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Sunday, August 27, 2006

An eleven year-old boy has been arrested this morning on suspicion of attacking a four year-old boy in Hessle, East Yorkshire. The boy was arrested on suspicion of assault and has been bailed to mid-September pending further inquiries.

Charlie Davis was left with a fractured skull after being battered with a brick. The incident happened on wasteland close to the child’s home before lunchtime on Thursday, and he was discovered by a couple who were out walking. He was in a puddle of blood and part of his ear was hanging off; doctors at Hull Royal Infirmary later performed surgery to repair it.

Yesterday, a spokeswoman from Humberside Police said: “This little boy has suffered a nasty attack and has some horrible injuries.”

Police say they haven’t been able to talk to Charlie about the attack, and they say that they are keeping an “open mind” about the attack. A police spokeswoman added: “Police hope to be able to take a statement and get a full account of the incident from the four-year-old victim some time today, so long as he’s able to speak to us.”

According to reports, the little boy was tied to a tree before being battered, but police said there was no evidence to verify such information.

Friday, June 9, 2006

In a small-scale trial on humans, American scientists say they may have developed a new drug that could stop the spread of HIV and “rapidly clears” the blood of the virus.

“There is a lot of interest in this product,” said editor Keith Alcorn of the National Aids Manual.

The drug called PA-457, which is derived from betulinic acid and comes from by-products from paper manufacturers, is being manufactured and developed by Maryland drug manufacturer Panacos Pharmaceuticals. The drug is known as a maturation inhibitor, which is a new group of drugs. Its purpose is to break down the protective protein coating of HIV. The drug exposes the inner genetic material by making holes in the coating of the virus essentially causing it to break down and disabling its ability to be passed from one human to the next. The drug also shows that it works on strains of HIV that are resistant to other medications. The drug is also compatible with other HIV drugs.

“It’s a truly novel new class of drugs, and I really support their development. If PA-457 turns out to be non-toxic, easy to use and not to select for resistance, it will find good use,” said Charles Boucher who researches HIV at Utrecht university medical center in the Netherlands.

“It stops the virus by interfering in one of the final stages in its assembly and stops it from ‘budding out’ from the wall of a cell,” said Alcorn.

Scientists are expected to begin a larger scale test on 48 people in one month, whose drugs are no longer working; however, the drug itself is not likely to be available for wide-scale use for at least 3 years. Test subjects will be administered either a placebo or PA-457 that will be taken in combination with the medication they already take.

“This provides the basis for future studies that will be designed to provide a detailed understanding of the interaction between PA-457 and its target as well as insights into the design of new generations of maturation inhibitors,” said CEO of Panacos Pharmaceuticals, Graham Allaway.

At least 80% of those suffering from the disease have shown resistance to other medications.

Monday, June 17, 2013

The Duke of Edinburgh, the husband of the current British monarch, today departed from the London Clinic, located in the centre of the British capital, after eleven days. Prince Philip, who is aged 92, was hospitalised on June 6 to be given exploratory surgery on his abdomen.

According to the BBC, it was thought the Prince would remain in hospital for two weeks. The abdominal surgery was pre-planned, Buckingham Palace previously reported, although the reasons why this surgery was arranged have not been publicised.

The Duke of Edinburgh missed numerous royal occasions while he was in the private building, including the Trooping the Colour on June 15 to celebrate the Queen’s Official Birthday. As he was staying in the Clinic, over a thousand cards were sent to the Duke. Also, members of the British Royal Family, including Charles, Prince of Wales; Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex; Prince William, Duke of Cambridge; Prince Harry of Wales; and his wife, Elizabeth II, visited him.

A Buckingham Palace statement said the Duke was in “good condition and good spirits”, adding that he would take a two month time period to recover. “The Duke has expressed his thanks and appreciation to medical staff at the London Clinic and the many members of the public who have sent good wishes”, the statement added. ITV News Royal Correspondent Tim Ewart commented, “for a man of 92, who spent 11 nights in hospital, the Duke looked extraordinarily fit.”

Friday, August 26, 2005

As of 11:30 a.m. EDT on August 26 (1530 UTC), the center of Hurricane Katrina was located over the Gulf of Mexico about 45 miles (70 km) northwest of Key West, and 75 miles (120 km) south-southwest of Naples, Florida. The storm was reported moving southwest near 7 mph (11 km/h) with maximum sustained winds of approximately 100 mph (160 km/h) with higher gusts.

Katrina is expected to strengthen further, likely to at least a Category 3 hurricane and possibly a Category 4 hurricane, as it curves north towards a final landfall on the U.S. Gulf Coast.

Tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 70 miles from the center.

The minimum central pressure recently observed by an air force reserve unit reconnaissance aircraft was 981 mb or 28.97 inches.

Due to its slow forward speed, Katrina is expected to produce a significant heavy rainfall event over the central and northwest Bahamas as well as south Florida Total rainfall accumulations of 6 to 12 inches and isolated maximum amounts of 15 to 20 inches are possible.

Storm surge flooding of 3 to 5 feet above normal tide levels, along with large and dangerous battering waves, can be expected near the center in areas of onshore winds in the Bahamas.

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

If you are in the market for new bedding, and not too concerned with the new United States guidelines for mattress fire resistance, now might be a good time to buy. Mattresses sold in the U.S. must meet new federal guidelines for flammability starting on July 1.

The flammability of mattress sets sold in the U.S. is subject to a new mandatory federal regulation requirement passed by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) on February 16 last year. The requirement, costing mattress manufacturers an estimated $100 million to meet, is scheduled to take effect on July 1. The commission anticipates that the new standards will save 270 lives and 1,330 injuries per year from mattress fires.

“We’ve passed a new open flame regulation and the whole idea behind the regulation is to make sure that if a mattress catches on fire that the fire burns slowly enough that people have enough time to get out of the house and get away,” said Hal Stratton, chairman of the CPSC

Radio and TV advertising spots are reacting to the new regulation by discounting prices on mattresses that fail to meet the new guidelines. Sales made in the mattress industry, like the automobile industry, are highly negotiable on price. The new regulation does not appear to have much “teeth” for mattresses already in the distribution pipeline, but it is a new law that is a bargaining position for potential buyers.

Thursday, May 13, 2010

The Russian and Turkish governments today signed an agreement that would lead to Russia building a US$20 billion nuclear power plant in Turkey, the country’s first.

The plant will be built on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, and construction will commence as soon as the deal is approved by both countries; the building process is expected to take around seven years. The reactor will also be owned by Russia, which will hold “no less than a controlling stake,” according to Sergey Kiriyenko, who is the head of Rosatom, a Russian nuclear energy corporation.

The reactor to be built is the second proposed power plant in the same location; a separate proposal for a four-reactor complex built by a Russian-led consortium was rejected by a Turkish court last year. Russia has attempted to build a nuclear power plant in Turkey, and the contract signed Wednesday “really looks rather impressive,” according to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

The contract for the reactor was one of 20 signed by the two countries today, expected to result in around US$25 billion of Russian investment in Turkey. Other major contracts signed include projects to transport Russian oil and natural gas through Turkey to ports on the Mediterranean Sea. One such project is a major pipeline between the Turkish ports of Samsun on the Black Sea and Ceyhan on the Mediterranean Sea, built in conjunction with an oil refinery in Ceyhan.

In a press conference, Russian President Medvedev said that the agreements signal “a new page in our cooperation…Our talks today showed that Turkey and Russia are strategic partners not only in words but in deeds.” Turkish President Abdullah Gul said that the two countries “share a determination to increase the trade volume from a current US$38 billion to US$100 billion in five years.”

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

With the election campaign just beginning, Australian Prime Minister John Howard has promised AU$34 billion in personal income tax cuts over the next three years. That is on top of $31.5 billion announced in May, and $36.7 billion announced in 2006.

The new tax cuts are based on new projections for growth in the Australian economy. The Treasury estimates that the economy will expand by 4.25% in the 12 months to June 2008, up from growth of 3.75% predicted in May.

The Government has challenged the Labor opposition to announce their tax policy immediately.

“The biggest, boldest tax plan that we’ve seen in a long time is presented yesterday, it deals with participation, competitiveness, building capacity in the Australian economy, and what does Kevin Rudd say? Nothing,” treasurer Peter Costello said. “He better have an answer today.”

Costello described the government tax policy as “very responsible” and said Rudd was a “Nothing Man” because he has not revealed Labor’s tax policy.

The Shadow Treasurer, Wayne Swan, replied “The only responsible course of action here is to study the detail. We’ve said we’ll put out all our policies well before the election and we’ll do that”.

“But in terms of what the Government’s put forward, we will take our time to study the detail. That’s the only responsible and reasonable thing to do.”

Economists from Access Economics, the ANZ Bank, HSBC and Macquarie Bank noted that the tax cuts will boost demand at a time when the Reserve Bank is trying to slow the economy. The Reserve Bank has been raising interest rates to keep the inflation rate within its target range. Households with substantial mortgages could end up worse off.

Rudd has said the Opposition will reveal its tax policy in its own time – mimicking John Howard’s approach when he was Opposition Leader in 1996.