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Friday, May 31, 2013

USA Watchdog War & Finance News: Syria & Russian Missiles, France & New Zealand Trade with China in Yuan, Stock Market Records & More


Published on May 30, 2013
http://usawatchdog.com/weekly-news-wr... - In Syria, the Assad regime wants high-tech Russian missiles to thwart new efforts for a no-fly zone that the Obama Administration may be calling for. Israel says if the Russians deliver them, they will attack and knock them out. Embattled Attorney General Eric Holder has invited many mainstream media organizations for an "off-the-record" conversation, and most outlets have declined to allow the White House to engage in spin and pressure to get the media back in line. The stock market is in record territory. The mainstream media (MSM) says the Bull Run is on "solid footing." The MSM always fails to mention all the QE, or money printing, by the Fed in the last few years. Join Greg Hunter of USAWatchdog.com as he gives his analysis on these stories and more in the Weekly News Wrap-Up.

New SARS Virus Threatens Entire World? - plus other health news!


Published on May 31, 2013
Geneva, Switzerland (Reuters via CCTV) - The novel coronavirus has become a threat to the entire world, said the general director of WHO at the World Health Assembly 2013 in Geneva Monday.

The novel coronavirus was first recognized in March 2012 in the Middle East area. It has been watched worldwide because the virus belongs to the same family with SARS and has a 50 percent fatality rate.

At the World Health Assembly 2013 on Monday, Dr. Margaret Chan, the Director-General of WHO showed special concern about the spread of novel coronavirus. She said this virus caused the world to take action because WHO has not confirmed the origin of this virus or how it transmits.

"Looking at the overall global situation, my greatest concern right now is the novel coronavirus. We understand too little about this virus when viewed against the magnitude of its potential threat. The novel coronavirus is not a problem that any single affected country can keep to itself or manage all by itself. The novel coronavirus is a threat to the entire world," said Dr. Chan.

Novel coronavirus was renamed Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV). WHO said that several Middle East countries have been affected by this significant public health threat, including Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, and cases with direct or indirect connection to the Middle East have also been reported by France, Germany, Britain and Tunisia.

By May 29, according to WHO, the global total of confirmed cases of human infections with MERS-CoV reached 49, including 27 deaths. http://www.solarnews.ph/lifestyle/hea...
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Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Russia - US in war of words over Syria: Russia blasts US double standards over Syrian peace progress — RT News

The US-Russian initiative for a comprehensive peace conference to resolve the Syrian crisis needs honest effort of those involved. But some nations apparently try to undermine the effort to call the meeting, says the Russia’s foreign minister.
The criticism by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was voiced as he commented on a draft resolution currently discussed at the UN Human Rights Council. The document sponsored by Qatar and Turkey seeks to condemn the Syrian government for the alleged use of mercenaries against rebel forces. The ‘mercenaries’ in question are from the Lebanese militant movement Hezbollah, who are fighting in Syria.
“To my great astonishment we have learned that in addition to the sponsors of this draft resolution the US delegation is promoting most vigorously this very unhelpful idea. I asked [US State Secretary] John Kerry about it in Paris, and apparently he was not aware of this situation. He promised to handle it, but I don’t know whether he managed to do it,” Lavrov said.
He added that Russia currently sees no alternative to the peace conference, which would hopefully gather all interested parties, including the Syrian government, various Syrian opposition groups, regional powers like Iran and other. But doing it requires a genuine joint effort.
“We need everyone to work honestly and not allow double standards – backing the conference in statements and taking steps actually aimed at undermining this suggestion in practice,” Lavrov explained.
Lavrov also explained that the primary focus of Hezbollah fighters in Syria as stated by the leadership is the protection of the Shia population and holy sites from the threat posed by Sunni rebel forces. He said it indicates that the Syrian conflict is increasingly characterized by sectarian confrontation, a development which Russia has long warned against.

Free Syrian Army fighters lay cover fire after what they say was during clashes with forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad in Deir al-Zor May 13, 2013. (Reuters)
Free Syrian Army fighters lay cover fire after what they say was during clashes with forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad in Deir al-Zor May 13, 2013. (Reuters)
Russia and the US have diverged in their position over the end of  EU’s embargo on delivery of arms to Syria this week, which may open the door for direct arming of rebel groups by European nations. Washington praised the development, saying it gives Europe more flexibility and ramps up pressure on Syrian President Bashar Assad.
Moscow sees it as not only counterproductive, but also potentially unlawful, since delivering arms to non-governmental actors against the wishes of a country’s government breaks international law. Such moves are forbidden both by UN-level treaties on arms trade and EU’s own guidelines.
Russia itself has standing military contracts with the Syrian government, which it intends to fulfill. Supporters of the rebels, including the US, have criticized Russia on several occasions over arming the Assad army. Moscow insists that the weapon systems it sold Syria cannot be used against the rebels.
For example the S-300 surface-to-air missiles are meant to shoot down aircraft and some ballistic missiles, neither of which the rebels have. Russia believes that its position helps stabilize the situation and restrain external parties, which would like to use force in Syria.

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

World War 3 looming as Russia ups the ante in Syrian conflict? Russia slams end of EU arms embargo, calls S-300s ‘stabilizing factor’ in Syria

The failure of the European Union to agree on a new arms embargo for Syria is undermining the peace process, Moscow says. But the delivery of S-300 surface-to-air missiles may help restrain warmongers. The comments come from Deputy Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov, referring to the results of Monday’s meeting in Brussels. After a lengthy negotiating session, EU governments failed to resolve their differences and allowed a ban on arming the Syrian opposition to expire, with France and Britain scoring an apparent victory at the expense of EU unity. The EU's move, which the Russian diplomat branded as an "example of double standards", opens the door for Britain and France to supply weapons to Syrian rebels fighting the regime of President Bashar Assad. Criticizing Europe’s decision to open the way for potential arms shipments to Syrian rebels, Russia insists that its own sale of arms to the Syrian government helps the international effort to end the two-year-long conflict, the diplomat added. He was referring to the delivery of the advanced S-300 long-range air defense systems, which Russia is carrying out under a contract signed with Syria several years ago.
S-300 anti-aircraft missile system. (RIA Novosti / Vladislav Belogrud)
S-300 anti-aircraft missile system. (RIA Novosti / Vladislav Belogrud)
“Those systems by definition cannot be used by militant groups on the battlefield,” Ryabkov said. “We consider this delivery a factor of stabilization. We believe that moves like this one to a great degree restrain some hotheads from escalating the conflict to the international scale, from involving external forces.”
The S-300 is a series of Russian long-range surface-to-air missile systems designed to intercept ballistic missiles, regarded as the most potent weaponry of its class. The missiles are capable of engaging aerial targets as far away as 200km, depending on the version used.
However, Russia has neither confirmed, nor denied “the status of those shipments.” “The only thing I can tell is that we are not refusing from them,” Sergey Ryabkov said. “We see that this question worries our partners, but we have no reason to reconsider our position in this sphere,” he said. Despite the uncertainty around S-300 shipments, Israel said it will know how to act if Russia does supply surface-to-air missiles. "I can say that the shipments are not on their way yet," Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon told reporters. "I hope they will not leave, and if, God forbid, they reach Syria, we will know what to do," he said, without disclosing his sources. Israel is concerned by possible Russian supplies to Syria, saying that advanced weapon systems could end up in the hands of Iran or the Lebanese Hezbollah group. Once the Russian SAM missiles are deployed by Syria, it will have a better control of its airspace. The country endured three airstrikes this year, which are widely thought to have been conducted by Israel, but were never officially confirmed as such. Britain and France have made a commitment not to deliver arms to the Syrian opposition "at this stage," an EU declaration said. EU officials, however, said the commitment effectively expires on August 1. UK Foreign Secretary William Hague has defended the lifting of the EU’s embargo, saying that Britain would only send arms to Syrian rebels with other countries. At the same time he assured that this would not violate international law. London and Paris have argued support for rebels fighting Assad by allowing EU arms deliveries, despite the fact that extremist elements are known to work alongside the rebels. Other EU governments, led by Austria and Sweden, argued that sending more weapons to the region would increase violence and spread instability.
United Kingdom Secretary of State for Foreign and Commenwealth Affairs William Hague (L) speaks with Luxembourg Foreign Affairs minister Jean Asselborn (C) and Austrian Foreign minister Michael Spindelegger (R) prior to a Foreign Affairs Council on May 27, 2013, at the European Union headquarters in Brussels. (AFP Photo / Georges Gobet)
United Kingdom Secretary of State for Foreign and Commenwealth Affairs William Hague (L) speaks with Luxembourg Foreign Affairs minister Jean Asselborn (C) and Austrian Foreign minister Michael Spindelegger (R) prior to a Foreign Affairs Council on May 27, 2013, at the European Union headquarters in Brussels. (AFP Photo / Georges Gobet)
Russia's envoy to NATO Aleksandr Grushko said that the abolition of the EU arms embargo on the Syrian opposition will only exacerbate armed conflict in that country. "We need to refrain from taking steps that would be contrary to this logic. Such steps include armed or non-lethal support to the opposition. This just adds fuel to the fire," Grushko said on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Moscow and Washington remain undecided as to the content of a proposed international conference on Syria, according to Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov. "There remains a gap between the positions of Russia and the US regarding some issues and aspects of this major international crisis," he emphasized. "And we, for our part, cannot agree to hold such events [the international conference on Syria] amid a situation where partners and possible participants in such a conference seek to impose solutions on the Syrian people from the outside, as well as predetermine the course of a transitional process, the parameters of which have not been determined yet," Ryabkov said.

Sunday, May 26, 2013

Possible Pandemic Outbreak Soon? New H7N9 bird flu may be capable of human to human spread

 
May 25, 2013HEALTHThe new H7N9 bird flu virus can be transmitted between mammals not only via direct contact but also in airborne droplets, and may be capable of spreading from person to person, Chinese and American researchers have found. A study published in the journal Science and presented at a briefing in Hong Kong on Friday found that three ferrets – an animal often used for research on flu – that were in the same cage as ferrets infected with H7N9 had contracted the disease. One of three ferrets kept in separate cages nearby also became infected, through airborne exposure. The World Health Organization (WHO) has previously said it has no evidence of “sustained human to human transmission” of the virus, which has killed 36 people in China. “The findings suggest that the possibility of this virus evolving further to form the basis of a future pandemic threat cannot be excluded,” said the research team, led by bird flu expert and microbiologist Yi Guan. The virus can also infect pigs, but could not be transmitted from pig to pig or from pigs to other animals, the study showed, although the team urged authorities to maintain surveillance to check whether the virus was mutating. The WHO said the findings were useful but warned that people “have to be very careful about what’s going on the ground. Studies like that are really helpful for increasing general knowledge and it’s really helpful to know that, under lab conditions, this thing could transfer from person to person,” WHO chief spokesman Gregory Hartl told Reuters. “We’ve already seen maybe a few limited instances of human to human transmission within close family range, within close contacts, so this is another piece of the puzzle,” he said. The findings come just days after the WHO said the H7N9 virus appeared to have been brought under control in China thanks to restrictions at bird markets. H7N9 has relatively mild clinical signs in ferrets, according to the study. All the animals infected with the virus in the experiments presented symptoms for no more than seven days and all recovered from the disease. The researchers said that all cases where humans had died or become extremely ill had involved additional factors. The team also found that some infected animals did not develop fever or other clinical signs, suggesting that asymptomatic infections among humans may also be possible. “The potential public health implication of this … is that a person infected by H7N9 avian influenza virus who does not show symptoms could nevertheless spread the virus to others,” the researchers wrote in their study. “It is possible that this virus can evolve further to form the basis of a future pandemic threat,” said Maria Zhu Huachen, an assistant professor of research at HKU’s school of public health. United Nations experts said this week the bird flu outbreak in China had caused some $6.5 billion in losses to the economy. The H7N9 virus is known to have infected 131 people in mainland China and one in Taiwan since February, but no new cases have been detected since early May. –Reuters

Friday, May 24, 2013

Mega Earthquakes in diverse pla ces: Tremors felt in Moscow as 8.2 quake rattles Russia's Sakhalin region

Luke 21:11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.
Published time: May 24, 2013 06:32
Edited time: May 24, 2013 09:42

Muscovites fled their offices after feeling the tremors that followed an earthquake in the Okhotsk Sea, thousands of kilometers away (image by @nakedarizona)
Muscovites fled their offices after feeling the tremors that followed an earthquake in the Okhotsk Sea, thousands of kilometers away (image by @nakedarizona)
Tremors have been felt all across Russia and in Europe, following a major 8.2 earthquake in the Sakhalin region. Panicking Muscovites began calling security services, and some decided to leave their homes.
The residents informed security services of vibration and tremors that caused furniture and kitchen utensils to move.
The magnitude of the tremors felt in Moscow was no higher than 1 on the Richter scale, the Agency of Hydrometeorological and Environmental monitoring indicated.
Moscow residents wrote on Twitter about the tremors: “wasn’t really strong, but things hanging on the walls were shaking,” “the fourteenth floor of the Smolensky Passage [a large market in the city center] was noticeably shaking!” and “a house was shaking in the center of Moscow on Tverskaya street.”
“The aftershocks occurred in Nizhny Novgorod, Moscow, in Europe – for instance, in Romania. Almost the entire continent was shaken,” Anatoly Tsygankov, the head of the Situation Center for Agency of Hydrometeorological and Environmental monitoring told Interfax news agency.
An employee at news website NEWSru.com recounted the Moscow tremor: “I have a flat on the 7th floor. At 9:43am I was sitting at my desk in front of the computer when the desk started shaking. We have a metro station underground, so I thought that something happened there. But the vibrations continued, and it became clear that everything was shaking like during an earthquake." The witness says there were at least three tremors; two strong ones, and another, weaker one. Then he started calling Emergency. When the operator answered, the reporter heard someone telling another operator their address, and he understood that the vibrations were happening all over Moscow. 
The scientists, however, are sure that there is nothing outstanding in the quake, but it's “deep – around 600 kilometers, in this situation tremors can be felt at long distances from the epicenter,” academic and scientist Alexander Soloviev explained.

Experts also pointed out that such a quake is unusual, although not impossible for the Russian capital: On March 4, 1977, Moscow was shaken by a 4.0-magnitude quake centered in the Carpathian Mountains.
The Kuril Islands environment (RIA Novosti / Sergey Krivosheyev)
The Kuril Islands environment (RIA Novosti / Sergey Krivosheyev)

Russia’s Emergency Ministry said that all of its departments are on high alert following the quake in the Okhotsk Sea.
“Our special attention is on the coastal area. The Ministry is going to watch out for the possible aftershocks. At the moment there’s absolutely no threat of tsunami, no buildings are destroyed, there are no injured and people are in no danger” Ministry representative Irina Rossius said.
Some Sakhalin region residents reported that they were unable to turn on electronic devices after the earthquake.
In the meantime, the seismic forecasters say that another quake with the magnitude of over 7 is expected to hit the Sakhalin region in the coming week.

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Austerity strikes in Italy: Millions of poverty-stricken Italians unable to afford heat, meat amid economic crisis

Published time: May 22, 2013 15:03
Edited time: May 22, 2013 15:45
: Tourist pass by a street beggar in central Rome.(AFP Photo / Filippo Monteforte)
: Tourist pass by a street beggar in central Rome.(AFP Photo / Filippo Monteforte)
As a severe recession and unprecedented unemployment sweeps Italy, millions of people are struggling to make ends meet. The number of those receiving food assistance has doubled in the past two years, according to a government report.
The data comes from national statistics institute ISTAT, which published an annual report demonstrating, among other issues, that Italy is witnessing youth unemployment of nearly 40 percent – the highest in Europe.
A reported 23.9 percent of young Italians are neither in the job market nor receiving education, the report stressed. In southern Italy, one in three young people aged 15-29 fell into this category.
Just over half (57.2 percent) of youths who graduated were currently employed, with the Europe-wide average standing at 77.2 per cent.
Fourteen percent of Italy’s population – 8.6 million people – is living on food assistance, a number that has doubled over the past two years, according to the report.
Nine poverty indicators were taken into account while carrying out the study; if a family meets more than four, it is considered to be seriously deprived. Some 15 million people – 25 percent of Italy’s population – are living in families that meet three or more of the poverty indicators, the research found.

Reuters / Stefano Rellandini
Reuters / Stefano Rellandini
For instance, one poverty indicator is being unable to heat one’s home, something one in five Italians cannot afford. Also, 16.6 percent of the Italians cannot afford a protein-based meal such as meat every two days, from just 6.7 percent in 2010.
Over half of the Italian population is unable to afford a one-week vacation, including a staggering 69 percent of southern Italians, according to ISTAT.
The recession, which has now lasted almost two years, has taken a heavy toll on Italians, who are increasingly digging into their savings, ISTAT stressed. The savings rate, traditionally high in Italy, is currently far below that of France and Germany, Reuters reported.
Italians' purchasing power also fell by 4.8 percent last year, an "exceptionally steep" decline caused largely by aggressive tax hikes aimed at battling the economic crisis gripping the country. 
The study results come just a few days after thousands gathered in Rome to protest austerity measures and high unemployment. Demonstrators urged Prime Minister Enrico Letta to create jobs to pull the country out of recession. Protesters held banners reading, “We can’t wait anymore” and “We need money to live.”
According to a Friday poll conducted by the SWG institute, the government’s approval rating has dropped to 34 percent, down from 43 percent at the start of May.

Students and protesters march in front of the Colosseum during a demonstration to protest against the cuts in the education budget and against the austerity measures in Europe on November 17, 2011 in Rome.(AFP Photo / Andreas Solaro)
Students and protesters march in front of the Colosseum during a demonstration to protest against the cuts in the education budget and against the austerity measures in Europe on November 17, 2011 in Rome.(AFP Photo / Andreas Solaro)

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Has a Global Pandemic begun? Tunisian man traveling to Saudi Arabia dies of coronavirus: scientists worried Hajj may touch off global pandemic



Matthew 24:7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences (PANDEMICS, INFECTIOUS DEADLY DISEASES), and earthquakes, in divers places.
   
The 2013 Hajj will take place in mid-October, only five months from now. Experts watching the coronavirus situation are already worried about the potential for spread of the new virus, both within Saudi Arabia and internationally. “I don’t think anyone necessarily knows for certain what is or isn’t happening,” said Dr. Kamran Khan, an infectious diseases specialist at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto.
May 21, 2013TUNIS, Tunisia – Tunisia’s Health Ministry says a 66-year-old man has died after being infected by the new coronavirus following a visit to Saudi Arabia. The ministry’s statement reported that his son and daughter were also diagnosed with the virus but have been treated and since recovered. The cases are the first for Tunisia and indicate that the virus is slowly trickling out of the Middle East, where more than 30 cases have been reported. There have been at least 20 deaths from the virus worldwide. The Tunisian, a diabetic, had been complaining since his return from a trip to Saudi Arabia and Qatar and died from acute respiratory distress at a hospital in Monastir. The new coronavirus is related to SARS, which killed about 800 people in 2003, mostly in Asia. –CTV News
 
WHO worried virus is spreading: The World Health Organization has issued a blunt assessment of the coronavirus outbreak in Saudi Arabia, acknowledging for the first time that there are concerns the virus may be spreading from person to person, at least in a limited way. The statement called for urgent investigations to find the source of the virus and learn how it is infecting people. And it reminded countries they have a duty to the international community to rapidly report cases and related information to the WHO. The worrying appraisal of the situation was echoed in a revised risk assessment issued Friday by the European Centre for Disease Control. It warned hospitals in Europe to be on the lookout for coronavirus cases coming in by air ambulance, saying the numbers of such patients may rise if the public in affected countries are afraid to seek care in their own hospitals. The warnings come as health leaders from around the world are gathering in Geneva for the World Health Assembly, the annual general meeting of the WHO. The eight-day meeting begins Monday. Though other nations have not publicly pressed leaders of coronavirus-affected countries for more transparency to date, it is likely that concerns about the virus and the opaque way investigations into it are being handled will be aired during the meeting. “There is no formal agenda for novel coronavirus but I would be surprised if it didn’t come up,” WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl said in an interview. Saudi Arabia, after all, is the home of Mecca. The holy site draws roughly three million Muslims from around the world every year to the Hajj, a mass pilgrimage Muslims are meant to perform at least once in their lifetimes. As well, nearly one million international tourists travel to Mecca during Ramadan — the Muslim month of fasting — to take part in another pilgrimage called Umrah. Ramadan starts in the second week of July this year. And the 2013 Hajj will take place in mid-October, only five months from now. Experts watching the coronavirus situation are already worried about the potential for spread of the new virus, both within Saudi Arabia and internationally. “I don’t think anyone necessarily knows for certain what is or isn’t happening,” said Dr. Kamran Khan, an infectious diseases specialist at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto. In his research, Khan tracks global travel patterns as a tool to predict and interpret spread of diseases. “I’m not sure that there’s an easy way to get at this information unless it’s more forthcoming from within Saudi Arabia or any of the partners that are working with Saudi Arabia inside the country.” To date, the WHO has been notified of 41 confirmed infections with the virus, which has been recently named MERS, for Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome coronavirus. Of those cases, 20 have been fatal. The bulk of the infections have occurred in Saudi Arabia, which is investigating a large and ongoing outbreak in the eastern part of the country, near the Persian Gulf. The most recent case — an 81-year-old woman whose illness was announced Saturday — is part of that outbreak. In its statement, the WHO said two of the cases in that outbreak have no links to either other coronavirus patients or a hospital where some transmission is known to have occurred. These unconnected cases suggest two possibilities. They could have contracted the virus from its as-yet unidentified reservoir, which is thought to be one or more animal species. Or these cases could be a signal that undetected human transmission is happening there. “The continued appearance of cases that are not part of larger clusters, and who do not have a history of animal contact, increases concerns about possible community transmission. This possibility is being investigated by authorities in Saudi Arabia,” the WHO statement said. –Ottawa Citizen

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

91 dead as mile-wide tornado destroys Oklahoma City suburbs

At least 91 casualties, including children, were reported after a record-breaking tornado swept through the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore, destroying hundreds of buildings and two schools. Meteorologists reported winds of up to 200mph.
A large tornado touched down on Monday in Moore, Oklahoma, a suburb of Oklahoma City, causing catastrophic damage to several housing developments and at least two schools in the area. A local television news helicopter tracked the tornado as it moved through the area, and then began to survey the extensive destruction to the region.
The Oklahoma Medical Examiner's Office has confirmed a total of 91 fatalities so far as a result of today's tornadoes, 40 of whom are reportedly children. Over 233 injured, including around 70 children, have been reported, with many of the victims being treated at two local hospitals.
Monday's storm appeared to be the deadliest tornado since 2011, and one of the worst in the last 20 years according to the Atlantic. The town lies in the center of 'Tornado Alley,' an area west of the Mississippi River stretching from north Texas to South Dakota, known for its frequent and powerful tornado systems.
Destroyed vehicles lie on top of each other after a huge tornado struck Moore, Oklahoma, near Oklahoma City, May 20, 2013 (Reuters / Richard Rowe)
Destroyed vehicles lie on top of each other after a huge tornado struck Moore, Oklahoma, near Oklahoma City, May 20, 2013 (Reuters / Richard Rowe)
“The whole city looks like a debris field,” Moore Mayor Glenn Lewis said.
Rescuers said their efforts had been hampered; even officers familiar with the area were unable to locate landmarks to navigate, especially after sundown.
Officials reported that 75 children and teachers took shelter at Plaza Towers Elementary in Moore, which had its roof torn off and was flattened by the passing tornado. The school was the site of a rescue effort for several hours after the storm had passed.
Rescue workers help free one of 15 people trapped in a medical building at the Moore hospital complex after a tornado tore through the area of Moore, Oklahoma May 20, 2013 (Reuters / Gene Blevins)
Rescue workers help free one of 15 people trapped in a medical building at the Moore hospital complex after a tornado tore through the area of Moore, Oklahoma May 20, 2013 (Reuters / Gene Blevins)
People look at the damage in the parking lot of Moore Hospital after a tornado struck Moore, Oklahoma, May 20, 2013 (Reuters / Gene Blevins)
People look at the damage in the parking lot of Moore Hospital after a tornado struck Moore, Oklahoma, May 20, 2013 (Reuters / Gene Blevins)
Fourth, fifth and sixth graders were evacuated to a church, but younger students sheltered in place, KFOR reported. Seven students at Plaza Towers Elementary School were found drowned at the bottom of the wreckage Monday evening. Several other students and school staffers were pulled out alive from the debris during the day, with officials reporting that teachers had shielded students with their own bodies.
A first-year teacher at the school told a group of children to shelter in a restroom as the building was rocked by the force of the tornado, KFOR reported. All of them survived the ordeal, and were guided away from the devastated school by rescuers.
Rescue teams continued to sift through the destroyed structure on Monday evening, but no additional survivors were expected, according to local media at the scene.
Students at another local school, Briarwood Elementary, had been accounted for and moved to a safe location.
Overturned cars are seen from destruction from a huge tornado near Oklahoma City, Oklahoma May 20, 2013 (Reuters / Richard Rowe)
Overturned cars are seen from destruction from a huge tornado near Oklahoma City, Oklahoma May 20, 2013 (Reuters / Richard Rowe)
A man, a woman and a child were found dead under the debris of a collapsed 7-Eleven convenience store and liquor shop where several people were sheltering.
On television, both wrecked vehicles and survivors were seen sprayed with mud, while residents emerged after the tornado had passed to assess the damage and locate family and loved ones.

image by @zerwekh
image by @zerwekh
There was confirmation of at least one structure on fire, possibly caused by a gas leak after the tornado ripped through the area. KOCO reported that cell phone service was down in the Moore region, and aerial footage showed wide swathes of destruction.
Debris is seen at a mobile home park which was destroyed by a tornado on Sunday, west of Shawnee, Oklahoma May 19, 2013. (Reuters / Bill Waugh)
Debris is seen at a mobile home park which was destroyed by a tornado on Sunday, west of Shawnee, Oklahoma May 19, 2013. (Reuters / Bill Waugh)
Moore was last hit hard by a tornado in 1999, which killed 36 people. That storm had the highest winds ever recorded near the earth's surface, measured at 302mph.
The National Weather Service initially classified Monday's storm as an EF4, the second-strongest type of tornado, with winds of up to 200 mph. Local reporters who were present for the 1999 storm, however, believe that the damage caused by this tornado is considerably worse.
A major utility company, Oklahoma Gas & Electric, has begun to assess damage to its electric grid following Monday's tornado, according to a spokesperson.
Below is video purportedly of a Moore family emerging from their storm cellar, witnessing the devastation wrought by the powerful tornado.

A severe storm system over the weekend generated baseball-sized hail, high winds and at least 28 tornadoes in the Midwest, including Oklahoma, Kansas and Iowa. Residents remain in hiding as meteorologists forecast that the severe weather conditions will continue to generate destructive twisters.
Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin declared 16 counties to be disaster areas. Power companies reported that more than 57,000 outages left people in the dark. In Shawnee, Oklahoma, the body of a 79-year-old man was found lying in an open area of a mobile home community.
“You could be killed if not underground or in a tornado shelter,” read a National Weather Service alert posted Sunday. “Complete destruction of neighborhoods, businesses and vehicles will occur. Flying debris will be deadly to people and animals.”
In some regions, homes were destroyed, cars and trucks were flipped from highways, downed power lines were sprawled across neighborhoods, and trees were uprooted. The Oklahoma Highway Patrol shut down Interstate 40 after semi-tractor trailer trucks and several other vehicles were flipped by wind gusts, Newsok.com reported.
“It’s tearing up everything. Just ripping everything up in its sight,” a helicopter pilot told CNN affiliate KFOR, referencing a tornado near Wellston, Oklahoma. “Everything was just gone. Like you took the house, you put it in a gigantic blender, you turned it on pulse for a couple minutes and then you just dumped it out.”
The state was littered with debris from damaged houses, trailers, and vehicles. About 300 homes were in ruins and at least 23 people were injured, according to Fallin and Red Cross spokesperson Ken Garcia.
A downed tree which missed falling on a home in a mobile home park, where several other homes were destroyed by a tornado on Sunday, west of Shawnee, Oklahoma May 19, 2013. (Reuters / Bill Waugh)
A downed tree which missed falling on a home in a mobile home park, where several other homes were destroyed by a tornado on Sunday, west of Shawnee, Oklahoma May 19, 2013. (Reuters / Bill Waugh)

Ethan Mignard, a staffer at a local newspaper, told CNN’s iReport that the damage looked like something he had only ever seen on TV. In some areas, patches of dirt remained where mobile homes once stood, and children’s toys were littered across the ground and hanging from trees. Mignard even came across a plot of land with nothing remaining but the front steps to a house that is now gone.
“It looks so out of place… To think that you would have taken these stairs to enter a home, but instead, you look around from up there and you see total destruction everywhere,” he said.

Counties across Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois and Missouri were all placed under tornado watch late Sunday, and are expected to witness more damage.
“After over 300 reports of severe weather on Sunday, another round of dangerous severe weather is expected Monday with the greatest threat once again in the southern Plains targeting Oklahoma and parts of Kansas, Missouri, and Arkansas,” the National Weather Service reported. “However, severe weather is possible much further north towards Chicago and Madison as well.”
A semi-tractor trailer (top) rests on its side against the guard rails on Interstate 40 as another trailer lies broken open on the road below after falling from I-40, following a tornado strike near Highway 177 north of Shawnee, Oklahoma May 19, 2013. (Reuters / Bill Waugh)
A semi-tractor trailer (top) rests on its side against the guard rails on Interstate 40 as another trailer lies broken open on the road below after falling from I-40, following a tornado strike near Highway 177 north of Shawnee, Oklahoma May 19, 2013. (Reuters / Bill Waugh)

Saturday, May 18, 2013

Monday, May 13, 2013

Life has no value, only profits matter in an evil world! Bangladesh rescue operation near end; collapse death toll at 1,127


(Reuters) - Bangladeshi salvage workers neared on Monday the end of their search for victims of the collapse of a factory building, scouring the basement of the complex that crumbled in on itself killing 1,127 people.That toll from the world's worst industrial accident since the Bhopal disaster in India in 1984 could be the final one as no more bodies were found on Monday, a spokesman at the army control room coordinating the salvage operation said.
"The rescuers have reached the basement where the chances of finding more dead bodies are very low," said the spokesman, Captain Tazul Islam.
The site would be handed over to the district administration on Tuesday, upon completion of the salvage work, said army spokesman Shahinul Islam.
The cabinet approved an amendment to Bangladesh's labor laws on Monday, paving the way for parliament to allow garment workers to form trade unions without prior approval from the factory owners.
International labor and human rights groups had long campaigned for workers to be able to form trade unions without such approval.
The amendment was endorsed a day after the government decided to form a wage board to consider pay increases for readymade garment workers.
Average monthly minimum wages now stand at the equivalent of $38 after an increase of about 80 percent in 2010 in response to months of violent street protests.
A series of deadly incidents at factories, including a fire in November that killed 112 people, has focused global attention on safety standards in Bangladesh's booming garment industry.
Eight people were killed in a fire at a factory last week, which an industry association said may have been started deliberately.
About 2,500 people were rescued from the Rana Plaza, in Savar, a commercial suburb of the capital, Dhaka, after the April 24 collapse. Many survivors suffered serious injuries.
The disaster, believed to have been triggered when generators were started up during a blackout, has raised questions about the use by Western retailers of the impoverished South Asian nation as a source of cheap goods.
Nine people have been arrested in connection with the disaster, including the building's owner and bosses of the factories it housed.
The government has accused the owners and builders of the eight-storey complex of using shoddy building materials, including substandard rods, bricks and cement, and not obtaining the necessary clearances.
Bangladesh's garment industry accounts for 80 percent of the country's exports. Low wages have helped lift Bangladesh to number two in the global ranking of exporters, behind China.
Bangladesh ranked last in minimum wages for factory workers in 2010, according to World Bank data, behind Cambodia.
(Editing by Robert Birsel and Ron Popeski

Thursday, May 2, 2013

More wars and rumors of wars: Next Asian crisis arrives: Chinese soldiers make military incursion into India- India considers response

May 2, 2013INDIA - A platoon of Chinese soldiers slipped across the boundary into India in the middle of the night, according to Indian officials. They were ferried across the bitterly cold moonscape in Chinese army vehicles, then got out to traverse a dry creek bed with a helicopter hovering overhead for protection. They finally reached their destination and pitched a tent in the barren Depsang Valley in the Ladakh region, a symbolic claim of sovereignty deep inside Indian-held territory. So stealthy was the operation that India did not discover the incursion until a day later, Indian officials said. China denies any incursion, but Indian officials say that for two weeks, the soldiers have refused to move back over the so-called Line of Actual Control that divides Indian-ruled territory from Chinese-run land, leaving the government on the verge of a crisis with its powerful northeastern neighbor. Indian officials fear that if they react with force, the face-off could escalate into a battle with the powerful People’s Liberation Army. But doing nothing would leave a Chinese outpost deep in territory India has ruled since independence. “If they have come 19 kilometers into India, it is not a minor LAC violation. It is a deliberate military operation. And even as India protests, more tents have come up,” said Sujit Dutta, a China specialist at the Jamia Milia Islamia university in New Delhi. “Clearly, the Chinese are testing India to see how far they can go,” he said. That is not China’s stated view. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said Thursday that Chinese troops had been carrying out normal patrols and had not crossed the boundary. “China is firmly opposed to any acts that involve crossing the Line of Actual Control and sabotaging the status quo,” she said at a daily briefing in Beijing as she was repeatedly questioned about the dispute. Hua said talks to defuse the dispute were ongoing and that it should not affect relations. “As we pointed out many times, the China-India border issue is one which was left over from the past. The two sides reached important consensus that this issue should not affect the overall bilateral relations,” Hua said. Local army commanders from both sides have held three meetings over the crisis, according to Indian officials. India’s foreign secretary called in the Chinese ambassador to register a strong protest. Yet the troops did not move, and even pitched a second tent, Indian officials said. The timing of the crisis, weeks before Chinese Premier Li Keqiang is to visit India, has surprised many here. The Chinese leader’s decision to make India his first trip abroad since taking office two months ago had been seen as an important gesture toward strengthening ties between rival powers that have longstanding border disputes but also growing trade relations. Manoj Joshi, a defense analyst at the New Delhi-based Observer Research Foundation, said the timing of the incursion raises questions about “whether there is infighting within the Chinese leadership, or whether someone is trying to upstage Li.” Indian External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid said Wednesday that while he had no plans to cancel a trip to Beijing next week to prepare for Li’s visit, the government could reconsider in the coming week. Indian politicians accused the scandal-plagued government of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of floundering in fear before China. “China realizes that India has a weak government, and a prime minister who is powerless,” said Yashwant Sinha, a former foreign minister from the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party. He demanded a stronger response. “A bully will back off the moment it realizes that it’s dealing with a country which will not submit to its will,” Sinha said. Former Defense Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav called the government “cowardly and incompetent.” He warned that China was trying to annex more territory to add to the spoils it took following its victory over India in a brief 1962 border war. Defense Minister A.K. Antony countered that India is “united in its commitment to take every possible step to safeguard our interests.” –Yahoo News

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Suffer the Little Chidlren: Only 6 Percent of Child Trafficking Cases in India Result in Prosecutions

  1. Matthew 19:14
    But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.
    Matthew 19:13-15 (in Context) Matthew 19 (Whole Chapter) 
  2. Mark 10:14
    But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.
    Mark 10:13-15 (in Context) Mark 10 (Whole Chapter) 
  3. Luke 18:16
    But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.
    Luke 18:15-17 (in Context) Luke 18 (Whole Chapter)