National disease control centre reports spike in cases of people suffering symptoms of bacterial contamination The number of people reported sick in Germany from a foodborne bacterial outbreak that has already killed 16 spiked over the last 24 hours, with nearly 100 more people suffering from severe and potentially fatal symptoms, according to the national disease control centre said. Agriculture minister Ilse Aigner said scientists were trying to find the source of the unusual strain of the E coli bacteria that is believed to have been spread in Europe on tainted vegetables – and where in the chain from farm to grocery store the contamination occurred. “Hundreds of tests have been done and the responsible agencies … have determined that most of the patients who have been sickened ate cucumbers, tomatoes and leaf lettuce and primarily in northern Germany,” Aigner said on ARD television. “The states that have conducted the tests must now follow back the delivery path to see how the cucumbers, or tomatoes or lettuce got here.” German authorities initially pointed to a few cucumbers from Spain, but further tests showed that those vegetables, while contaminated, did not cause the outbreak. Officials are still warning all Germans to avoid eating raw cucumbers, tomatoes or lettuce. E coli is found in large quantities in the digestive systems of humans, cows and other mammals. It has been responsible for a large number of food contamination outbreaks in a wide variety of countries. In most cases, it causes non-lethal stomach ailments. But enterohemorrhagic E coli (EHEC), causes more severe symptoms, ranging from bloody diarrhea to the rare hemolytic uremic syndrome. Germany’s national health agency, the Robert Koch Institute, said 470 people are now suffering from the syndrome, or HUS, in which E coli infection attacks the kidneys, sometimes causing seizures, strokes and comas. That is up from 373 reported Tuesday. Germany typically sees a maximum of 50 to 60 HUS cases in a year. An additional 1,064 cases of EHEC have been reported in Germany since the beginning of May, up from 796 the day before, the Robert Koch Institute said. The World Health Organisation said cases of EHEC have been reported in nine European countries: Austria, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK. All but two cases are either people in Germany, or people who had recently travelled to northern Germany, the organisation said. Robert Tauxe, a foodborne disease expert at the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, said it was extraordinary to see so many cases of the kidney complication from a foodborne illness. “There has not been such an outbreak before that we know of in the history of public health.” He added that the strain of E coli in the European outbreak has not been seen in the US, where there have been several high-profile foodborne outbreaks in recent years, but none with such a high death toll. There is little precedent in Europe, either. In 1996, an E coli outbreak in the UK caused 216 cases and 11 deaths. The WHO said 86% of those sickened in the current outbreak were adults, and two-thirds were women. It said it was unusual that more children were not affected. E coli Health Germany Europe Spain guardian.co.uk
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Fprty-one killed as divisions in military become more pronounced as government troops clash with defectors and rebels At least 41 people have been killed in shelling and street battles between government forces and opposition fighters, amid growing signs of disarray in President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s military. Fighting raged until 5 a.m, and witnesses said Presidential Guard units shelled the headquarters of an army brigade responsible for guarding sensitive government institutions. Army officers who have defected to the opposition say the government suspected the brigade commander was about to join forces with the movement to oust Saleh. Opposition army officers, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with army rules, said the armoured brigade commander, Brigadier-General Mohammed Khalil, was neutral and without political affiliation but had apparently angered Saleh. The 41 dead included combatants from both sides of the conflict, said the medical officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals. The fighting engulfed the Hassaba neighborhood that contains the family compound of influential opposition tribal leader Sheik Sadeq al-Ahmar , and to the north of that district where Republican Guard units protect Saleh’s former residence. The units, led by one of Saleh’s sons, and special forces wearing uniforms of government security troops attacked but failed to recapture the Hassaba administrative building from tribal gunmen. On Tuesday, Saleh imposed collective punishment on the Hassaba neighborhood by cutting water supplies and electricity. A resident who lives close to the fighting and would only give his first name, Zaher, said columns of smoke and fire billowed from Khalil’s brigade headquarters and explosions could be heard. Several ambulances were seen ferrying injured people to the al-Gomhuria general hospital, Zaher said. Al-Ahmar tribesmen were seen on Wednesday morning around the office of the prosecutor general in the Shamlan neighborhood, west of the capital. They were accompanied by two armoured vehicles from the 1st Armored Division which defected to the opposition two months ago. There was also fighting for the first time in the Hada neighborhood, a stronghold for Saleh supporters in the south of the capital. The interior ministry said in a statement that tribesmen had taken over a five-story building there after clashing with the army. Yemen Middle East guardian.co.uk
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For several days, NewsBusters readers have been asking why we haven't commented on the growing controversy surrounding Congressman Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) and an indecent picture sent from his Twitter account to a 21-year-old girl in Seattle, Washington. As there seem to have been far more questions concerning this sensitive matter than answers, we have been observing the press reaction trying to assess how a media that is typically protective of Democrats handled the scandal. Our conclusion at this time? All things considered, the coverage has been surprisingly good. The story first broke Saturday at various conservative blogs including Andrew Breitbart's Big Government as well as Gawker. The only mainstream coverage that day came in a short piece at Politico. By Sunday, the Associated Press and UPI jumped on the story with the former publishing seven articles and the latter two. The only newspaper to cover the issue was the New York Post. Still nothing on national television although not everything gets transcribed on weekends. Things really picked up Monday with coverage by New York's Daily News, the New York Times, the New York Post, the Washington Post, and the Washington Times. CNN did reports on the 5PM and 6PM installments of “The Situation Room” as well as “John King, USA.” As the long holiday weekend ended, and folks got back to work Tuesday, the reporting on this scandal rose even further. AP did 25 stories on its various state, local, and national wires. The New York papers continued with their coverage, and there were articles at the Chicago Tribune and the Orlando Sentinel. For its part, CNN through 4PM had filed reports during ten different hourly segments Tuesday. As Fox News and MSNBC only transcribe their prime time programming, it's unknown what their respective coverage has been. Add it up, and there's been in excess of 90 reports on a story with more questions than answers. To be sure, many of these seemed to give Weiner the benefit of the doubt while ignoring key elements that further implicate him. However, in this kind of a situation, the best way for media to protect a politician they like is by reporting nothing at all. It took the press nine months to pay attention to the John Edwards sex scandal after it was first revealed by the National Enquirer. By that time, the junior senator from Illinois had already been nominated by his Party. Newsweek's Michael Isikoff had the Monica Lewinsky affair ready for publishing only to have folks at the top of the magazine decide not to. Maybe we never would have heard about what was going on in the Oval Office if someone at Newsweek hadn't leaked it to Matt Drudge. But this kind of censorship surprisingly isn't just employed for Democrats. Although the media's coverage of Congressman Mark Foley's (R-Fla.) sex scandal in 2006 was absolutely deplorable, what many forget is that it took ten months for his electronic messages to male pages to come to light after the first news outlets were made aware of them. The St. Petersburg Times, the Miami Herald and Fox News all had copies of some of these messages in November 2005 and decided not to run the story. Harper's magazine got possession of them in May 2006 but also chose not to publish anything. ABC's Brian Ross, the national media representative that finally broke the story in September 2006, sat on these communications for over a month because he was working on something else. As such, despite numerous outlets having these email messages, it took ten months before the first report on this sex scandal. By contrast, we're only four days into this one – assuming there even is a scandal – and there's already been at least 90 reports on the subject. Does that mean they've all been good? Hardly. We've certainly witnessed sides being taken. But we've also seen Weiner get grilled by press representatives in the following report aired by CNN Tuesday: Seem like softballs to you? I particularly liked the question, “Could you tell us why you were following a 21-year-old college student [on Twitter]?” As Weiner only follows 198 people on this social networking site, and this was the girl the indecent picture was allegedly sent to, this seems particularly valid. I'd also like someone to ask Weiner why he was also following a high school girl with a thing for married men as well as a porn star. Such was reported by Verum Serum whose work on this scandal has been exhaustive.
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Sent from my BlackBerry® on the MetroPCS Network Sent from my MetroPCS Wireless Phone Carcajadas RRShrimp says: @PrettyCharlieee took metropcs to a new level
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Type: Book Title: Unsinkable: How to Bounce Back Quickly When Life Knocks You Down See all customer reviews Product Description: A financial crisis, a divorce, losing your job or a loved one, a health scare–we all face painful, life-shattering events at some point. They can leave us feeling drained and drowning in depression. Author Sonia Ricotti draws upon her own experiences, as well as those of other high-profile self-help leaders, to help you overcome these difficult situations with ease, and bounce back quicker and higher than you thought possible. Unsinkable is not only inspiring, but it offers clearly written, step-by-step tools, strategies, stories, and exercises that will teach you how to: Powerfully move forward, take action, and create the life you deserve. Transform your way of thinking–and feel better now. Experience inner peace and happiness–no matter what your circumstances. Release your negative past experiences and create a new and exciting present and future. Ricotti gives you direct access to her unique gifts as a world-renowned transformational teacher, including the 20 Lessons to Live By When Life Knocks You Down. Lessons such as: Say Yes! to Change. Let Go of What Was. Within Every Crisis Lies a Golden Opportunity. Have Faith in What Will Be. Recreate Your Reality. See the details
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Haleh Sahabi, daughter of veteran dissident Ezatollah Sahabi, reportedly clashed with security forces The daughter of a prominent veteran Iranian dissident has died after reportedly scuffling with security forces at his funeral. Haleh Sahabi, 54, also an opposition activist and women’s rights campaigner, had been allowed out of prison to attend the funeral of her father, Ezatollah Sahabi, on Wednesday. She fell to the ground in the scuffle and died of a cardiac arrest, according to the opposition website Kaleme. The semi-official Fars news agency confirmed Sahabi’s death but denied there had been a clash with police and accused the opposition movement of seeking to politicise the incident. “Fars reporters present at the funeral service said there was no clash between the mourners and security forces,” it said. Alireza Janeh, head of security matters at the Tehran governor’s office, said there were no clashes and that Sahabi had died of heart problems exacerbated by stress and hot weather at his funeral. Sahabi’s death is likely to anger women’s rights campaigners and supporters of Iran’s opposition movement whose massive street protests after the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2009 were crushed by the government and whose leaders have been put under house arrest. Sahabi was arrested during the post-election crackdown and was given a two-year jail sentence. “Security forces tried to interfere in the carrying of the body, she objected and security forces confronted her and other people present,” Kaleme said, adding that Sahabi was pushed to the ground. Another opposition site, Sahamnews, said security forces punched her in the stomach. Kaleme said she was holding a picture of her father to her chest and fell when security forces tried to take it from her. “She fell and did not get up,” it said. Prominent opposition figures and former moderate officials attended the ceremony in the north-eastern Tehran suburb of Lavasan for Ezatollah Sahabi, who was jailed both before and after the 1979 Islamic revolution and spent a total of 15 years in prison. Iran Middle East guardian.co.uk
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Insolvency practitioner Stephen Hunt said first payment was rejected but he was given second chance days later Hundreds of thousands of people may have missed out on their chance to experience the Olympics first hand, but one man has won £11,000 worth of tickets after bidding on a total of £36,000 worth. Stephen Hunt, an insolvency practitioner, said he had surpassed his credit limit and did not have the available funds to pay for the tickets. “My assumption was, based on the rules, that I would get nothing,” he told the Today programme. He received an email telling him the payment of £11,000 had been rejected but he would be given a “second chance” if he could have funds available in a couple of days. Otherwise he would lose all of the tickets. “I had this horrible choice on Monday, either I had none or I [spent] £11,000,” he said. The amount was about double the figure he wanted to spend but after talking to his wife they decided to increase their credit limit. According to Olympic ticketing rules ticketholders can sell tickets to family and friends but have to be present as the lead booker. Hunt suggested that as an insolvency practitioner it was likely to be the first time in his career that he was popular. “I’d rather scrimp and save for a bit extra rather than be disappointed and I’ve seen so many people who have bid a relatively normal amount of money and not been successful.” Speaking to the programme after bidding £36,000, he told presenter John Humphrys that he thought he chances of getting even one ticket were small. “Really?” asked Humphys. “I think so, I hope so,” replied Hunt. Organisers have confirmed that unlike Hunt, at least 250,000 people have been left without tickets and will have to scramble on a first-come, first-served basis for seats at less popular events such as handball and basketball in a “second chance” sale. People are still in the dark about which tickets they have bought and will only hear which events they have qualified for by 24 June. Those left ticketless will be contacted by email and offered an “exclusive window” later this month to buy tickets for events where demand was relatively low. The demand for Olympics tickets was overwhelming, with 20m applications from 1.8 million people for the 6.6m tickets available to the public via the controversial ballot. More than 1m bids alone poured in for tickets to the opening ceremony and the men’s 100m final. A typical applicant received fewer than a third of the tickets requested – they have now had the money debited from their accounts. The remaining tickets will mostly be for ball games in big stadiums, such as football, volleyball, handball, basketball and hockey. Sessions in smaller arenas, such as the popular 6,000-seat velodrome, have almost sold out. It is expected that some people who were successful in the ballot will have had their payments rejected over the past week. More than 100 applicants had their purchases declined after a mistake by Barclaycard in which the transactions were flagged as suspicious. There will be frustration and anger from some who failed to get tickets after it emerged that at some events 50% of the tickets will go to sponsors and officials. Organisers say in total only 8% of the 8.8m tickets have been set aside for sponsors. Officials refuse to say how many of the tickets for the opening ceremony have been reserved for VIPs. “All we are able to say at this stage is that there are as many tickets at £20.12 as there are at £2,012,” said a spokeswoman. Two million tickets to the Paralympics will go on sale from 9 to 30 September. Only after that process has been completed will any unsold tickets to the Olympics go on general sale to the public, probably in early December. Olympic Games 2012 Alexandra Topping Patrick Collinson Fiona Walsh guardian.co.uk
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Former commander faces charges of crimes against humanity, including massacre of 7,000 Muslims at Srebrenica The former Bosnian Serb general Ratko Mladic will be arraigned on 11 charges including genocide and crimes against humanity on Friday morning, judges at the international criminal tribunal for the former Yugoslavia have announced. The former commander of the Bosnian Serb army faces accusations that forces under his command massacred over 7,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica in July 1995. The indictment also alleges his troops tortured, mistreated and physically, psychologically and sexually abused civilians confined in 58 detention facilities in 22 municipalities. Mladic is also facing charges for the shelling and sniping of Sarajevo, during which thousands of civilians were killed and wounded. The announcement of his arraignment came after Mladic spent his first night in the United Nations detention unit in a seaside suburb of the Dutch capital. He was flown from Serbia on Tuesday afternoon and was taken under police escort into a isolation cell at dusk where he underwent a medical examination. Mladic, 69, will be asked to enter pleas on all charges relating to his alleged masterminding of atrocities throughout the 1992 – 1995 Bosnian war. The tribunal has appointed Judge Bakone Justice Moloto of South Africa, Judge Christoph Flügge from Germany and Judge Alphons Orie from the Netherlands to preside over the trial. If Mladic complies with the schedule, his arraignment on Friday could bring him into the same court building as his superior during the Bosnian war, Radovan Karadzic. The former Bosnian Serb president is currently on trial for similar charges. On Wednesday, Karadzic was in court dressed in a smart black suit and crisp white shirt and followed his case closely on two computer monitors. He looked relaxed, yawned and itched his nose. His trial has already been under way for 18 months and observers at the court point out they are not even halfway through the evidence. Before he left Serbia, Mladic’s lawyer, Milos Saljic, insisted he was not well enough physically or mentally to stand trial. He tried to slow the proceedings by sending his appeal by post at the last possible moment on Monday, but Serbia’s war crimes court rejected it almost as soon as it arrived on Tuesday. Ratko Mladic War crimes United Nations International criminal court Serbia Bosnia and Herzegovina Robert Booth guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Motorola leaks Xoom 2 tablet, Tracy XL watchphone, and Slimline, Zaha, Targa, and Pearl handsets
June 1, 2011 No Comment
So here’s the story: Pocketnow was able to snatch some screengrabs from a page that temporarily appeared on the Motorola Mobility website. The image above (and two more after the break) is what they saw. In addition to the Tracy XL homage to the Dick Tracy watchphone, we can also see the back of the Slimline handset and the front of the Zaha. The grabs also show a bit of the “Xoom 2″ tablet and Pearl handset along the bottom of the screen in addition to a fleeting glimpse of the previously rumored Verizon LTE handset known as Targa . And you know what makes this all truly compelling? The fact that Motorola made Pocketnow remove the images from its site. Continue reading Motorola leaks Xoom 2 tablet, Tracy XL watchphone, and Slimline, Zaha, Targa, and Pearl handsets Motorola leaks Xoom 2 tablet, Tracy XL watchphone, and Slimline, Zaha, Targa, and Pearl handsets originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Jun 2011 03:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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