Thursday, September 20, 2007

A highly dynamic Bluetongue (or catarrhal fever) infection of sheep herds is underway in Germany. From August 2006 till September 9, 2007, 1,833 farms had reported the presence of the infection. From Sept 9. till September 14, 2007, the number of farms reporting infections has grown to 5,686. The number of deaths is estimated around 15,000 sheep.

Bluetongue infection is of viral origin and is harmless to humans. It is an insect-borne viral disease of ruminants, mainly sheep and less frequently of cattle, goats, buffalo, deer, dromedary camels and antelope. There are no reports of human transmission.

The origin of the infection is not clear but it is one of the diseases which is still feared to invade Northern Europe as a consequence of global warming. No official sources are as yet available as the affected sheep farmers have tried to get the news on the media but to no avail.

The disease has also been found in Belgium, France, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. The United Kingdom Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs says the virus could spread from Northern Europe to the UK, but is unlikely.

Monday, April 2, 2007

Iran state television broadcast a new video of two officers among the fifteen British sailors and marines seized by Iran last week.

Yesterday, Iranian students demonstrated in front of the British embassy in Tehran over the incident.

Demonstrators threw stones, firecrackers and a smoke grenade but were prevented from entering the embassy compound by police. No damage was reported and no one at the embassy was injured. The BBC‘s correspondent on the location reported that the protestors were hardline Islamist students from Tehran University, who chanted “Death to Britain” and called for an apology from the UK for the incident and putting the seized soldiers on trial. Protestors also carried banners saying “finally wipe Israel from the face of the Earth”.

The new video shows one of the servicemen, Royal Marine Capt. Chris Air, pointed to an area on a map where Iran says they were when the British troops were arrested.

“We were seized apparently at this point here on their maps and on the GPS they’ve shown us, which is inside Iranian territorial waters. And so far we have been treated very well by all the people here. They have looked after us and made sure there’s been enough food and we’ve been treated very well by them, so we thank them for that,” said Air.

Lt. Felix Carman is the second serviceman to appear in the video. Carman was also showing viewers where they were detained by Iranian forces.

“[It is] completely unacceptable for these pictures to be shown on TV,” said a British Foreign Ministry spokesman, echoing previous statements from the Prime Minister Tony Blair and Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett.

On March 23, the fifteen sailors and marines from the frigate HMS Cornwall were inspecting a ship, in what the UK identified as Iraqi waters, when they were surrounded by Iranian gunboats and taken into custody. Iran claims the UK forces were in Iranian waters, though they have released the 15.

Friday, March 31, 2006

More than 48 million gallons (180 million L) of untreated sewage that flowed into the ocean from a sewer spill on Friday, March 24, have forced city officials in Honolulu, Hawaii, United States, to post signs warning tourists on Waikiki Beach to stay out of the water.

A 42-inch pressurized sewer line in Waikiki cracked on Friday, March 24, sending untreated sewage into the Ala Wai Canal on the inland (mauka) side of Waikiki. Engineers believe that heavy rains since February 19 overwhelmed the sewer line, which was constructed in 1965.

City officials say that they had no alternative but to pump the raw sewage into the Ala Wai Canal, which empties just west of Waikiki, to prevent the wastewater from backing up into homes and hotels. Repair crews worked around the clock to fix the sewer break. The spill was finally stopped on Thursday.

At first, tides and winds took the sewage spill out to sea, but southerly winds sent the sewage back toward Waikiki Beach, forcing city officials to take action. Signs were posted on beaches on the west side of Waikiki. Bacteria tests taken on the 29th showed levels of bacteria from three to sixty times acceptable levels.

Health officials will continue to test bacteria levels daily, but there is no estimate as to when the contamination will dissipate; warning signs may be in place for as long as several months.

Friday, October 13, 2006

Buffalo, New York —Lake effect snow has come early to parts of Western New York prompting a State of Emergency and a flood watch to be issued, especially in Buffalo, New York and its suburbs where nearly 2 feet of snow fell during the afternoon and last night. Snow started to fall at around 12:00 pm EST on Thursday, October 12, heavy at times, and accompanied by thunder and lightning. Forecasters called the weather event “unprecedented.” A driving ban has been issued for Tonawanda, New York, Buffalo and Amherst where at least “80% of roads in Amherst are impassible.” The Buffalo Niagara International Airport opened at almost 3:30 p.m. [EST]. The New York State Throughway, or interstate 90 is closed from nearly Rochester, New York to Dunkirk, New York which is nearly 110 miles long. Motorists at the Williamsville, New York toll barrier are being turned around. A driving ban remains in effect while a state of emergency exists.

Water will be shut off in 24 hours due to the lack of electricity to water pumps in the area and in a press conference, Mayor of Buffalo, Byron Brown issued a “boil water advisory.” Brown also said that “70,000 of the 75,000 residents and businesses in Amherst are still without power.” Residents are asked to bottle water and prepare for the outage. It is not known when water will be turned back on. At least 30 water intake pumps in Erie County, out of the 50 the county has, have no power. Officials say that businesses and residents could be out of water by 5:00 p.m. [EST].

At least 3 people have been killed due to the storm. Two of those people were killed in a two-car accident in Lancaster, New York, and the other person was in Niagara County and died after being hit by a vehicle. One person was crushed and killed by a falling tree in Amherst, while in the process of removing snow from his property.

Hundreds of trees have snapped in half as the snow began to fall around the city. Many trees, which still have their leaves, have broken into pieces as the heavy, wet snow began to pile up, as much as an inch an hour. Early on Thursday, the airport had received nearly 9 inches (23cm) of snow and climbing. The storm has caused many delays and cancellations in flights leaving from or going to Buffalo.

Nearly 400,000 people in Buffalo and surrounding suburbs are still without power and forecasters at the NOAA are warning people “not to go outside in an area where heavy snow has fallen unless absolutely necessary.” Power may not be restored to the affected areas until Sunday and possibly next week in some areas. Damage to trees is extensive with nearly every tree destroyed on Granger Place in Buffalo.

“This was extremely heavy snow and most of the trees still have most of their leaves … we can’t do a complete damage assessment until the snow stops falling,” said spokesman for Niagara Mohawk, Western New York’s area power company, Steve Brady.

“At 8 pm [on Thursday], utility companies were reporting over 50,000 customers without power. The reason for the widespread power outages has been the combination of very heavy water laden snow accumulating on the trees that still have most of their leaves. Tree’s limbs break under the weight of the snow and bring down power lines as they fall,” said a statement on NOAA’s website.

“[This is the] snowiest day in 137 years [of weather records]. Six inches of snow occurred on October 13, 1909 and again on October 31, 1917,” added the NOAA weather statement.

Many business and nearly every school in Western New York are still closed due to the weather and the snow is forecasted to move south again over the Buffalo Metropolitan area, but snow amounts are not expected to be significant. Wind is expected to be strong and gusty which could bring down tree limbs which are broken but still attached to the tree. Some areas could se an additional 6 inches of snow by Saturday morning.

The flood watch takes effect at 2:00 p.m. [EST] and continues through Saturday.

Monday, October 17, 2011

The Huffington Post reported Friday that U.S. presidential candidate Buddy Roemer received a $25 campaign donation from an individual listed as ‘Homer Simpson’; the same name as the main character of the long running animated television series The Simpsons. Along with the name, the donor also shares the cartoon character’s place of residence and employment. He claims to live at 742 Evergreen Terrace, and to work as Safety Inspector at Springfield Nuclear Power Plant.

The Huff Post discovered the July 31 donation while analyzing Roemer’s Federal Election Commission records. After being notified, Roemer’s campaign manager, Carlos Sierra, responded “Oh my God. That is too funny”. He added that the campaign uses “one of the best accountants in the business,” and that he would personally find out who actually made the donation. Sierra noted that “we do not accept anonymous donations”.

Roemer, who previously served as a member of the House of Representatives (1981–1988) and Governor of Louisiana (1988–1992), has been running for the Republican Party’s presidential nomination since earlier this year. However, he has failed to receive invitations to any presidential debates.

Roemer, who recently expressed his support for the Occupy Wall Street protests, has focused his campaign on finance reform, and has limited individual contributions to $100. In the third quarter of 2011, he raised $138,000.

Wikinews contacted Carlos Sierra yesterday for an update on the matter. He explained, “I reached out to the individual and he was very apologetic. I have the correct information now and will turn it over to our compliance officer.”