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Did Clinton sabotage a Palestinian reconciliation?

published by You on 6 March, 2009 - 14:15

Still reeling from the Israeli massacres in the occupied Gaza Strip, Palestinians have lately had little to celebrate. So the strong start to intra-Palestinian reconciliation talks in Cairo last week provided a glimmer of hope.

An end to the schism between the resistance and the elected but internationally-boycotted Hamas government on the one hand, and the Western-backed Fatah faction on the other, seemed within reach. But the good feeling came to a sudden end after what looked like a coordinated assault by United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, European Union High Representative Javier Solana, and Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas whose term as president of the Palestinian Authority (PA) expired on 9 January...

Bionic eye gives blind man sight

published by You on 4 March, 2009 - 19:02

A man who lost his sight 30 years ago says he can now see flashes of light after being fitted with a bionic eye.

Ron, 73, had the experimental surgery seven months ago at London's Moorfield's eye hospital.

He says he can now follow white lines on the road, and even sort socks, using the bionic eye, known as Argus II.

It uses a camera and video processor mounted on sunglasses to send captured images wirelessly to a tiny receiver on the outside of the eye...

Read more and watch video @ BBC News

Also, How the bionic eye works.

Warrant issued for Sudan's leader

published by You on 4 March, 2009 - 14:43

The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Sudan's president on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur.

But the court in The Hague stopped short of accusing Omar al-Bashir of genocide. He denies the charges.

Thousands of protesters took to the streets of the capital, Khartoum, after the announcement, amid fears of unrest.

The UN estimates about 300,000 people have died and millions been displaced in six years of conflict in Darfur...

Read more @ BBC News

Designer Babies.

published by You on 2 March, 2009 - 19:11

Designer baby row over US clinic

A US clinic has sparked controversy by offering would-be parents the chance to select traits like the eye and hair colour of their offspring.

The LA Fertility Institutes run by Dr Jeff Steinberg, a pioneer of IVF in the 1970s, expects a trait-selected baby to be born next year.

His clinic also offers sex selection...

Read more @ BBC News

Reminds me of a movie called "Gattaca".

Why Doctors Hate Science

published by You on 2 March, 2009 - 19:04

Scaremongers warn that 'effectiveness research' threatens the lives of Americans.

Thank God doctors in the United States are free to treat patients as they deem best, free from interference by faceless bureaucrats. If bureaucrats were in charge, physicians might have to prescribe the newest hypertension drugs as a first-line therapy, do MRIs to diagnose back pain and give regular Pap tests to women who have had total hysterectomies. Oh, wait—they do...

read more @ Newsweek

Is it scary that doctors may ignore science?

Islamic banks 'better in crisis'

published by You on 2 March, 2009 - 14:25

Islamic banks 'better in crisis'

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has called on Islamic banks to take a leadership role in the global economy, amid the financial crisis.

He was speaking at the opening of the World Islamic Economic Forum in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta.

The forum has brought together political and business leaders from 38 countries to discuss the global economic slowdown.

They will also discuss ways to achieve energy and food security.

Mr Yudhoyono said it was time for Islamic banks to do some missionary work in the West.

Islamic financial institutions, he said, had not been hit as hard as their western counterparts because they did not invest in toxic assets.

Robbery suspect caught when he turned up to police entrance exam

published by You on 1 March, 2009 - 16:44

US suspect applied to join police

A man suspected of robbing a California store has landed in custody after turning up to take a police entrance examination in the same town.

Chula Vista police realised Romeo Montillano was a suspect in the December robbery when he signed up for a police test two months later.

Detectives doubted he would show up after he phoned in from Las Vegas to say he was having car problems.

But he arrived on time, by bus, only to be arrested by astonished officers.

Detectives were waiting at the registration table when he walked up and signed himself in as Romeo Ogilve Montillano, Chula Vista police spokesman Bernard Gonzales was quoted as saying by the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Kosovo trial clears Serbia leader

published by You on 26 February, 2009 - 18:15

Kosovo trial clears Serbia leader

Serbian ex-President Milan Milutinovic has been acquitted on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Kosovo by a UN war crimes tribunal.

Five former top Serbian officials were found guilty on some or all the charges relating to the 1990s conflict. Their sentences range from 15 to 22 years.

It was the court's first ruling on alleged crimes committed by Serbian forces in the breakaway region.

Mr Milutinovic was seen largely as a figurehead president during that time.

The court found that the 66-year-old, who led Serbia from December 1997 to December 2002, had no direct control over the Yugoslav army. His release from custody was ordered...

Street protests erupt in Pakistan after opposition leaders barred from office

published by You on 26 February, 2009 - 16:57

Street protests erupt in Pakistan after opposition leaders barred from office

Opposition supporters in Pakistan torched cars and stoned buildings today as thousands joined in a growing protest over the barring of two of their leaders from elected office.

Yesterday's supreme court ruling that Nawaz Sharif, a former prime minister, could not stand for parliament due to an old criminal conviction, and its disqualification of his brother, Shahbaz Sharif, who was head of the provincial government in Punjab, prompted hundreds of the prime minister's supporters to gather in Rawalpindi chanting slogans against the government.

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