors end their rally.
Prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has not been seen in the media since before the army moved in.
Meanwhile, Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) continues to advise those planning trips to Thailand to reconsider, due to the volatile political situation in the country. I have copy this news from ABC News Online.
วันศุกร์ที่ 14 พฤษภาคม พ.ศ. 2553
Reporter: Bangkok sniper bullet 'felt like it grazed my head'
A journalist who was interviewing a key political protest leader in Bangkok said the sniper bullet that struck the man came so close that it "felt like it grazed my head."
Describing a chaotic scene on the streets of the Thai capital Thursday night, Thomas Fuller of the International Herald Tribune described to CNN how Maj. Gen. Khattiya Sawasdipol was shot in the head as he was interviewing the opposition figure. "I was facing him, he was answering my questions, looking at me and the bullet hit him in the forehead, from what I could tell," Fuller told CNN's Michael Holmes. "It looks like the bullet came over my head and struck him. I don't have any way of confirming this beyond what I remember from the scene but it felt like it grazed my head."
Thomas Fuller describes scene in Bangkok.
Fuller and other journalists were interviewing the general -- better known as Seh Daeng -- in makeshift barricades that protesters have set up in downtown Bangkok. The United Front for Democracy (UDD) has turned the posh commercial center of Bangkok into a makeshift fortress as they continue to demand that Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva dissolve the lower house of Parliament and call new elections. The protesters' barricades appear as a combination "of 'Mad Max' and some medieval scene," Fuller said. Bamboo pikes and rubber tire barricades have been formed as a makeshift camp by the protesters, Fuller said.
iReport: Are you there? Send your images, video.
Fuller said he was just inside the barricades when he was interviewing Seh Daeng. The opposition figure was facing out of the barricades and into Bangkok's business district of tall office buildings. "He was standing in the same location for a while when I was talking to him but he was moving around, he was gesticulating," Fuller said. "He wasn't standing still, he was bobbing his head." Seh Daeng did not appear to be armed or have bodyguards, but was dressed in camouflage jacket and a floppy hat, Fuller said. The opposition leader was listed in critical condition from the shooting, his guards said. Violence erupted after Thai authorities set a new deadline to seal off the Bangkok intersection where protesters have gathered by the thousands for the past month.
Escalating violence in Bangkok.
The government said it has been forced to take action after demonstrators disregarded an ultimatum by Abhisit to vacate the intersection by Wednesday. The Red Shirts support former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a bloodless military coup in 2006.
What are the protests about?
Seh Daeng -- or Red Commander -- is a controversial public figure, even within the protest movement, Fuller said. Some Thai opposition leaders see him as an impediment to a peaceful resolution to the political stalemate that has gripped Thai politics, Fuller said.
"He's a renegade in all sense," Fuller said. "He's a renegade from the army, a hardliner within the protest movement. He told me today he thought they (other opposition leaders) were being cowardly and he wanted to carry on."More than two dozen civilians and military personnel have died in police-protester clashes in the ongoing unrest. I have copy this news from CNN News Online.
Describing a chaotic scene on the streets of the Thai capital Thursday night, Thomas Fuller of the International Herald Tribune described to CNN how Maj. Gen. Khattiya Sawasdipol was shot in the head as he was interviewing the opposition figure. "I was facing him, he was answering my questions, looking at me and the bullet hit him in the forehead, from what I could tell," Fuller told CNN's Michael Holmes. "It looks like the bullet came over my head and struck him. I don't have any way of confirming this beyond what I remember from the scene but it felt like it grazed my head."
Thomas Fuller describes scene in Bangkok.
Fuller and other journalists were interviewing the general -- better known as Seh Daeng -- in makeshift barricades that protesters have set up in downtown Bangkok. The United Front for Democracy (UDD) has turned the posh commercial center of Bangkok into a makeshift fortress as they continue to demand that Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva dissolve the lower house of Parliament and call new elections. The protesters' barricades appear as a combination "of 'Mad Max' and some medieval scene," Fuller said. Bamboo pikes and rubber tire barricades have been formed as a makeshift camp by the protesters, Fuller said.
iReport: Are you there? Send your images, video.
Fuller said he was just inside the barricades when he was interviewing Seh Daeng. The opposition figure was facing out of the barricades and into Bangkok's business district of tall office buildings. "He was standing in the same location for a while when I was talking to him but he was moving around, he was gesticulating," Fuller said. "He wasn't standing still, he was bobbing his head." Seh Daeng did not appear to be armed or have bodyguards, but was dressed in camouflage jacket and a floppy hat, Fuller said. The opposition leader was listed in critical condition from the shooting, his guards said. Violence erupted after Thai authorities set a new deadline to seal off the Bangkok intersection where protesters have gathered by the thousands for the past month.
Escalating violence in Bangkok.
The government said it has been forced to take action after demonstrators disregarded an ultimatum by Abhisit to vacate the intersection by Wednesday. The Red Shirts support former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a bloodless military coup in 2006.
What are the protests about?
Seh Daeng -- or Red Commander -- is a controversial public figure, even within the protest movement, Fuller said. Some Thai opposition leaders see him as an impediment to a peaceful resolution to the political stalemate that has gripped Thai politics, Fuller said.
"He's a renegade in all sense," Fuller said. "He's a renegade from the army, a hardliner within the protest movement. He told me today he thought they (other opposition leaders) were being cowardly and he wanted to carry on."More than two dozen civilians and military personnel have died in police-protester clashes in the ongoing unrest. I have copy this news from CNN News Online.
DNA clue to life at high altitude
The ability of Tibetans to live on the "roof of the world" may be down to their DNA, US researchers say. University of Utah researchers found 10 genes which help Tibetans thrive at heights where others get sick. Two of the genes are linked to haemoglobin - the substance in blood that transports oxygen round the body.
Doctors say the research, published in Science, could lead to treatments for severe forms of altitude sickness and other illnesses. Altitude sickness is the name given to ill-effects caused by the body's struggle to deal with a lack of oxygen at high altitude.
It can lead to brain and lung complications, which can threaten even the fittest mountaineers.
People native to high altitudes appear to be immune to such effects, through thousands of years of genetic selection. Tibetans have evolved genes that others living at high altitudes - such as in the Andes - have not. Professor Lynn Jorde, of the University of Utah School of Medicine, said: "For the first time, we have genes that explain that adaptation."
Therapies
The study looked at DNA extracted from blood samples taken from 75 villagers living at 15,000ft (4,500m). The Utah team, in collaboration with the Qinghai University Medical School, China, compared stretches of their genetic code with that of lowland Chinese and Japanese populations. A handful of genes turned up, including 10 unique oxygen-processing genes.
Two appear to contribute to lower levels of haemoglobin in the blood, which may help the body fight altitude sickness. Prof Josef Prchal of the University of Utah said the work could help in developing treatments for illnesses that affect people everywhere. He said: "What's unique about Tibetans is they don't develop high red blood cells counts. "If we can understand this, we can develop therapies for human disease."
Darwinism
Professor Hugh Montgomery is a geneticist and director of the UCL Institute for Human Health and Performance at University College London. He said the study helped in the understanding of how patients with the likes of heart failure and lung disease cope with low oxygen in the blood. He told the BBC: "It's important clinically because it helps us understand how patients cope with low oxygen levels. "There are opportunities here for developing new drug therapies."
He said the work was also important scientifically, by showing how Darwin's science coupled with modern technology could be used to identify beneficial genes. "It's a lovely example of Darwinism," he added. I have copy this news from BBC News Online.
Doctors say the research, published in Science, could lead to treatments for severe forms of altitude sickness and other illnesses. Altitude sickness is the name given to ill-effects caused by the body's struggle to deal with a lack of oxygen at high altitude.
It can lead to brain and lung complications, which can threaten even the fittest mountaineers.
People native to high altitudes appear to be immune to such effects, through thousands of years of genetic selection. Tibetans have evolved genes that others living at high altitudes - such as in the Andes - have not. Professor Lynn Jorde, of the University of Utah School of Medicine, said: "For the first time, we have genes that explain that adaptation."
Therapies
The study looked at DNA extracted from blood samples taken from 75 villagers living at 15,000ft (4,500m). The Utah team, in collaboration with the Qinghai University Medical School, China, compared stretches of their genetic code with that of lowland Chinese and Japanese populations. A handful of genes turned up, including 10 unique oxygen-processing genes.
Two appear to contribute to lower levels of haemoglobin in the blood, which may help the body fight altitude sickness. Prof Josef Prchal of the University of Utah said the work could help in developing treatments for illnesses that affect people everywhere. He said: "What's unique about Tibetans is they don't develop high red blood cells counts. "If we can understand this, we can develop therapies for human disease."
Darwinism
Professor Hugh Montgomery is a geneticist and director of the UCL Institute for Human Health and Performance at University College London. He said the study helped in the understanding of how patients with the likes of heart failure and lung disease cope with low oxygen in the blood. He told the BBC: "It's important clinically because it helps us understand how patients cope with low oxygen levels. "There are opportunities here for developing new drug therapies."
He said the work was also important scientifically, by showing how Darwin's science coupled with modern technology could be used to identify beneficial genes. "It's a lovely example of Darwinism," he added. I have copy this news from BBC News Online.
วันพฤหัสบดีที่ 13 พฤษภาคม พ.ศ. 2553
Quarter of U.S. women ambivalent toward pregnancy
Nearly one in four women of childbearing age in the United States are unconcerned about getting pregnant -- but aren't trying either -- and would be happy either way, according to a recent study. "This finding dramatically challenges the idea that women are always trying, one way or another, to either get pregnant or not get pregnant," said Julia McQuillan, professor of sociology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the study's lead author.
About 71 percent questioned in the study of nearly 4,000 women ages 25 to 45 who were sexually active said they were not trying to get pregnant, while 6 percent said they were. But nearly one in four, or 23 percent, told researchers they were "OK either way," meaning they were neither trying to conceive, nor trying to prevent a pregnancy. "If health-care providers only ask women if they are currently trying to get pregnant and women say no, then the assumption is that they are trying not to get pregnant," McQuillan said. "Clearly, many women are less intentional about pregnancy. Yet this group should be treated as if they will likely conceive and should therefore get recommendations such as ensuring adequate folic acid intake and limiting alcohol intake."
The study comes at a time when the demography of motherhood in the United States has shifted dramatically over the last 20 years. The mothers of today's newborns are older and better educated than they were in 1990, a separate Pew Research Center study shows. They also are less likely to be white and less likely to be married.
The average age for a first-time mother in the United States was 25 in 2008, the study says, a year older than in 1990. Among all women who had a baby in 2008, the average age was 27, also up a year from 1990. "In 2008, a record 41 percent of births in the United States were to unmarried women, up from 28 percent in 1990," the Pew study said. The share of births outside of marriage was highest for black women at 72 percent, followed by Hispanics at 53 percent, whites at 29 percent and Asians at 17 percent. The rate of increase over that timeframe was highest for white and Hispanic women.
When asked the various reasons why they decided to have their first child, the vast majority of parents -- 87 percent -- answered, "The joy of having children," was important or very important, the Pew study says. But nearly half also said there was no particular reason -- "It just happened." I have copy this news from CNN News.
About 71 percent questioned in the study of nearly 4,000 women ages 25 to 45 who were sexually active said they were not trying to get pregnant, while 6 percent said they were. But nearly one in four, or 23 percent, told researchers they were "OK either way," meaning they were neither trying to conceive, nor trying to prevent a pregnancy. "If health-care providers only ask women if they are currently trying to get pregnant and women say no, then the assumption is that they are trying not to get pregnant," McQuillan said. "Clearly, many women are less intentional about pregnancy. Yet this group should be treated as if they will likely conceive and should therefore get recommendations such as ensuring adequate folic acid intake and limiting alcohol intake."
The study comes at a time when the demography of motherhood in the United States has shifted dramatically over the last 20 years. The mothers of today's newborns are older and better educated than they were in 1990, a separate Pew Research Center study shows. They also are less likely to be white and less likely to be married.
The average age for a first-time mother in the United States was 25 in 2008, the study says, a year older than in 1990. Among all women who had a baby in 2008, the average age was 27, also up a year from 1990. "In 2008, a record 41 percent of births in the United States were to unmarried women, up from 28 percent in 1990," the Pew study said. The share of births outside of marriage was highest for black women at 72 percent, followed by Hispanics at 53 percent, whites at 29 percent and Asians at 17 percent. The rate of increase over that timeframe was highest for white and Hispanic women.
When asked the various reasons why they decided to have their first child, the vast majority of parents -- 87 percent -- answered, "The joy of having children," was important or very important, the Pew study says. But nearly half also said there was no particular reason -- "It just happened." I have copy this news from CNN News.
Thai red-shirt supporter Gen Khattiya 'shot'
A renegade Thai general who backs anti-government protesters has been shot, shortly after a deadline for troops to seal their Bangkok protest camp passed. Khattiya Sawasdipol, better known as Seh Daeng (Commander Red), was seriously injured, according to an aide quoted by AP news agency. The military had said it would start surrounding the protest camp at 1800 (1100 GMT) and advised people to leave.
Gunfire and an explosion were heard and there were reports of casualties. It was not clear where the firing was coming from. Earlier, a BBC reporter saw trucks unloading heavily-armed soldiers several blocks from the encampment. Shops and businesses near the encampment were urged to close before the deadline and transport was suspended. The protesters - who have been occupying parts of Bangkok for more than two months - want Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to dissolve parliament and call fresh elections.
The BBC's Rachel Harvey in Bangkok says a column of about 200 soldiers had been seen moving towards the camp. Street lights have been switched off in the camp, plunging parts of it into darkness, but protesters continue to defiantly blast out music, our correspondent says.
Gen Khattiya is a suspended army officer who advised the red-shirts on military strategy.
He was part of the protesters' more radical wing and had accused red-shirt leaders of not being hard-line enough.
Mr Abhisit had offered polls on 14 November - but the two sides failed to agree a deal because of divisions over who should be held accountable for a deadly crackdown on protests last month.
On Wednesday, the government announced and then cancelled a plan to cut off water and power supplies to the protesters. I have copy this news from BBC News.
Gunfire and an explosion were heard and there were reports of casualties. It was not clear where the firing was coming from. Earlier, a BBC reporter saw trucks unloading heavily-armed soldiers several blocks from the encampment. Shops and businesses near the encampment were urged to close before the deadline and transport was suspended. The protesters - who have been occupying parts of Bangkok for more than two months - want Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to dissolve parliament and call fresh elections.
The BBC's Rachel Harvey in Bangkok says a column of about 200 soldiers had been seen moving towards the camp. Street lights have been switched off in the camp, plunging parts of it into darkness, but protesters continue to defiantly blast out music, our correspondent says.
Gen Khattiya is a suspended army officer who advised the red-shirts on military strategy.
He was part of the protesters' more radical wing and had accused red-shirt leaders of not being hard-line enough.
Mr Abhisit had offered polls on 14 November - but the two sides failed to agree a deal because of divisions over who should be held accountable for a deadly crackdown on protests last month.
On Wednesday, the government announced and then cancelled a plan to cut off water and power supplies to the protesters. I have copy this news from BBC News.
วันพุธที่ 12 พฤษภาคม พ.ศ. 2553
60 dead in Russian mine blasts
The death toll from a Russian coal mine accident has reached 60, with 30 people still missing, the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry said Wednesday.
Rescue teams have combed more than 75 percent of the mine's labyrinth of underground tunnels looking for survivors and the dead.
"We have about 24 hours left to rescue miners (who are alive), if they are still there," emergency Minister Sergei Shoigu said on the ministry's website.
The gas explosion in the Raspadskaya mine occurred at 8:55 p.m. Saturday (12:55 p.m. ET), when 359 people were working at the time. The mine is located near the western Siberian town of Mezhdurechensk, more than 2,300 miles east of Moscow. Nearly 300 people were evacuated shortly after the explosion.
More than 50 rescue workers had gone into the mine to recover the rest of the victims when a second gas explosion rocked the structure about four-and-a-half hours later, causing more fatalities and destruction, officials said. Dozens of miners and rescue workers were trapped as a result of that second, much more powerful explosion, and all communications with them were disrupted.
Thick smoke and high methane concentrations in the mine prevented active rescue operations underground on Sunday and most of Monday morning, Russian officials said.
The operation was further complicated by the very size of the mine: Raspadskaya is one of the largest in Russia's mining industry. It has dozens of underground tunnels with a total length of almost 200 miles, according to Kemerovo Gov. Aman Tuleyev.
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Russian state television Tuesday that the investigation is closely analyzing all possible clues to determine the cause of the blasts.
The victims' families will be paid 1 million rubles (more than $33,000) in moral damages, and underage children of those killed in the accident will be paid a pension of 10,000 rubles (more than $330) every month until they reach the age of 18, the Russian government decided Tuesday. I have copy this news from CNN News.
Rescue teams have combed more than 75 percent of the mine's labyrinth of underground tunnels looking for survivors and the dead.
"We have about 24 hours left to rescue miners (who are alive), if they are still there," emergency Minister Sergei Shoigu said on the ministry's website.
The gas explosion in the Raspadskaya mine occurred at 8:55 p.m. Saturday (12:55 p.m. ET), when 359 people were working at the time. The mine is located near the western Siberian town of Mezhdurechensk, more than 2,300 miles east of Moscow. Nearly 300 people were evacuated shortly after the explosion.
More than 50 rescue workers had gone into the mine to recover the rest of the victims when a second gas explosion rocked the structure about four-and-a-half hours later, causing more fatalities and destruction, officials said. Dozens of miners and rescue workers were trapped as a result of that second, much more powerful explosion, and all communications with them were disrupted.
Thick smoke and high methane concentrations in the mine prevented active rescue operations underground on Sunday and most of Monday morning, Russian officials said.
The operation was further complicated by the very size of the mine: Raspadskaya is one of the largest in Russia's mining industry. It has dozens of underground tunnels with a total length of almost 200 miles, according to Kemerovo Gov. Aman Tuleyev.
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Russian state television Tuesday that the investigation is closely analyzing all possible clues to determine the cause of the blasts.
The victims' families will be paid 1 million rubles (more than $33,000) in moral damages, and underage children of those killed in the accident will be paid a pension of 10,000 rubles (more than $330) every month until they reach the age of 18, the Russian government decided Tuesday. I have copy this news from CNN News.
Thai government gives protesters Thursday deadline
Thai authorities vowed to shut off power, cut supplies and seal off at midnight Thursday a central Bangkok intersection where anti-government protesters have amassed by the thousands for the last month.
The government's decision comes after demonstrators disregarded an ultimatum by Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajjiva to vacate the Ratchaprasong intersection by Wednesday.
The anti-government United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD) has turned the posh commercial center into a fortress of tires and bamboo sticks as they continue their demand that Abhisit dissolve the lower house of the parliament and call new elections.
The government said that starting at 12 a.m., it will cut off water, power, telephone lines and transportation services in the area.
Army spokesman, Col. Sansern Kaewkumnerd, said all non-protesters should avoid the area. If they have business there, they have to show proof, such as ID cards.
The government announcement was immediately met with defiance by the UDD, whose supporters are called the "Red Shirts" because of the clothes they wear.
"The Red will continue staying in the area," said a party leader, Weng Tojirakarn. He cautioned the government against acting rashly, warning it could lead to "bloodshed."
The Red Shirts are supporters of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a bloodless military coup in 2006. More than two dozen civilians and military personnel have died in deadly police-protester clashes in the ongoing unrest.
Over the weekend, two Thai police officers were killed and eight people injured in violence that began Friday night and lasted into early Saturday. I have copy this news from CNN News.
The government's decision comes after demonstrators disregarded an ultimatum by Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajjiva to vacate the Ratchaprasong intersection by Wednesday.
The anti-government United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD) has turned the posh commercial center into a fortress of tires and bamboo sticks as they continue their demand that Abhisit dissolve the lower house of the parliament and call new elections.
The government said that starting at 12 a.m., it will cut off water, power, telephone lines and transportation services in the area.
Army spokesman, Col. Sansern Kaewkumnerd, said all non-protesters should avoid the area. If they have business there, they have to show proof, such as ID cards.
The government announcement was immediately met with defiance by the UDD, whose supporters are called the "Red Shirts" because of the clothes they wear.
"The Red will continue staying in the area," said a party leader, Weng Tojirakarn. He cautioned the government against acting rashly, warning it could lead to "bloodshed."
The Red Shirts are supporters of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a bloodless military coup in 2006. More than two dozen civilians and military personnel have died in deadly police-protester clashes in the ongoing unrest.
Over the weekend, two Thai police officers were killed and eight people injured in violence that began Friday night and lasted into early Saturday. I have copy this news from CNN News.
วันอังคารที่ 11 พฤษภาคม พ.ศ. 2553
Tiger's swing coach quits
Tiger Woods' troubled career took another blow Monday, when one of his coaches said he would no longer be working with golf's No. 1 player. "Just so there is no confusion, I would like to make it clear that this is my decision," Hank Haney, Woods' swing coach, said in a statement posted to his website. "Tiger Woods and I will always be friends, but I believe that there is a time and place for everything, and I feel at this time and at this place in my life I want to move forward in other areas."
The announcement came a day after Woods dropped out of the final round of The Players Championship in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, complaining of "a bulging disk" in his neck.
"I'm having a hard time with the pain," Woods said at a news conference Sunday. "There's tingling down my fingers, just the right side. Setting up over the ball is fine but once I start making the motion, it's downhill from there."
Woods said anti-inflammatory drugs have been ineffective and plans to have an MRI. Woods has been at the white-hot center of controversy since revelations of extramarital affairs arose following a car accident in late November. In the ensuing months, several alleged lovers have come forth, and Woods spent 45 days at a rehabilitation center for what the golfer called "personal" issues.
He returned to competition in early April for the Masters tournament in Augusta, Georgia, in which Woods placed fourth. "As we all know, Tiger has been through a lot in the last six months, and I really believe that given the chance, mind free and injury free, we will all see Tiger Woods play once again like we all know he can," Haney said.
"I wish Tiger well, not only with his golf, but in finding peace and happiness in all aspects of his life. Tiger knows that if he ever needs me in anyway, whether it be with his golf or just as a friend he can always call," he added. "I will always, as I have been in the past, be there for him." I have copy this news from CNN News online.
The announcement came a day after Woods dropped out of the final round of The Players Championship in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, complaining of "a bulging disk" in his neck.
"I'm having a hard time with the pain," Woods said at a news conference Sunday. "There's tingling down my fingers, just the right side. Setting up over the ball is fine but once I start making the motion, it's downhill from there."
Woods said anti-inflammatory drugs have been ineffective and plans to have an MRI. Woods has been at the white-hot center of controversy since revelations of extramarital affairs arose following a car accident in late November. In the ensuing months, several alleged lovers have come forth, and Woods spent 45 days at a rehabilitation center for what the golfer called "personal" issues.
He returned to competition in early April for the Masters tournament in Augusta, Georgia, in which Woods placed fourth. "As we all know, Tiger has been through a lot in the last six months, and I really believe that given the chance, mind free and injury free, we will all see Tiger Woods play once again like we all know he can," Haney said.
"I wish Tiger well, not only with his golf, but in finding peace and happiness in all aspects of his life. Tiger knows that if he ever needs me in anyway, whether it be with his golf or just as a friend he can always call," he added. "I will always, as I have been in the past, be there for him." I have copy this news from CNN News online.
Investigators prepare to exhume mass graves in Serbia
Investigators are preparing to exhume a possible mass grave site in Serbia where witnesses say the bodies of 250 ethnic Albanians are buried, prosecutors said.
The potential graves are beneath a company building and a parking lot in the town of Rudnica, a few miles north of Kosovo's border, the Office of the Serbian War Crimes Prosecutor said Monday.
Prosecutors said bodies may have been originally buried in Kosovo and later exhumed and transferred to Serbia. At least five mass graves have been discovered in Serbia in the past decade, the prosecutor's office said.
Prosecutors are working with investigators from the European Union Rule of Law Mission Kosovo to search the site. "We have been working on this particular case for some time. We have provided information and intelligence relating to the possible site of a mass grave ... But we are still waiting for confirmation if this site has indeed been located," EULEX Kosovo spokeswoman Kristiina Herodes said in a statement.
Prosecutors said the building at the site was built after 1999. Cases presented to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia have alleged that military forces of the former Republic of Yugoslavia and Serbia systematically shelled towns and villages, burned homes and farms, killed Kosovo Albanian civilians and sexually assaulted Kosovo Albanian women during a 1999 campaign.
Vlastimir Djordjevic, a top official in Serbia's Ministry of Internal Affairs at the time, is currently on trial before the tribunal for alleged offenses in Kosovo. Other former high-ranking Serbian officials have been tried and found guilty of war crimes in Kosovo.
Former Serbian President Slobodan Milosovic was on trial between 2002 and 2006 for alleged crimes in Kosovo, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. He died from natural causes in March 2006, before the trial ended and before a judgment was made. I have copy this news from CNN News online.
The potential graves are beneath a company building and a parking lot in the town of Rudnica, a few miles north of Kosovo's border, the Office of the Serbian War Crimes Prosecutor said Monday.
Prosecutors said bodies may have been originally buried in Kosovo and later exhumed and transferred to Serbia. At least five mass graves have been discovered in Serbia in the past decade, the prosecutor's office said.
Prosecutors are working with investigators from the European Union Rule of Law Mission Kosovo to search the site. "We have been working on this particular case for some time. We have provided information and intelligence relating to the possible site of a mass grave ... But we are still waiting for confirmation if this site has indeed been located," EULEX Kosovo spokeswoman Kristiina Herodes said in a statement.
Prosecutors said the building at the site was built after 1999. Cases presented to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia have alleged that military forces of the former Republic of Yugoslavia and Serbia systematically shelled towns and villages, burned homes and farms, killed Kosovo Albanian civilians and sexually assaulted Kosovo Albanian women during a 1999 campaign.
Vlastimir Djordjevic, a top official in Serbia's Ministry of Internal Affairs at the time, is currently on trial before the tribunal for alleged offenses in Kosovo. Other former high-ranking Serbian officials have been tried and found guilty of war crimes in Kosovo.
Former Serbian President Slobodan Milosovic was on trial between 2002 and 2006 for alleged crimes in Kosovo, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. He died from natural causes in March 2006, before the trial ended and before a judgment was made. I have copy this news from CNN News online.
วันเสาร์ที่ 8 พฤษภาคม พ.ศ. 2553
Murdered Chinese man reappears after 10 years
A Chinese man who was supposedly hacked to death in a fight has reappeared in his hometown after 10 years, state media said, raising questions about police torture to extract a confession from the alleged killer.
Zhao Zhensheng, the supposed killer, has served 10 years of a 29-year sentence after confessing to killing Zhao Zuohui in a hatchet fight in central China's Henan province, the China Daily reported this weekend.A headless body was found in a village well about a year after the fight, at which point Zhao was arrested and confessed to the killing.
The victim, Zhao Zuohui, reappeared in the village on May 2 to seek welfare support. He had fled after the fight because he feared he had killed the now-imprisoned Zhao.
Convictions in the Chinese court system are strongly dependent on confessions, motivating police to use force to get a confession and close the case. A series of deaths in police custody over the last year has emboldened reformers and aided a fight by the Ministry of Justice to wrest control of detention centres from the police.
The courts conducted an audit of all death penalty cases after a woman in Hubei province reappeared over a decade after her husband, She Xianglin, was jailed for her murder, in a case that also rested on his confession to police.
Relatives who maintained She's innocence were also jailed.
The imprisoned Zhao's brother told the local Dahe Newspaper that police had forced him to drink chili water and set off fireworks over his head to force the confession.
The imprisoned Zhao narrowly escaped being executed for the crime. His sentence was commuted from a death penalty with two years' reprieve.
While in prison, his wife left him for another man and three of his four children were given to other families for adoption, the China Daily said. I have copy this news from ABC News.
Zhao Zhensheng, the supposed killer, has served 10 years of a 29-year sentence after confessing to killing Zhao Zuohui in a hatchet fight in central China's Henan province, the China Daily reported this weekend.A headless body was found in a village well about a year after the fight, at which point Zhao was arrested and confessed to the killing.
The victim, Zhao Zuohui, reappeared in the village on May 2 to seek welfare support. He had fled after the fight because he feared he had killed the now-imprisoned Zhao.
Convictions in the Chinese court system are strongly dependent on confessions, motivating police to use force to get a confession and close the case. A series of deaths in police custody over the last year has emboldened reformers and aided a fight by the Ministry of Justice to wrest control of detention centres from the police.
The courts conducted an audit of all death penalty cases after a woman in Hubei province reappeared over a decade after her husband, She Xianglin, was jailed for her murder, in a case that also rested on his confession to police.
Relatives who maintained She's innocence were also jailed.
The imprisoned Zhao's brother told the local Dahe Newspaper that police had forced him to drink chili water and set off fireworks over his head to force the confession.
The imprisoned Zhao narrowly escaped being executed for the crime. His sentence was commuted from a death penalty with two years' reprieve.
While in prison, his wife left him for another man and three of his four children were given to other families for adoption, the China Daily said. I have copy this news from ABC News.
Growth removed from Spanish king's lung
Doctors said they successfully removed a growth from the right lung of Spain's King Juan Carlos in surgery Saturday. A biopsy revealed no malignant cells in the growth, doctors at University Hospital in Barcelona, Spain, told reporters.
Doctors said the king was doing well and recovering after surgery. Spain's King Juan Carlos will have surgery to remove a growth from his right lung on Saturday, the royal palace confirmed.
The growth was spotted during an April 28 examination, according to the palace.
The 72-year-old king has held the throne for nearly 35 years. On Friday, he met with U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, who traveled to Europe to address the European Parliament earlier in the week. I have copy this news from CNN News.
Doctors said the king was doing well and recovering after surgery. Spain's King Juan Carlos will have surgery to remove a growth from his right lung on Saturday, the royal palace confirmed.
The growth was spotted during an April 28 examination, according to the palace.
The 72-year-old king has held the throne for nearly 35 years. On Friday, he met with U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, who traveled to Europe to address the European Parliament earlier in the week. I have copy this news from CNN News.
Severe storm kills 54 in India
A powerful storm has killed at least 54 people in northern and eastern India, authorities said Saturday. The storm packed strong winds that ripped through parts of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh states on Friday, according to officials.
Authorities have confirmed 29 deaths in Uttar Pradesh and 25 in neighboring Bihar.
The storm lashed at least 10 districts of Uttar Pradesh, said Shrish Dubey, a joint secretary with the state's disaster-management department. Many of the deaths were blamed on lightning strikes and falling trees.
In Bihar, raging winds overturned a bus, the state's disaster-management special secretary Satendra told CNN. "It was like a cyclone," said Satendra, who uses only one name. He said experts were examining the nature of the storm.
Authorities in both states had not yet estimated the damage to homes and infrastructure, but officials in Bihar said they feared it could be extensive in their state.
A violent storm last month killed at least 122 people in eastern India along the border with Bangladesh, officials said. About 300,000 homes were damaged when a cyclone struck parts of West Bengal and Bihar states April 14. I have copy this news from CNN News [http://edition.cnn.com/].
Authorities have confirmed 29 deaths in Uttar Pradesh and 25 in neighboring Bihar.
The storm lashed at least 10 districts of Uttar Pradesh, said Shrish Dubey, a joint secretary with the state's disaster-management department. Many of the deaths were blamed on lightning strikes and falling trees.
In Bihar, raging winds overturned a bus, the state's disaster-management special secretary Satendra told CNN. "It was like a cyclone," said Satendra, who uses only one name. He said experts were examining the nature of the storm.
Authorities in both states had not yet estimated the damage to homes and infrastructure, but officials in Bihar said they feared it could be extensive in their state.
A violent storm last month killed at least 122 people in eastern India along the border with Bangladesh, officials said. About 300,000 homes were damaged when a cyclone struck parts of West Bengal and Bihar states April 14. I have copy this news from CNN News [http://edition.cnn.com/].
วันพุธที่ 5 พฤษภาคม พ.ศ. 2553
Funeral home accused of stacking bodies in a garage
A Maryland funeral home has lost its license after investigators found about 40 bodies stacked on top of each other, leaking fluid, in a garage, a state official said.
The state Board of Morticians and Funeral Directors revoked the license of Chambers Funeral Home & Crematorium in Riverdale, Maryland after an April 26 visit to the site.
Hari Close, president of the the state funeral board, told CNN Tuesday that some of the bodies were cadavers who had been donated to a local university for research. Other bodies came from other funeral homes, Close said.
The bodies were supposed to be cremated, but investigators were alarmed at how they were stored in the garage while they awaited cremation.
"Even somebody who donates their body to science, they still should be treated with dignity," said Close. "Not to mention the health and safety issues with the body fluids flowing out."
William Chambers, co-owner of the funeral home, told CNN-affiliate WJLA said that he hopes to work with the state to resolve the alleged violations.
When investigators inspected the funeral home they were warned by an employee, who told them, "Don't get upset about all the bodies in there," according to documents released by the state funeral board.
Inside the room was a "large pile, approximately 12 by 12 feet, of body bags containing human remains strewn on the floor of the garage in front of a removal van. There was visible leakage from the body bags as well as a pungent odor," the documents said.
"The investigator also observed writing on some of the body bags," they said. "However, fluid leakage from the body bags caused the writing to smear and become illegible. As a result, it was not immediately possible to determine the identity of the remains."
There will be a hearing at the end of the month to determine whether the funeral home will get its license back, Close said. I have copy this news from CNN News (http://edition.cnn.com/ ).
The state Board of Morticians and Funeral Directors revoked the license of Chambers Funeral Home & Crematorium in Riverdale, Maryland after an April 26 visit to the site.
Hari Close, president of the the state funeral board, told CNN Tuesday that some of the bodies were cadavers who had been donated to a local university for research. Other bodies came from other funeral homes, Close said.
The bodies were supposed to be cremated, but investigators were alarmed at how they were stored in the garage while they awaited cremation.
"Even somebody who donates their body to science, they still should be treated with dignity," said Close. "Not to mention the health and safety issues with the body fluids flowing out."
William Chambers, co-owner of the funeral home, told CNN-affiliate WJLA said that he hopes to work with the state to resolve the alleged violations.
When investigators inspected the funeral home they were warned by an employee, who told them, "Don't get upset about all the bodies in there," according to documents released by the state funeral board.
Inside the room was a "large pile, approximately 12 by 12 feet, of body bags containing human remains strewn on the floor of the garage in front of a removal van. There was visible leakage from the body bags as well as a pungent odor," the documents said.
"The investigator also observed writing on some of the body bags," they said. "However, fluid leakage from the body bags caused the writing to smear and become illegible. As a result, it was not immediately possible to determine the identity of the remains."
There will be a hearing at the end of the month to determine whether the funeral home will get its license back, Close said. I have copy this news from CNN News (http://edition.cnn.com/ ).
วันจันทร์ที่ 3 พฤษภาคม พ.ศ. 2553
Surviving Mumbai gunman convicted over attacks.
Mohammad Ajmal Amir Qasab, 22, the sole surviving gunman, was found guilty on charges including murder, waging war on India and possessing explosives.
The attacks left 174 people - including nine gunmen - dead, and soured ties between India and Pakistan.
India's home minister said the verdict was a message to Pakistan that it should not "export terrorism to India". India blames Pakistan-based militants Lashkar-e-Taiba for the attacks.
After initial denials, Pakistan acknowledged that the attacks had been partially planned on its territory and that Qasab was one of its citizens.
Two Indian men - Fahim Ansari and Sabahuddin Ahmed - who were accused of helping the gunmen plan the attacks, were acquitted by the presiding judge at the court in Mumbai.
The judge will begin hearing arguments about sentencing on Tuesday. The prosecution is seeking the death penalty for Qasab.
Qasab's 271-day trial was conducted amid tight security in a purpose-built court on the jail premises in Mumbai where he was being held.
Closed-circuit TV evidence showed Kasab and an accomplice opening fire on passengers at one of Mumbai's busiest train stations, an assault that left dozens of people dead. Over the past 14 months, the trial witnessed a number of twists and turns.
Qasab originally denied the charges against him but last July, in a dramatic outburst in court, he admitted his role and asked to be hanged. He later retracted this plea, saying he had been tortured by police into making it, and the trial continued.
In November, the main lawyer representing Qasab - who was arrested on the first day of the attacks - was removed from the case after the judge said he was delaying proceedings.
Late last year, Pakistan charged seven people in connection with the attacks, including the suspected mastermind Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, who is alleged to head Lashkar-e-Taiba.
I have copy this news from BBC News (http://news.bbc.co.uk/).
The attacks left 174 people - including nine gunmen - dead, and soured ties between India and Pakistan.
India's home minister said the verdict was a message to Pakistan that it should not "export terrorism to India". India blames Pakistan-based militants Lashkar-e-Taiba for the attacks.
After initial denials, Pakistan acknowledged that the attacks had been partially planned on its territory and that Qasab was one of its citizens.
Two Indian men - Fahim Ansari and Sabahuddin Ahmed - who were accused of helping the gunmen plan the attacks, were acquitted by the presiding judge at the court in Mumbai.
The judge will begin hearing arguments about sentencing on Tuesday. The prosecution is seeking the death penalty for Qasab.
Qasab's 271-day trial was conducted amid tight security in a purpose-built court on the jail premises in Mumbai where he was being held.
Closed-circuit TV evidence showed Kasab and an accomplice opening fire on passengers at one of Mumbai's busiest train stations, an assault that left dozens of people dead. Over the past 14 months, the trial witnessed a number of twists and turns.
Qasab originally denied the charges against him but last July, in a dramatic outburst in court, he admitted his role and asked to be hanged. He later retracted this plea, saying he had been tortured by police into making it, and the trial continued.
In November, the main lawyer representing Qasab - who was arrested on the first day of the attacks - was removed from the case after the judge said he was delaying proceedings.
Late last year, Pakistan charged seven people in connection with the attacks, including the suspected mastermind Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, who is alleged to head Lashkar-e-Taiba.
I have copy this news from BBC News (http://news.bbc.co.uk/).
Mexican drug violence claims 24 lives in 24 hours.
Drug violence in the Mexican state of Chihuahua left 24 people dead in the span of 24 hours this weekend, the state attorney general's office said Sunday.
The killings were scattered over four locations throughout the state, with eight dead in Juarez, 10 killed in the capital of Chihuahua, five killed in Cuauhtemuc and one killed in Parral.
All the slayings occurred in public places, with the killings in Cuauhtemuc occurring in a bar, said Carlos Gonzalez, a spokesman for the Chihuahua state attorney general.
The killings took place between Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning, Gonzalez said.
The victims -- all male -- ranged in age between 18 and 25 years old.
No other details about the killings or the victims were immediately available.
"This is an indicator of the incrementally increasing war between the two cartels battling for Juarez Plaza, the state's drug trafficking corridor," Gonzalez said, referring to an ongoing battle between the Sinaloa and Juarez cartels for dominance in the area. Juarez Plaza is a major thoroughfare through the area.
"I can't give you a reason why the violence is picking up the last week of April going into this month," Gonzalez added.
Some Mexican news organizations have reported that the Sinaloa Cartel had defeated the rival Juarez organization but Gonzalez said, "There is no winner to this war."
The spate of weekend killings followed another bloody week in the Ciudad Juarez area.
On Wednesday, at least 15 people were killed in drug-related violence in Juarez, authorities said.
The slayings included four people whose bodies were found at one location, another three -- one of them a woman -- who were found slain at a second location, and another eight victims who were killed at a bar, police spokesman Jacinto Seguro said.
On Tuesday, 10 people were killed, Seguro said, including three who were shot outside a supermarket. Another victim was killed outside a shopping mall.
In all, 25 people were killed between Tuesday and Wednesday, Seguro said.
Ciudad Juarez is the most violent city in Mexico, with more than 2,600 drug-related deaths in 2009. No official numbers are available for this year, but more than 500 killings have been reported by local media. Some reports have the figures as high as 810 in Juarez this year.
According to a report released in April by the Mexican government, Chihuahua state is Mexico's hardest-hit state by drug violence, with 6,757 people killed since the start of the drug war at the end of 2006. I have copy this news from CNN News (http://edition.cnn.com/).
The killings were scattered over four locations throughout the state, with eight dead in Juarez, 10 killed in the capital of Chihuahua, five killed in Cuauhtemuc and one killed in Parral.
All the slayings occurred in public places, with the killings in Cuauhtemuc occurring in a bar, said Carlos Gonzalez, a spokesman for the Chihuahua state attorney general.
The killings took place between Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning, Gonzalez said.
The victims -- all male -- ranged in age between 18 and 25 years old.
No other details about the killings or the victims were immediately available.
"This is an indicator of the incrementally increasing war between the two cartels battling for Juarez Plaza, the state's drug trafficking corridor," Gonzalez said, referring to an ongoing battle between the Sinaloa and Juarez cartels for dominance in the area. Juarez Plaza is a major thoroughfare through the area.
"I can't give you a reason why the violence is picking up the last week of April going into this month," Gonzalez added.
Some Mexican news organizations have reported that the Sinaloa Cartel had defeated the rival Juarez organization but Gonzalez said, "There is no winner to this war."
The spate of weekend killings followed another bloody week in the Ciudad Juarez area.
On Wednesday, at least 15 people were killed in drug-related violence in Juarez, authorities said.
The slayings included four people whose bodies were found at one location, another three -- one of them a woman -- who were found slain at a second location, and another eight victims who were killed at a bar, police spokesman Jacinto Seguro said.
On Tuesday, 10 people were killed, Seguro said, including three who were shot outside a supermarket. Another victim was killed outside a shopping mall.
In all, 25 people were killed between Tuesday and Wednesday, Seguro said.
Ciudad Juarez is the most violent city in Mexico, with more than 2,600 drug-related deaths in 2009. No official numbers are available for this year, but more than 500 killings have been reported by local media. Some reports have the figures as high as 810 in Juarez this year.
According to a report released in April by the Mexican government, Chihuahua state is Mexico's hardest-hit state by drug violence, with 6,757 people killed since the start of the drug war at the end of 2006. I have copy this news from CNN News (http://edition.cnn.com/).
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