Australia Wildfires: Family Clings To Jetty

A terrified family clung to a jetty for more than two hours while wildfires raged around them.

As the flames destroyed her Tasmania home, grandmother Tammy Holmes was forced to tread water with her five young grandchildren in the sea.

Photographs taken by Mrs Holmes' husband Tim, and released on Wednesday, show two-year-old Charlotte, four-year-old Esther, Liam Walker, nine, 11-year-old Matilda and six-year-old Caleb huddled together in the water.

A NASA satellite image of the fires burning in southeastern Australia

The children's mother, Bonnie Walker, had left them with her parents while she attended a funeral.

She said: "We just waited by the phone and received a message to say that mum and dad had evacuated, that they were surrounded by fire, and could we pray. So I braced myself to lose my children and my parents."

The family eventually found a dinghy to escape the fire zone, and dragged it 300 metres to where the air was cleaner.

Mr Holmes said: "We saw tornadoes of fire just coming across towards us and the next thing we knew everything was on fire.

"I had sent Tammy ... with the children to get down to the jetty because there was no other escape, we couldn't get off."

More than 100 bushfires are still raging across southeastern Australia, following a heatwave that saw the region scorched by record temperatures.

About 30 fires in New South Wales are out of control

Cooler weather has now brought some relief - but highs of 50C are forecast for the weekend.

Meteorologists have been forced to readjust their scales to accommodate the unprecedented heat.

After facing one of the highest-risk fire days in its history on Tuesday, residents in hard-hit New South Wales woke to shifting winds that caused temperatures to drop significantly.

While the mercury topped 42C in Sydney on Tuesday, it was forecast to peak at just 25C today, while the Victorian capital Melbourne was down to 20C.

The ratings on many bushfires were downgraded with none now at the "catastrophic" level which signifies fires will be uncontrollable, unpredictable and fast-moving, and evacuation the only safe option.

Bathers at Lake Conjola watch as smoke billows from a bushfire at Deans Gap

But NSW Rural Fire Service commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons warned against complacency, with new fronts breaking out despite the colder weather and a total fire ban still in place.

Speaking from Bookham, a small village in Yass Shire west of Canberra where a fire has so far burnt out 16,000 hectares, he said: "It is far from over when it comes to the threat to New South Wales.

"We need to sustain the vigilance today. We are not out of the woods yet, the risk is very real and there's a long day ahead and a forecast for a return to hot conditions toward the weekend and into next week."

More than 2,000 firefighters worked through the night tackling more than 140 blazes across New South Wales, Australia's most populous state, with 30 of those uncontained.

New South Wales Premier Barry O'Farrell said an estimated 10,000 sheep had perished in the Yass area alone.

The state of Victoria has also been experiencing extreme conditions with four homes destroyed and six people treated for minor burns or smoke inhalation in a bushfire in the farming community of Carngham, which was evacuated.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard said the federal and state governments were working together in the recovery effort and to support victims.

"Firstly, it's all hands on deck fighting the fires, dealing with the emergency, and then we move into the recovery phase," she said.

No deaths have so far been reported.

While it was initially believed as many as 100 people could be missing in the southern island of Tasmania after wildfires razed more than 100 homes over the weekend, police said there was confusion about movements during the crisis.

"We know there have been no significant injuries, which is amazing, and we are encouraged that we haven't found any human remains at this stage," Tasmanian acting police commissioner Scott Tilyard told Sky News.

Wildfires are a fact of life in arid parts of Australia. Some 173 people perished in the 2009 Black Saturday firestorm, the nation's worst natural disaster of modern times.

20.48 | 0 komentar | Read More

Russia Zorbing Accident: Father Killed In Fall

A man has died in a zorbing accident after the giant inflatable ball he was strapped into fell off a cliff edge.

Father-of-two Denis Burakov, 27, broke his back and spine when the out-of-control orb hurtled down a mountain at the Dombai ski resort in southern Russia.

His friend Vladimir Shcherbov, 33, who was in the ball with him, escaped with minor cuts and bruises.

The accident was caught on camera by his friends.

The footage shows the pair climbing into the ball, and one friend can be heard saying: "Denis, you'll be like Jackie Chan in the Armour of God movie."

Two members of resort staff then push the orb down the piste, and another staff member is on hand at the bottom to stop it.

But as it neared the gathered crowd it suddenly veered left, and a man's voice can be heard saying: "Oh ****, it's gone in the wrong direction again."

He screamed to "hold it" but then said: "It's OK, it'll stop by itself."

The orb sped out of control and disappeared from view over a cliff edge. It travelled for nearly a mile before coming to a halt on a frozen lake.

Russian crash investigators said in a statement: "For unknown reasons the ball deviated from the route and fell into the Gonachkhir gorge - a slope of 70-80 degrees."

Authorities are interviewing eyewitnesses and relatives of the victims, as they decide whether to launch criminal proceedings.

Zorbs have been adopted as a symbol on the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

20.48 | 0 komentar | Read More

Norovirus: Vomiting Bug Spread From Australia

In Brief: Norovirus

Updated: 3:32pm UK, Sunday 30 December 2012

:: Noroviruses are a group of viruses that are the most common cause of stomach bugs in the UK.

:: Known as norovirus, it is highly contagious and is spread through contact with an infected person or contaminated surfaces and objects.

:: Symptoms include sudden vomiting, diarrhoea, or both, a temperature, headache, aching limbs and stomach cramps.

:: Although it is not considered dangerous, there is a risk of severe dehydration.

:: There is no need to worry if you are pregnant as there is no risk to your unborn child.

:: People with norovirus or flu-like symptoms are advised to stay at home, rest and drink plenty of fluids. Paracetamol is advised for aches and pains.

:: Contact your GP if your symptoms last longer than a few days or if you have a serious illness.

:: You can also contact NHS Direct, or check symptoms online via the NHS Direct website.

:: There is no cure as such, the illness just has to run its course.

:: The bug usually goes away within a few days but can be contagious for a couple of days after vomiting has ended.

:: To stop it spreading, wash your hands regularly, do not share towels or flannels and disinfect any surfaces that may have been touched by a sick person.

:: There are no long-lasting effects.

:: Norovirus spreads rapidly in closed environments such as ships, hospitals, schools and nursing homes.

:: It is known as the winter vomiting bug, but people can suffer from norovirus at any time of the year.

:: The most cases are seen between January and March.

20.48 | 0 komentar | Read More

Violent Crime Linked To Levels Of Lead In Air

An increase in violent crime in the 1970s and 80s is down to lead in the environment, research has claimed.

A study in the US which compared the level of crime and the earlier amount of lead in the atmosphere – from petrol, paint and other sources – found they appeared to be directly linked.

Researchers discovered that in cities where the amount of lead in the air went up, the crime rate went up around 20 years later.

When the amount of lead in the atmosphere came down, the number of robberies and attacks started to fall after about 20 years.

The authors of the study believe there could be something in lead that makes children who absorb more of it, more violent when they grow up.

The rate at which crime rose and fell was the same in all the six cities studied, regardless of what measures had been taken to prevent robbery and attacks.

In Britain, violent crime has fallen as lead levels have been dropping

The effect has been put down to changes in the amount of lead in the air from vehicles and industry as well as pollutants in the home like paint and water pipes.

Lead in petrol in the US was phased out from the mid-1970s onwards and in paint from the mid-1960s. Violent crime started to fall in the 1990s and has continued to fall since, despite a recession at the end of the last decade.

Other research has found that areas of US cities where lead levels have stayed high have continued to experience more robberies and attacks than other areas.

In Britain, violent crime has also been dropping since the 1990s. Lead in the atmosphere has been steadily decreasing, too, with one study showing it fell 90% between the mid-1970s and 1992. Since then it has continued to fall.

Professor Howard Mielke, of Tulane University, who studied the effect in New Orleans, said: "There is a very strong association between criminal activity and the environment in different parts of the city.

"The amount of lead in the environment ... was particularly strongly related to both learning problems and then violence.

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "We've mapped the city of New Orleans and it's the mapping that has provided us with a tool for going back and looking at different kind of issues in the city.

"The police department is even using the maps as they find them very predictive of where the highest crime rates are being found."

20.48 | 0 komentar | Read More

N-Dubz Frontman Dappy Accused Of Mob Attack

Rapper Dappy sparked a "mob attack" at a petrol station when he spat at two young women who refused to get into a car with him, his trial has heard.

Prosecutor Brian Stork said the 25-year-old, whose real name is Costadinos Contostavlos, pulled up in a car at a Shell garage in Guildford, Surrey, at about 3.30am on February 28 last year.

Mr Stork said Dappy and his friend Kalonji Stewart got out of the car along with a third man.

While Stewart went inside the shop Dappy began talking to Grace Cochran and Serena Burton, who were in a group sitting on the kerb outside.

Mr Stork alleged that Dappy tried to persuade the pair to come with them in their car.

The prosecution says the fight "kicked off" due to Dappy's behaviour

When they refused he called the women "sluts", said one was ugly and then spat at them, but missed, the prosecutor said.

A man who just met the women, David Jenkins, stood up to defend them, and Dappy is said to have spat at him and it made contact before swinging a punch at him.

Tests on a saliva stain on Mr Jenkins' t-shirt showed a DNA link to Dappy, Mr Stork said.

Mr Stork told Guildford Crown Court: "It all kicked off."

He said Dappy was then joined by two other men, Kieran Vassell and Alfred Miller, who had arrived in a second Mercedes car with other unidentified men.

Mr Stork showed the jury CCTV footage, lasting just moments, from the garage.

It showed the men attacking Mr Jenkins and his two other friends, resulting in Mr Jenkins' teeth being damaged and a fractured nose to another man. They then all got into cars and drove off.

Miller and Vassell are alleged to have used their feet and fists in the attack, and Dappy is alleged to have got involved when he was released from a head lock.

Stewart also got involved, but less so, the prosecution claims.

Dappy denies two counts of common assault on the two women, one of assault by beating, of Mr Jenkins, and one of affray.

Vassell, 25, of Hammersmith, west London, and Stewart, 32, of Harborne, Birmingham, are each charged with affray.

Miller, 28, of Brentford, west London, has pleaded guilty to affray and his case was adjourned for sentence at the end of the trial.

20.48 | 0 komentar | Read More

British Soldier Shot Dead In Afghanistan

Green On Blue Attacks Worsening

Updated: 12:19pm UK, Tuesday 08 January 2013

By Stuart Ramsay, Chief Correspondent

The central role of the foreign forces deployed in Afghanistan is to train the national army and police to a level so they can maintain order in the country and counter the threat of the Taliban when Nato withdraws by the end of 2014.

Given the scale of the task and the speed with which it has to be completed, many have always doubted it could be achieved to anything but a mediocre level.

The advent and increasing growth of so-called "Green on Blue" attacks, where Afghans turn their weapons on their foreign mentors, is in danger of making even that mediocre goal seem almost impossible.

The bulk of the training and mentoring is carried out by British and American forces based in Helmand and Kandahar.

These are the two most deadly provinces, where the Taliban are strongest and where the production of opium-providing poppies gives them an unstoppable revenue stream.

The Taliban have claimed responsibility for the latest attack that killed a soldier from 28 Engineer Regiment. That may or may not be true, but they have promised to infiltrate for years and the poppy revenue gives them the ability to pay would-be converts far more than the Afghan government pays its armed forces.

Isaf force commanders have attempted to introduce protocols to protect their people.

On patrol and in remote camps soldiers regularly appoint a colleague, a so-called Guardian Angel, to watch their backs while they work, soldiers always carry loaded weapons, counter-intelligence has been boosted and recruitment procedures have been tightened to better assess who is signing up.

The effect: Relations between Nato personnel and their Afghan colleagues have worsened and the Green on Blue attacks have actually got worse.

Nato commanders and the Afghan government have continued to maintain that these attacks are largely a clash of cultures.

It is claimed Afghan soldiers angered by a perception of Western decadence and lack of respect, or angered at carrying out orders from foreign mentors, "snap" and attack unexpectedly.

Certainly this has happened. I have been on many joint patrols where relations between the two forces have been terrible. But in my experience the British soldiers do almost all the hard work; manually stacking water and food, lighting fires and - oh yes - actually doing all the fighting.

I have witnessed many instances where young British soldiers have slept outside in freezing conditions rather than risk being sexually molested by Afghan soldiers and thereby avoiding an understandable and likely confrontation.

However, there have been some well documented atrocities by American soldiers on civilians and also stories about the desecration of the Koran and the bodies of dead Taliban fighters. Those, and the policy of night raids (now greatly controlled and reduced) on villages that have led to civilian casualties, certainly acted as a recruiting sergeant for the Taliban.

But in reality, having realised they couldn't defeat the Western forces, the Taliban have moulded their war of attrition to suit their strengths. Persuading men to turn against the army, the police and their mentors is certainly part of their plan.

The Taliban know that the war is unpopular in the West. They know that more deaths, when the withdrawal is imminent, seem a pointless waste to much of the population in the coalition countries.

The decision to announce a timetable for the withdrawal, and sticking to it, means the Taliban have no desire to negotiate anything. They can bide their time and undermine the credibility of the whole Afghan project.

When the withdrawal happens the Taliban will strengthen its grip on the south of the country and use its opium revenues to fund a potential civil war with the cities where the government clings to power.

President Karzai travels to the US this week to meet President Obama for talks about future troop levels. He can be certain that the Green on Blue issue will be at the top of the agenda.

20.48 | 0 komentar | Read More

Benefits Cap Vote On George Osborne's Plans

The Government has insisted capping benefits at 1% for the next three years is vital as MPs prepare to vote on the controversial plans.

The Work and Pensions Secretary told Sky News workers would struggle even more if welfare was not slashed because taxes would have to rise.

Iain Duncan Smith condemned Labour as "pathetic", "unrealistic" and "ridiculous" over the party's decision to oppose the three-year cap.

"We have to still continue to try and tackle the deficit left for us by Labour which is fuelling huge borrowing and will cost taxpayers enormously unless we get it under control," he said.

"It is also about trying to do it in a way that is fair to those who are in work and are paying the taxes for those who are on welfare.

"The reality is they have seen their welfare payments rise far faster over the last six or seven years than anybody in work."

The Welfare Uprating Bill to sever the link between benefits and inflation, proposed by Chancellor George Osborne last month, will be voted on in the Commons this afternoon.

The move will hit jobseeker's allowance, employment and support allowance, income support, elements of housing benefit, maternity pay, sick pay and some tax credits.

It is projected to save £3.7bn from the welfare bill but Labour oppose it, citing analysis that shows seven million working households will lose an average of £165-a-year.

George Osborne's 1% cap is opposed by Labour's Ed Balls (right)

Shadow chancellor Ed Balls said: "While millionaires get a tax cut, seven million striving working families are paying the price for David Cameron and George Osborne's economic failure.

"The best way to get the benefits bill down is to get the economy growing and people back to work, not hit striving families."

The Opposition has now tabled an amendment calling for the Bill not to get a second reading and pushing its own plan for a compulsory jobs guarantee for the long-term unemployed.

But Mr Duncan Smith called Labour's language about strivers a "nonsense".

"They have punished strivers over the years through higher levels of taxes and this deficit is punishing those who are working, trying to get by and provide for their families," he said.

"This is not an easy decision. We have to cut the deficit otherwise we will go on borrowing more and more money and taxpayers in work will find life more difficult as their taxes rise."

Labour was "a pathetic opportunistic group who spend their time trying to pretend to people there are soft options out there", he added.

The vote this afternoon will also expose some tensions within the coalition. Former Lib Dem minister Sarah Teather has already said she will vote against the Government.

In a reflection of the concerns of many Lib Dem activists, the ex-children's minister said the cap would make already serious levels of child poverty "significantly worse".

She also hit out at Tory ministers for seeking to make the issue one of "scroungers" versus "strivers" - accusing Mr Osborne of indulging in "playground politics".

Fellow Lib Dem John Leech is also set to defy the party whip and vote against the change.

"I find it objectionable that the Tories are using 'Skivers v Strivers' rhetoric to justify a cut to seven million working families," he said.

"I strongly support raising the tax threshold for low-paid workers, but this cut will wipe out much of that good work."

Analysis by the respected Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) suggests half of working-age households with someone in work will be hit in some way by the cap.

It predicted the average loss would be £165-a-year for seven million families, compared to around £215 for the 2.5 million workless households affected.

The think tank also pointed out that the poorest in society would then be at risk of being left even further behind if inflation started rising.

Mr Duncan Smith said the IFS figures only reflected the benefits cap and claimed working families were around £125 better off each year once the income tax threshold rise was factored in.

But the cap has also sparked criticism from groups representing children, the disabled and parents who warn about the effects of the squeeze.

Children's Society chief executive Matthew Reed said a nurse with two children would lose £424 a year by 2015 and an Army second lieutenant with three children £552 a year.

"Many more will struggle to pay for food, heat their homes, and provide other basics for their children as they find it increasingly difficult to keep up with rising prices," he said.

The Child Poverty Action Group said it was a "poverty-producing" measure that hurt the most vulnerable and "cuts them loose from the cost of living and the mainstream of society".

20.48 | 0 komentar | Read More

Milky Way 'Has 17 Billion Earth-Like Planets'

The Milky Way is home to at least 17 billion planets of a similar size to Earth, according to a new estimate by scientists.

The galaxy containing our solar system is known to host about 100 billion stars, meaning that around one in six has an Earth-sized planet around it.

However, Dr Francois Fressin of the Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics, said it was "simply too early to call" how many were located in areas which could make them habitable.

To support life, a planet must not only be the right size but also in the so-called Goldilocks zone where it is not too hot or too cold for water to be in liquid form on the surface.

Dr Fressin and his team came up with their figure by conducting a fresh analysis of data collected by Nasa's Kepler telescope, which was launched in 2009 to track down other Earths.

"If you look up on a starry night, each star you're looking at - almost each one of them - has a planetary system," he said.

They found that 17% of stars have a planet 0.8 to 1.25 times the size of Earth in an orbit of 85 days or less.

Kepler-22b is believed to be the most Earth-like planet ever discovered

About a quarter of stars have a super Earth (1.25 to twice the size of Earth) in an orbit of 150 days or less, with a same fraction having a mini Neptune (two to four times the size of Earth) in orbits up to 250 days long.

Larger planets are a much rarer occurrence. Only about 3% of stars have a large Neptune (four to six times the size of Earth) and only 5% have a gas giant (six to 22 times the size of Earth) in an orbit of 400 days or less.

Separately, Nasa's Kepler mission announced it had discovered 461 new possible planets, bringing the total to 2,740 potential planets.

Four of them are less than twice the size of Earth and orbit their sun's "habitable zone," where liquid water might exist on the planet's surface.

"You need very specific conditions to have liquid water," explained Christopher Burke, a scientist with the SETI Institute in Mountain View, California.

"You can't have your planet too close to your star where it's too hot. You can't have it too far away for the planet conditions to be too cold.

"We're trying to find these planets in this very specific habitable zone."

The Kepler telescope works by tracking slight decreases in the amount of light coming from 160,000 target stars caused by a planet or planets passing by, or transiting, relative to the telescope's point of view.

20.48 | 0 komentar | Read More

EDL Leader Lennon Jailed For Passport Offence

The leader of the English Defence League has been jailed for 10 months for using someone else's passport to get into the United States.

Stephen Lennon, 30, pleaded guilty to possession of a false identity document with improper intention, contrary to the Identity Documents Act 2010, at Southwark Crown Court.

Lennon used a passport in the name of Andrew McMaster to board a Virgin Atlantic Flight from Heathrow to New York, but was caught out after his fingerprints were taken by customs officials.

The court heard that Lennon, who had previously been refused entry to the US, used his friend's passport to travel to the country in September.

He used a self check-in kiosk to board the Virgin Atlantic flight at Heathrow, and was allowed through when the document was checked in the bag drop area.

But when he arrived at New York's JFK Airport, customs officials who took his fingerprints realised he was not Mr McMaster.

Lennon was asked to attend a second interview but left the airport, entering the US illegally.

He stayed just one night and travelled back to the UK the following day using his own legitimate passport - which bears the name Paul Harris.

The court heard that is the name that appears on the EDL leader's passport, although he uses aliases.

The court heard that he was previously jailed for assault in 2005 and also has previous convictions for drugs offences and public order offences.

Sentencing the 30-year-old, Judge Alistair McCreath, told him: "I am going to sentence you under the name of Stephen Lennon, although I suspect that is not actually your true name, in the sense that it is not the name that appears on your passport.

"What you did went absolutely to the heart of the immigration controls that the United States are entitled to have.

"Had it been known in this country that you were proposing to leave under a false passport, you would not have been accepted on to the plane and you would not have been permitted to leave this country on a false passport.

"It's not in any sense trivial."

20.48 | 0 komentar | Read More

Mother Jailed For Murdering Son Over Koran

A mother has been jailed for life after beating her son to death for failing to learn the Koran by heart and then burning his body to hide the evidence.

Sara Ege, 33, collapsed as the sentence was delivered at Cardiff Crown Court and had to be helped, trembling and sobbing, from the dock.

Ege had been praised as a "brilliant mother" to seven-year-old Yaseen but was convicted of his murder by a jury at the same court last month.

The court heard she treated Yaseen like a "dog" and repeatedly beat him with a stick for failing to memorise religious texts quickly enough.

The schoolboy had suffered multiple injuries to his body and died in July 2010 from internal injuries caused by three months of punishing beatings.

His death was treated as a terrible tragedy in the aftermath of the house blaze but it was quickly discovered that he was dead before it started.

Mr Justice Wyn Williams ordered her to serve a minimum of 17 years behind bars and said: "The violence that you perpetrated on your son was not confined to one day.

Sara Ege tried to blame the murder on her husband

"I am satisfied that, over three months, you beat him on a number of occasions, often with a wooden pestle.

"His injuries must have caused him a good deal of pain. In my judgment Yaseen was subjected to prolonged cruelty."

Ege accused her husband Yousef Ege, 38, who stood trial with his wife, of being a violent bully who beat her and was their son's real killer.

But he was cleared of causing or allowing his son's death at home in Pontcanna, Cardiff, South Wales, by failing to act to prevent it.

Ege was found guilty both of murder and of a charge of perverting the course of justice.

Following her conviction DC Kim Roche from South Wales Police said: "Throughout this investigation we have heard many tributes to Yaseen.

"Quiet, hard-working, bright, well-behaved, obedient, respectful, polite, smiley - are just some of the words used to describe Yaseen by those who knew him.

"It is a tragedy that such a promising young life was taken away in such disturbing circumstances and that those who knew him will not have the opportunity to see him grow up to become a young man."

20.48 | 0 komentar | Read More