Saturday, January 17, 2009

The US Secret Service has released the first photos Wednesday of the new presidential limousine that will transport Barack Obama down Pennsylvania Avenue next Tuesday as part of the 56th Presidential inaugural parade after he is sworn in at the Capitol. The First Limo – the 2009 Cadillac Presidential Limousine – will replace President Bush’s Cadillac DTS Presidential Limousine that rolled out in 2004.

Nicknamed “The Beast”, the hulking machine is a new model year 2009, modified limousine. According to General Motors, the new “2009 Cadillac Presidential Limousine” is the first not to carry a specific model name. The Obama Mobile was introduced on January 14 with noticeably different styling borrowed from the Cadillac Escalade and STS, while the suspension is most likely related to the Chevrolet Kodiak medium-duty truck.

Mr. David Caldwell of General Motors has revealed that the sleek black car would include a hand-crafted interior and “state of the art electronics.” The car’s high-tech security features include five-inch-thick (12.7-centimeter-thick) bombproof glass, tough-as-nails tires, and a sealed interior that’s invulnerable to chemical attack. The armoured limousine has been heavily modified to withstand potential attacks by weapons or bombs. The San Francisco Chronicle puts it in a proper perspective noting, “a half-inch of transparent armor is enough to stop a .44 Magnum round at point-blank range; at a thickness of 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 inches, the same material can withstand higher-velocity bullets fired from military assault rifles.”

According to spy photographer, Brenda Priddy, and General Motors, the limousine, which has the intricate, dual-textured grille, is also equipped with standard Goodyear Regional RHS truck tires in a 285/70R19.5 size, on 19.5-inch wheels. The rims have a run-flat device (manufactured by Hutchinson Industries). Xenon headlights from the Escalade are installed in the front, while the rear has some STS part. The doors are at least 20 centimeters (8 inches) thick. It carries the US flag on the front fenders and an embroidered Seal of the President of the United States is affixed to several panels in the back.

According to the US Secret Service, the vehicle would be a “valuable asset” in providing the President with the highest level of protection. “Although many of the vehicle’s security enhancements cannot be discussed, it is safe to say that this car’s security and coded communications systems make it the most technologically advanced protection vehicle in the world,” Nicholas Trotta, Assistant Director for the Office of Protective Operations said in a statement. The new limousine is the responsibility of White House Transportation Agency.

The Presidential State Car is the official state car used by the President of the United States. It is informally known as “Cadillac One”. The current Presidential State Car is a 2005 hand-crafted, armored, and stretched DTS (DeVille Touring Sedan) built on a GM four-wheel drive platform. It was first used on the second inauguration parade of George W. Bush in 2005. But the version to be used by President Obama uses a GMC Topkick chassis, while maintaining the Cadillac exterior.

The President of the United States travels in one of two armoured Cadillac limousines based upon the normal sedan, the Cadillac DTS, with heavy customisation. Lincoln cars have also been used in the past, most notably by President John F Kennedy. The current limousines were custom-built by O’Gara, Hess and Eisenhart, founded in Fairfield, Ohio in 1942. It specializes in armouring limousines for presidents and heads of state.

President William McKinley was the first US president to ride in an automobile. However, it was President Theodore Roosevelt who rode on the first government-owned car, a white Stanley Steamer. Roosevelt’s successor, William Howard Taft, was the first president to use a presidential state car that was permanently stored in the White House garage.

Meanwhile, Obama’s 2005 Chrysler 300C Hemi was auctioned on eBay with a starting bid of $100,000 and a buy-it-now price of $1,000,000. It has less than 21,000 miles on it and is in like-new condition. He leased the car in 2004 and traded it for a Ford Escape Hybrid in 2007. The car was sold to Tim O’Boyle.

Saturday, March 14, 2009

Rico Daniels is a British TV presenter living in France who is known for his two television series — The Salvager — whilst he still lived in the UK and then Le Salvager after he moved to France. Rico has been in a variety of jobs but his passion is now his profession – he turns unwanted ‘junk’ into unusual pieces of furniture. Rico’s creations and the methods used to fabricate them are the subject of the Salvager shows.

Rico spoke to Wikinews in January about his inspiration and early life, future plans, other hobbies and more. Read on for the full exclusive interview, published for the first time:

Thursday, December 27, 2007

Heavy rains in Indonesia yesterday triggered widespread flooding and landslides across the nation. It has emerged that last night a bridge was swept away by the swollen river it stretched across, leaving around 40 to 50 people missing in Madiun, East Java. Meanwhile, the total toll of those known or feared to be dead has reached 130.

According to local police chief Supardi in a telephone conversation with Xinhua the flood waters weakened a foundation, resulting in the collapse. At least twenty motorcyclists, car drivers and passengers are thought to be dead, but as of midnight, no bodies had been recovered. However, three bikes have been retrieved. 100 rescuers have been dispatched to the scene. Continuing heavy rain forced the search to be abandoned temporarily.

Java as a whole is the worst affected island; in addition to the bridge collapse most of the landslides occurred in two Central Java districts. Health ministry official Rustam Pakaya told reporters that at least 28,000 people have been forced to abandon their homes in central Java, although exact figures are not yet available. The Red Cross commented that 45,000 East Javanese people have been similarly displaced. Thousands are seeking shelter in mosques and other public buildings.

Landslides buried houses and made roads impassable, while hundreds police officers, military personnel, local officials and volunteers have been digging with farm tools and even their hands to search for survivors. Heavy machinery is available but the road conditions have prevented it arriving at the areas where it is required. Jakarta has dispatched aid in the form of five tonnes of biscuits and instant meals, ten tonnes of baby food and multiple boats.

Heru Aji Pratomo, head of the disaster management centre in the worst-hit district of Karanganyar has confirmed the recovery of twelve more bodies. This brings the total confirmed death toll in the area to 48. He said that most bodies were recovered from three metre deep mud and required heavy digging machinery to retrieve. 28 remain missing.

Local resident Siswo told AFP “Suddenly I felt my house shaking, and I thought it was an earthquake. When I got outside, I saw that the houses next to mine were already covered by earth,” and that it struck twelve neighbouring houses.

In the next district, Wonogiri, disaster management centre head Sri Mubadi told reporters they had retrieved two more bodies, reaching a total of six, with eleven more missing. He also confirmed that they currently have no access to heavy equipment.

In Tawangmangu about 1,000 rescuers were also searching for bodies and survivors without the aid of heavy machinery. Three more bodies were retrieved today.

Islamic cleric Abu Bakar Bashir toured a Karanganyar village, at which time he commented that he felt the disaster had been caused as a form of divine revenge, saying “This was likely caused by immoral acts going on here,” and “This could be a lesson to be learned.” The 69-year-old served two years after being linked to the 2002 Bali bombings, before having his conviction overturned last year.

Chalid Muhammad, director of Walhi, an Indonesian environmental group, had a different opinion. “For five consecutive years landslides and floods have occurred in Java, claiming many lives. The main trigger is ecological destruction caused by deforestation, forest conversions and chaotic spatial planning,” Chalid told Reuters.

“There have been no adequate efforts by the government to protect the people from disasters. When the landslides happened officials were on holiday and there was no access of heavy equipment to the affected areas.”

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Global animal and health authorities’ emergency mission to the Philippines is investigating whether the strain of deadly Ebola Reston virus, recently discovered in dead pigs, poses a threat to human health. Unlike more-deadly strains of Ebola virus, Philippine health officials say this particular strain, known as the Reston ebolavirus, has never caused human illness or death, and it’s not immediately clear there is a public-health issue.

A 22-member team of experts from three United Nations agencies arrived in Manila on Tuesday for a joint risk assessment on the virus contamination of local swine, to help the government contain the outbreak. The mission will coordinate with the Philippine counterparts – the Departments of Agriculture and Health. According to chief veterinary officer, Davinio P. Catbagan, six of 28 swine samples tested positive for Ebola-Reston by the U.S. Department of Agriculture laboratory. The infected pigs came from two commercial and two backyard farms in three provinces north of Manila. Both Ebola and related Marburg hemorrhagic fever, are considered to infect humans via primates.

The Straits Times reported that as of December, about 6,000 pigs at Pandi, Bulacan and Talavera farms had tested positive for the Ebola-Reston virus. “Eating pork remained safe as long as it is handled and cooked properly (at a minimum of 70 degrees Celsius or 158 degrees Fahrenheit) and bought in outlets accredited by the government’s National Meat Inspection Service,” said a joint statement by the World Health Organisation (WHO), World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). “Our teams are doing field and laboratory investigation to determine where the Ebola-Reston virus came from and how it was transmitted,” Caroline-Anne Coulombe, WHO risk communications officer, explained.

According to FAO team leader, Juan Lubroth, it was the first time that the Ebola-Reston virus strain had infected animals other than monkeys and the first recorded worldwide in swine. The U.N. mission is scheduled to perform 10 days scientific tests, on two hog farms in Manaoag, Pangasinan and Pandi, Bulacan, but it would take months to publish evaluation reports on the virus.

As early as May, a high incidence of swine sickness and death in three provinces caused Philippine authorities in August to send samples from the dead pigs to the NY Plum Island Animal Disease Center. The results found the presence of several diseases, including Ebola Reston virus and PRRS.

In late October laboratory tests confirmed that pigs in Nueva Ecija and Bulacan farms were infected with the Ebola-Reston virus and the highly virulent strain of Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus (PRRS). In early 2007 pigs on those farms died at a faster rate than usual amid the conducted lab tests. PRRSV, or Blue-Ear Pig Disease (zh? lán?r bìng ????), is a viral and economically important pandemic disease which causes reproductive failure in breeding stock and respiratory tract illness in young pigs. Initially referred to as ‘mystery swine disease’ or ‘mystery reproductive syndrome’, it was first reported in 1987 in North America and Central Europe. The disease costs the United States swine industry around $600 million annually.

In December, the Philippine health authorities conducted testing of about 10,000 swine in two northern Luzon quarantined farms. Reuters reported that “the Ebola-Reston virus in some pigs in two commercial farms and two backyard farms in the Philippines were discovered by accident in United States laboratory tests in September, when samples were sent to test another disease.”

Ebola virus is one of at least 18 known viruses capable of causing the viral hemorrhagic fever syndrome. It is the common term for a group of viruses belonging to genus Ebolavirus, family Filoviridae, and for the disease which they cause, Ebola hemorrhagic fever. The virus is named after the Ebola River where the first recognized outbreak of Ebola hemorrhagic fever occurred in 1976. The viruses are characterized by long filaments and have a similar shape to the Marburg virus, also in the family Filoviridae, and share similar disease symptoms. Since its discovery, Ebolavirus has been responsible for a number of deaths.

In the central Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the highly contagious Ebola virus was first detected in September, according to Medecins Sans Frontieres. “As of Tuesday January 7, a total of 42 patients have been reported with suspected Ebola haemorrhagic fever in the province of Western Kasai… 13 of these 42 patients suspected of having Ebola have died,” it said.

The Reston ebolavirus is suspected of being either another subtype of the Ebola or a new filovirus of Asian origin. It was first discovered in crab-eating macaques originating in the Philippines, from Hazleton Laboratories (now Covance) in 1989. This discovery attracted significant media attention and led to the publication of The Hot Zone. There was then, an outbreak of viral hemorrhagic fever among monkeys imported from the Philippines to Reston, Virginia. The Ebola-Reston strain was discovered among Philippine monkeys in the U.S. again in 1990 and 1996, and in Italy in 1992.

According to the World Health Organization, African strains kill 50 percent to 90 percent of those infected through lethal bleeding and organ failure. “Since the 1970s, scientists, veterinarians, microbiologists and physicians have been looking at thousands of species to see if they can find this elusive reservoir, and we have been pretty much empty-handed,” Juan Lubroth, head of infectious diseases in the animal health unit of the Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome, explained.

Despite its status as a Level-4 organism, the Reston ebolavirus is non-pathogenic to humans and is only mildly fatal to monkeys; the perception of its lethality was skewed due to the monkey’s coinfection with Simian hemorrhagic fever virus (SHFV). During the incident in which it was discovered, six animal handlers eventually became seroconverted, one of whom had cut himself while performing a necropsy on the liver of an infected monkey. When the handler failed to become ill, it was concluded that the virus had a very low pathogenicity to humans.

In January 1997, The Philippines Department of Environment and Natural Resources had ordered the immediate slaughter of some 600 monkeys in Ferlite, a breeding farm in Laguna, to prevent an outbreak of the deadly Ebola Reston strain virus.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had donated 8,000 test kits to diagnose the ebola reston strain. “I am more concerned in the international community because we have proven in our December sales that this ebola did not affect consumer confidence,” Albert R. T. Lim, president of the National Federation of Hog Farmers, Inc., warned. The Philippines Department of Agriculture (DA) has directed the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) and the National Meat Inspection Commission (NMIC) to conduct swine tests in South Cotabato using the US test kits for the Ebola Reston virus, before approval of the “Meat in a Box” shipment to Singapore. The initial export of the meat for December was deferred pending outcome of the ERV tests.

Meanwhile, in eight Barangays of Santa Maria, Davao del Sur, in Mindanao, at least 50 pigs died since December due to viral and bacterial infections. Dr. Nestor Barroga, provincial veterinarian, said that he could not however detect yet the type of the infecting virus. The village of Pong-pong had the largest number of casualties. Mercy Olalo, a hog raiser, said their pigs would suddenly become weak and eventually die. “The pigs developed red skins and they salivate excessively,” she said.

Thursday, May 21, 2009

On Tuesday, Minnesota’s Brown County District Judge John Rodenberg ordered chemotherapy for Daniel Hauser. He also issued the felony warrant for the arrest of Colleen Hauser, Daniel’s mother. The judge said Daniel should be cared for in a foster home because the parents, Colleen and Anthony Hauser, medically neglected their son by refusing chemotherapy after only one treatment.

Sheriff Rich Hoffman said that there was a country-wide search across America for Colleen Hauser and her thirteen-year-old son Daniel who has Hodgkin’s lymphoma after the pair fled a court order for chemotherapy.

The father, Anthony Hauser, told the press on Wednesday that mother and son left their home near Sleepy Eye without telling him where they were going. He also has not heard from them.

“If he’s being cared for, and it’s going to help him, I think it’s going to be a good thing,” Anthony Hauser said.

On Monday, an x-ray showed that the tumor is growing. The mother had been treating the cancer with herbal supplements, vitamins, ionized water and other natural alternatives from an internet regime. Colleen wanted to follow the native American Indian healing practices of the Nemenhah Band.

“He had basically gotten back all the trouble he had in January,” said James Joyce, the family doctor.

The court proceedings revealed that Hodgkin’s lymphoma is 90% curable with chemotherapy and radiation.

“I know people around here who’ve had chemo twice and they’re great. And I’m not saying alternative medicine is going to cure you every time.” said Anthony Hauser who appeared Tuesday in court by himself.

“Running away when there is a court order is not the way to handle it. Go home. That’s the official position of the church. Go home Colleen,” said Chief Medicine Man Phillip “Cloudpiler” Landis of the Nemenhah Band, “it can’t be good for Daniel’s health.”

Landis claims to have previously cured his own cancer by administering himself with the Chaga Mushroom. He feels that Colleen and Daniel have taken it upon themselves without approval of the court to seek advice of an Oncologist in Mexico.

Billy Best, a man who fled chemotherapy as a teenager in 1994 and claims to have cured his cancer with natural remedies, supports the Hausers’ decision.

“I just want to help this kid. I just feel like people are ganging up on him and it’s not fair. He’s a nice kid, the family’s nice, and they love him, and they want him to live,” Best said.

The police alert sent around the country said that Colleen and Daniel Hauser might be with Billy Best.

Friday, September 8, 2006

Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis and the whole of Cabinet is already in Greece’s second-largest city Thessaloniki, in order to take part to the inauguration of the, organized by Helexpo[1], 71st International Fair[2], which will take place later today. The Greek Premier will address a speech – as it traditionally happens every year – at the Vellidion Conference Centre where he is going to speak about the upcoming governmental policies in Economy. Earlier today, Karamanlis visited the sites of two upcoming public works in the city; the Thessaloniki Metro construction site and the expansion of Makedonia International Airport. At 1pm(GTM +2), the Greek Premier will inaugurate the renovated Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki.

According to government officials, Karamanlis is expected to emphasize New Democracy‘s achievements in two-and-a-half years in government while avoiding promises of handouts, although he is due to announce some changes regarding economical issues, like the tax system.

Prime Minister Karamanlis will address his official speech at 8pm in Vellidion Centre while several demonstrations have been scheduled in the centre of Thessaloniki and around the area of the International Fair. Among those demonstrations, condemning the governmental policies, are the supporters of PAOK FC who demand solution to the their team’s administration as well as Greece‘s largest labour unions, GSEE and ADEDY, which have also organized a protest in the city center at 6pm and demonstrators are due to march to the exhibition center where the Thessaloniki International Fair is being held.

Sunday, October 18, 2020

The spread of coronavirus led to a global pandemic, affecting various daily activities. Originated in Wuhan, China, the virus spread globally, and by March, drastic measures were taken by the Indian government. Some branches of the South Western Railway of India had started taking precautions by distributing masks to ticket collectors and guards from as early as March 8. Some colleges were suspended by March 13, their exams post-poned as the government introduced lockdown and enforced social distancing.

Announced in the evening, Indian Prime Minister asked the countrymen to get the essential products and avoid going out as much as possible. Long queues outside the grocery shops, people in masks, some in N-95 masks, and hand sanitisers at the gates of megamarts were a common sight. There were reduced items in the shops, and some stores had a limit of number of customers allowed in the store at any given time. Food delivery services, and taxi services were on haitus — workers who dependent on the profession for their daily income, while software engineers were working from home. Physical classes in schools and colleges were replaced by online lectures to prevent social gatherings.

While many relied on technology for continuing their work and earn their livelihood, Wikinews reached out to sex workers in Mysore in June who unlike others can’t maintain social distancing for their work. Two sex-workers, Akram Pasha, and Jaya (a pseudonym), who were a part of sex-worker’s group called “Ashodaya Samithi” discussed how their lives had been affected by the coronavirus, the lockdown and the restrictions they had faced.