Posts
6 years ago
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
(MY096) 168 reportedly killed in Iran plane crash
TEHRAN, Iran – An Iranian passenger plane carrying 168 people crashed a quarter-hour after takeoff Wednesday, smashing into a field northwest of the capital and shattering to pieces. State television said all on board were killed.
The impact gouged a deep trench in the dirt field, which was shown littered with smoking wreckage in footage shown on state TV. It showed a large chunk of a wing, but much of the wreckage appeared to be in small pieces, and emergency workers and witnesses picked around the shredded metal for bodies.
The Russian-made Caspian Airlines jet was heading from Tehran to the Armenian capital Yerevan near the village of Jannatabad outside the city of Qazvin, around 75 miles northwest of Tehran, state television said. It crashed at about 11:30 am, 16 minutes after taking off from Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport, TV reported.
The Qazvin emergency services director Hossein Bahzadpour told the IRNA news agency that the plane was completely destroyed and shattered to pieces, and the wreckage was in flames. "It his highly likely that all the passengers on the flight were killed," Bahzadpour said.
Iranian Civil Aviation Organization spokesman Reza Jafarzadeh told state television that 153 passengers and 15 crewmembers were on board. State TV said all were killed.
A Caspian Airlines representative told AP in Yerevan that most of the passengers were Armenians, and that some Georgian citizens were also on board. The representative spoke on condition of anonymity because she was not authorized to talk to the press.
Also among the passengers were eight members of Iran's national youth judo team, along with two trainers and a delegation chief, who were scheduled to train with the Armenian judo team before attending competitions in Hungary on Aug. 6, state TV said.
The impact gouged a deep trench in the dirt field, which was shown littered with smoking wreckage in footage shown on state TV. It showed a large chunk of a wing, but much of the wreckage appeared to be in small pieces, and emergency workers and witnesses picked around the shredded metal for bodies.
The Russian-made Caspian Airlines jet was heading from Tehran to the Armenian capital Yerevan near the village of Jannatabad outside the city of Qazvin, around 75 miles northwest of Tehran, state television said. It crashed at about 11:30 am, 16 minutes after taking off from Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport, TV reported.
The Qazvin emergency services director Hossein Bahzadpour told the IRNA news agency that the plane was completely destroyed and shattered to pieces, and the wreckage was in flames. "It his highly likely that all the passengers on the flight were killed," Bahzadpour said.
Iranian Civil Aviation Organization spokesman Reza Jafarzadeh told state television that 153 passengers and 15 crewmembers were on board. State TV said all were killed.
A Caspian Airlines representative told AP in Yerevan that most of the passengers were Armenians, and that some Georgian citizens were also on board. The representative spoke on condition of anonymity because she was not authorized to talk to the press.
Also among the passengers were eight members of Iran's national youth judo team, along with two trainers and a delegation chief, who were scheduled to train with the Armenian judo team before attending competitions in Hungary on Aug. 6, state TV said.
(MY095) Robert De Niro victim of New York art scam
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Several paintings by actor Robert De Niro's late father were sold without the actor's permission as part of an art scam by a New York gallery, the Manhattan District Attorney's office said on Tuesday.
Art dealer Lawrence Salander, 59, was indicted on additional charges for stealing $5 million from several estates on Tuesday after he was arrested in March for orchestrating a sophisticated $88-million art investment scam that also duped former tennis champion John McEnroe and Bank of America.
Salander and other dealers at his New York gallery sold the works by Robert De Niro Sr., an abstract Expressionist painter who died of cancer in 1993 aged 71, and did not pay out the majority of the sales to his estate, according to the charges.
As a result of the scam, De Niro Sr.'s estate lost more than $1 million, the DA's office said.
Other victims relating to the additional charges include the Lachaise Foundation, who consigned the works of French-American sculptor Gaston Lachaise, as well as the estate of Elie Nadelman, an American sculptor who died in 1946.
Robert De Niro has organized exhibitions of his father's works around the world and has said he keeps many of his works at home.
Art dealer Lawrence Salander, 59, was indicted on additional charges for stealing $5 million from several estates on Tuesday after he was arrested in March for orchestrating a sophisticated $88-million art investment scam that also duped former tennis champion John McEnroe and Bank of America.
Salander and other dealers at his New York gallery sold the works by Robert De Niro Sr., an abstract Expressionist painter who died of cancer in 1993 aged 71, and did not pay out the majority of the sales to his estate, according to the charges.
As a result of the scam, De Niro Sr.'s estate lost more than $1 million, the DA's office said.
Other victims relating to the additional charges include the Lachaise Foundation, who consigned the works of French-American sculptor Gaston Lachaise, as well as the estate of Elie Nadelman, an American sculptor who died in 1946.
Robert De Niro has organized exhibitions of his father's works around the world and has said he keeps many of his works at home.
(MY094) Bank Negara issues new RM50 banknote
KUALA LUMPUR, July 15 — Bank Negara today issued a new RM50 banknote with a design incorporating various modern and innovative security features principally aimed at deterring counterfeiting.
"This new RM50 banknote is the first denomination of the fourth series of currency notes which will replace the existing series in stages," the central bank said in a statement.
It said the existing RM50 banknote series would continue to remain legal tender and would co-circulate with the new RM50 banknotes as the former is gradually phased out.
No time limit had been set on the duration of co-circulation, it added.
The earlier RM50 banknote was issued in December 2007 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the country’s independence. This current series will no longer have the logo of the country's golden jubilee celebrations.
The enhanced security features incorporated in the new RM50 banknote include a colour shifting security thread which replaces the existing security thread.
The thread appears on the reverse side of the note as coloured intermittent lines. When held against light, it is seen as a continuous dark coloured line and the repeated text of BNM RM50 can be read.
When the note is tilted, the colour of the thread changes from red to green and vice versa.
Under ultra-violet light, the repeated text of BNM RM50 will fluoresce yellow and the thread is seen as a continuous fluorescent yellow line when the banknote is viewed from the obverse.
The two-coloured fluorescent elements are an additional invisible printed feature on the reverse of the note. Under ultra-violet light, a complex design two-colour numeral 50 will fluoresce. — Bernama
is this the new bank notes???
"This new RM50 banknote is the first denomination of the fourth series of currency notes which will replace the existing series in stages," the central bank said in a statement.
It said the existing RM50 banknote series would continue to remain legal tender and would co-circulate with the new RM50 banknotes as the former is gradually phased out.
No time limit had been set on the duration of co-circulation, it added.
The earlier RM50 banknote was issued in December 2007 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the country’s independence. This current series will no longer have the logo of the country's golden jubilee celebrations.
The enhanced security features incorporated in the new RM50 banknote include a colour shifting security thread which replaces the existing security thread.
The thread appears on the reverse side of the note as coloured intermittent lines. When held against light, it is seen as a continuous dark coloured line and the repeated text of BNM RM50 can be read.
When the note is tilted, the colour of the thread changes from red to green and vice versa.
Under ultra-violet light, the repeated text of BNM RM50 will fluoresce yellow and the thread is seen as a continuous fluorescent yellow line when the banknote is viewed from the obverse.
The two-coloured fluorescent elements are an additional invisible printed feature on the reverse of the note. Under ultra-violet light, a complex design two-colour numeral 50 will fluoresce. — Bernama
is this the new bank notes???
(MY093) Tony Leung injured while sparring for ‘Grand Master’
HONG KONG, July 15 — “The Lust, Caution” and “Red Cliff” actor broke his arm while rehearsing for his role as Ip Man, the martial arts master who trained a teenaged Bruce Lee
It’s official: kung-fu pictures can be bad for your health. The latest casualty is the leading Hong Kong actor Tony Leung, who had his arm broken by a martial arts instructor while rehearsing his latest role. Production on the film – a kung-fu biopic by Wong Kar-Wai – may now be delayed.
“The Grand Master” stars Leung as Ip Man, a venerable teacher best known for training the teenaged Bruce Lee. The film is due to begin shooting in September.
Leung was in training on Monday when the accident occurred. The actor was kicked by his instructor, breaking a bone in his left forearm, a spokesman for the director's production company, Jet Tone Films, told the Associated Press.
Leung has collaborated with Wong Kar-Wai on six previous movies: “Days of Being Wild”, “Chungking Express”, “Ashes of Time”, “Happy Together”, “In the Mood for Love” and “2046”. More recently, he has starred in Ang Lee’s controversial “Lust, Caution” and John Woo’s action epic “Red Cliff”.
“The Grand Master will be Wong’s first feature since his ill-starred American drama “My Blueberry Nights”, which opened to a raspberry of bad reviews at the 2007 Cannes film festival. – Guardian
It’s official: kung-fu pictures can be bad for your health. The latest casualty is the leading Hong Kong actor Tony Leung, who had his arm broken by a martial arts instructor while rehearsing his latest role. Production on the film – a kung-fu biopic by Wong Kar-Wai – may now be delayed.
“The Grand Master” stars Leung as Ip Man, a venerable teacher best known for training the teenaged Bruce Lee. The film is due to begin shooting in September.
Leung was in training on Monday when the accident occurred. The actor was kicked by his instructor, breaking a bone in his left forearm, a spokesman for the director's production company, Jet Tone Films, told the Associated Press.
Leung has collaborated with Wong Kar-Wai on six previous movies: “Days of Being Wild”, “Chungking Express”, “Ashes of Time”, “Happy Together”, “In the Mood for Love” and “2046”. More recently, he has starred in Ang Lee’s controversial “Lust, Caution” and John Woo’s action epic “Red Cliff”.
“The Grand Master will be Wong’s first feature since his ill-starred American drama “My Blueberry Nights”, which opened to a raspberry of bad reviews at the 2007 Cannes film festival. – Guardian
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
(MY092) Obesity emerges as risk factor in severe flu
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – People who are obese but otherwise healthy may be at special risk of severe complications and death from the new H1N1 swine flu virus, U.S. researchers reported on Friday.
They described the cases of 10 patients at a Michigan hospital who were so ill they had to be put on ventilators. Three died. Nine of the 10 were obese, seven were severely obese, including two of the three who died.
The study, published in advance in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's weekly report on death and disease, also suggests doctors can safely double the usual dose of oseltamivir, Roche AG's antiviral drug sold under the Tamiflu brand name.
"What this suggests is that there can be severe complications associated with this virus infection, especially in severely obese patients," said CDC virus expert Dr. Tim Uyeki.
"And five of these patients had ... evidence of blood clots in the lungs. This has not been previously known to occur in patients with severe influenza virus infections," Uyeki said in a telephone interview.
Dr. Lena Napolitano of the University of Michigan Medical Center and colleagues studied the cases of 10 patients admitted to the university's intensive care unit with severe acute respiratory distress syndrome caused by infection with H1N1.
"Of the 10 patients, nine were obese (body mass index more than 30), including seven who were extremely obese (BMI more than 40)," they wrote in their report.
Their study was not designed to see if obesity or anything else poses a special risk factor for flu. But the researchers were surprised to see that seven of the 10 patients were extremely obese.
MULTIPLE ORGAN FAILURE
Nine had multiple organ failure, which can be seen in influenza, but five had blood clots in the lungs, and six had kidney failure.
None has fully recovered, the researchers said.
The H1N1 swine flu virus first emerged in Mexico in March and was spreading out of control in the United States by the time it was identified at the end of April. The World Health Organization declared a pandemic in June.
While it is causing moderate illness, all influenza viruses can be deadly and this one is no exception. It has killed close to 500 people globally, more than 200 in the United States alone.
However, the new virus has a slightly different pattern from seasonal flu -- it spreads in the summer months, attacks young adults and older children, and may affect the body slightly differently.
As with H5N1 avian influenza, which only rarely attacks people, patients seem to survive better if they get Tamiflu for longer than the usual five-day treatment course, Uyeki said.
"We don't know if it is necessary for a higher dose of the drug to be given to patients who are obese," he said.
"The high prevalence of obesity in this case series is striking," the CDC's commentary accompany the report reads.
"Whether obesity is an independent risk factor for severe complications of novel influenza A (H1N1) virus infection is unknown. Obesity has not been identified previously as a risk factor for severe complications of seasonal influenza."
They described the cases of 10 patients at a Michigan hospital who were so ill they had to be put on ventilators. Three died. Nine of the 10 were obese, seven were severely obese, including two of the three who died.
The study, published in advance in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's weekly report on death and disease, also suggests doctors can safely double the usual dose of oseltamivir, Roche AG's antiviral drug sold under the Tamiflu brand name.
"What this suggests is that there can be severe complications associated with this virus infection, especially in severely obese patients," said CDC virus expert Dr. Tim Uyeki.
"And five of these patients had ... evidence of blood clots in the lungs. This has not been previously known to occur in patients with severe influenza virus infections," Uyeki said in a telephone interview.
Dr. Lena Napolitano of the University of Michigan Medical Center and colleagues studied the cases of 10 patients admitted to the university's intensive care unit with severe acute respiratory distress syndrome caused by infection with H1N1.
"Of the 10 patients, nine were obese (body mass index more than 30), including seven who were extremely obese (BMI more than 40)," they wrote in their report.
Their study was not designed to see if obesity or anything else poses a special risk factor for flu. But the researchers were surprised to see that seven of the 10 patients were extremely obese.
MULTIPLE ORGAN FAILURE
Nine had multiple organ failure, which can be seen in influenza, but five had blood clots in the lungs, and six had kidney failure.
None has fully recovered, the researchers said.
The H1N1 swine flu virus first emerged in Mexico in March and was spreading out of control in the United States by the time it was identified at the end of April. The World Health Organization declared a pandemic in June.
While it is causing moderate illness, all influenza viruses can be deadly and this one is no exception. It has killed close to 500 people globally, more than 200 in the United States alone.
However, the new virus has a slightly different pattern from seasonal flu -- it spreads in the summer months, attacks young adults and older children, and may affect the body slightly differently.
As with H5N1 avian influenza, which only rarely attacks people, patients seem to survive better if they get Tamiflu for longer than the usual five-day treatment course, Uyeki said.
"We don't know if it is necessary for a higher dose of the drug to be given to patients who are obese," he said.
"The high prevalence of obesity in this case series is striking," the CDC's commentary accompany the report reads.
"Whether obesity is an independent risk factor for severe complications of novel influenza A (H1N1) virus infection is unknown. Obesity has not been identified previously as a risk factor for severe complications of seasonal influenza."
(MY091) H1N1 is ‘unstoppable’, says WHO as it calls for vaccines
WASHINGTON, July 14 — Saying the new H1N1 virus is “unstoppable”, the World Health Organisation gave drug makers a full go-ahead to manufacture vaccines against the pandemic influenza strain yesterday and said healthcare workers should be the first to get one.
Every country will need to vaccinate citizens against the swine flu virus and must choose who else would get priority after nurses, doctors and technicians, said Dr. Marie-Paule Kieny, WHO director of the Initiative for Vaccine Research.
Several reports showed the new virus attacks people differently than seasonal flu — affecting younger people, the severely obese and seemingly healthy adults, and causing disease deep in the lungs.
Kieny briefed reporters on the findings of the WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunisation, or SAGE. “The committee recognized that the H1N1 pandemic ... is unstoppable and therefore that all countries need access to vaccine,” Kieney said.
“The SAGE recognised first that healthcare workers should be immunised in all countries in order to retain a functional health system as the virus evolves,” she added.
After that, each country should decide who is next in line, based on the virus’s unusual behaviour.
Seasonal influenza is deadly enough — each year it is involved in 250,000 to 500,000 deaths globally. But most are the elderly or those with some kind of chronic disease that makes them more vulnerable to flu, such as asthma.
Every country will need to vaccinate citizens against the swine flu virus and must choose who else would get priority after nurses, doctors and technicians, said Dr. Marie-Paule Kieny, WHO director of the Initiative for Vaccine Research.
Several reports showed the new virus attacks people differently than seasonal flu — affecting younger people, the severely obese and seemingly healthy adults, and causing disease deep in the lungs.
Kieny briefed reporters on the findings of the WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunisation, or SAGE. “The committee recognized that the H1N1 pandemic ... is unstoppable and therefore that all countries need access to vaccine,” Kieney said.
“The SAGE recognised first that healthcare workers should be immunised in all countries in order to retain a functional health system as the virus evolves,” she added.
After that, each country should decide who is next in line, based on the virus’s unusual behaviour.
Seasonal influenza is deadly enough — each year it is involved in 250,000 to 500,000 deaths globally. But most are the elderly or those with some kind of chronic disease that makes them more vulnerable to flu, such as asthma.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
