The Boston Globe
Rosa Parks
October 26, 2005
IT WAS Dec. 1, 1955, when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Ala., a city where segregation and racism danced freely and legally in the streets and blacks were supposed to sit in the back.
Thanks to Parks, who died at home in Detroit on Monday at the age of 92, the back of the bus has never been the same. Now people sit there because they want to or because there are no other seats. This change helped free America from its worst self.
Parks was arrested that day. She could also have been beaten or killed. Instead, events veered toward justice. As Taylor Branch writes in his book ''Parting the Waters: America in the King Years 1954-63," Edgar Nixon, a civil rights activist, asked whether Parks would be willing to fight the charges. He had been looking for an opportunity to sue the bus company, and he wanted an upstanding plaintiff who would inspire sympathy and respect.
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/editorials/articles/2005/10/26/rosa_parks/
Northeaster leaves 70,000 without power
Storm disrupts airports, roads, but flooding is minor
By Raja Mishra and Adrienne P. Samuels, Globe Staff October 26, 2005
An early season northeaster churned through New England yesterday, less powerful than forecast but still potent enough to leave 70,000 homes and businesses temporarily without power, to disrupt travel at airports and on highways, and to whip up enough wind and rain to cause moments of chaos in coastal towns.
Driven by remnants of Hurricane Wilma, the storm arrived in early morning with high winds that made for a difficult commute with rains falling almost horizontally at times.
http://www.boston.com/news/weather/articles/2005/10/26/northeaster_leaves_70000_without_power/
Tax breaks for seniors get support
Relief on property bills advances in Legislature
By Scott S. Greenberger, Globe Staff October 26, 2005
Thousands of Massachusetts homeowners who are at least 65 years old would get a break on their property taxes under a measure moving forward on Beacon Hill.
The legislation is designed to help seniors, many on fixed incomes, who are straining under rapidly growing tax bills, as residential property values continue to explode across the state. Governor Mitt Romney, Senate President Robert E. Travaglini, and House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi all have vowed to lessen the tax burden on seniors.
''They're in dire straits; they really are," said Pat Larkin, the director of the Westwood Council on Aging, and cochairwoman of a property tax relief task force formed by the Massachusetts Councils on Aging. Larkin said many of the seniors in Westwood bought their homes decades ago, when property values, and taxes, were far lower. Some are being forced to sell houses they have lived in for decades, she said.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2005/10/26/tax_breaks_for_seniors_get_support/
Grieving families find little peace
By Thomas Farragher, Globe Staff October 26, 2005
There are 2,000 of them now.
Two thousand Purple Hearts. Two thousand knocks on the door. Two thousand flags folded smartly into triangles.
Modern warfare is waged with laser-guided weapons and the sophistication of satellites, but its symbols of loss endure.
And as the toll of US military deaths in Iraq reached the 2,000 mark yesterday, six of the families who cherish those symbols -- medals and ribbons and tokens of condolence -- say they are resolved to preserve the legacy, and memory, of the men and women who died in a war that most Americans, polls say, have turned against.
Across the months and years, their sense of loss still aches and echoes. Sometimes it is as inescapable as the picture on the mantel. Sometimes it creeps in, catching them unawares.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2005/10/26/grieving_families_find_little_peace/
The colonel's critique
October 26, 2005
THE RECENT scalding criticism of the Bush administration by Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson, chief of staff to former secretary of state Colin Powell until last January, should be welcomed for its patriotic intent and its therapeutic value. Speaking last week to a Washington think tank, Wilkerson lamented that a ''cabal" led by Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld engaged in secret decision-making that inflicted grave harm on the country.
Wilkerson's castigation is good to have out in the open not merely because of the particular blunders he attributes to Cheney, Rumsfeld, and their collaborators, or because of his unfavorable comparison of President Bush with his father as a steward of US foreign policy. Wilkerson is justified in excoriating the cabal for its conduct of the war against Saddam Hussein, its refusal over four years to negotiate with North Korea, and its unnecessarily belated support of the European diplomatic effort to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear power.
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/editorials/articles/2005/10/26/the_colonels_critique/
Suicide car bomber kills 1 soldier in Indian Kashmir
October 26, 2005
SRINAGAR, India (Reuters) - A suicide bomber rammed a explosives-laden car into a bus carrying troops in Indian Kashmir on Wednesday, killing one soldier and wounding 15 others, a security spokesman said.
The attack on a bus carrying Border Security Force (BSF) troops took place in the Lawaypora area on the outskirts of Srinagar, Kashmir's main city, a BSF spokesman said.
Separatist violence has continued in Kashmir despite the region being struck by a deadly earthquake this month which killed 54,000 people, mostly across the frontier in Pakistani Kashmir.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/asia/articles/2005/10/26/suicide_car_bomber_kills_1_soldier_in_indian_kashmir/
Bird watchers sought as bird flu sentries
By Chris Tomlinson, Associated Press Writer October 26, 2005
LAKE NAIVASHA, Kenya --Most mornings James Njenga launches his motorized canoe on Lake Naivasha to show tourists some of the most spectacular birds in East Africa. These days he has a second duty: serving as a sentry against bird flu.
In addition to looking for African spoonbills, fish eagles and marsh harriers, Njenga now looks out for three kinds of migratory ducks suspected of carrying avian flu: the northern pintail, the garganey and the northern shoveler.
"They come every year, though I haven't seem them yet this year," said Njenga, a top bird guide for the Great Rift Valley Lodge with a decade of experience on Kenya's lakes. "But they are coming, they always do."
http://www.boston.com/yourlife/health/diseases/articles/2005/10/26/bird_watchers_sought_as_bird_flu_sentries/
Rare Asian black-tailed gull found in Vt.
By Lisa Rathke, Associated Press Writer October 25, 2005
MONTPELIER, Vt. --When Julie Hart went down to the Charlotte beach last Tuesday she was in search of a strong cell phone signal, not birds. But while scanning the water for loons, geese and other migrating water birds, Hart noticed a darker gull among the typical ring-billed gulls on Lake Champlain.
Through binoculars, she noticed an unusual marking: red on the gull's bill.
Hart, 26, of Chester, called a friend who she describes as an amateur ornithologist, and they speculated about what the bird could be. Then they called Ted Murin, a local birdwatching expert, and the three collectively checked their guidebooks.
http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2005/10/25/rare_asian_black_tailed_gull_found_in_vt
Bird flu could hit U.S. next year
Birds sit on rocks in "Rio de la Plata" after of a storm in Montevideo, Uruguay, Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2005. The Uruguayan government worries that bird flu could more likely be brought by migratory birds entering Uruguay. (AP Photo/Marcelo Hernandez)
By Joseph B. Verrengia, AP Science Writer October 25, 2005
DENVER --As bird flu is spread continent-to-continent by wild birds, the seasonal migration that is normally one of nature's wonders is becoming something scary.
Could bird flu reach North America through migrating birds? Biologists in Alaska and Canada are keeping an eye out and say it's possible by next year.
http://www.boston.com/yourlife/health/diseases/articles/2005/10/25/bird_flu_could_hit_us_next_year/
Half of coral reefs could be destroyed
October 25, 2005
BANGKOK, Thailand --Nearly half of the world's coral reefs may be lost in the next 40 years unless urgent measures are taken to protect them against the threat of climate change, according to a new report released Tuesday by the World Conservation Union.
The Swiss-based organization called for the establishment of additional marine protected areas to prevent further degradation by making corals more robust and helping them resist bleaching.
"Twenty percent of the earth's coral reefs, arguably the richest of all marine ecosystems, have been effectively destroyed today," said Carl Gustaf Lundin, head of the agency's marine environment program who helped write the report "Coral Reef Resilience and Resistance to Bleaching."
http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2005/10/25/half_of_coral_reefs_could_be_destroyed/
Russian Cabinet OKs 9-year space program
October 25, 2005
MOSCOW --The Russian Cabinet on Tuesday approved a nine-year government program to expand its space programs, backing the ongoing development of the new Clipper spacecraft as well as building Russia's segment of the international space station.
In its statement, the Federal Space Agency did not say how much funding the programs would receive.
But it said the government plans include a new project called the Phobos-Grunt, which will be sent to the Martian moon of Phobos to collect soil samples. By the end of 2006, the space agency will begin work on preparations for a manned trip to Mars.
http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2005/10/25/russian_cabinet_oks_9_year_space_program/
PUT UP THE SOLAR PANELS !!!! It will cut down on energy demands !! There is a nearly $300 billion war in the Middle East that doesn't make a great deal of sense EITHER !!!!
NASA scraps plan to wrap hanger in panels
October 25, 2005
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. --NASA has scrapped plans to wrap a decommissioned hangar in solar panels after a contractor deemed the project impractical.
NASA said Monday the panels would not generate enough energy to justify the $40 million cost of installing them.
"It's disappointing," said Sandy Olliges, NASA's director of environmental safety and mission assurance. "We just thought we would try it and see what happens. It's not worth anybody's while to do it."
http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2005/10/25/nasa_scraps_plan_to_wrap_hanger_in_panels/
Generic drugs could have saved us $20B
By Theresa Agovino, AP Business Writer October 25, 2005
NEW YORK --Consumers, their employers and health plans in the commercial market could have saved more than $20 billion last year through increased use of generic drugs, according to a new report by Express Scripts Inc., a pharmacy benefit manager.
The study examined six major classes of drugs including antidepressants and cholesterol-lowering medications and was based on a sample of roughly 3 million Express Scripts commercial members. Government programs such as Medicaid, the health plan for the poor, were not included in the study.
http://www.boston.com/yourlife/health/aging/articles/2005/10/25/generic_drugs_could_have_saved_us_20b/
Haaretz
All this mess with Syria is stirring the pot every place. Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah are the same beliefs with different leaders. Any reason is going to spark violence again. Poor diplomacy doesn't help. Hezbollah has a extensive vested interest in the Syrian leadership. They will literally have to stop their violence, which I would think the other Arab nations would see as beneficial, if the Syrian government is removed. Syria put themselves in a very precarious position. But, to some extent it was impossible for Syria to avoid that role with such a high population of Hezbollah both in that country and Lebanon. Israel is going to be a difficult country to deal with until the Syrian circumstances resolve.
Islamic Jihad vows to avenge killing of West Bank leader
By Nir Hasson, Arnon Regular and Jonathan Lis
Islamic Jihad yesterday threatened to avenge Monday's killing of senior West Bank leader Luay Sa'adi as tens of thousands of Palestinian mourners buried him yesterday morning in Tul Karm.
Sa'adi was killed during a shootout with Israel Defense Forces troops, sparking a new round of violence.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/637745.html
Hamas: Free prisoners, or we'll abduct more Israelis
By Arnon Regular, Haaretz Correspondent
Hamas will increase the number of kidnappings of Israelis if Israel does not release Palestinian prisoners, the leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Dr. Mahmoud Zahar, told Haaretz this week.
He added that the group will not extend its participation in a cease-fire among Palestinian organizations beyond the end of 2005 if the Palestinian Authority reneges on its promise to hold elections in January.
Speaking at his home in Gaza, rebuilt after an Israeli Air Force targeted assassination attempt in October 2003 - in which his son and bodyguard were killed - Zahar granted his first comprehensive interview with Israeli media since last year's targeted killing of Hamas leaders Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and Abdel Aziz Rantisi.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/637776.html
Defense panel head: Hamas reaching military parity with PA
By Aluf Benn and Yoav Stern, Haaretz Correspondents, Haaretz Service and The Associated Press
MK Yuval Steinitz, chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, on Wednesday called on Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz to tell the Egyptians that Cairo was not meeting its obligation to keep Palestinians from smuggling weapons into the Gaza Strip. He warned that the arms reaching Gaza were helping Hamas reach military parity with the Palestinian Authority.
Mofaz was to meet with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo on Wednesday to discuss reopening the Rafah border crossing. Egyptian Intelligence and Defense Ministers Omar Suleiman and Mohamed Hussein Tantawi will also attend the meeting.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/637717.html
IAF missile hits Gaza in wake of rocket fire; crossings reopened
By Nir Hasson, Arnon Regular and Jonathan Lis, Haaretz Correspondents, and Agencies
The Erez and Karni crossings in the Gaza Strip were reopened Wednesday, two days after they were closed in the wake of rocket fire from the Strip, Israel Radio reported.
Early Wednesday, an Israel Air Force aircraft fired at least one missile at an open field in the northern Gaza Strip early Wednesday, about two hours after Palestinian militants launched a homemade rocket into the Negev town of Sderot.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/637737.html
Lift the siege of Gaza
Supporters of disengagement in Israel and around the world feel cheated. After the determined and sensitive withdrawal from the Gush Katif settlements, the government of Israel is avoiding the necessary follow-up steps, and is imposing a choking air, sea and land blockade against the Gaza Strip's residents.
This complaint has been voiced not only by the Palestinians, but also by James Wolfensohn, the Quartet's envoy for disengagement, in a letter last week to the Quartet's foreign ministers and the United Nations secretary-general.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/637766.html
Israel says admission of Mossad activity in NZ was typing error
By Reuters
Israel on Wednesday blamed a clerical error for a government statement that appeared to admit that the Mossad intelligence agency had been operating in New Zealand last year.
The arrest in Auckland of two Israelis who confessed to trying to obtain a New Zealand passport fraudulently soured diplomatic ties. Israel apologised over the incident but made no comment on Wellington's charges that the men were spies.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/638047.html
Israel worried about possible new Russia-Syria arms deals
By Aluf Benn, Haaretz Correspondent
Israel has expressed concern over Russia's intention to sign new arms deals with Syria, following the already completed deal to provide Syria with SA-18 anti-aircraft missiles. Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom, who is scheduled to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Wednesday, will tell him of Israel's objection to the sale of more weapons to Syria, a political source in Jerusalem said Tuesday.
The source said Syria was undermining the stability in the area. "Any cooperation with [Syria], especially when it comes to sensitive issues such as the supply of weapons, will cause more instability," the source added.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/637727.html
Report: Assad vows Syrians linked to Hariri murder will face trial
By Shlomo Shamir, Haaretz Correspondent, Haaretz Service and The Associated Press
Facing mounting pressure over alleged Syrian links to the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri, Syrian President Bashar Assad has promised that any Syrian found "by concrete evidence" to have been involved in the murder will stand trial, the Washington Post reported Wednesday.
Assad's comments, in a letter to the United States, Britain and France dated Sunday, is Syria's first substantive answer to charges leveled in a preliminary United Nations report into the assassination, which concluded that senior Syrian officials were involved in the murder.
According to the Washington Post, Assad wrote that, "I have declared that Syria is innocent of this crime, and I am ready to follow up action to bring to trial any Syrian who could be proved by concrete evidence to have had connection with this crime."
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/637774.html
AIPAC lobbyists ask Israeli diplomats to testify
By Yossi Melman
Two lobbyists implicated in the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) scandal submitted a request Monday to have Israeli diplomats in Washington testify in their hearings.
Attorneys Steve Rosen and Keith Weissman, who are facing charges of disclosing confidential information to Israel, asked the court to summon the diplomats.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/637750.html
Forbes
Special Report
Communicating
http://www.forbes.com/2005/10/18/communication-networks-language-cx_mn_de_comm05land.html?partner=commentary_newsletter
New Zealand Herald
Stranding sends whale rescuers back to same spot
26.10.05 1.20pm
HOBART - A third pod of whales has stranded in southern Tasmania at the same spot where up to 70 pilot whales beached themselves yesterday.
Rescuers are working to save 14 whales at the southern end of Marion Bay, east of Hobart.
Dozens of volunteers and Parks and Wildlife officers managed to save 11 whales last night after two pods of pilot whales - which are actually dolphins - beached themselves on the northern and southern ends of Marion Bay.
It is not known what caused the beaching, but service spokeswoman Ingrid Albion told the ABC today that only one whale needed to get into trouble to cause a stranding.
"They use sonar so they can get confused when they come into sandy beaches," she said.
"Only one of them has to get in trouble and make a wrong turn and they'll actually call the rest of the pod to them."
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10352105
Here we go !!!
Israeli warplanes and artillery pound Gaza area
26.10.05 10.00pm
By Nidal al-Mughrabi
GAZA - Israeli warplanes and artillery pounded an area of northern Gaza today in response to Palestinian militants firing a rocket into Israel's southern town of Sderot.
No casualties were reported in any of the incidents, part of a flare-up of violence this week that has been one of the worst since Israel quit the Gaza Strip last month.
The violence has threatened to unravel an eight-month-old cease-fire and has cast a shadow over international hopes of a revival of Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking since the Jewish state withdrew from Gaza after 38 years of occupation.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10352187
US, France threaten sanctions on Syria
26.10.05 3.00pm
UNITED NATIONS - The United States and France have circulated a Security Council draft resolution threatening economic sanctions if Syria fails to cooperate with a UN probe into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
The draft says Syria must detain for questioning any official a UN investigation wants to interview in or outside the country. In invokes Chapter 7 of the UN charter, which makes council decisions mandatory for all UN members.
The sanctions threat invokes Article 41 of the UN Charter, which can include "complete or partial interruption of economic relations" and "severance of diplomatic relations."
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10352124
Anti-war groups to mark 2000th US military death in Iraq
26.10.05 1.00pm
WASHINGTON - From New York's Times Square to a lawn outside an old government building in Hawaii, American anti-war activists prepared to mark the 2,000th US military death in Iraq with prayer, candlelight and protest.
In more than 300 events set for Wednesday, one day after the milestone number was reported, those who oppose the war in Iraq plan to gather at war memorials, federal buildings and in New York, on a city street corner - as well as at such landmarks as Rockefeller Plaza and a recruiting station in Times Square.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10352072
Cheney faces investigation in Plamegate
26.10.05 1.00pm
By David Usborne
NEW YORK - The name of Vice President Dick Cheney surfaced unexpectedly yesterday in the probe into who might have leaked the identity of the undercover CIA operative Valerie Plame to journalists, increasing the pressure on the White House as the special prosecutor in the case prepares to file possible criminal charges.
The man who has increasingly been at the heart of the investigation - Mr Cheney's chief of staff, Lewis "Scooter" Libby - reportedly gave written notes to the prosecutor, Patrick Fitzgerald that revealing that he first heard of Ms Plame from his boss.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10352115
Iraq war forces Western military rethink
26.10.05
By David Clarke
LONDON - Western military powers are being forced to rethink strategy because conflict in Iraq has shown the limits of their conventional armies, said the International Institute of Strategic Studies.
In its annual report on global military might, "The Military Balance", the London-based think-tank said strategists had hoped new technology would let them target enemies accurately from ships and planes, avoiding protracted ground battles.
But it said conventional armies have been sucked into messy conflicts, often in towns, where they face enemies invulnerable to the advanced gadgetry that was supposed to dissipate the fog of war and herald a new era in warfare.
"Iraq, Afghanistan and Chechnya demonstrate the limitations of modern conventional forces in complex environments that demand more of them than traditional warfighting," wrote Editor Christopher Langton in the introduction.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10352033
Man found guilty of murder is son of convicted killer
26.10.05 1.00pm
Demis Peter Paul, convicted yesterday of murdering a Palmerston North toddler while on home detention, is himself the son of a convicted killer.
Police sources in Taranaki confirmed Paul is the son of Jan Yorke, a prostitute who used the trade name Velvet.
Yorke is serving a minimum 13 years for the 1995 killing of her lover's wife, Nicola Goodwin, and the attempted murder of another woman, in Taranaki.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10352107
Crime, corruption delay EU membership for Romania and Bulgaria
26.10.05 3.00pm
By Stephen Castle
STRASBOURG - Romania and Bulgaria were yesterday told their membership to the EU will be delayed unless they step up their fight against corruption, human trafficking and organised crime, and also make efforts to boost food security.
In two highly critical reports, the European Commission listed a host of failings and suggested that the nations' accession to the EU, due in 2007, may be put back by a year.
The tough language is designed partly to spur the two nations on to greater efforts and dispel any complacency in the run-up to EU membership.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10352126
Trump paid US$25,000 per-minute
26.10.05 6.20am
Donald Trump was paid US$1.5 million ($2.13 million) for an hour-long lecture to entrepreneurs - about US$25,000 a minute.
The realty mogul turned reality TV star urged listeners to be aggressive and remain suspicious of advisers. "Get the best people and don't trust them," he said at the Learning Annex event in New York.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10352011
Nasty bosses could be the death of you
26.10.05
CHICAGO - That nasty boss in the window office could be slowly killing you.
Researchers in Finland have found in a study of British workers that those who felt they were being treated fairly had a much lower incidence of heart disease, the leading cause of death in Western society.
"Most people care deeply about just treatment by authorities," study author Mika Kivimaki of the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health wrote in this week's Archives of Internal Medicine. "Lack of justice may be a source of oppression, deprivation and stress."
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10352010
Russian on trial for killing air controller
26.10.05 10.20am
ZURICH - A Russian who lost his wife and two children in Germany's worst aviation disaster has gone on trial in Switzerland for killing the air traffic controller he held responsible.
Vitaly Kaloyev, 48, lost his family when a DHL cargo plane and a Russian passenger jet collided in Swiss-controlled airspace over southern Germany on July 1, 2002.
He is charged with the premeditated killing of Peter Nielsen, the only air traffic controller on duty at the time.
Under Swiss law this charge ranks between murder and manslaughter and carries a maximum sentence of 20 years.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10352063
Pacific's children at risk as Aids spreads
26.10.05
By Angela Gregory
Children are being overlooked in the spread of HIV/Aids in the Pacific, which is heading towards a generalised epidemic in the region, says Unicef New Zealand.
A global campaign was kick-started in Auckland yesterday to highlight the children who are increasingly bearing the brunt of the disease, the same day the Pan Pacific HIV/Aids conference opened in the city.
Unicef NZ executive director Dennis McKinlay said the disease was taking a stranglehold in the Pacific with a sharp increase in cases and potential for exponential growth.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10352049
West failed to stem bird flu says researcher
26.10.05
By Martin Johnston
Western countries have failed Asia in its attempts to control the bird flu epidemic now threatening poultry flocks in Europe, a Massey University researcher says.
Professor Roger Morris, an epidemiologist, said yesterday that the influenza outbreak could have been confined to Asia and controlled if the West had provided the assistance sought.
"The global community has failed to respond adequately to calls for help in stemming spread of the disease."
The H5N1 strain of influenza has led to the deaths of millions of birds and more than 60 people. The virus does not spread easily between people, but experts fear it could change to do so, causing a global pandemic that kills millions of people.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10352050
Private companies begin hunt for Tamiflu stockpiles
26.10.05
By Jeremy Laurance
Private firms in Britain are arranging stockpiles of Tamiflu, the anti-viral treatment for avian flu, as the drug's manufacturer said panic buying had almost exhausted the National Health Service's supply.
The Government has ordered 14.6 million Tamiflu courses at a cost of 200 million ($500 million), delivered at the rate of 800,000 courses a month.
Tamiflu maker Roche said: "We are in discussion with a number of corporations but they have requested their details are kept confidential. Our priority is to fill the Government's order."
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10352016
Best way 'to foil pandemic' is focus on Asia
26.10.05
MOSCOW - Russia confirmed more bird flu cases yesterday, raising fears it could spread over Europe, but a United Nations official said the best way to stop it was for donors to pay up and fight it where it began, among Asian fowl.
The latest case in Russia killed 12 hens at a dacha in Tambov, 400km southeast of Moscow. Authorities culled 53 birds and imposed a quarantine.
Tests confirmed some birds carried the H5N1 avian flu strain which can infect humans, though not yet pass between them. More dead birds were found and taken for tests in Germany, Croatia, Hungary and Portugal as suspect cases multiplied. But the numbers involved in Europe are still small and no humans there have been infected, unlike Asia where 61 people have died.
A World Health Organisation official, Shigeru Omi, said Europe still had good prospects of stopping H5N1 reaching its tame bird population because it had reacted faster and more openly.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10352018
The weather in Antarctica (Crystal Ice Chime) is warm:
Scott Base
Clear
-6.0°
Updated Wednesday 26 Oct 9:59PM
The weather at Glacier Bay National Park (Crystal Wind Chime) is:
36 °F / 2 °C
Partly Cloudy
Humidity:
81%
Dew Point:
30 °F / -1 °C
Wind:
Calm
Pressure:
29.50 in / 999 hPa
Visibility:
10.0 miles / 16.1 kilometers
UV:
0 out of 16
Clouds:
Few 4100 ft / 1249 m
Few 4800 ft / 1463 m
(Above Ground Level)
end
