More than 300 seriously ill in Germany as E coli virus spreads to other northern European countries An E coli outbreak that has killed 14 people and made more than 300 seriously ill in Germany has spread to other north European countries and is expected to worsen in the coming week. “We hope that the number of cases will go down but we fear that it will worsen,” said Oliver Grieve, spokesman for the University Medical Centre Schleswig-Holstein in north Germany, where many of those afflicted are being treated. The source of the virulent strain of the bacteria is unknown, German authorities said on Monday ahead of a meeting of federal and state officials in Berlin. Most of the deaths have been in northern Germany. The E coli pathogen has been identified on cucumbers imported from Spain but it is unclear if they were contaminated there, during transport or in Germany. There are 36 cases of suspected E coli in Sweden, all linked to travel in northern Germany. A small number of cases have been reported in Britain, Denmark, France and the Netherlands, all linked with travel to Germany. The German government has identified the pathogen as hemolytic-uremic syndrome (HUS), a serious complication of a type of E coli known as Shiga toxin-producing E coli (STEC), and said it had killed 14 people and made at least 329 ill. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said in a risk assessment that the HUS/STEC outbreak is the largest in the world of its kind. HUS affects the blood, kidneys and, in severe cases, the nervous system and can be particularly serious for children and the elderly. Some 60 cases of HUS are reported annually in Germany, the government said. Grieve said his hospital had 82 cases of HUS and 115 confirmed E coli cases, and said the number of cases there had doubled within the past few days. The northern port city of Hamburg alone has reported 488 cases of E coli since the outbreak began in mid-May and has 94 cases of HUS.A hospital in the city said it was transferring patients with less serious illnesses to other clinics to cope with the flood of HUS patients. German authorities have warned consumers to avoid eating cucumbers, lettuces and tomatoes and have ordered some products removed from store shelves. Austria’s food safety agency ordered a recall of organically grown cucumbers, tomatoes and eggplant supplied by a Spanish producer thought to be the source of the outbreak. It said 33 Austrian stores were affected. E coli Germany Sweden Denmark France Austria guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …NATO apologized earlier today for an airstrike that killed at least nine civilians in the insurgent-plagued Helmand province of Afghanistan, reports AP . “I want to offer my sincere apologies for the nine civilians who were killed during the incident in Nawzad district, Helmand province,” said the southwest regional commander. Officials…
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Italian voters set to reject the prime minister’s mayoral candidates both in his home city and in Naples An exit poll and early projections show Italy’s prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, heading for a humiliating and politically ominous defeat in his home city of Milan. The polls suggested his party’s choice for mayor, Letizia Moratti, would be ousted in a runoff with a local leftwing lawyer, Giuliano Pisapia. An exit poll conducted for Sky Italia gave the challenger an advantage of seven percentage points; and an early projection pointed to an even bigger victory for Pisapia, of almost eight points. Projections also indicated that the left was storming towards a big victory in Italy’s third-biggest city, Naples. There, the opposition candidate was estimated to have picked up over 60% of the vote. Balloting in local and provincial elections ended at 3pm local time after a second, two-day round of voting. Milan, Italy’s business capital, was one of 90 towns and cities where a clear winner failed to emerge in the first round, on 15 and 16 May. The contest there was by far the most important. Milan is the city from which Italy’s flamboyant prime minister launched his political adventure, 17 years ago. It is also the one in which he is on trial for a range of alleged financial and sex-related offences. And, not least, it is the stronghold of his key allies in the populist, Islamophobic Northern League. Federico Manda, a tram maintenance technician, was one of a steady stream of last-minute voters at an electoral college around the corner from the courthouse where Berlusconi is a defendant in three concurrent trials. He had voted for “a change in Milan”, he said. “Berlusconi has monopolised this municipality, putting his men in everywhere, often in the wrong places.” Berlusconi tried to turn the ballot into a vote of confidence on his private life and his government’s performance. All the signs are that that was a disastrous error of judgment. After the first round, Moratti came in six percentage points behind her main rival. In the subsequent campaign, the prime minister and his Freedom People movement tried to make up lost ground with an overtly racist campaign directed at Pisapia’s sympathy for Roma and Muslims. Professor James Walston of the American University of Rome said he feared Berlusconi’s tactics could have a lasting impact on inter-racial and inter-faith relations in Italy. “This type of language has been used by the prime minister, not some neo-fascist maniac on the fringes,” he said. “It will be difficult to bring Italian political language back to acceptable European levels.” A victory for the left would be all the more remarkable, since its candidate was not the choice of the mainstream Democratic party (PD) but was one whose past is tinged with radicalism. Pisapia, a lawyer who once defended the Kurdish separatist leader Abdullah Ocalan, was elected to parliament in the 1990s as an independent on the slate of the hardline Communist Refoundation party. The predicted outcome in Naples would also be as much of an embarrassment to the PD as for Berlusconi. The opposition’s challenge there was mounted by a former prosecutor, Luigi De Magistris, who fought and defeated the PD’s candidate in the first round. Much will now depend on the reaction of the Northern League, which keeps Berlusconi’s government in power. Italy Silvio Berlusconi Europe Race issues John Hooper guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Italian voters set to reject the prime minister’s mayoral candidates both in his home city and in Naples An exit poll and early projections show Italy’s prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, heading for a humiliating and politically ominous defeat in his home city of Milan. The polls suggested his party’s choice for mayor, Letizia Moratti, would be ousted in a runoff with a local leftwing lawyer, Giuliano Pisapia. An exit poll conducted for Sky Italia gave the challenger an advantage of seven percentage points; and an early projection pointed to an even bigger victory for Pisapia, of almost eight points. Projections also indicated that the left was storming towards a big victory in Italy’s third-biggest city, Naples. There, the opposition candidate was estimated to have picked up over 60% of the vote. Balloting in local and provincial elections ended at 3pm local time after a second, two-day round of voting. Milan, Italy’s business capital, was one of 90 towns and cities where a clear winner failed to emerge in the first round, on 15 and 16 May. The contest there was by far the most important. Milan is the city from which Italy’s flamboyant prime minister launched his political adventure, 17 years ago. It is also the one in which he is on trial for a range of alleged financial and sex-related offences. And, not least, it is the stronghold of his key allies in the populist, Islamophobic Northern League. Federico Manda, a tram maintenance technician, was one of a steady stream of last-minute voters at an electoral college around the corner from the courthouse where Berlusconi is a defendant in three concurrent trials. He had voted for “a change in Milan”, he said. “Berlusconi has monopolised this municipality, putting his men in everywhere, often in the wrong places.” Berlusconi tried to turn the ballot into a vote of confidence on his private life and his government’s performance. All the signs are that that was a disastrous error of judgment. After the first round, Moratti came in six percentage points behind her main rival. In the subsequent campaign, the prime minister and his Freedom People movement tried to make up lost ground with an overtly racist campaign directed at Pisapia’s sympathy for Roma and Muslims. Professor James Walston of the American University of Rome said he feared Berlusconi’s tactics could have a lasting impact on inter-racial and inter-faith relations in Italy. “This type of language has been used by the prime minister, not some neo-fascist maniac on the fringes,” he said. “It will be difficult to bring Italian political language back to acceptable European levels.” A victory for the left would be all the more remarkable, since its candidate was not the choice of the mainstream Democratic party (PD) but was one whose past is tinged with radicalism. Pisapia, a lawyer who once defended the Kurdish separatist leader Abdullah Ocalan, was elected to parliament in the 1990s as an independent on the slate of the hardline Communist Refoundation party. The predicted outcome in Naples would also be as much of an embarrassment to the PD as for Berlusconi. The opposition’s challenge there was mounted by a former prosecutor, Luigi De Magistris, who fought and defeated the PD’s candidate in the first round. Much will now depend on the reaction of the Northern League, which keeps Berlusconi’s government in power. Italy Silvio Berlusconi Europe Race issues John Hooper guardian.co.uk
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Report claims soldiers may be British, possibly SAS – which would break UN resolution over any ‘occupation force’ Armed western men have been filmed on the ground with rebels in central Libya in the first apparent confirmation that Nato has sent military advisers to train anti-government forces. A group of six westerners were clearly visible, according to a report by al-Jazeera from Dafniya, described as the westernmost point of the rebel lines west of the town of Misrata. Five of them were armed and wearing informal sand-coloured clothes, peaked caps, and cotton Arab scarves. The sixth, apparently most senior of the group, was carrying no visible weapon and wore a pink, short-sleeve shirt. He may be an intelligence officer. The group is seen talking to rebels and then quickly leaving on being spotted by the television crew. The footage emerged as South Africa’s president, Jacob Zuma, arrived in Tripoli in an attempt to broker a ceasefire. He described reports that he would ask Gaddafi to step down as “misleading”, and said he would instead focus on humanitarian measures and ways to implement a plan concocted by the African Union, which would see Libya undertake a process of transition to democratic rule but not seek Muammar Gaddafi’s exile. The western men seen by Al Jazeera were present on rebel lines late last week, days before British and French attack helicopters are to join the Nato campaign. They are expected to be active over Libya this week and likely to be deployed on the outskirts of Misrata, from where forces loyal to Gaddafi continue to shell rebel positions to the east. There have been numerous reports in the British press that SAS soldiers are acting as spotters in Libya to help Nato warplanes target pro-Gaddafi forces. In March, six special forces soldiers and two MI6 officers were detained by rebel fighters when they landed on an abortive mission to meet rebel leaders in Benghazi, in an embarrassing episode for the SAS. The group was withdrawn soon afterwards and a new “liaison team” sent in its place. Asked for comment yesterday, a Ministry of Defence spokeswoman said: “We don’t have any forces out there.” The subject is sensitive as the UN security council resolution in March authorising the use of force in Libya specifically excludes “a foreign occupation force of any form on any part of Libyan territory”. Despite more than two months of bombing by Nato jets, rebels have remained unable to advance west of Misrata, or west of Brega, 300 miles to the east. The capital, Tripoli, also remains in the grip of Gaddafi, who has defied all attempts to force him to leave. The Benghazi-based Transitional National Council, which is positioning itself as a democratic alternative to the four decade strongman rule of the four-decade rule of Gaddafi, claimed that eight senior military officers, among them four generals, had defected to its side and would announce their new loyalties at a meeting soon to take place in Rome. There was no immediate confirmation from the Italian government. However, air force pilots have landed in Italy and defected earlier in the rebellion. Undertrained and under-manned rebel forces have been encouraging defections, which they see as a way to whittle down support for Gaddafi in the absence of a ground army sent to assist them In April, William Hague announced that an expanded military liaison team would be dispatched to work with the Transitional National Council. The foreign secretary said the team would help the rebels improve “organisational structures, communications and logistics” but stressed: “Our officers will not be involved in training or arming the opposition’s fighting forces, nor will they be involved in the planning or execution of the NTC’s military operations or in the provision of any other form of operational military advice.” There were unconfirmed reports at the time that Britain was planning to send former SAS members and other experienced soldiers to Libya under the cover of private security companies, paid for by Arab states, to train the anti-government forces. Libya Arab and Middle East unrest Middle East Africa Al-Jazeera TV news Military Julian Borger guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Report claims soldiers may be British, possibly SAS – which would break UN resolution over any ‘occupation force’ Armed western men have been filmed on the ground with rebels in central Libya in the first apparent confirmation that Nato has sent military advisers to train anti-government forces. A group of six westerners were clearly visible, according to a report by al-Jazeera from Dafniya, described as the westernmost point of the rebel lines west of the town of Misrata. Five of them were armed and wearing informal sand-coloured clothes, peaked caps, and cotton Arab scarves. The sixth, apparently most senior of the group, was carrying no visible weapon and wore a pink, short-sleeve shirt. He may be an intelligence officer. The group is seen talking to rebels and then quickly leaving on being spotted by the television crew. The footage emerged as South Africa’s president, Jacob Zuma, arrived in Tripoli in an attempt to broker a ceasefire. He described reports that he would ask Gaddafi to step down as “misleading”, and said he would instead focus on humanitarian measures and ways to implement a plan concocted by the African Union, which would see Libya undertake a process of transition to democratic rule but not seek Muammar Gaddafi’s exile. The western men seen by Al Jazeera were present on rebel lines late last week, days before British and French attack helicopters are to join the Nato campaign. They are expected to be active over Libya this week and likely to be deployed on the outskirts of Misrata, from where forces loyal to Gaddafi continue to shell rebel positions to the east. There have been numerous reports in the British press that SAS soldiers are acting as spotters in Libya to help Nato warplanes target pro-Gaddafi forces. In March, six special forces soldiers and two MI6 officers were detained by rebel fighters when they landed on an abortive mission to meet rebel leaders in Benghazi, in an embarrassing episode for the SAS. The group was withdrawn soon afterwards and a new “liaison team” sent in its place. Asked for comment yesterday, a Ministry of Defence spokeswoman said: “We don’t have any forces out there.” The subject is sensitive as the UN security council resolution in March authorising the use of force in Libya specifically excludes “a foreign occupation force of any form on any part of Libyan territory”. Despite more than two months of bombing by Nato jets, rebels have remained unable to advance west of Misrata, or west of Brega, 300 miles to the east. The capital, Tripoli, also remains in the grip of Gaddafi, who has defied all attempts to force him to leave. The Benghazi-based Transitional National Council, which is positioning itself as a democratic alternative to the four decade strongman rule of the four-decade rule of Gaddafi, claimed that eight senior military officers, among them four generals, had defected to its side and would announce their new loyalties at a meeting soon to take place in Rome. There was no immediate confirmation from the Italian government. However, air force pilots have landed in Italy and defected earlier in the rebellion. Undertrained and under-manned rebel forces have been encouraging defections, which they see as a way to whittle down support for Gaddafi in the absence of a ground army sent to assist them In April, William Hague announced that an expanded military liaison team would be dispatched to work with the Transitional National Council. The foreign secretary said the team would help the rebels improve “organisational structures, communications and logistics” but stressed: “Our officers will not be involved in training or arming the opposition’s fighting forces, nor will they be involved in the planning or execution of the NTC’s military operations or in the provision of any other form of operational military advice.” There were unconfirmed reports at the time that Britain was planning to send former SAS members and other experienced soldiers to Libya under the cover of private security companies, paid for by Arab states, to train the anti-government forces. Libya Arab and Middle East unrest Middle East Africa Al-Jazeera TV news Military Julian Borger guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …It’s been 25 years since the Duke of Edinburgh used the term “slitty-eyed” during a trip to China, but the Queen’s husband still thinks it was no big deal, reports the Telegraph . “I’d forgotten about it,” the Duke says in a documentary made for his 90th birthday. “But for one…
Continue reading …Rapper Sean Kingston is reportedly in critical condition after crashing his personal watercraft into a Miami bridge. Kingston, 21, and a female passenger were rushed to the Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital after the accident last evening, reports AP . A spokesman at Kingston’s music label said that the…
Continue reading …The Seattle college student who received a lewd underwear photo sent from Rep. Anthony Weiner’s Twitter account says she never met the congressman, had nothing to do with the pic, and that the resulting firestorm is “outlandish harassment.” The “last 36 hours have been the most confusing, anxiety-ridden hours of…
Continue reading …With another round of Facebook-organized protests to mark the anniversary of the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, the Israeli military is bracing for violence, seeking to avoid a repeat of the unrest from two weeks ago, reports AP . The army will set up “red lines” for demonstrators, not allowing them to cross…
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