New Zealand Herald
Forecasters see busy hurricane season
05.04.06 1.00pm
By Michael Christie
The 2006 hurricane season will not be as ferocious as last year when Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and other storms slammed Florida and Texas, but will still be unusually busy, a noted US forecasting team said today. The Colorado State University team, led by Dr. William Gray, a pioneer in forecasting storm probabilities, said it expected 17 named storms to form in the Atlantic basin during the six-month season, which officially begins on June 1.
Nine of the storms will strengthen into hurricanes, with winds of at least 74 mph, the team said, reaffirming an early prediction made in December and updated to include current trends like the La Nina weather phenomenon, cool Pacific waters and an abnormally warm Atlantic.
The Colorado State forecasters said five of the hurricanes were likely to be major storms, reaching at least Category 3 on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale of hurricane intensity, and boasting winds of at least 111 mph. Storms of Category 3 strength and above cause the most destruction.
But they also said there were likely to be fewer major storms making landfall in the United States compared to 2005, when virtually every hurricane record was broken, and also 2004, when Florida was bashed by four consecutive hurricanes. "Even though we expect to see the current active period of Atlantic major hurricane activity to continue for another 15-20 years, it is statistically unlikely that the coming 2006-2007 hurricane seasons, or the seasons that follow, will have the number of major hurricane US landfall events as we have seen in 2004-2005," Gray said in a statement.
HARD TO PREDICT
Gray's predictions are valued by companies but their accuracy can be difficult to gauge because they are revised regularly as a season progresses.
The Colorado State team, for example, initially predicted 13 storms for 2005 and raised the forecast in May last year to 15. It wasn't until August 5 -- almost halfway through the season-- that Gray increased the prediction to 20 storms. In the event, 2005 saw a record 27 named storms, of which 15 became hurricanes.
Last year was the costliest and most destructive season ever, with $80 billion in damages from Katrina alone. Hurricane Rita hammered Texas and Hurricane Wilma became the most intense Atlantic hurricane observed before slamming into the Mexican resort of Cancun and then curving back over South Florida, where it caused $10 billion in damage.
Hurricane Stan, meanwhile, killed up to 2,000 people across Central America.
The long-term statistical average is for around 10 named storms per season, of which six become hurricanes. Gray is a leading skeptic about human-induced global warming and believes that heightened Atlantic hurricane activity since 1995 reflects a natural variation in water temperatures and atmospheric conditions that may last for up to 20 more years.
Climatologists have found few indications that global warming could be linked to the increasing number of Atlantic storms. But there is a growing body of evidence to suggest that warmer sea surface temperatures are already causing hurricanes in the Atlantic, and typhoons and cyclones in the Pacific, to become more powerful.
Gray and CSU team will update their forecast on May 31, August 3, September 1 and October 3. The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issues its hurricane season forecast on May 22.
Scientists divided over Chernobyl ecosystem
05.04.06 1.00pmBy Steve Connor
When top predators such as wolves and eagles return to a damaged habitat, it is a sure sign that the ecosystem is once again healthy and vibrant.
For several years, ecologists have reported many sightings of rare species within the Chernobyl exclusion zone which are hardly ever seen in other parts of Europe.
Robert Baker, a biologist at Texas Tech University who has made more than a dozen scientific excursions into the zone, said the diversity of wildlife around the stricken plant was what might be expected in a nature park dedicated to conservation.
"The benefit of excluding humans from this highly contaminated ecosystem appears to outweigh significantly any negative cost associated with Chernobyl radiation," Dr Baker said.
In a comprehensive assessment of the damage caused by the Chernobyl accident, the British ecologists Jim Smith and Nick Beresford point out that radiation levels considered potentially dangerous to humans have little if any effect on wildlife.
"Nearly 20 years after the accident there is some (often contradictory) evidence of continuing radiation damage to organisms, but this appears to be relatively minor (although poorly understood)," they say in their book, Chernobyl - Catastrophe and Consequences.
"Radiation is considered to be a risk to humans when there is a small, but significant, probability of cancer induction in later life. Though cancer induction in animals is possible, a small additional cancer risk does not affect wild populations as a whole. Animals in the wild are less prone to cancer than human populations. They are most likely to be killed by natural predators or starvation before they reach an age at which cancer risk increases," they say. Not all scientists accept this assessment.
Anders Moller and Timothy Mousseau studied swallows in the exclusion zone and found they carry a significantly higher level of "germline" mutations in their sperm and eggs compared to swallows elsewhere.
"Our work indicates that the worst is yet to come in the human population.
The consequences for generations down the line could be greater than we've seen so far," said Dr Mousseau, a biology professor at the University of South Carolina.
Program designed to reduce risk of radiation treatment
04.04.06By Errol Kiong
Auckland researchers are developing new technology that reduces the amount of healthy tissue cancer patients expose during radiotherapy. A computer program called Carina can reduce the amount of healthy tissue exposed to radiation by 30 per cent. Its potential is particularly important in more delicate cases such as brain, neck and prostate tumours, where radiotherapy aims to kill the tumour while limiting damage to surrounding healthy tissue. Auckland University researchers believe Carina can calculate the best treatment for patients undergoing intensity modulated radiotherapy - often used for more complicated tumours.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10375963
'Incurable' illness falls to gene therapy
04.04.06By Steve Connor
Gene therapy has repaired the immune systems of two men who were born with an "incurable" genetic disorder that made them almost defenceless against bacterial and fungal infections. Sixteen months after an operation to repair a defective gene, the once severely ill patients show signs of complete recovery. Scientists believe the latest success will lead to further operations to treat many other chronic and incurable conditions resulting from the inheritance of defective genes. Gene therapy involves altering a person's genome to repair or replace a mutated gene. After years of hype and hope, the technique seems finally to have proven its potential with a handful of successful operations.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10375893
Reeves the turtle paddles 500km for taste of home
06.04.06
By Errol Kiong
Reeves just wanted to come home.
For nearly a year, the green turtle found stranded at Muriwai Beach was fed a diet of squid, mussels and fish while recovering at Auckland's Kelly Tarlton's Underworld World.
The good life must have been hard to give up. When he was released back into the wild at Parengarenga Harbour in the Far North on March 1, Reeves decided to make the 500km journey back to Auckland.
Yesterday, the satellite tag that researcher Dan Godoy put on the turtle's shell traced him to the Waitemata Harbour, just 500m from Kelly Tarlton's.
But the juvenile turtle's journey is still considered "cruisy", said Mr Godoy; adults are known to travel 2000km between foraging and breeding sites.
Mr Godoy is tracking turtles as part of his PhD at Auckland University of Technology, hoping to build up a better understanding of the endangered creatures - of which little is known.
Sick turtles are rehabilitated at Kelly Tarlton's, and released the following summer in New Zealand's northernmost waters.
"We never knew what happened to them. We didn't know whether they survived, migrated back to the tropics, or whether they stayed in New Zealand," said Mr Godoy.
Reeves was one of the first to have a $3500 tag attached to his shell, enabling researchers to track his movements. For the first few weeks after being released, Reeves - named after the actor Christopher Reeve for his battler spirit - could be seen slowly making his way south.
By Tuesday night, the tag placed the 22kg "big boy" off Takapuna Beach.
Overseas research has shown that turtles can detect changes in the earth's magnetic field, enabling them to form a mental map by which they navigate. Mr Godoy believed the time Reeves spent recuperating at Kelly Tarlton's left an imprint in his mind. When he was released in the Far North, he returned to the marine centre, believing it to be home.
Mr Godoy said Reeves' return has implications for turtle rehabilitation. None of the world's seven turtle species - all endangered or critical - are known to make New Zealand waters home. "Historically, those that end up here are stragglers. They are those that become disoriented doing a migration."
But there is anecdotal data that a population of greens may have established here, he said. He is trying to build up a genetic database of marine turtles here, as part of a South Pacific turtle conservation programme.
www.sealab.co.nz
Food companies withdraw support for Japanese whaling
05.04.06 1.00pmBy David McNeill and Michael McCarthy
TOKYO/LONDON - Japan's ruthless push for the return of commercial whaling received a significant setback yesterday when pressure from green campaigners forced five big food companies to pull out of supporting the Japanese whaling industry. The five firms, led by Japanese seafood giant Nissui and its wholly-owned US frozen foods subsidiary Gortons, said they will divest their total one-third share in Japan's largest operator of whaling ships, Kyodo Senpaku. Nissui owns 50 per cent of shares in New Zealand food processing company Sealord.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10376170
Government acts to close border loopholes
06.04.06By Angela Gregory
The Government is looking at tough new immigration rules that will make it harder to get into New Zealand and easier to kick people out. Border inspection tools such as fingerprinting or eye scanning are among the proposals. Immigration officers may get greater powers to find and detain suspect visitors. People who have been removed from other countries or who are considered a serious threat to public safety may be automatically expelled. Immigration Minister David Cunliffe yesterday outlined suggested changes to the Immigration Act 1987 which are being put out for public discussion. Mr Cunliffe said it was part of a review of the immigration system to ensure New Zealand attracted skilled workers, had secure borders, and that migrants settled well here. He said the objectives were in the national interest and he hoped the "political football" of immigration could finally be punctured.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10376292
Air NZ starts direct Shanghai flights
05.04.06 1.00pm
Air New Zealand is launching a new three-times-a-week direct service to Shanghai later this year. Peter Elmsly, currently Air New Zealand's general manager for eastern region, has been appointed as regional manager for Greater China from May 1. The direct Auckland to Shanghai service will start later this year. Based in Shanghai, Mr Elmsly will be responsible for China and Hong Kong operations, including the launch of the Shanghai service. China is New Zealand's sixth biggest source of visitor arrivals with more than 88,000 visitors to New Zealand in the year ending February.
Sinn Fein spy death treated as murder
05.04.06 1.00pm UPDATEBy Paul Hoskins and Michael Smith
DUBLIN - Police have launched a murder inquiry after finding the mutilated body of former Sinn Fein member Denis Donaldson who last year admitted spying on fellow Irish nationalists on behalf of British security forces. The IRA denied it was behind a killing that risks heightening mistrust two days before a fresh bid by Dublin and London to end a political stalemate in the province. "The Gardai (police) are treating it as a homicide not a suicide," Irish Minister for Justice Michael McDowell said. "They found the body on the floor with a bullet wound to the head," he told Sky Television. "There is damage to his right forearm ... it is almost severed." Police in the Republic of Ireland confirmed they were investigating the discovery of a man in his mid-50s in Donegal.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10376143
Golf: Campbell goes high-tech to improve drive
05.04.06 4.00pmBy Bernie McGuire
New Zealand's Michael Campbell has tapped into into missile-launch technology in preparation for the US Masters golf championship starting on Friday (NZ time). His coach, Jonathon Yarwood, revealed they spent two days last week using the high-tech facility at Yarwood's Ritz-Carlton Sarasota club base in Orlando. "The system we have at Sarasota is actually designed to test missiles and it provides so much information on the ball, the speed of the club, on the energy transfer and on the efficiency of the club motion," Yarwood said. "It's fascinating stuff but it's more for my knowledge than Cambo's, but the bottom line is the ball goes further and straighter.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=4&ObjectID=10376183
Judge rules video game law unconstitutional
05.04.06 4.00pm
A US District Court judge has ruled that a Michigan law that bans the sale of violent video games to minors is unconstitutional. Federal District Judge George Caram Steeh said in court documents that video games were protected under the First and Fourteenth Amendments. The law, signed by Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm last year, imposes civil and criminal penalties for anyone who knowingly distributes violent video games to a minor. Steeh said in the ruling the state "lacked substantial evidence to show violent video games cause minors to have aggressive feelings or engage in aggressive behavior."
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=5&ObjectID=10376190
Farm Safety course tutor
05.04.06By Philippa Stevenson
Name: Murray Holt
Age: 37
Job title: Farm Safety course tutor, lifestyle block course designer and tutorWorking hours: 8am-5pm but variable and some weekend workEmployer: Agribusiness Training, other training providersQualifications needed: common sense, people skills, practical and/or farm background, qualifications in adult education, moderating, writing assessments and first aid
What do you do?
I tutor three days a week because I also do course designing work. We have a large variety of clients - farmers, prisons, schools, and regional councils - for courses including tractor, ATV, farm bike and chainsaw safety. Depending on whether you're taking a theory or practical course the day can be quite different. You might be organising to take tractors some place or a PowerPoint projector if it's a theory day.
Why did you choose this job?
It sort of snuck up on me. I was sharemilking and the man that owns this business came to do a case study on the farm. We got talking and he said there was an opportunity there for me. I'd already been doing some consultancy with some Japanese and had been to Japan. I was a registered Agriculture ITO assessor. Early on I did ITO courses and then I employed ITO cadets and students and from that became an assessor.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/11/story.cfm?c_id=11&objectid=10376055
Liquid bubble gum recalled
05.04.06 1.00pm
A liquid bubble gum called Qifeng Blow Bubbles has been recalled by its manufacturer because of concerns about the effects of it being swallowed undiluted. Universal Trade said the liquid gum, which is sold in bottles, should not be consumed and should be returned for a full refund. The gum was sold in dairies throughout Auckland, Whangarei and Dunedin. Consumers are asked to call 0800 275 472 for refund details.
'Minimal' health risk from toxic ground, council tells parents
05.04.06
By Derek Cheng and David Eames
The toxic contamination in land where several Auckland preschools now stand carries minimal health risks, worried parents have been told.
"There is cause for concern, but no cause for alarm," Auckland City Deputy Mayor Bruce Hucker said last night after a private meeting between council officials, health officials and about 70 parents. Parents last week withdrew 30 children from the Auckland Central Playcentre in Freemans Bay after tests revealed the presence of benzo-a-pyrene, which can cause respiratory upsets, skin irritation and, on rare occasions, cancer. Between one in 100,000 children and on in 10 million children could contract cancer, Dr Hucker said. "It's a very low risk ... [but] it's sensible for children to have their blood tested for lead, a marker for benzo-a-pyrene." He said the council had agreed to give a grant to the Auckland Playcentre Association to reimburse parents for the $21 test.
Interim results yesterday showed that the site of Freemans Bay Early Learning Centre would need to be treated, but that would not be finalised until today.
Dr Hucker said there was no risk once the sites were cleaned, and the council would continue monitoring. "Two of our grandchildren attended [affected] sites, so I'm personally assessing this information very carefully." Rae Wilkin, who has researched the dangers of benzo-a-pyrene - which is from a chemical group identified in a Columbia University report as a possible cause of "chromosomal aberrations" and childhood cancers - told the Herald she was worried the council was "politicising" the matter at the expense of public safety. "If any of my grandchildren were there, I would be really worried about it."
She said the council was wrong to ban the media from last night's meeting, as it was important the public learned as much as possible about the chemical.
In all, 185 council-owned sites are thought to be contaminated.
Be on ice with the Penguins
28.03.06
Celebrate the release of MARCH OF THE PENGUINS by going in the draw to be ON THE ICE with the penguins at Kelly Tarlton’s!
Three lucky winners will get an ON THE ICE experience which includes: a behind the scenes tour of the penguin enclosure, a photo on the ice inside the Antarctic enclosure with the penguins and a complimentary coffee and muffin with the Penguin minders at Kelly Tarlton’s! Plus the three winners will receive a family pass to MARCH OF THE PENGUINS. A once in a lifetime experience so don’t miss out on your chance to experience this amazing prize!
20 runners up will also win a family pass to MARCH OF THE PENGUINS To be in to win, write your name, address and phone number on the back of an envelope and post to: MARCH OF THE PENGUINS Competition, NZ Herald, Marketing Dept, PO Box 3290, Auckland. Entries must be received by 5pm on the 17th April.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/promotion/story.cfm?c_id=500848&ObjectID=10374860
Dog microchipping costs much exaggerated say vets
03.04.06
Opponents of compulsory dog microchipping have been exaggerating the cost of the procedure, the Veterinary Association says. Farmers have been lobbying to have their dogs exempted from the new law, saying the dogs don't leave the farm and costs will be high because farmers usually own several dogs. But Veterinary Association chief executive Murray Gibb said the heated debate surrounding the issue had not been helped by misinformation about the costs. Vets were charging between $35 and $75 all-up for chipping dogs, depending on whether it was a stand alone procedure or included as part of a consultation for other reasons. It included the cost of the chip as well as lifetime registration on Australian databases.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10375782
Thai PM's foes mistrust his pledge to quit
05.04.06 1.00pmBy Ed Cropley
BANGKOK - Thailand's opposition is accusing Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra of sleight-of-hand after he finally promised to quit after an election and weeks of protests but failed to spell out when he would go. Even after Thaksin announced his departure in a nationally televised address, the opposition remains suspicious whether a man they say plundered the economy and perverted democracy to benefit his friends in big business really meant what he said. "He's trying to dictate the terms of his departure," said Korn Chatikavanij of the opposition Democrat party, which spearheaded a boycott of Sunday's snap election -- one that went badly wrong for the telecoms billionaire.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10376164
Pirates seize trawler off Somalia
05.04.06 3.20pm
SEOUL - A South Korean trawler fishing off Somalia has been sized and its crew of 25 held captive, South Korea's Foreign Ministry said in a statement today. The crew of the 361-tonne fishing vessel named 628 Dongwon-ho includes eight South Koreans, nine Indonesians, five Vietnamese and three Chinese, it said. The South Korean fishing vessel was seized by eight armed assailants in two speed boats on Tuesday, the ministry said. Other South Korean ships that were also fishing in the area signalled for help. Dutch and US naval vessels tried to intervene but gave up their pursuit after the fishing ship entered Somali waters, it said. The ministry has set up a special task force for the matter. Pirates from Somalia frequently attack ships they say have strayed into territorial waters and hold them for ransom. East Africa's waters are rich in yellow fin tuna and other fish.
Niger blocks foreign press reporting food crisis
05.04.06 11.20am
NIAMEY - Niger has said it will deny accreditation to foreign journalists who reported alleged food shortages in the central African state after criticising three BBC journalists for their "negative" coverage.
The BBC said on Monday a team of its journalists had their permission to work withdrawn by the government in Niamey after finding evidence of food shortages in the Maradi region in central Niger, hard hit by last year's humanitarian crisis. But Niger's government denied it had stripped the journalists of their accreditation, saying it had summoned them to explain that their coverage was one-sided and did not present the country's efforts to solve its problems. "We did not expel the BBC. We summoned the team to say their report had caused shock and Niger is more than just recurring food shortages," said Fogue Aboubacar, secretary-general at the Culture, Arts and Communication Ministry. "Niger is also about the authorities attempts to solve these problems and one must stop focusing on the negative side," he added.
"That is what happened in 2005 and we are not going to tolerate it, especially as harvests have been good. "Be it the BBC, CNN or any other media, we will not hand out more accreditation on the food situation," he said. During 2005, an estimated 3.6 million people -- over a third of Niger's population of 12 million -- were left short of food, including some 800,000 children suffering from malnutrition. In November, Niger accused aid agencies such as the World Food Programme of exaggerating the threat of severe food shortages this year to boost their funds. Rates of malnutrition run at 10.5 per cent in the country as a whole, rising to as high as 21.3 per cent in Maradi.
Rice takes the floor in bed diplomacy
05.04.06
When it came time to grab a few hours' rest before landing on a secret mission in Baghdad, Condoleezza Rice insisted that Jack Straw take the bed in the private cabin in her aircraft. The British Foreign Secretary was horrified when he woke up to find that the United States Secretary of State had slept on the floor so that her guest was more comfortable.
Donkeys 'make better companions' than wives
05.04.06
A textbook used at schools in the Indian state of Rajasthan compares housewives to donkeys and suggests the animals make better companions as they complain less and are more loyal to their "masters", the Times of India reported.
Cartoon war curdles Jakarta's view of Canberra
05.04.06By Greg Ansley
CANBERRA - A cartoon war has soured relations between Australia and Indonesia and undermined diplomatic efforts by Canberra to contain the damage caused by the granting of temporary visas to Papuans seeking political asylum. Incensed by an Australian cartoon depicting President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as a dog having sex with a Papuan and public claims of atrocities by the Papuan asylum-seekers in Melbourne, Jakarta will review all its relations with Canberra.
Mr Yudhoyono described as "obscene and destructive" a cartoon in the Weekend Australian depicting him as a dog mounting a Papuan, drawn in retaliation for an earlier Indonesian cartoon in the tabloid Rakyat Merdeka of Prime Minister John Howard mating with Foreign Minister Alexander Downer and declaring: "I want Papua, Alex" - reflecting Indonesian fears that Australia is trying to engineer Papuan independence in a repeat of East Timor's separation.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10376129
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